Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus

CHAPTER SIXTEEN Henry Loses His Marbles

I AWOKE THE NEXT MORNING when the door to my closet burst open and banged against the wall. Isis yowled and I sat bolt upright, heart thumping painfully against my ribs. As Isis sprang out of the sarcophagus and raced for the door, I said, "Henry?"

"Why? Why'd you do it, Theo?"

I rubbed my eyes and wondered if I was having a nightmare. "What? Why'd I do what?"

"This," he said, then threw something that struck me in the chest.

"Oof! Henry! That was uncalled-for!"

He stepped into the room, his fists clenched. "What do you expect when you go around ruining people's things?"

"What are you talking about?" I looked down at the projectile in my lap. It was the book he'd been reading last night. I picked it up and opened it, then gasped. The pages inside had been torn and shredded. "Henry, I didn't do this, I swear it!"

"Well, who else would have? And don't begin jabbering on about Chaos and bad guys and that rot." Two bright spots of pink colored his cheeks.

"All right," I said slowly, trying to think. "But it wasn't me. I would never ruin a book, Henry. Never."

"I don't believe you. I think you're playing tricks on me, trying to keep at this mystery game of yours."

I scrambled out of the sarcophagus. "Henry, that's not true!"

"We'll just hear what Mother and Father have to say about all this."

I froze. They would be furious, and rightly so. The only problem was, I wasn't guilty! "Henry, you've got to believe me, I didn't do it. But we'll find out who did."

He stared at me a moment longer. "Very well. If you can prove someone else did it by dinnertime tonight, I won't tell on you." And with that, he stormed away.

I sat down on the edge of the sarcophagus and flipped through the pages of the wrecked book. Who would have done this? And why? It looked like someone had tried to tear pages out with a knife. Or claws. I paused. Isis wouldn't have, would she? No. She'd been with me all night. But then who?

Anubis? With a jolt, I realized I still had the Orb of Ra in my pocket. Had he come up from the catacombs last night looking for it? I had promised I'd return it soon, but what exactly did a jackal consider soon? That seemed a bit of a stretch, as I had no idea why he would attack Henry's book if he was mad at me, but I had to start my investigation someplace.

I jumped up and washed my face at the basin, then took off my slept-in dress and put on my spare. I slipped back into my pinafore and hurried out to deal with what was shaping up to be a busy day.

My first stop was the catacombs to see about Henry's book. Grasping my amulets, I hurried down the stairs.

Anubis looked as if he hadn't moved a whisker since I'd last seen him. I came closer and studied his teeth and claws, looking for tiny shreds of paper or other signs that he had attacked Henry's book. I checked the floor, but it too was clean of tattered paper scraps—wait. A glint of metal caught my eye.

A niggle of dread filled me when I drew closer and saw it was an amulet. Specifically, the amulet I'd given Henry the first time he'd come down here with me.

Which meant the little beast had taken it out of his pocket when I wasn't looking and kicked it behind the shrine.

As that realization sank in, everything else snapped into place: the marbles, the tart, the book. Unprotected as he was, Henry was being haunted by something; something from the catacombs, no doubt. I lifted my eyes to the wall of mummies, not surprised to find a small pile on the floor at the feet of Tetley's mummy.

There were Henry's marbles, his crumbly old tart, and a few ripped shreds of his book. I glanced up at Tetley, awareness dawning. His mut was haunting Henry! The Egyptians had always believed young children were much more vulnerable than adults to spiritual influences and hauntings from the underworld. And as if that weren't enough, Henry had sounded the ivory clappers in the workroom. Normally, they needed to be clapped three times to drive away an evil spirit: once to call the spirit's attention; the second time to exert influence over the spirit, insisting it obey; and the third time to drive it away.

I hadn't given any thought to it before because I'd assumed Henry was wearing the amulet I had given him. But now here it lay, on the floor. I picked it up and slipped it over my head.

Tetley's ba,restless and unhappy, had now become a mut and was lingering on earth, moping and miserable. He was no doubt upset at the lack of a proper burial and had been busily collecting what he would need in the afterlife. They weren't exactly honey cakes and shabtis, but they were things that would sustain him and keep him entertained.

Poor Tetley! But at least I had an answer for Henry. The trick would be getting him to believe me, or at least creating enough doubt in his mind so that he wouldn't tell our parents.

Determined to make him understand, I started back up the stairs, stopping when I felt the heavy bump against my leg. I headed back over to the Canopic shrine and tucked the Orb of Ra safely away inside it. "Sorry about that," I told the statue, then hastened to get on with my morning.

Luckily, the curators hadn't shown up yet. As I crossed the empty foyer, I was so focused on my explanation for Henry that the faint rap on the window nearly made me jump out of my skin. Will! I'd forgotten we were to meet today. I went outside to join him, where he'd taken up position behind a birch tree.

"Morning, miss."

"Good morning. I'd actually forgot you were coming today."

Will snorted. "I already told you, I ain't goin' to let a cou ple of 'oity-toits keep me from the most interestin' job I've ever 'ad!"

"Right. Well, in this case, I don't think Wigmere would mind a great deal. So very much has happened! I'm sure he'll want to know about it as soon as possible." Then I filled Will in on all the details of the Black Sun break-in and Awi Bubu's intervention. When I finished, he whistled in appreciation. "Can't wait to 'ear what ol' Wiggy says about all that."

"Surely he will agree that it is of utmost importance. Besides"—I perked up—"you can tell him Fagenbush hasn't arrived yet so I can't very well use him. Now, did you get everything? Do you want to repeat it back to me?"

"No, I got it." He tipped his cap to me. "Be back soon, with instructions," he said.

As I pulled my eyes away from Will, I noticed a lone figure hurrying into the museum. Stilton had arrived. At the sight of him, I felt my anger at last night's betrayal return in full force. He and I needed to have a talk.

I decided to wait for Stilton in his office, ambush him, as it were. It was the least he deserved for betraying me—our entire museum!—to Trawley, leading that wretched man into our midst to steal something.

I didn't have to wait long. Stilton let himself into his office looking drawn and pale. He was clearly distracted and didn't even see me until I cleared my throat. He flinched so hard, he dropped the small white box he'd been carrying; it landed on the floor with a faint plop.

"Miss Theodosia!" he said. "You startled me."

"Well, I'm very sorry about that, but we need to talk."

He quickly and guiltily averted his eyes from mine and bent to retrieve his package. When he stood back up, a warm, rich smell wafted toward me. My stomach growled. Mortified, I clamped my hand over my middle and prayed he hadn't heard.

Rather tentatively, he held the box out to me. "I-I th-thought you might be hungry this morning, what with staying here last night and all."

He looked so miserable and hopeful all at once that a small portion of my ire disappeared. "Thank you," I said, taking the box. Of course, it didn't hurt that he'd brought food as a peace offering. When I opened the box, hot cross buns peeked out. "Oh, thank you!" I said again, this time with much more feeling. I plucked one from the box, savoring the warmth on my fingers.

While Stilton hung up his hat and overcoat, I perched on the edge of a chair and devoured my bun.

"Have another," he said, taking a seat at his desk.

"Aren't you going to have any?" I asked, reaching for a second one.

He shook his head. "I'm not hungry. They're all for you. And Henry, if you think he'd like some."

I took a third then closed the box, realizing I should save some for Henry. Besides, it might make a good peace offering over the Book Incident.

Stilton truly did look awful. He had dark shadows under his eyes, and his whole demeanor was dejected and droopy. "So," I said. "About last night..."

Stilton looked away and began gathering some papers. "I'm most sorry about that, Miss Theo."

I waited for him to elaborate, but he became very busy shuffling his papers and trying to get them in the right order. "Stilton," I finally said in exasperation. "What on earth possessed you to allow Trawley and the others to come into the museum after hours?"

His shoulders slumped and he tossed the pile of papers back on his desk. "I had no choice, actually."

"What do you mean, you had no choice?" Adults always had choices; it was us children who were usually boxed in.

"He would have booted me from the Order." He looked distraught at the prospect.

"Would that really have been so very bad?" I asked gently.

Stilton's appalled gaze flew to mine. "Oh, yes! It would be terrible! Th-they're my family."

"They're not much of a family," I pointed out.

He looked away and began fiddling with the pen on his blotter. "They're all I have, miss."

"But what about your real family? Don't you have any brothers or sisters?" It was rather rude, asking such personal questions, but it seemed important that I understand Stilton better. Especially if I had any hope of ever trusting him.

"Four brothers and two sisters, miss. All older than me." He glanced up and blinked rapidly. "You might say I'm the runt of the litter. In fact, my father often did," he said, making a valiant attempt at humor. He hauled himself to his feet and went over to study his bookshelf as if he were looking for something. "My brothers were all big, burly fellows, you see, and I, I wasn't. I was sickly as a child."

I could only imagine the horror of being sickly with four hale and hearty older brothers to give you grief about it. "What about at school? Surely there were others like you there."

"Not much luck there either, I'm afraid." He continued studying the bookshelf as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. "Wasn't good at sports. And, you probably wouldn't know it, but I used to stutter a bit too."

No need to spell out what that meant. I suddenly had a vision of a scrawny, stuttering ten-year-old Stilton and all the beastliness that awaited him at school; how utterly alone he must have been.

"The Arcane Order of the Black Sun is the first place I've ever managed to fit in. They didn't care how tall I was or how strong. We shared a common interest that made everything else irrelevant." He turned from the bookshelf and straightened his shoulders a bit. "I guess you could say it's the fellowship part of it. Being united with colleagues in a common p-purpose."

An awkward silence opened up between us. "But Stilton, what is their purpose? Do you know? Why did Trawley break in here last night?"

Stilton ran a hand through his hair, and I saw that it was shaking. Badly. "To look for the staff that Whiting told him about. But also to test my loyalty. M-my punishment for not being able to manage you better."

Manage me?

"The loyalty test is normally used only when one becomes a full initiate of the Seventh Level, but the night before last Trawley administered it to me."

I was almost afraid to ask. Almost. "And what is this loyalty test?"

"The Trial of Nephthys." His words were clipped and short, as if it pained him to utter them.

Nephthys was the goddess of darkness and decay, the female counterpart to Seth as well as his consort. She was also thought to be the mother of Anubis, the jackal-headed god of mummification. Any ritual or trial involving her would not be pleasant.

"I was also forced to utter a negative confession."

"Like they use in the Weighing of the Heart ceremony?" That was surprising. I considered Trawley a bit of a charlatan; I hadn't realized his knowledge of Egyptian rituals ran that deep.

Stilton nodded. "'I have not betrayed my brethren,'" he repeated. "'I have not served another master, I have not uttered a falsehood. I have not acted deceitfully.' Then I was put into a man-sized box, and the lid was sealed shut." He attempted another smile. "Didn't realize I was a touch claustrophobic."

"I'm so sorry," I said, feeling as if it were all my fault.

Stilton looked up, his haunted eyes clearing a little. "It's not your fault, Theo. I had never seen that side of the supreme master before. There's something changed in him." Stilton's eyes glazed over for a moment, then he visibly pulled himself together. "Besides, there was no permanent harm done."

Which of course had me wondering what temporary harm had befallen him, but I decided I would bite my tongue off before asking. He had clearly suffered a great deal and the particulars were none of my business. Besides, I could look up the Trial of Nephthys later and read about the details then.

Not wishing to intrude on Stilton any longer, I thanked him for the buns, tucked the box under my arm, and got up to leave. When I reached the door, he stopped me.

"Miss Theo, if there is ever any way I can make it up to you, please let me know."

He was so miserable looking that I couldn't help but give him a reassuring smile. "I'm sure I'll think of something."

Then I went in search of Henry.

I found him playing with his tin soldiers in front of the grate in the family withdrawing room. I had time only to plop the box in front of him and say, "I've found out what happened to your book, Henry," when Grandmother Throckmorton's voice rang out from the foyer. "Theodosia! Madame Wilkie and I are here for your dress fitting!"

I closed my eyes and tried not to scream in frustration. Once I had my temper firmly under control, I opened my eyes again. "There is an explanation," I told Henry. "And it is not me. Do not tell Mum and Dad until we've had a chance to talk."

I left him attacking the hot cross buns and went to Grandmother.