Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE Will Be Nimble, Will Be Quick

MANY THINGS HAPPENED AT ONCE. Von Braggenschnott shouted something in German as he and four others scrambled after Awi Bubu. Sopcoate bellowed in rage, leaped forward, grabbed me, and held me in an iron grip. There was a shrill cry of attack as the remaining Serpents of Chaos, including Trawley's former colleagues, threw themselves on Aloysius Trawley and his three remaining men.

Ignoring Sopcoate's viselike grip biting painfully into my shoulder, I craned my neck around in time to see Kimosiri step forward to block von Braggenschnott and the others from reaching his master. But there were too many. As Kimosiri fought single-handedly with three of them, von Braggenschnott and another Serpent pelted down the ramp after Awi Bubu and the tablet.

I held my breath, praying that the magician had managed to get away. My hopes were quickly dashed when I saw four Serpents of Chaos escorting him back up the ramp.

Sopcoate's gloating voice tickled my ear. "We had all the exits covered."

Kimosiri, who'd just knocked out the third man he'd been fighting, turned to see his master held captive. With a bellow of fury, he launched himself from the obelisk step onto the group of seven Serpents surrounding Awi Bubu.

There were now so many bodies around the little Egyptian that I couldn't catch a glimpse of him.

Stilton stood rather helplessly nearby, looking from Sopcoate to me, unsure what to do. "Go help them!" I told him.

"But what about you?" he asked.

"I'll be fine, go!"

He stiffened his jaw, clenched his hands, and then ran up the steps to where the others were and threw himself into the melee. I closed my eyes briefly and realized that if we survived all this, he and I would have to have a serious discussion about strategizing.

From somewhere in the midst of all those men, I heard Awi's voice call out faintly, "The orb, Little Miss, the orb!"

Kimosiri detached himself from the flailing arms and legs and staggered to my side. He was holding his left arm awkwardly, and blood streamed from his nose. He reached for my satchel to retrieve the orb for Awi.

My hand snaked into my pocket where the orb lay, a cold hard presence against my leg. "Kimosiri!" I yelled. "Here!" He looked up from the satchel, and before Sopcoate could guess at my movement, I yanked my hand from my pocket and lobbed the orb at Kimosiri.

Except it is hard to throw something when one is being held in a viselike grip, so my toss fell rather short. Kimosiri dove to the ground, caught the orb, then was back on his feet again in one flowing movement. He waded into the fight once more, wielding his elbows and feet like billy clubs.

A second later, golden light burst from the huddle of men. Some fell back, clamping their eyes shut against the fierce glow. Through the thinned crowd, I was able to see Awi Bubu on his knees tapping out a quick pattern on the orb's symbols. There was a faint humming sound, then the evening exploded in a deafening roar and a flash of blinding light.

Sopcoate kept a tight hold on me as we were knocked to the ground.

I blinked my eyes repeatedly, and when I could see again, Kimosiri was helping Awi Bubu to his feet; Awi still had the tablet in his hand. The rest of the Chaos agents lay scattered on the ground, some of them quiet, some groaning.

Catching my eye, Awi Bubu tried to bow, then grimaced painfully and clutched his side. He turned to leave, and Sopcoate called out, "Wait!" as he struggled to his feet, dragging me along with him.

Awi stopped, and I saw now that one of his eyes was swollen shut, and his left arm hung at an odd angle. He was bleeding from a cut on his lip, and there was a long gash along his forehead. He held his body gingerly, as if something were broken.

Sopcoate reached into his pocket, then I felt the press of something cold against my temple. "The girl," he said quietly. "If you don't hand over the tablet—and that orb—I'll kill the girl."

Everything inside me went still, and every clever or useful idea I'd ever had flew from my head.

Awi Bubu seemed rather stunned too. He looked at me, then at Sopcoate, then at the tablet itself, the lone map to a cache of artifacts so powerful they made the orb seem like a child's toy. What horrid mayhem could Chaos create with power such as that? Even so, I couldn't quite nod my head to give him permission to leave. I'm not that brave.

Awi Bubu's shoulders slumped. "Very well," he said.

Still keeping the pistol firmly against my head, Sopcoate said, "Put them on the bottom step."

His eyes glued on Sopcoate, Awi Bubu did as instructed.

Sopcoate lifted the gun from my temple and waved it at Awi. "Now back away slowly."

As Awi slowly backed up the steps, I heard a rustle of movement from behind the sphinx. Had Sopcoate heard? I slanted my gaze toward his face, but he was totally focused on Awi Bubu's progress up the stairs.

Which is why he never saw the rock that came flying through the night air and thwapped him sharply in the forehead. He bellowed, then let go of me as he staggered with pain. That was the only chance I needed. I ducked down out of his reach. He bellowed again and tried to come after me but was assaulted with another rock, this one striking his hand and causing him to drop his gun.

Without pausing to think, I leaped after the gun and kicked it with all my might, sending it swirling into the darkness.

With the gun safely gone, Will raced out of the shadows and headed straight for the tablet and orb sitting on the bottom step. "Run, miss!" he shouted. Without breaking his stride, he snatched the artifacts from the ground, jumped over two of the bodies lying in his way, and disappeared into the trees lining the far side of the Embankment.

"After him!" Sopcoate bellowed.

The few remaining Serpents of Chaos left their positions standing over the fallen Black Sunners and took off in hot pursuit.

Awi collapsed to his knees. Kimosiri knelt beside him, but Awi waved him away. "No, go after the boy. See that he is safe."

Kimosiri paused, clearly not wanting to leave. "Go, my faithful friend," Awi said with command in his voice. "And may the gods be with you."

As Kimosiri got to his feet, he sent Sopcoate a look of such utter loathing that I was surprised it didn't strike him dead on the spot. Then Kimosiri loped into the trees after the others with long powerful strides.

I tried to stand, but my legs weren't working properly, so I began to crawl over to Awi Bubu, who had collapsed completely once Kimosiri was out of sight. Before I could reach him, something snaked out and grabbed my clothes to pull me back.

"Oh, no, you don't." Blast! Sopcoate held on to me like a bulldog.

I strained against his grip, hoping my beastly dress would tear and let me escape, but no such luck. Using my skirt as a sort of fishing line, he began reeling me in. I strained even harder, using everything I had to get away from him.

A figure emerged from the thick fog behind him. I blinked, unable to believe my eyes. Then a sturdy cane arced through the air and descended on Sopcoate's head with a resounding thwack. He dropped me like a hot potato and whirled around to find—

"Grandmother?" I said in disbelief.