Chapter 3 #4
It’s your turn now.
What did that mean? What did any of this mean?
“Well, we’ve confirmed that the relic communes with the dead,” one of the nameless men offered. “That’ll earn your family some standing when it comes time to tithe.”
Everett grunted and turned his attention to Ezra. “Give it here, then.”
Oh, he was so much like the aamus who came to Luxor with their shovels and picks. Men who did nothing but take. Ezra’s fingers tightened around the chain. His veins still felt restless.
Hugo took another draw from his cigarette, eyes narrowing. The glow had vanished from Ezra’s skin, but the magician was still staring too closely, as if he were shining like tomb treasure. “I find it curious, why Ezra here was the only one who was able to remove the amulet.”
Curious indeed. Was it because he was half Egyptian? Or because he’d always seen magic?
No more questions.
They’ll strip your magic. He didn’t doubt Celia’s warnings, not with the way Hugo and Everett were now watching him. Gently, Ezra set the relic back into its nest of linens.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Celia jumped in. “He’s one of those rare men who reads the instructions. Even if they are in hieroglyphics.”
The mouthful of smoke Hugo blew out curled above the booth like a question mark. “But why did it make him glow and not Rose here, hm?”
Everett only shrugged as he folded the linen back over the amulet and pocketed the treasure.
“Ancient Egypt was full of mysteries. That’s why everyone is so obsessed with it these days…
Pyramids, secret chambers, mummies, pharaohs, tombs, curses, riches waiting to be unearthed. It’s all quite exhilarating.”
“I’m fairly certain I have several letters from you whining about how the camels wouldn’t stop spitting at you,” Hugo said dryly.
Ezra fought back a snort.
“What about you, Ezra?” The magician regarded him with narrowed eyes again. “Have you gone on many exotic digs?”
Don’t talk about your mother. Don’t talk about how Nour’s scarf flapped in the hot wind while the Sahara sang lullabies.
How, once or twice, she’d taken Ezra to a tomb that had somehow stayed hidden from the teams of British archaeologists combing the Valley of the Kings.
He’d been too young then to understand the importance of what his mother had uncovered.
He simply loved the space for the way it had glittered—so many jewels and gold, glinting against Nour’s lamp.
There’d been other digs too, of course. His mother had made a living as a guide and a translator for men like Lord Blackwood. But that was the tomb that stood out in his memory.
A secret place.
Just for them.
“So far my studies have been contained to books and artifacts.” It wasn’t a lie, technically. “Maybe one day I’ll get to go to Egypt.”
“Avoid the camels,” advised Hugo. “The locals can be a bit bristly as well, I hear, but what else can you expect from backward desert folk?”
“I’d imagine they’re miffed that their nation’s treasures are being shipped off by the boatload,” Ezra replied tightly.
“Yes, well.” Hugo blew out another stream of smoke, which took the shape of a serpent and curled around his shining ring before slithering out of the booth.
“I understand the grudge, but really it’s better for everyone in the long run.
What would you rather have? Secrets lost to the sands, or a system where educated men such as yourself can study them in world-class institutions?
Why let all that knowledge stay buried if you have museums waiting to display it?
And that’s not even taking the relics into consideration!
Ancient Egyptians were up to some truly revolutionary magic, but their modern counterparts…
Let’s just say it’s better to have magicians of standing handling the pieces. ”
Like Everett? Ezra glared at the young man who’d pocketed the amulet. He hadn’t bothered to check on Rose, even though she was passed out right beside him.
“Will Rose be all right?” he asked.
“Oh, I’m sure she’ll be fine.” Hugo waved through his screen of smoke. “She won’t even remember this incident once she wakes up. None of you will.”
At the other end of the booth, Celia stood. “Yes, well, perhaps I should ensure Rose makes it to a proper bed before then. To save you two the trouble.” Her laugh reminded Ezra of a tightrope performance. She did not wobble as she turned toward him. “Would you mind helping me carry her out?”
“Leaving so soon? You haven’t even tried your drink!” Hugo nodded at the cocktail. “We can toast to being subpar second sons! The life of the party and death of family legacies!”
None of the glass’s frost had melted, and while the drink still smelled as delicious as before, Ezra found that he no longer had an appetite for it. There was too much hunger at this table already.
“Next time,” he said, swinging his satchel around to his back before scooping Rose into his arms. The flapper wasn’t nearly as light as she acted.
Nor was Hugo so jovial. His smile had stiffened around the edges—if he’d been showing his teeth, the expression might qualify as a snarl. “Next time, then, Mr. Bright. I’ll hold you to that.”
The Seek and Find felt changed as Ezra followed Celia back through its warped mirror landscape.
It wasn’t just that icicles now jutted from the bar top, or the fact that there were more dorsal fins slicing through the pool.
It was the revelers too. The crowd had grown wilder—men were wearing wolfskins and women howled, their jewel-tipped fingernails flashing like claws.
The glitter looked as sharp as shrapnel.
It gets a bit messy, but most people don’t mind losing themselves here.
Ezra tightened his grip around Rose as he walked past the dance floor.
He wasn’t going to lose himself too. Not to rage or grief or cursed amulets or entitled magicians or whatever the hell kind of magic lurked in his veins.
No, Ezra decided.
He was going to follow Celia Sinclair back out of the magical mirror.
And then he was going to find some answers.