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She’d been watching over me for six years, she’d told us, ever since our parents released her froht the chaos snake Apophis forever

Long story, but my mum had foreseen that Apophis would eventually escape his prison, which would basically aht him alone, she’d be destroyed However, if Bast were freed,battle with Chaos So my parents freed her before Apophis could overwhel, Apophis’s prison; so naturally Bast felt indebted to our parents Bast had becouardian

Now she was also Carter and my chaperone, travel companion, and sometime personal chef (Hint: if she offers you the Friskies du Jour, say no)

But I still e to scratch Bast behind the ears and feed her crunchy treats, although I was glad she no longer tried to sleep on e

She finished her chant, and the scroll’s flames sputtered out My hand unclenched The papyrus dropped into my lap

"God, thank you," I said

"Goddess," Bast corrected "You’re quite welco up the city, can we?"

I looked out across the borough The fires were gone The Brooklyn night skyline was back to nor mortals in the streets Come to think of it, I suppose that was fairly norht the scroll was a clue Is this the actual Book of Ra?"

Bast’s ponytail puffed up as it does when she’s nervous I’d come to realize she kept her hair in a ponytail so that her entire head wouldn’t explode into a sea urchin shape each tiot startled

"The scroll is…part of the book," she said "And I did warn you Ra’s power is al to wake hiht not be so harmless"

"But isn’t he your pharaoh?" I asked "Don’t you want hiaze I realized how foolish o, he’d chosen her to be his champion But he was also the one who’d sent her into that prison to keep his archenemy Apophis occupied for eternity, so Ra could retire with a clear conscience Quite selfish, if you ask me

Thanks to my parents, Bast had escaped her ihting Apophis No wonder she had ain

"It’s best we talk in the ," Bast said "You need rest, and that scroll should only be opened in the daylight, when the power of Ra is easier to control"

I stared at"Easier to control…as in, it won’t set me on fire?"

"It’s safe to touch now," Bast assuredtrapped in darkness for a fewto any sort of energy--ical, electrical, emotional I’ve, ah, dialed down the sensitivity so it won’t burst into flaain"

I took the scroll Thankfully, Bast was right It didn’t stick to ht the city on fire

Bast helped me to ht Besides…" Sheday toht miserably One person remembers, and it’s my cat

I looked over at riffin It had Carter’s shoelaces in its beak and didn’t seeo

Most of our twenty trainees were surrounding Jaz, trying to wake her up Walt hadn’t left her side He glanced up at me briefly, uneasily, then turned his attention back to Jaz

"Maybe you’re right," I grumbled to Bast "I’m not needed up here"

My room was a lovely place to sulk The last six years I’d lived in an attic in Gran and Grah Iabout England, I couldn’t deny that my room in Brooklyn was much more posh

My private balcony overlooked the East River I had an enormous comfy bed, my own bathrooically appeared and cleaned themselves as needed The chest of drawers featured a built-in refrigerator with my favorite Ribena drinks, iirl does have to treat herself) The sound systeically soundproofed so I could playabouton the dresser was one of the only things I’d brought frorandparents had given o It was hopelessly old-fashioned, yes, but I kept it around for sentimental reasons Carter and I had recorded our adventures at the Red Pyramid on it, after all

I docked h my playlists I chose an older mix labeled sad, as that’s how I felt