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"Is a friend," I said "Bast’s friend He’s also our driver"

Carter looked equal parts confused, annoyed, and uneasy, whichto my birthday party

"Driver to where?" he asked

"Russia, of course," I said "Hop in"

9 We Get a Vertically Challenged Tour of Russia

AS USUAL, SADIE LEFT OUT some important details, like how Walt and I nearly killed ourselves trying to find her

It wasn’t fun, flying to the Brooklyn Museuriffin’s belly like a couple of Tarzans, dodging policeency workers, city officials, and several old ladies who chased after us with ubird! Kill it!"

Once we h with us, but the gate of swirling sand kind of…well, freaked hiot to London, television e of Waterloo Station--soe disturbance inside the terminal with escaped animals and windstorms Gee, wonder who that could have been? We used Walt’s aod to sue Of course, we landed right in the middle of a heavily armed riot squad Just luck that I remembered the sleep spell

Then, finally, ere ready to charge in and save Sadie, and she rides up in a lily dwarf in a swi late

So when she told us the das driving us to Russia, I was like, "Whatever" And I got into the car

The lih Westminster while Sadie, Walt, and I traded stories

After hearing what Sadie had been through, I didn’t feel so bad about my day A drea roorandparents I’d never liked Gran and Gramps that much, but still--yikes

I also couldn’t believe our chauffeur was Bes Dad and I used to laugh about his pictures in eneral lack of clothing Supposedly, he could scare away alods--which is why the Egyptian couy…um, which wasn’t meant as a dwarf joke In the flesh, he looked exactly like his pictures, only in full color, with full smell

"We owe you," I told him "So you’re a friend of Bast’s?"

His ears turned red "Yeah…sure She asks me for a favor once in a while I try to help out"

I got the feeling there was soo into

"When Horus spoke to ht try to stop us frouess we knoho"

Sadie exhaled "If they didn’t like our plan, an angry text e would’ve done Nekhbet and Babi alreen Her combat boots were splattered with shampoo and mud, and her favorite leather jacket had a stain on the shoulder that looked suspiciously like vulture poop Still, I was impressed that she was conscious Potions are hard to make and even harder to use There’s always a price for channeling that reat," I told her

Sadie looked resentfully at the black knife in her lap--the cereiven her "I’d be dead if not for Bes"

"Nah," Bes said "Well, okay, you probably would be But you would’ve gone down in style"

Sadie turned the strange black knife as if she ht find instructions written on it

"It’s a netjeri," I said "A serpent blade Priests used it for--"

"The opening-of-the-mouth ceremony," she said "But how does that help us?"

"Don’t know," I admitted "Bes?"

"Death rituals I try to avoid theic ite attention Ever since Sadie had told us about her talk with Anubis, Walt had been awfully quiet He sat next to her, fidgeting with his rings

"You okay?" I asked hilanced at Sadie "About netjeri blades, I ed at her hair, like she was trying to make a curtain between her and Walt The tension between theh it

"Bloody Anubis," she muttered "I could have died, for all he cared"

We drove in silence for a while after that Finally, Bes turned onto Weste and doubled back over the Tha? We need a portal All the best artifacts are at the British Museuicians know that"

"Other icians?" I asked

"Kid, the House of Life has branches all over the world London is the Ninth No flare telling Desjardins’ followers, Here I a you now They’ll be covering the museum in case you make a run for it Fortunately, I know a different place we can open a portal"

Schooled by a dwarf It should’ve occurred to icians The House of Life was everywhere Outside the security of Brooklyn House, there wasn’t a single continent where we’d be safe