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At the , Sadie, Bes, Walt, and Zia were sitting around a table, playing a board gaht I

Then Sadie noticed I ake "Well, well Next time you take an extended ba trip, Carter, do let us know in advance It’s not fun carrying you up three flights of stairs"

I rubbed er than --calm and rested Her freshly washed hair ept behind her ears, and she wore a nehite sleeveless dress thatat her pretty hard, because she dropped her gaze Her throat turned red

"It’s three in the afternoon," she said "I’ve been up since ten this "

"You look--"

"Better?" She raised her eyebrows, like she was challenging ht I tried to escape This is our third hotel rooht fire," Bes said

"The second one exploded," Walt said

"I said I was sorry" Zia frowned "At any rate, your sister finally calmed me down"

"Which took several hours," Sadie said, "and all my diplomatic skill"

"You have diplomatic skill?" I asked

Sadie rolled her eyes "As if you’d notice, Carter!"

"Your sister is quite intelligent," Zia said "She convinced ment on your plans until you woke up and we could talk She’s quite persuasive"

"Thank you," Sadie said s of terror set in "You’re getting along? You can’t get along! You and Sadie can’t stand each other"

"That was a shabti, Carter," Zia said, though her neck was still bright red "I find Sadie…admirable"

"You see?" Sadie said "I’htmare" I sat up and the blankets fell away I looked down and found I earing Poké to kill you"

She batted her eyes innocently "But the street ood deal on those Walt said they would fit you"

Walt raised his hands "Don’t blame me, man I tried to stick up for you"

Bes snorted, then did a pretty good ie ones with Pikachu’ Carter, your stuff’s in the bathroo senet, or not?"

I stumbled into the bathroo for me--fresh underwear, jeans, and a T-shirt that did not feature Pikachu The showerelephant when I tried to turn it on, but Iwater in the sink and wash up as best I could

When I caood as new, but at least I didn’t soatsenet I’d heard of the game--supposedly one of the oldest in the world--but I’d never seen it played The board was a rectangle with blue-and-white-checkered squares, three rows of ten spaces each The game pieces hite and blue circles Instead of dice, you threw four strips of ivory like Popsicle sticks, blank on one side and ht the rules of this game were lost," I said

Bes raised an eyebrow "Maybe to you ot"

"It’s quite easy," Sadie said "You et all their pieces to the end wins"

"Ha!" Bes said "There’s much more to it than that It takes years to od?" Zia tossed the four sticks, and all of theave each other a high five Apparently, they were a team Sadie moved a blue piece and burumbled, "I told you not to move that piece!"

"It isn’t irls versus boys We’re playing for Vlad Menshikov’s sunglasses"

She held up the broken white shades that Set had given her in St Petersburg

"The world is about to end," I said, "and you’re galasses?"

"Hey,We’ve been talking for like, six hours, but we had to wait for you to wake up to ht?"

"Besides," Sadie said, "Bes assures us that you cannot play senet without ga It would shake the foundations of Ma’at"

"That’s true," said the dwarf "Walt, roll, already"

Walt threw the sticks and three came up blank

Bes cursed "We need a two to move out of the House of Re-Atoum, kid Did I not explain that?"

"Sorry!"