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"It’s too late," he said "I’ve hurt her too much I wish I could turn back the clock, but…"

He faltered Tawaret alking toward us, leading the frog goddess by the arm

"Now, dear," Tawaret said, "just co"

"But it’s a leap of faith," Heket croaked (I mean she made that sound; she didn’t die in front of us, thankfully) "My temple is around here somewhere It was in Qus Lovely city"

"Yes, dear," Tawaret said "But your teone You have a nice bedrooh--"

"No," Heket murmured "The priests will have sacrifices for e yellow eyes on ht before it’s zapped by a frog tongue

"That’s my priestess!" Heket said "She’s come to visit me"

"No, dear," Tawaret said "That’s Sadie Kane"

"My priestess" Heket patted my shoulder with her e "Tell the te later Will you tell them?"

"Um, yeah," I said "Of course, Lady Heket"

"Good, good" Her eyes beca…"

"Yes, dear," Tawaret said "Why don’t you lie down in one of these rooms for now?"

She shepherded Heket into the nearest vacant room

Bes followed her with sad eyes "I’m a terrible dwarf"

Perhaps I should’ve reassured hi on to other matters Start without me, Heket had said A leap of faith

Suddenly I found it hard to breathe

"Sadie?" Carter asked "What’s wrong?"

"I knohy the scroll isn’t guiding us," I said "I have to start the second part of the spell"

"But we’re not there yet," Carter said

"And on’t be unless I start the spell It’s part of finding Ra"

"What is?" Tawaret appeared at Bes’s side and almost scared the dwarf out of his Hawaiian shirt

"The spell," I said "I have to take a leap of faith"

"I think the frog goddess infected her," Carter fretted

"No, you dolt!" I said "This is the only way to find Ra I’m sure of it"

"Hey, kid," Bes said, "if you start that spell, and we don’t find Ra by the ti it--"

"I know The spell will backfire" When I said backfire, I meant it quite literally If the spell didn’t find its proper target, the power of the Book of Ra ht blow up in my face

"It’s the only way," I insisted "We don’t have time to wander the halls forever, and Ra will only appear if we invoke hi the risk You’ll have to lead me I can’t stue, dear" Tawaret held up her torch "Don’t worry, I’ll guide you Just do your reading"

I opened the scroll to the second section The rows of hieroglyphs, which had once seemed like disconnected phrases of rubbish, now made perfect sense

"‘I invoke the na, lord of the noonday sun, who sits upon the throne of fire…’"

Well, you get the idea I described how Ra rose fro on the pri life to the Nile Valley As I read, I felt war"

Hard not to panic when soht Sray that drifted down the hallway

"Is itus the way? Ow!"

He said that last part because I sto e: Shut up and start walking

Tawaret took uided uards We followed the trail of sht of stairs The Book of Ra becaan obscuring the letters

"You’re doing well, Sadie," Tawaret said "This hallway looks familiar"

I don’t kno she could tell, but I stayed focused on the scroll I described Ra’s sun boat sailing across the sky I spoke of his kingly wisdoainst Apophis

A bead of sweat trickled down an to burn I hoped they weren’t literally on fire

When I came to the line, "Ra, the sun’s zenith…" I realized we’d stopped in front of a door