“This doesn’t look good,” Simon said, nervously eyeing the ceiling and the ground. “Is the floor going to crumble or something? Should you be doing that?”
A repetition of clunking noises reverberated in the hall.
“It’s just the door opening. Don’t worry. I’ve seen my aunt do this lots of times.”
Just then, the panels holding his wrists slid back and the door opened automatically.
“What did I tell you?” Will said, walking into the generous office.
“Are we supposed to be in here?” Cami asked, taking in the rounded room and the weird artifacts stacked about. There were piles of books everywhere and shelves loaded with swords, a skull, and odd-shaped jars. Near the entryway sat a sarcophagus overflowing with coins, goblets, and even jewelry.
“Was your great-grandfather a pirate or something?” Andrew asked, ogling the loot.
“No, he was not a pirate. He was a collector, a protector of historic items. Items with special powers.” Will walked behind the tank of a mahogany desk at the rear of the room and turned toward the fireplace on the back wall. “Guys, I need you to turn around. I’ve got to do something here.”
They did as they were told and all three friends faced the entryway. Though Simon had to make a comment as he turned. “If water starts filling this place, or anything peculiar happens, I want you to know that I am leaving, Will. I mean it.”
Will already had his hands on the heads of the two stone angels carved into the fireplace. He spun them simultaneously. A panel above the mantel slid to the side and a weathered, olive-colored book emerged. He returned the angel heads to their original positions and invited his friends to come behind the desk.
“Andrew, can you pick the book up and place it on the desktop?” Will asked.
“Are you going to do a magic trick or something?” Andrew responded.
“No, I’m not doing a magic trick. I just can’t touch it yet.”
Cami’s eyes narrowed. “Why can’t you touch it?”
“You’ll see in a minute,” Will said.
Andrew lifted the huge book from the mantel. Seven hinged locks, each a unique sculpted claw or hand, wrapped around the outer edge of the book. Every lock but one marked a different page in the great volume. Andrew carefully laid it on the desk.
Will’s friends gathered around to stare at the book. Aged copper curlicues surrounded a leather panel at the center of the cover. The strange gold calligraphy on the panel read:
The Prophecy of Abbot Anthony the Wise
The Lord came to me upon the waters and said:
Take thee a great book and write upon it as I instruct thee.
My spirit trembled, for the visions He placed in my head frightened me.
Still, I write in obedience:
In those days, when the people have grown hard of heart
and belief has dwindled;
when wickedness has become commonplace; and the Brethren have broken their unity;
then shall I raise up a young one to lead them.
He shall be the firstborn of the root of Wilder.
He shall have the sight of the angels
and perceive darkness from light.
Behold, when his time is ripe, he shall come riding on a colt, the foal of a donkey, and his blood shall spill.
This shall be the sign that the battle is near
and all must prepare.
For in those days the beasts shall rise from the pit
to test my people…
“A donkey. You rode a donkey at your brother’s birthday party. And your hand was bleeding.” Simon backed away a bit. “Who are you leading, Will? Who are the beasts?”
“Calm down, Simon. I’ll explain everything later. Have you seen what is happening outside? Look out the window.”
Simon turned to the arched slit of a window behind him. Thousands and thousands of frogs swarmed over the land outside Peniel’s gates.
“Do you want that to continue? Do you want to see worse?” Will told him. “I have to read the new prophecy to see what’s coming and what I’m supposed to do.” Will threw his pith helmet onto the desktop and extended his hands toward the ancient book.
“Is there some key to open it?” Cami whispered.
“Just my hands. When the time is right, the next prophecy opens for me.” Will drew a deep breath, rubbed his palms together, and grabbed the sides of the book. It quivered at his touch. The first lock, which resembled a reptilian forearm and claw, snapped open. Then the second lock, a carved hairy arm with talons, unhinged as well.
The three friends startled at the suddenness of the book’s action.
“Oh no, oh no,” Simon kept saying, jigging as if he needed to make a bathroom run.
“It’s okay, Simon. It’s time.” Will gawked at the book as it slowly spread open to the second prophecy. Andrew and Cami did not so much as breathe. Simon panted in the corner, nervously eyeing the exposed prophecy. “It’s just a book; it’s just a book; it’s just a book,” he whispered to himself.
Will leaned over the volume and read the slanted calligraphy:
The Lord came upon the waters again and spoke:
Woe to my rebellious children who carry out a plan not mine own;
They make a pact with the Darkness
and seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt.
They embrace the idols of the Sinestri and wallow in their anger.
The day of their calamity is at hand.
When the Staff of Moses is taken by force, the Darkness shall stir once more.
For then the second of the SEVEN beasts shall rise.
This one hides itself,
feeding off the wrath of the people and the fatted geese.
This raven wolf of death shall use Moses’s staff to unleash plagues upon the people.
But it is my chosen one it seeks to destroy.
For at the conclusion of the three days of darkness,
the last plague will bring death to the firstborn of the house of Wilder.
To save himself and the people,
my chosen one must wield a staff even more powerful than the rod of Moses:
the STAFF OF AARON.
Both staffs must be retrieved and safeguarded or all will be lost.
To preserve his vision and commit no evil,
my chosen one must forsake all anger.
I shall give him authority over the unclean spirit,
but he must take nothing to confront the beast except Aaron’s staff.
Silence and trust shall be his strength,
and assure his victory over AMON.
A great rush of air suddenly whipped through the room. From the sarcophagus near the door, coins and gold cups tinkled onto the floor. The stone casket seemed to be coughing up everything within it.
“I knew it. I knew something peculiar would happen. We shouldn’t be here,” Simon squeaked.
Will grabbed a rusted sword from the shelf along the wall. He nervously pointed it toward the sarcophagus. A pair of hands thrust up through the coins still in the stone box. The kids screamed in terror as the hands clutched the outer walls of the coffin.
Cami threw her arms around the hysterical Simon.
“You’ve got super vision. Is that a rising beast?” Andrew asked, a lump in his throat. “Is that a rising BEAST?”
“I’m not sure,” Will murmured.
Brother Philip and Valens led Tobias and Bartimaeus down several frescoed hallways. They passed through the shadowy outer herb garden and into the remains of a thirteenth-century monastery, reconstructed on Peniel’s grounds.
Philip whispered sideways to Tobias as they marched down the stone hallway. “I went to Baldwin’s office to ask him for the keys to the mechanical shed. Valens had been helping me in the workshop, so he came along too. I needed some gears for a project I’m working on. We walk in. The vicar’s gone. I figured we’d borrow the key to the shed and leave him a note.”
“I fetched the ke
y from the cabinet on the wall,” Valens said, wide-eyed. “Philip began writing his note at the desk and that’s when he kicked it with his foot.”
“Kicked what?” Shen asked.
Philip threw open the door to Baldwin’s tight, neat office. There were schedules on the wall and shelves of old volumes arranged by size. A pair of bronze boxing gloves on the middle shelf acted as a bookend. Only a fountain pen and some writing papers populated the vicar’s desk. Brother Philip pulled back the chair as if exposing a murder weapon.
“See for yourselves,” he whispered accusingly.
Shen squatted down. Jammed between the wall and the desk, something glinted in the dark. He pulled at the gold, jewel-encrusted object, freeing it from its hiding place.
“That’s the covering of Moses’s staff. Don’t this beat all?” Bartimaeus said. “And the vicar was trying to pin the robbery on Will and me. So where’s the sapphire staff?”
“Baldwin probably knows where it is,” Philip piped up. “I’m only glad Valens found it with me or people might have thought I had planted it.”
Tobias Shen stared at the golden covering, his eyebrows rising. “We should inform the abbot, and for the time being, let us tell Baldwin nothing.”
“Whatever you say, Tobias,” Philip droned. “But you have to admit, it doesn’t look good for the vicar. Come on, Valens, I need those gears.”
Valens nodded apologetically and left with Philip.
“If we can’t find that staff, we’ve got to help defuse its power.” Bartimaeus scratched at his forehead. “There must be somethin’ we can do to protect this town.”
Tobias rapped the edge of Bart’s crutches with the jeweled sleeve. “I have an idea.” His broad smile caused creases to erupt all over his face. “We shall take matters into our own hands. We must move quick, quick. Get the key to the garage, but don’t leave a note, Bart.”
“If he wants a note, the vicar’ll have to get a pen pal,” Bartimaeus said, reaching into the key cabinet.
Whatever crawled up from the sarcophagus in Jacob Wilder’s office did not slow its advance. Will ordered his friends to stay behind the desk. He drew closer to the stone coffin while more coins and golden trinkets tumbled to the floor.
Will held the rusty sword over his head and waited for the thing to emerge from the casket of coins and jewels. Cami and Simon huddled in the corner. Andrew stood beside Will, his fists at the ready in case his help was needed.
Then all at once, with a spray of coins, Aunt Lucille popped up in the sarcophagus.
“I had forgotten how much junk my father piled into this thing,” she said, breathing hard. “I thought it would be quicker to come this way rather than fight my way through the frogs. Though maybe I was wrong.” She started to laugh, running her hands through her strawberry-blond locks. Her mood instantly darkened when she saw Will’s friends. “Oh, Will, what have you done? Your friends shouldn’t be part of this. Do you realize the danger you’ve placed them in?”
“Danger? What kind of danger?” Simon asked, shell-shocked. “Wait. How did you get here?”
“That’s a bit involved.” Aunt Lucille stood up in the coffin and shook some coins from her silken sleeves. She spied the open Book of Prophecy on the desktop and shot daggers at Will. “Well, everyone has read it, I suppose,” she complained. “Time for me to have a go.” She excused herself and walked behind the desk, reading the words she had protected for more than forty years.
After scanning the calligraphy, she asked, “So where is Amon? Have you seen the demon, Will?”
“No, ma’am. All I know is Max told us that a raven was coming. Amon must be the raven,” Will said.
Simon wandered over to the empty sarcophagus and tapped the floor of the stone casket with his foot. “Miss Lucille, how did you get in here? Is there a trick door?”
“Something like that,” she said, turning back to Will. “We must locate the staff, dear. We can’t risk the demon unleashing any more plagues. Each one puts you in more peril.”
Will’s legs turned to jelly at her words. He started to lose his balance.
Aunt Lucille caught him by the shoulders. “No fear now…I won’t let anything happen to you, Will.”
“I know you won’t,” he said, only half convinced. “It’s just…the prophecy says that the last plague brings death to the firstborn of the house of Wilder—that’s me! The demon ‘seeks to destroy’ ME!”
“It seeks to destroy us all. We’ll find the staff before anything happens,” Aunt Lucille said stoically. “We’ve got to.” Will and his friends told Lucille everything they had observed at Bobbit’s Bestiary and the Karnak Center: the delivery of the geese, how Sarsour tried to kill them, and about the bones and potions in the basement.
“Do you all think Pothinus Sab knows who or what is eating the fattened geese?” Aunt Lucille asked.
“He could be eating the geese himself. Maybe he’s Amon?” Cami wondered.
“Let’s not repeat that name too much,” Aunt Lucille whispered, shaking a finger at Cami. “Amon is a demon—a very ancient, powerful demon. It feeds off hatred and anger. It will whip up resentment wherever it can. The prophecy says that the people ‘embrace the idols of the Sinestri’—but what idols? Have you seen people with idols?”
“Sinestri? My brother had a dream about that,” Cami said, inching toward Aunt Lucille. “What is a Sinestri?”
“They’re a league of major demons. The enemy. I don’t mean to scare you children, and I wish you knew nothing of this. But you’re so far in that there is no turning back now. Will’s great-grandfather battled these beasts and we continue to battle them today.”
Simon’s eyes were the size of Ping-Pong balls. Andrew frowned, his hands in his pockets, as if the thoughts racing through his head actually hurt. Cami furiously stroked the end of her ponytail, trying to process all she was hearing.
Aunt Lucille opened her arms to the kids in an obvious attempt to calm them. “Now look, it’s not as bad as you’re imagining. Demons are not all powerful. They can be defeated.” She placed her hands on her hips and looked each one of them in the eye. “As I think about it…maybe you all are meant to be in this battle. Each of you could aid Will and collect information. You could be our eyes and ears in town. Who would suspect a group of kids? But I must swear each of you to secrecy. The more people you share this with, even your families, the more danger you place us all in. You’re collaborators now. Can you keep the prophecy and Will’s role in it a secret?”
All three agreed. Andrew suddenly jumped, a light in his eyes. “Could this be an idol?” he asked Aunt Lucille. From his pocket he produced the small golden figurine he had pinched from the Karnak Center’s basement.
Aunt Lucille gingerly plucked the thing from Andrew’s palm with her two fingers. She turned it in the faint light leaking through the window and groaned. “It’s Ammit. See the crocodile head, the front legs of the lion, and the rear of a hippo? Ammit is an Egyptian mythological creature—a rather nasty one.”
“Wait, that crazy peewee at the Karnak Center said ‘Ammit’ when he came into the basement. Remember?” Simon said. “He was calling for Ammit.”
Cami and Andrew nodded in fearful affirmation.
“That’s very odd,” Aunt Lucille said, thoughtfully looking off in the distance. “Here’s what I know. At the final judgment, ancient Egyptians believed that the heart of the dead were weighed on a great scale—a feather on one side, the heart on the other. If the heart was heavy with sin, it tipped the scale, and Ammit consumed it. The creature was known as the Devourer of the Dead. I can’t imagine why anyone would want an amulet of such a horrible creature. Where did you get this?”
“From the basement of the Karnak Center—there were hundreds of them,” Andrew said.
She went to return it to him, but Andrew raised his hands, unwilling to touch the amulet again. “You can have it,” he said.
“The Karnak Center’s grand opening is tomorrow. Pothinus Sab i
s promising to protect people,” Cami said. “My mother is a huge fan of his. She’s even taking my brother there for some kind of therapy.”
Aunt Lucille snapped her fingers. “You all should tag along with Cami and her family. Afterward, come back and tell me everything you see. As risky as it is, you should go as well, Will. You’ll see things your friends might miss.” She raised her eyebrows for emphasis.
“I need to find the Staff of Moses and Aaron’s rod,” Will said.
“Sab could be your link to finding them. Figure out who is feeding on anger and the fattened geese and you’ll find the Staff of Moses,” Aunt Lucille said. “By the way, where is my key?” She raised an open palm to Will.
He sheepishly dug in his pocket and handed it over. “I had to read the prophecy.”
“I understand, dear,” she said bitingly, turning from him. Lucille asked Cami to step aside since she was standing in front of a black metal door built into the stone wall. Lucille slipped her key into the door’s lock. “You kids should go to the other side of the room, over by the sarcophagus.” Once they were in place, she turned the key and pried open the arched metal door.
Will squinted in anguish at what he saw inside. Swirling black shadows hovered over the assorted objects piled high within. A huge gilded mirror was turned on its side. What appeared to be a sculpture of a withered gray hand sat upright on a marble table. Aunt Lucille placed the amulet of Ammit next to the hand, closed the safe door, and engaged the lock.
“You may want to question that Mr. Bobbit,” Aunt Lucille advised, slipping the chain holding the key around her neck. “Surely he knows who’s eating his fowl.”
Will sidled up to Aunt Lucille. “What is that? Is it a safe?”
“It’s a thing you should never open,” she whispered. “My father stored dark artifacts there—anything he thought too dangerous to leave lying about.” She glimpsed fear in Will’s face. “You saw something inside?”
“Shadows. Lots of them,” he said gravely.
Lucille reached into the small front drawer of her father’s desk. “I want you to wear something for me.” She held up a simple silver ring with a circular glass bubble where a stone should have been. Inside, something solid and brown clung to the glass.
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