Free Tut by P. J. Hoover

I’m sorry.”
    It was one of those awkward moments when neither person knows what to say, so Henry got up and started inspecting one of my feather fans.
    â€œYeah, it stinks,” I finally said. “But that’s the way things go.” I never had visitors, so I wasn’t really sure how to get rid of Henry.
    Just then, a shrieking alarm sounded three times. Horus’s ward. The door opened, and in came Gil, carrying Chinese food containers.
    â€œWhy the ward…?” Gil started, but then he saw Henry. “Who’s this?”
    At least Henry saved me from having to make up excuses about Horus’s ward. He’d accidentally yanked three feathers out of the fan when the alarm went off. I took the fan away from him and set it on the table for repairs. The shabtis would get to it later.
    â€œThis is Henry. We’re working on a project together,” I said, as I saw Lieutenant Roy make a dash between Henry’s feet, grab a beetle shell, and run back out of sight. I held the three errant feathers in my hand. “Henry, meet my brother, Gil Jones.”
    Gil cracked a grin. “His older, smarter, and better-looking brother.” He took off his black jacket and tossed it on the floor, then dropped the Chinese food containers onto the coffee table next to the scrolls and King Tut book. Bits of rice spilled out everywhere. Colonel Cody would probably ask permission to dump beetle shells in Gil’s room tomorrow while he was in the shower.
    I stifled a groan. “Older for sure. How about more annoying? You left that one out.”
    â€œRight. You are more annoying.” Gil nodded at the White Castle bag. “Any left?”
    â€œNo,” I lied. There was only one burger left, and I was hoping to eat it.
    Gil grabbed for the bag anyway. “How’d you find out where we lived?”
    Suspicion clouded Henry’s face. “You guys act like it’s some state secret.”
    â€œWe don’t tell a lot of people,” Gil said.
    â€œBut people already know,” Henry said. “Like that new girl.”
    Gil narrowed his eyes. “What girl?”
    â€œTia,” Henry said. “She just came to our school.”
    With every word Henry spoke, concern grew on Gil’s face. It was time for Henry to go.
    â€œWell, thanks for the food,” I said.
    â€œOh.” The smile fell off Henry’s face. I felt kind of bad, but seriously, I was immortal, and … well … Henry wasn’t.
    â€œIt’s getting late,” I said. Not like I needed to justify myself.
    â€œNot really,” Henry said. “What about our project?”
    â€œHenry could come back tomorrow to work on the project,” Gil said.
    What was he thinking? Was he trying to encourage people to come over more often? Maybe we should just have a party and reveal to the world that we’re immortal.
    â€œSounds like a plan,” Henry said. “So tomorrow, meet back here?”
    I decided not to let him get too hopeful. “Tomorrow’s bad. We’ll have to do it another time.” There would be plenty of time for school projects after Horemheb was dead and gone.
    â€œThe library should be open again tomorrow. We could meet there after school,” Henry said. And then he reached for the coffee table. Right for my Book of the Dead . “Hey, what’s this?”
    I yanked the scrolls out of the way just in time. Henry still had blood on his hand from where Horus had scratched him, and it almost touched the scrolls. That would have been a disaster. We hadn’t used the Book of the Dead in ages. Power licked off it. It was hungry. Anything could have happened.
    â€œJust a side project I’m working on.” That was one way to look at the whole Horemheb thing—a side project to kill him while continuing to lead my normal, immortal life.
    â€œIt almost feels like there’s heat coming off the paper,” Henry