Free Tut by P. J. Hoover Page A

said, holding his hand over the top of it.
    â€œIt’s just hot in here,” I said. Ancient magic did have that property. And I was going to use it. Three spells—that had to be enough.

 
    7
    WHERE I PLAY TRIVIAL PURSUIT WITH THE GODS
    No sooner had the lock clicked behind Henry than the shabtis were out of the closet and cleaning. I was pretty sure Henry wasn’t carrying the bubonic plague, but the shabtis didn’t let that stop them from disinfecting everything. Lieutenant Roy led the cleanup effort, running frantically from one side of the town house to the other, making sure no spot was left untouched.
    â€œWhat are the scrolls doing out?” Gil asked. “That could have been a disaster.”
    I fumbled for words. How was I supposed to explain it to Gil? I couldn’t tell him about the spells. Or the knife. What I really needed was for Gil to leave me alone for once so I could sneak out to the Library of Congress.
    â€œNothing happened. I got the scrolls away before he touched them.” I looked down at Lieutenants Virgil and Leon, who bowed, ran off, and then returned in under a minute with a soda and a glass of ice. Gil scowled at them.
    â€œBut why were the scrolls out in the first place?” Gil sank down into his favorite chair, which only seconds before had been occupied by Henry’s backpack. The chair was older than the Constitution and had more patches than a quilt, but Gil refused to get rid of it.
    It was a totally legitimate question. We never took down the Book of the Dead from the top of the bookcase. I decided to use my bad luck from earlier as an excuse. “Horus was helping me figure out a way to smite Horemheb. He thought there might be something in the Book of the Dead .”
    â€œAnd what did his godliness come up with?” Gil said.
    I crossed my arms and pretended to act annoyed, which was easy. I couldn’t believe Gil had known there was an immortal-killing knife in existence and had never bothered to tell me. Around my feet, the shabtis lined up in assault formation, as if they’d attack Gil at my command. I did love how they always sided with me no matter what.
    â€œHorus came up empty, didn’t he?” Gil said.
    â€œYep.” The lie slipped off my tongue like soda. “Why? Are you sure you don’t know of any ways to kill Horemheb?”
    I waited, wondering what Gil would say. Maybe he would fess up. We could go after the knife and Horemheb together.
    â€œNope,” Gil finally said.
    So much for that dream.
    Gil grabbed a video game controller and tossed me a second one.
    I wasn’t about to spend the rest of the night playing video games with him. I chucked the controller onto the coffee table. “I’m not up for playing.”
    â€œYou’re always up for playing,” Gil said.
    Maybe before I realized Gil was lying to me. How many other times had Gil lied to me and I had no idea?
    â€œNot tonight,” I said. “Too much homework.”
    It was a lame excuse.
    â€œThe shabtis do your homework,” Gil said.
    â€œI want to do it tonight.”
    â€œFine. Whatever. Do your homework then.” Gil threw his controller onto the futon and stormed off to his room.
    No sooner had Gil’s red X ’ed door slammed shut than Colonel Cody ran over to me. He scaled the bookshelf until he was at ear level.
    â€œGreat Master,” he said. “Quickly. Before the heathen emerges. The Library of Congress.”
    â€œWhere in the Library of Congress?” I said. The place was bigger than my old palace.
    â€œThe cat—” Colonel Cody began.
    â€œHorus,” I corrected.
    â€œYes, the cat, Horus—”
    â€œHe’s a god,” I said.
    â€œYes, the god cat Horus told us of a secret room,” Colonel Cody said. “Among the relics from the Library of Alexandria—”
    â€œThat library burned thousands of years ago,” I said. “Everything