The Red Pyramid (Kane Chronicles #1)(51)

Carter drew his sword, though I couldn’t imagine what he’d do with it. Rather hard to hit me from ten meters away.

I wanted this over, so I raised my staff like I’d seen Zia do. I thought the word Fire.

A small flame sputtered to life on the end of the staff. I willed it to get bigger. The fire momentarily brightened, but then my eyesight went fuzzy. The flame died. I fell to my knees, feeling as if I’d run a marathon.

“You okay?” Carter called.

“No,” I complained.

“If she knocks herself out, do I win?” he asked.

“Shut up!” I said.

“Sadie, you must be careful,” Zia called. “You drew from your own reserves, not from the staff. You can quickly deplete your magic.”

I got shakily to my feet. “Explain?”

“A magician begins a duel full of magic, the way you might be full after a good meal—”

“Which I never got,” I reminded her.

“Each time you do magic,” Zia continued, “you expend energy. You can draw energy from yourself, but you must know your limits. Otherwise you could exhaust yourself, or worse.”

I swallowed and looked at my smoldering staff. “How much worse?”

“You could literally burn up.”

I hesitated, thinking how to ask my next question without saying too much. “But I’ve done magic before. Sometimes it doesn’t exhaust me. Why?”

From around her neck, Zia unclasped an amulet. She threw it into the air, and with a flash it turned into a giant vulture. The massive black bird soared over the ruins. As soon as it was out of sight, Zia extended her hand and the amulet appeared in her palm.

“Magic can be drawn from many sources,” she said. “It can be stored in scrolls, wands, or staffs. Amulets are especially powerful. Magic can also be drawn straight from Ma’at, using the Divine Words, but this is difficult. Or”—she locked eyes with me—“it can be summoned from the gods.”

“Why are you looking at me?” I demanded. “I didn’t summon any gods. They just seem to find me!”

She put on her necklace but said nothing.

“Hold on,” Carter said. “You claimed this place was sacred to our family.”

“It was,” Zia agreed.

“But wasn’t this...” Carter frowned. “Didn’t the pharaohs have a yearly festival here or something?”

“Indeed,” she said. “The pharaoh would walk down the processional path all the way from Karnak to Luxor. He would enter the temple and become one with the gods. Sometimes, this was purely ceremonial. Sometimes, with the great pharaohs like Ramesses, here—” Zia pointed to one of the huge crumbling statues.

“They actually hosted the gods,” I interrupted, remembering what Iskandar had said.

Zia narrowed her eyes. “And yet you claim to know nothing of your family’s past.”

“Wait a second,” Carter protested. “You’re saying we’re related to—”

“The gods choose their hosts carefully,” Zia said. “They always prefer the blood of the pharaohs. When a magician has the blood of two royal families...”

I exchanged looks with Carter. Something Bast said came back to me: “Your family was born to magic.” And Amos had told us that both sides of our family had a complicated history with the gods, and that Carter and I were the most powerful children to be born in centuries. A bad feeling settled over me, like an itchy blanket prickling against my skin.

“Our parents were from different royal lines,” I said. “Dad...he must’ve been descended from Narmer, the first pharaoh. I told you he looked like that picture!”

“That’s not possible,” Carter said. “That was five thousand years ago.” But I could see his mind was racing. “Then the Fausts...” He turned to Zia. “Ramesses the Great built this courtyard. You’re telling me our mom’s family is descended from him?”

Zia sighed. “Don’t tell me your parents kept this from you. Why do you think you are so dangerous to us?”

“You think we’re hosting gods,” I said, absolutely stunned. “That’s what you’re worried about—just because of something our great-times-a-thousand grandparents did? That’s completely daft.”

“Then prove it!” Zia said. “Duel, and show me how weak your magic is!”

She turned her back on us, as if we were completely unimportant.

Something inside me snapped. I’d had the worst two days ever. I’d lost my father, my home, and my cat, been attacked by monsters and had ice water dumped on my head. Now this witch was turning her back on me. She didn’t want to train us. She wanted to see how dangerous we were.

Well, fine.

“Um, Sadie?” Carter called. He must’ve seen from my expression that I was beyond reason.

I focused on my staff. Maybe not fire. Cats have always liked me. Maybe...

I threw my staff straight at Zia. It hit the ground at her heels and immediately transformed into a snarling she-lion. Zia whirled in surprise, but then everything went wrong.

The lion turned and charged at Carter, as if she knew I was supposed to be dueling him.

I had a split second to think: What have I done?

Then the cat lunged...and Carter’s form flickered. He rose off the ground, surrounded by a golden holographic shell like the one Bast had used, except that his giant image was a warrior with the head of a falcon. Carter swung his sword, and the falcon warrior did likewise, slicing the lion with a shimmering blade of energy. The cat dissolved in midair, and my staff clattered to the ground, cut neatly in half.