Theodosia & the Eyes of Horus Read Free Page A

eyes round again. They were going to pop out of his head if he kept this up.
    "Did you use yer Egyptian magic on us?" Ratsy asked eagerly.
    "Nothing as exciting as all that, I'm afraid. I heard the stage manager talking to you."
    As the magician spoke, his eyes drifted to me. He blinked twice, then asked, "How can the humble Awi Bubu serve you?"
    "Whoa," Ratsy said, ignoring the man's question. His eyes were glued to the cloth-wrapped figure propped against the wall. "Is this the mummy you use on stage?"
    It was so clearly a fake that I couldn't help but snort. Awi Bubu cocked his head to the side and studied me. "You do not believe in mummies, miss?"
    "Of course I do, but real ones, not fakes like this." I turned to Ratsy. "It really is a fake. Go ahead and poke it. With your permission, of course," I hastily added.
    Awi Bubu nodded, his glittering black eyes still sharply focused on me. "But of course."
    Will grabbed Ratsy and pulled him back. '"E ain't touchin' that thing. No way, miss. It'd curse him, it would. You should know that better'n anyone."
    I felt Awi Bubu's glance sharpen even more.
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    "But that is the point, Will. I do know more than most, and it is clearly a fake. Here." I sighed in exasperation, stepped over to the wall, and poked the wrapped figure (I refused to call it a mummy) in the stomach.
    It grunted, which startled Will and Ratsy so bad that they squealed and leaped backwards.
    "See?" I told them. "Real mummies don't grunt. And they aren't soft, like this one is. It's a man wrapped up in linen, just like I told you."
    "Let me introduce you to my assistant, Kimosiri," Awi Bubu said.
    The tall figure reached up and unwound the wrappings from his head, revealing a large lumpy face with weathered skin and small black eyes.
    "Very pleased to meet you," I said.
    He nodded solemnly at me.
    "So Little Miss is a skeptic?" Awi Bubu said. "How does she come to be such an expert on mummies, I wonder."
    The room grew a little warmer and for a brief moment, I found myself wanting to tell him just how very much I knew about mummies and Egyptian magic. Instead, I said, "That's funny, sir. That's exactly what I wanted to ask you. Some of the tricks you performed were very authentic reenactments of ancient Egyptian rituals. I wondered how you came to know of such things."
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    "Ah, but I asked you first, did I not? Shall we agree to a trade of information?"
    "Very well," I said, intending to tell him as little as possible. "My parents run a museum with Egyptian exhibits. Since I spend a lot of time there, I've picked up a few things about ancient Egypt. Now it's your turn."
    "I'm afraid I've nothing as interesting as a museum in my past. I am but an exile from my own country, Egypt, as you rightly guessed. When I found myself alone in a strange land with no means of support...well, one must make a living however one can." He glanced pointedly at Ratsy and Will, and I was suddenly afraid that he somehow knew that Will was, or had been, a pickpocket. Then I realized I was being silly. He was most likely referring to Ratsy's profession.
    "Which of my tricks most impressed Little Miss?" He smiled at me, revealing a gold tooth. "Clearly not my mummy act."
    "Er, no." For some reason, I was reluctant to let him know what exactly had alerted me. "It was the oracle trick. The one where you used Ratsy here."
    "Ah." Was it my imagination or did his face relax slightly?
    "In fact, I wanted to ask if by any chance you know Aloysius Trawley? I've seen him perform the very same trick."
    "Alas, I do not know this Mr. Trawley, and I am crushed to hear I am not the first to perform this act in London.
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    However, I am curious as to how Little Miss comes to know so much about ancient Egyptian rituals?"
    Bother. That was the problem with asking questions. Sometimes one revealed more than was wise. "I told you, my parents run a museum."
    "Yes, but museums do not generally offer insight into the actual rituals performed by ancient