Page 40 of Sett and his King
The kitchen reorganized itself around me so everything I needed was close and I reached for the first ingredient.
A sprig of rosemary for clarity and connection.
Fifty grams of dandelion root to divine what was lost.
A whole ginger root, full of energy and intention.
Cook until charred, add three pinches of powdered quartz, ten grams of moon water and the feather of a white owl to clear the path.
Drawers, cupboards, whole pieces of furniture moved to give me what I wanted.
And what I wanted was answers.
I took a deep breath, stormed out of the room and came back in to add the last ingredient.
I popped the vial open and poured the sand from the pyramid into the pot—the only connection we had to the eldritch witch that had entered the secret chamber and stolen the scarab I needed to save my brother.
Stir three times clockwise. Wait five seconds. Stir three more times clockwise, and once counterclockwise.
In an instant the ingredients combined and all turned into a deep green sludge that I scooped up and put in a wooden bowl.
"It's ready." I turned to him and smiled.
He was staring at me. He'd been staring at me the whole time, but I hadn't acknowledged him. I didn't need any more distractions. But his gaze? It set my fucking heart on fire! I could get lost in it. I reveled in the way he looked at me and right now he looked at me as if I was a marvel.
And the dream butterflies flared inside.
Those damn butterflies.
Where had they come from?
It was because I was close to freedom. I was so close to liberating myself and my brother from Horus's hold that I'd manifested those damn creatures.
Yeah.
That was all it was.
That was all it could be.
I took a deep breath, picked up the wooden bowl with the potion and carried it out of the kitchen and into Dad's office.
His desk, with the ancient computer sitting on top, was waiting for me.
"Okay, how does it work?" Sett asked.
I switched the computer on, dipped my fingers in the sludge, and smeared it across the screen. It glitched for a second, the magic mixing with technology but then the sludge disappeared and I clicked on the browser, typedWho is the eldritch witch that stole the scarab from the pyramid of Neferirkareand hit enter.
The tower fan whirred louder and louder, an ugly noise that made me fear it would break before the potion could take effect, but then it slowed down and the screen loaded up on a map with a pin drop in the very middle.
"I think we found them." I zoomed in. "Amethyst City, New Jersey."
Sett narrowed his eyes, licked his bottom lip and nodded.
"Okay, let's go get the scarab back," he said and gave me his hand.
The butterflies got going again, not that they ever stopped but I huffed and let Sett guide me out of the door and into the streets of Amethyst City.
It was nice and sunny there, unlike London, which always seemed to be so miserable and cold, as if out of spite.
