Fractured

Chapter 4

Breakfast went by strangely well. Seraphina talked about her childhood in Egypt, and then spoke about her life in Brooklyn.

Gemini learned that she worked with museums as a sort of consultant, specifically when it came to Ancient Egyptian artifacts. Their luck the past few days was had been consistently good without fail, and it seemed to travel overseas with them.

"I don't really know how to frame this but, do you have any prior knowledge of artifacts or do you do the research on the spot?" Gemini took a bite of the omelette.

"I know quite a bit of their artifacts. I'm guessing you have questions?"

"Do you maybe know something about a scroll, it would be white and it talks about," Gemini paused. They were struggling to remember the name.

Seraphina looked a little tense. 

"Right, Heka." 

Gemini looked at their aunt's suddenly tense face. Their eyes were drawn to her clenched fists. They were acutely aware of the fact that they had said something wrong. 

"Damn." Seraphina sighed, a look of disappointment coloring her features. "I was hoping you'd be different." She frowned.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gemini was a little offended. 

"Have strange things been happening to you? Odd feelings, perhaps sudden blurry vision and migraines/headaches?" Seraphina's frown deepened at their affirmative silence. She got up and walked to the kitchen cupboards. She returned with a cup of water. She handed it to them. "Drink up." 

Gemini shrugged and downed it all at once, then coughed at the bitter taste. They began to choke and struggled to clear their throat. "What the hell was that?" 

"A potion." Seraphina looked completely serious. She nodded at the floor. "Can you see that?" 

Gemini looked at what she was talking about. "That weird symbol? Yeah." 

"I thought so. I saw you last night, but I wasn't sure." 

Gemini was getting very confused. "Do you want to tell me what's going on? Or are you just going to talking in riddles?" 

Their aunt sighed. "I don't know how to say this as simply as possible. Magic is real. The Ancient Egyptian Pantheon very much exists, and your parents, along with your uncle and I, are magicians." Seraphina looked pained. "My sister, your mother that is, and I were trained in alternative forms of magic. She specialized in elemental magic, like your father. I was more proficient in alchemy. What you just drank is a concoction of mine. It should ground you and hopefully neutralize any ill magical effects.

"Magicians are able to do many things, but for now you just need to know that hieroglyphs are used as a main focus for magic, along with a wand and perhaps a staff, but we don't have any of that on us right now. Don't try it." Seraphina got up again and shuffled through the kitchen cabinets once more. She walked back to Gemini holding an old wooden box. She opened it and pulled out an amulet. It was made of ivory. The amulet itself was just two snakes intertwined but separate at the head. She handed it to them, and Gemini put it on. "Do not take off that amulet. It will mask your presence, and help tether your soul to your body. It's a powerful amulet that has been in our family for generations.

"We, our family, have been involved with a certain god for a long time, and he has been lost to us. Our ancestors were able to freely but secretly commune with him, but it's now illegal as well. Even if it was legal, he's just completely faded from existence. That scroll you described, well. It is the only existing guide on summoning and forming a pact with Heka. That amulet is a representation of his power."