The Red Pyramid [BTS adaption]

63. The Place of Crosses - I

Jimin POV

I WOKE WITH CHIM SNUGGLED on my head, purring and chewing my hair. For a moment, I thought I was home. I used to wake with Chim on my head all the time. Then I remembered I had no home, and Bast was gone. My eyes started tearing up again.

No, Isis's voice chided. We must stay focused.

For once, the goddess was right. I sat up and brushed the white sand off my face. Chim meowed in protest then waddled two steps and decided she could settle for my warm place on the blanket.

"Good, you're up," Seo Joon said. "We were about to wake you."

It was still dark. Namjoon stood on the deck of the boat, pulling on a new linen coat from boat supply locker. Khufu loped over to me and made a purring sound at the cat. To my surprise, Chim leaped into his arms.

"I've asked Khufu to take the cat back to Brooklyn," Seo Joon said. "This is no place for her."

Khufu grunted, clearly unhappy with his assignment.

"I know, my old friend," he said. His voice had a hard edge; he seemed to be asserting himself as the alpha baboon. "It is for the best."

"Agh," Khufu said, not meeting Seo Joon's eyes.

Unease crept over me. I remembered what Seo Joon said: that his release might have been a trick of Set's. And Namjoon's vision: Set was hoping that Seo Joon would lead us to the mountain so we could be captured. What if Set was influencing him somehow? I didn't like the idea of sending Khufu away.

On the other hand, I didn't see much choice but to accept Seo Joon's help. And seeing Khufu there, holding Chim, I couldn't bear the idea of putting either of them in danger. Maybe he had a point.

"Can he travel safely?" I asked. "Out here all by himself?"

"Oh, yes," he promised. "Khufu—and all baboons—have their own brand of magic. He'll be fine. And just in case..."

He brought out a wax figurine of a crocodile. "This will help if the need arises."

I coughed. "A crocodile? After what we just—"

"It's Philip of Macedonia," Seo Joon explained.

"Philip is wax?"

"Of course," he said. "Real crocodiles are much too difficult to keep. And I did tell you he's magic."

He tossed the figurine to Khufu, who sniffed it, then stuffed it into a pouch with his cooking supplies. Khufu gave me one last nervous look, glanced fearfully at Seo Joon, then ambled over the dune with his bag in one arm and Chim in the other.

I didn't see how they would survive out here, magic or no. I waited for Khufu to appear on the crest of the next dune, but he never did. He simply vanished.

"Now, then," Seo Joon said. "From what Namjoon has told me, Set means to unleash his destruction tomorrow at sunrise. That gives us very little time. What Namjoon would not explain is how you plan to destroy Set."

I glanced at Oppa and saw a warning in his eyes. I understood immediately and felt a flush of gratitude. Perhaps the boy wasn't completely thick. He shared my concerns about Seo Joon.

"It's best we keep that to ourselves," I told him flatly. "You said so yourself. What if Set attached a magic listening device to you or something?"

Seo Joon's jaw tightened. "You're right," he said grudgingly. "I can't trust myself. It's just...so frustrating."

He sounded truly anguished, which made me feel guilty. I was tempted to change my mind and tell him our plan, but one look at Namjoon and I kept my resolve.