The Red Pyramid [BTS adaption]

64. The Place of Crosses - II

Jimin POV

Seokjin was ready for battle in her loose black linen clothes, staff and wand in hand. Her dark hair was pulled into a French braid, bangs were blown to one side like she'd flown here on a strong wind. Her amber eyes looked about as friendly as a jaguar's.

Behind her was a vendor's table full of tourist souvenirs, and a poster that read: new Mexico: land of enchantment. I doubted the vendor knew just how much enchantment was standing right in front of his merchandise.

"You came," she said, which seemed a bit on the obvious side. Was it my imagination, or was she looking at Seo Joon with apprehension—even fear?

"Yeah," Namjoon said nervously. "You, uh, remember Jimin. And this is—"

"Kim Seo Joon," she said uneasily.

Seo Joon bowed. "Kim Seokjin, it's been several years. I see Iskandar sent his best."

She looked as if he'd smacked her in the face, and I realized Seo Joon hadn't heard the news.

"Um, Seo Joon," I said. "Iskandar is dead."

He stared at us in disbelief as we told him the story.

"I see," he said at last. "Then the new Chief Lector is—"

"Desjardins," I said.

"Ah. Bad news."

Seokjin frowned. Instead of addressing him, she turned to me. "Do not dismiss Desjardins. He's very powerful. You'll need his help—our help—to challenge Set."

"Has it ever occurred to you," I said, "that Desjardins might be helping Set?"

She glared at me. "Never. Others might. But not Desjardins."

Clearly she meant Seo Joon. I suppose that should've made me even more suspicious of him, but instead, I got angry.

"You're blind," I told her. "Desjardins' first order as Chief Lector was to have us killed. He's trying to stop us, even though he knows Set is about to destroy the continent. And Desjardins was there that night at the British Museum. If Set needed a body—"

The top of her staff burst into flame.

Namjoon quickly moved between us. "Whoa, both of you just calm down. We're here to talk."

"I am talking," Seokjin said. "You need the House of Life on your side. You have to convince Desjardins you're not a threat."

"By surrendering?" I asked. "No, thank you. I'd rather not be turned into a bug and squashed."

Seo Joon cleared his throat. "I'm afraid Jimin is right. Unless Desjardins has changed since I last saw him, he is not a man who will listen to reason."

Seokjin fumed. "Namjoon, could we speak in private?"

He shifted from foot to foot. "Look, Seokjin, I—I agree we need to work together. But if you're going to try to convince me to surrender to the House—"

"There's something I must tell you," she insisted. "Something you need to know."

The way she said that made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. Could this be what Geb meant? Was it possible that she held the key to defeating Set?

Suddenly Seo Joon tensed. He pulled his staff out of thin air and said, "It's a trap."

She looked stunned. "What? No!"

Then we all saw what Seo Joon had sensed. Marching towards us from the east end of the plaza was Desjardins himself. He wore cream-colored robes with the Chief Lector's leopard-skin cape tied across his shoulders. His staff glowed purple. Tourists and pedestrians veered out of his way, confused and nervous, as if they weren't sure what was going on but they knew enough to clear off.