How it Ends ▸ House of Anubis [4]

chapter six. house of photographs

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            Needless to say, our bedroom that night was full of tension. Patricia and I couldn't find anything to say to Mara except convincing her not to go to the police because they'd never believe any of us, and after we did that, none of us said a word. I'm sure Mara spent most of the night staring at the ceiling and contemplating everything.

            Seriously, though, I have no idea how she lasted this long without finding out about it all. I guess the fact that she didn't know until now is why she's valedictorian and not Fabian, who probably would've been a shoo-in had he not spent the last couple years with us trying to solve ancient Egyptian mysteries left to us by a renowned Egyptologist who later turned him into a sinner because surprise! Robert Frobisher-Smythe is alive and currently living in Egypt with Harriet Denby.

            Well, I assume he's still alive. She hasn't sent us, like, a condolence card yet, so I'm pretty sure he's still over there. If only we had a way to contact him, he might be able to help us find out where the pyramid pieces are so we can stop Victor from finding them for whatever reason he wants them for.

            Which, by the way, I'm still not convinced is because he wants Ra's gold. That particular motive just does not fit with what we know about him. He wanted the Cup of Ankh for the elixir of life. He wanted the Mask of Anubis for the elixir of life. He wanted to bring Frobisher out of his decades-long coma for the elixir of life. Unless the Pyramid of Ra has some extra things in its lore about the elixir, I can't see what motivation Victor has for wanting to build it.

            Especially if it requires a human sacrifice. Victor's tried to sabotage us, yes, but to the best of my memory, the only time he's deliberately tried to murder us is when he was turned into a sinner and planted that blade down in the cellar to prevent us from getting to the secret room. It would've killed Eddie if we hadn't pulled him back. I just can't see him sacrificing a human being—the only guy I can realistically see him sacrificing is kind of dead, so...

            So the question here is: What other use, except for building the Pyramid of Ra, would the touchstone have for Victor?

             Well, anyway, we're due back at school to take our class photo together. Joy, Jerome, and Willow are in charge of the graduation festivities, which, at first, is kind of a confusing team to put together, but makes sense when you think about it. Well, Joy and Jerome, anyways. I wouldn't have expected Willow to volunteer. All we're doing right now is waiting for the photographer to show up so we can take this photo and get it over with.

            "Hey," Eddie says, interrupting my conversation with Patricia as he leans between us, "how's Mara after last night?"

            "We convinced her not to go to the police," Patricia answers.

            I add, "But she hasn't spoken to us since."

            He sighs heavily. "Well, she's not going to the cops, which is good. But even though we have the touchstone and it's safe from Victor, we only have today and tomorrow to find those pyramid pieces so he doesn't find them, so any idea where those might be on the grounds?"