When Kane Meets Jackson

2- The Baboon Goes A-Wall

Carin ☥

I ran down the huge flights of stairs. Some kids joined me along the way who also realized they were late for breakfast. It was like this most days when Ra keeps me up all night. Sometimes he just talks to himself about the extent of the universe and weasels. Other times he has late night discussions with Huitzilopochtli and Apollo about who will be in charge of the sun next year.

When I reached the end of the stairs, the stranglers and I emptied out into the Great Room. And "great" was an understatement.

The cedar beamed ceiling was four stories high and ancient Egyptian weapons and musical instruments lined the walls.

Three levels of balconies went around the room, with rows of doors looking out into the main area. Most of these rooms were occupied with trainees.

At the far end of the Great Room was large double door marked with the eyes of Horus on them. They lead to the library. They used to be padlocked a long time ago, but Carter and Sadie quickly changed that when new trainees started coming into the house.

A fireplace sat along the left wall. A car could easily park in it. It wasn't lit, the summer heat and humidity of Brooklyn was enough to keep us sweating for decades. A plasma screen TV broadcasting a football game sat above the mantle.

Massive brown leather sofas sat around the fireplace. All of them were occupied with trainees, most of them older than me.

On the floor was a snake skin rug that seemed to roll on forever. No normal snake could ever reach that length.

Next to the fireplace was a section completely made out of ice. Several penguins waddled around on the chilly surface. (You can thank Felix for that one.)

But the most impressive object in the room was a statue of the god, Thoth. It was thirty feet tall, made out of black marble. He was dressed in traditional ancient Egyptian clothes, a kilt, sash and a neck collar. In his hands were a stylist and a roll of papyrus. Replacing Thoth's head was an ibis head.

I looked to my left at two glass double doors. Everyone was gathered outside on the patio eating breakfast. Outside, through glass walls, you could see the terrace wrapped around the house. It had a swimming pool, dining area and a fire pit.

I opened the doors and walked over to the buffet table. The smell of fresh eggs, bacon and pancakes welcomed me.

I grabbed bacon, pancakes and a glass of OJ.

I looked at younger trainees as they threw bacon into the pool. I remember I used to do that when I was little. I smiled at the thought.

An albino crocodile with skin as white as chalk was jumping out of the water and snatching up the bacon. The crocs name was Philip of Macedonia.

I sat down on a lounge chair and Isa sat across from me in another lounge chair.

Isa was like me, her mom was a past trainee. Jaz to be exact. Isa is short for Isabelle. But never call her Isabelle, unless you want to spend the rest of your life as a shrub.

Jaz now lives in North Carolina, not to far from here. She sent Isa to train with us only a year ago.

She's 12 years old, like me. We're some of the youngest trainees.

She is healer, just like her mom, so she's great to have around if something goes wrong, which it normally does.

She follows the path of Sekhmet, a path most healers follow. Which I don't understand, because Sekhment has a pretty bloodthirsty attitude.