"AREN'T GODS USUALLY GUYS?" I asked as Carter led me down the hallway.
"Yeah, but their hosts can be either male or-- wait, how do you know about gods?" Carter asked suspiciously.
"I... um, I don't know," I said for approximately the seventeen-thousandth time.
"Are you blood of the pharaohs, then?" he asked.
"No. What's blood of the pharaohs?" I said. "Pharaohs are Egyptian, right?"
"Yeah. Everyone here, apart from you, is descended from an Egyptian pharaoh. I'm descended from two, actually, but that's beside the point. This allows us to follow the magic path of, or sometimes host, Egyptian gods. Yes, they exist. I'm a combat magician, and I follow the path of Horus, the war god. I used to be his host."
I frowned. The name didn't sound right. "I thought Ares was the war god." I wasn't sure how I knew. The name simply popped into my brain.
"No. Where did you learn that?"
"I'm not sure."
"Anyway, my sister Sadie, she studies the path of Isis, goddess of magic. She also used to be Isis' host. Walt, you just met him, works with amulets, and hosts the god of the dead, Anubis."
"He hosts the god of the dead?" I repeated. "Right now? How does that work?"
"Anubis basically lives inside Walt. Sometimes Walt can tap into Anubis' power and use his magic."
"That's incredible," I said with awe. "What about your girlfriend?"
"Zia is a fire elementalist and used to be the host of Ra, the god of the sun."
"That's what you meant, the sun god?"
"Yeah. Okay, we're here."
We stopped at a door at the end of the hall. Carter knocked on it. A moment later, a girl with black hair, also wearing linen pajamas, opened the door. She was wearing black eyeliner that made wings around her amber eyes. Her eyes narrowed when she saw me. "Who's this?"
"This is Annabeth," Carter said. "Zia, Sadie is missing."
"Missing? What happened to her?" Zia asked worriedly.
"She wasn't in her room. When Walt came in, Annabeth was there instead."
"Well, would Annabeth care to explain why she's here in place of Sadie?" Zia said, glaring at me.
"I don't know why I'm here. It's like my memory's been wiped," I tried to explain. "It's weird. I can remember my first name, but that's it. I can't remember where I came from, where I grew up, who my parents are, my last name, my age, anything."
Zia stared at me. "Weird. Have you told Amos?"
"Walt's telling him now," Carter explained.
"Good. He'll know how to help. Have you tried the scrying bowl?"
"Scrying bowl?" I questioned. "What's that?"
"A scrying bowl is a magic communication device," Carter said. "I haven't tried that." He walked down the hallway so fast that I had to jog to keep up. Zia followed close behind me.
Carter walked up to a birdbath in the corner. It was filled with some sort of liquid, maybe oil.
"Show me Sadie Kane," he commanded. The oil shimmered but nothing else happened.
Carter cursed in a language I didn't understand. "We've got to find her!"
He ran back into the hallway. I followed him, trying to keep up with his fast pace. Suddenly Zia thrust out an arm. "Look out!"
Too late. I slammed into someone, a man with dark skin and black braided hair. He was also wearing white pajamas. What was the deal with all the pajamas? I stumbled backwards and bumped into Carter, who hit Zia. Zia steadied both of us and looked up at the guy I'd hit.
"My apologies," the man said. "Annabeth, right?"
"How'd you know?" I asked.
"Walt filled me in," the guy replied, gesturing to Walt, who was standing behind him. "I'm Amos Kane. Pleased to meet you."
"Pleased to meet you too, sir," I answered. Then I voiced one of the many questions on my mind. "Why is everyone wearing pajamas?"
Amos chuckled. "Linen is a good material for magic. So is cotton. Fabrics like leather are less compatible." He waved a hand at my blue jeans and gray t-shirt.
"What kind of magic?"
"Lots of kinds. Combat magic, elemental magic, amulets, hieroglyphs. There are many kinds. Some are dangerous."
I wasn't sure why I felt like I was familiar with magic and dangerous stuff, but I did. I felt like I'd been dealing with both for a long time.
"I'll give you a set of my clothes," Zia offered. "I'm fifteen, and you seem a little older than that, but they'll probably fit. Then we can introduce you to the other initiates." She turned to Amos. "Will you make the announcement at breakfast?"
Amos nodded. Zia turned to me, her amber eyes boring into mine. Then she turned and walked back down the hall.
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By the way, all art in the media at the beginning of chapters is mine, based on drawings by Viria and others, except for chapter 24 which is an edit (not mine) of Viria's art. The cover art is also mine. Photos and drawings within the content of chapters do not belong to me.
Do the Egyptians call the magicians initiates? I wasn't sure because 'initiates' sounds like Divergent. If not initiates, what do they call them?
Yours in demigodishness and all that,
~ harrypotternerd1024