Two is Company (House of Anubis)

Chapter 52: The Curse of Ammut by Charles F. S. Rush

They made it back to school without running into any trouble, something for which Kira was grateful for. She'd gotten a text from Joy halfway to school that she'd been able to divert Mara's attention off her ditching their lunch date, and while she felt kind of bad about it, all she could really feel on the subject was relief.

No, what she was really high on was being right about Frobisher. There was a certain level of smugness to be indulged in seeing Eddie's gobsmacked expression after the lid was lifted off the tank; she could tell Fabian was pleased too, though likely for different reasons.

KT, though, was still having trouble wrapping her head around the whole thing, which was understandable. Kira was simply trying to not think too hard about the real-world implications of a man from the 1920s being kept alive by a tank and some apparently ancient magic. If she did, her brain might explode.

"How? Just how? It doesn't make any sense!" KT stressed, shaking her head in befuddlement.

Fabian shook his head, still in shock himself. "There's no question, though, it's him," he said firmly, then he got a giddy half-grin on his face that made him look a bit like a kid in an ice cream parlor. "It's amazing!"

Patricia bobbed her head in agreement. "Amazingly spooky," she remarked. "Still, Victor always thought Frobisher possessed the secret to eternal life. Guess he was right."

"If that's eternal life, then I'm so glad I'm mortal," whispered KT with a grimace.

"Stuck in a tank for a hundred-odd years, hooked up to tubes and wires?" added Kira, nose wrinkled at the thought. "No thank you. I'd rather not be stuck in an eternal coma."

"Well, not eternal if they complete this ceremony," Eddie pointed out, glancing around the corridor to make sure no one of note was listening in, "which we're no closer to figuring out."

"Yeah," conceded Fabian, "but at least we have a pretty good idea of where to look."

"Frobisher's antechamber," said Patricia, clearly pleased to be one of the smart ones in the conversation.

"The answer must be in one of his books. I vote we go down tonight!"

"What about Alfie and Joy? I know I'm new and all, but this seems like a pretty big thing to be doing without them," said Kira.

Patricia snorted fondly, stuffing her hands in the back pockets of her jeans. "I'll tell Joy next period; she loves research, god knows why. And isn't Alfie still taking cover from zombies?"

Eddie got a contemplative look on his face, then smiled deviously. "Leave him to me," he said, wagging knowing a finger in his ex's direction, before heading off down the hallway. They dispersed then, each heading off in their own direction apart from Kira and KT.

"I still can't believe that man is over one hundred years old," breathed KT as they started up the corridor in the direction of their next class, French with the other new teacher Mr. Sweet had hired.

"Neither can I," Kira hummed in agreement. "I admit this whole thing still feels a little like a weird dream I might wake up from any second."

They turned a corner and KT linked their arms together to pull her out of the way of a particularly rowdy group of boys in the year below. "I wish I would wake up" she admitted once they were safe, but she didn't unlink their arms. "There's so much pressure..."

"Hey, you're doing amazing with it. Seriously," Kira assured her, fighting a warmness in her cheeks at the gesture. "I've only known you what? A week or two? And you're already the most capable person I know."

KT ducked her head bashfully, giving her arm a little squeeze. "More capable than Mara?" she teased.

"Well, let's not take it that far," she laughed, somehow finding it in her to squeeze back before chickening out. "Speaking of Mara..."