Who Is She? | Jaz Anderson

• ten •

Ayden's shabti resembled her almost identically. It had dark blue eyes, just a shade lighter than her own. She'd given it red lips, considering those easier than trying to replicate her nude lip color, and painted its skin a little more orangey than her own. She'd dressed it in a pair of black linen pants and a nude turtleneck with a navy blue, fuzzy jacket. She'd dotted its face with freckles and put on an old pair of her round, silver glasses. It had blush high on its cheeks and the wig was fluffy and well-controlled. There was a white headband, holding back most of its hair.

When Ayden woke up her shabti, it walked around like a regular human, blinking and the mouth moving.

"Oh, come on!" Sadie's voice complained beside her. Ayden snickered at her little sister. It sounded like she was trapped in her terracotta planters and it had a smily face on an upside down pot.

"You look great, little sister," Ayden teased. She stood up, standing normally and walking off to find Bast. Sadie followed, creaking and clattering behind her.

"Ayden?" Jaz asked behind her.

Ayden smiled. "Just a shabti. D'you know where we can give Bast?"

"Babysitting Ra." The blonde pointed up the stairs.

"Thanks!" Ayden blew her a ceramic kiss, and unable to blush, she was totally relieved, because it meant that Sadie couldn't tease her.

"That was confident," Sadie mused. "New one."

"Shut up!" Ayden nudged her, completely throwing her sister off balance. Ayden skipped up the stairs, finding Bast in the hallway, knives flashing out when the two shabti appeared.

"Woah! Knives out! Bad kitty!" Ayden yelped.

Bast sighed. "Why are you two here?"

"We need to talk to Carter," Sadie said, her voice still echoey.

"He's not back yet," the goddess warned. "I don't know how long he'll be."

"We'll wait in in his room, then," Ayden said.

And wait they did.

"About time," Sadie complained when Walt and Carter entered the room.

Carter smirked at something, probably how Sadie sounded trapped inside her shabti.

"Stop smiling!" she ordered. "I can see you, Carter. Oh... and, uh, hullo, Walt."

The shabti made squeaky grinding noises as it stood up straight. One clunky arm rose and tried to fix Sadie's nonexistent hair. Leave it to Sadie to be self-conscious around boys, even when she's made out of pots and duct tape.

Ayden snickered as she stood as well, probably freaking Carter out with the realistic-ness.

They traded stories. Sadie and Ayden told Carter and Walt about the impending doom of the First Nome.

In return, Carter told them about their visit with Thoth. He shared the visions Apophis had shown him about their mother's precarious situation in the Duat (which made the girls shudder) and the end of the world (which didn't surprise them at all). He also told them about the evil ghost Setne, woods trial would start at sunset in the Hall of Judgement.

"Uncle Vinnie," Sadie said.

"Pardon?" Carter asked.

"The face that spoke to her at the Dallas Museum," Ayden interrupted. "It was obviously Setne himself."

"He warned me that we would need his help to understand the shadow execration spell. He said we'd have to 'pull some strings' and free him before sunset tonight. He meant the trial. We'll have to convince Dad to free him," Sadie took over.