Diamonds and Crystals (A Kane Chronicles story)

Dam It, Sadie...

Carter's P.O.V

I woke with a start, not knowing why. My senses were tingling with apprehension. Something was not right. I rolled out of my bed and summoned my khopesh from the duat. I tiptoed out of my room to the hall. It was in the early morning, the sun was just starting to rise, so everyone was still asleep. The Brooklyn house was quiet.

I went downstairs to check the lower levels, nada. Nothing seemed out of place. I went to the terrace to find that Philip was snoozing comfortably on the dining table. Ew, I thought, Philip got off, we eat there. But I didn't want to wake a 3 ton albino crocodile at four A.M. on a saturday morning.

Thinking that I was being paranoid I went back upstairs to the dorms. But when I passed by Sadie's room, I got this weird and heavy feeling in my chest. I ignored it like the idiot I am, and went straight back to bed.

When I came to for real this time that feeling was still there. I went down to breakfast not feeling very hungry.

A few minutes dwindled as the initiets lazily stumbled onto the terrace. Soon everyone was there and we were just missing two people: Sadie and Walt. At first I didn't think anything of it, it wasn't that unusual.

After at least five minutes they still weren't there. "Um," said Felix. "Where's Walt and Sadie?" I shook my head.

"No idea."

"Carter." I looked up to find Walt walking towards me.

"Yeah?"

"Where's Sadie?"

I blinked. "Shouldn't I ask that question?"

"Oh no. This can't be good."

"Maybe she just skipped breakfast. It's not that unusual for a teenage girl." I said. Walt shook his head.

"Breakfast is Sadie's favourite meal. She would never miss it." I sighed heavily. "I'll try and contact her through the amulet." I nodded my head.

"Good idea."

Walt closed his eyes, and furrowed his brow. His eyes snapped back open. "It's not working, she can't hear me."

"What's going on? Can you and Sadie talk to each other when one of you isn't wearing it?"

"Yes. It's difficult but not impossible."

I stayed silent for a moment, when a sudden thought came across my mind. "Maybe she went to Egypt with Zia?"

"That wouldn't explain why she isn't answering plus Zia would have told us."

"Maybe she's travelling through the Duat. Magic can be unpredictable there."

"She would have had no reason to go there."

"I feel like we're missing something that's staring us right in the face."

"Let's go check her room. Just in case we find something."

"Okay."

Walt and I walked into Sadie's room again. Everything looked normal. Her bed was made, the floor clean. On her nightstand there was her old tape recorder and the book I gave her for her birthday last year. I sat on her bed while Walt went out on the balcony.

That's when I noticed her closet was open. Which was strange, as how it was always closed. I was curious, so I went snooping. (Ow! Sadie I thought we agreed no more pinching last year!)

I walked into her closet carefully, knowing her she probably had some sort of traps laying about. (AH! Sadie cut it out! Gods.)

The first thing that I noticed is that the walls were covered in pictures of her life in London. She and two other girls making funny faces at the camera, and another one with an orange haired girl stuffing cotton candy in Sadie's mouth. And several photos of what later happened. I laughed at my little sister's foolishness.