Rosemary and the Book of the Dead by Samantha Giles

Author:Samantha Giles [Giles, Samantha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Agora Books

20

Anubis

The three of us gazed back at him, speechless. I didn’t know whether to look at his face, which was scary enough, or the tall spear he was holding.

Any moment now, I thought, he’s going to push us over the edge with the spike of that spear.

“Are you a dog or a man?” my sister asked boldly.

Adi and I glanced at each other. I could tell he was thinking what I was thinking: shut up, Lois!

I felt like I was holding my breath, until the man spoke again.

“I am Anubis, the Egyptian god of the afterlife, sometimes known as the god of the dead. What do you want with me, children?”

“Can we come in, please, and can I go to the toilet and get something to drink and eat? It’s really hot out here,” Lois continued, casually, as if she were addressing a dinner lady and not an Egyptian god.

“We really would like to come in quickly, if that’s okay?” I asked in the politest voice I could, considering my nervousness. “You see, we are trying to find the Book of the Dead. We think Mal Vine has stolen it and hidden it here.”

Anubis stared at us with unflinching brown eyes and then threw his head back and laughed loudly. It was the most peculiar sound, coming from a man with a dog’s head — a sort of cross between a bark and a deep, throaty laugh.

“Please, sir, we don’t mean to offend you,” Adi offered up in a small voice, which I thought was rather brave of him.

Anubis gathered himself and spoke once more. “Like I said to you a few moments ago, Mal Vine did not steal the Book of the Dead. I did. Or rather, I took back what is ours. I knew he was after the book, and so I brought it back here, back to Egypt, where it belongs. And as for him thinking he can chase you and gain access to the Akashic Library—”

“Bless you!” giggled Lois.

Adi and I gave her a hard stare.

Anubis ignored her, thankfully, and continued, “Well, there’s no way he can get in here. My lightworkers won’t allow it.”

Suddenly Anubis turned, interrupted by the voice of someone who sounded very familiar.

“Aren’t you going to let them in, Anubis, please? The heat is starting to melt us all. For goodness’ sake, shut the door and let them in!”

Anubis stood aside and bowed his head slightly, allowing us to pass by him and into the Library.

As we stepped into the room, which was massive, I was struck by how cool and light the air felt. I looked down and realised, with a shock, that we were floating. Every one of us. The floor of the room was a good four feet below us.

Where was the gravity?

From floor to ceiling were layer upon layer of bookshelves, bursting at the seams with books — some fat, some thin, some coloured, some white, but all shimmering as if they were sprinkled with glitter.

Floating around, in

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