Alex rolled over on his small, scratchy rug and groaned. Sunlight was streaming in through the windows. He turned toward his mom’s couch. Empty.

He leapt up immediately, sending gift-shop throw pillows flying. But then he spotted her sitting with Todtman and Hesaan at a table by the wall. They were casually dipping flatbread in a beany paste and talking as they ate. Alex’s mouth watered at the sight of the food, and he went to join them.

Ren was snoring lightly on the floor. Alex tried to be quiet as he passed, but she coughed up her last snore and her eyes popped open. He waited as she got up to join him.

Luke was still asleep in the corner, a small smile on his face hinting at pleasant dreams of athletic conquest. Alex and Ren let him sleep and headed for the table.

“How are you feeling, Mom?” asked Alex. Now that he was standing close enough, he could see that she was holding a plastic bag of ice against her side.

“Good morning, honey,” she said. “I am feeling a little better.” She paused and smiled. “Like I was hit by a car instead of a truck.”

Beside him, Ren nodded solemnly, waited a respectable few seconds, and then dove for the food. “Fuul!” she said, pronouncing it like fuel.

“Fool,” said Hesaan, correcting her pronunciation.

“Yeah, say it right, fool,” said Alex, satisfied that his mom really was feeling better. He picked up a piece of flatbread and dipped it into the dish of stewed fava beans. “What are you guys talking about?” he asked, pulling up a chair.

Todtman shifted over to make space at the table. “We were trying to figure out our mistake,” he said. “You told us you heard the leader say that he would consult the Lost Spells in the seat of power … ”

“And you assumed the seat of power was the old Order headquarters in Cairo,” said Hesaan.

“Yes, but the place was abandoned,” said Todtman, “cleaned out.”

Wait a second, thought Alex. His brain was still foggy with sleep, but he tried to remember. Wasn’t there something about that phrase? Something he hadn’t been sure of? He chewed his food and chased the thought through the morning mist as the adults continued talking.

“Yes, why would they be hiding in a warehouse?” said Hesaan. “They have outgrown that little place now. They have taken over the parliament building, and some others. During the day, they are everywhere in this city.”

“Could the seat be the parliament building?” asked Alex’s mom.

“Perhaps,” said Hesaan skeptically. “But even as arrogant as they are, I would be surprised if they kept something so powerful in such a busy and accessible place. With their international provocations, there is constant talk that the other countries will bomb the place.”

“Why don’t they?” said Alex.

“They say the leader controls their minds, as needed, and stills their hands. They say that the man has grown immensely powerful.”

Hesaan flicked a look over at Alex’s mom as he spoke, and Alex wondered if Hesaan knew he was talking about her ex-husband.

“It’s true,” said Todtman. “But he is a man no longer.”

Hesaan nodded gravely, seeming to understand.

Alex remembered the sight. The man who had once been his father, and what he had become: a massive Death Walker in a flickering tomb. He remembered the words rumbling out of his broad chest, Alex’s amulet allowing him to understand the ancient dialect — and just like that, the mist lifted. “Wait a second,” he sputtered through a mouthful of bean and bread.

The others turned to look at him. He swallowed his fuul and cleared his throat. “Okay, so, you guys know I don’t speak ancient Egyptian, right? So I have to kind of rely on my amulet for that … ”

“What is it, hun?” asked his mom, but Todtman was already a step ahead.

“What did he say?” asked the German.

“Well, I thought it was the ‘seat of power,’ but as I was saying it, I was kind of also thinking —”

“The seat of the soul?” offered Hesaan.

Alex stared at him. “Yeah, but … how did you know?”

“There is a word for power,” said Hesaan. “An ancient word … ”

“Ba,” said Alex’s mom. “The pharaoh’s power to rule … ”

Todtman’s eyes grew wider, and he stammered excitedly: “Yes, but that word has more than one meaning … ”

“What do you mean? What other meaning?” interrupted Ren. Alex watched her head spin from one scholar to another and knew she hated to be left out of this.

Alex’s mom explained, “Ba can mean the soul, too.”

“Not the seat of power,” said Todtman. “The seat of the soul. That’s where they have taken the Spells.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” said Ren. “I seriously hope you are not going to say —”

But the three scholars said it as one: “To the afterlife.”

“They have taken the Spells to the one place they are sure no one else can reach them,” added Todtman.

“But how is that possible?” said Hesaan, dumbfounded.

Ren looked over at him with a hangdog expression. “Oh, it’s possible, all right,” she said. “It’s just not any fun.”

Hesaan looked at her incredulously. “You have been there?”

“We both have,” said Alex, remembering their sprint through the treacherous, twilight murk of the Egyptian afterlife. It was a spectral shortcut that had taken them thousands of miles in moments. “It’s the amulets that let us do it,” he added, trying to explain the inexplicable. “They allow us to go through the false doors.”

They all sat silently at the little table, thunderstruck by this new revelation. Footsteps approached. Luke plucked a crumbly white block speckled with blue dots from the breakfast tray. “I sure hope this is cheese,” he said, taking a big bite.

“It was cheese a week ago … ” said Hesaan, staring down at the table.

“It is blue cheese now,” said Todtman. “But save some of that for Alex and Ren. They will need their strength today, too.”

“Wait, what do you mean?” said Alex.

“Well, you have been there before,” said Hesaan, eyeing the lump of Alex’s amulet beneath his shirt. “And there are many false doors at this museum.”

Alex had already finished his breakfast, but he swallowed hard, anyway. His mom put her hand on his shoulder, either seeking to reassure him or concerned he would faint.

He was going back to the afterlife.

He looked over at Ren. She looked like she had seen a ghost.

She was certainly about to.