Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris

  And I nearly fainted when I saw two small, dark figures who looked as though they'd sprung from the Underworld.

  One of them reached out and put a hand on my arm, and my heart almost stopped beating. I opened my mouth to scream.

  "Quiet, miss! It's just me!"

  It took a full second for me to recognize Sticky Will's voice. I realized that there was a small hatch in the wall that they had slid open.

  "What are you doing here?" I asked in a strained whisper. "And what happened to you? Snuffles has been terribly worried." So had I, but I wasn't about to bring that up. Not after last time.

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  "Me and Ratsy snuck aboard during coaling, before dawn this morning. We're a bit dusty is all."

  "My fellow officers ..." Admiral Sopcoate began speaking.

  "We have to hurry!" I told Will. "Can you untie me?"

  "In a jiffy."

  "No! Wait! Before you touch that rope, reach into that bag there and take two of the amulets. Each of you put one on. The rope is cursed," I explained at Will's dubious look.

  When Will pulled out two of the homemade amulets, he stared at them in disgust. "We aren't wearing no necklaces!"

  "They're not necklaces. I told you, they hold protective charms that will keep you safe from the cursed spirit captured in this rope. Now, put them on!"

  Grumbling, Will and Ratsy slipped on the amulets, and then Will began to untie the rope. "After we left you, Snuffles went home and Ratsy met up with me. We went back to the Salty Dog. The German bloke and the one wi' the chewed-up face were stayin' there, in a room at the tavern. We followed, thinking mebbe we could 'ear anyfink else they 'ad to say. Instead, they led us right to a room full o' mummies! All the missing mummies are piled in the cellar of the Salty Dog."

  "Excellent work, Will. What did Wigmere say when you told him?"

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  Will looked sheepish. "Well, I didn't have time to give Wiggy the message. We came aboard 'ere instead and never made it back to Somerset 'ouse." He gave a final grunt and the rope came away.

  My heart fell. I had been counting on Wigmere and the Brotherhood to show up at any moment to help us out. But we were on our own.

  Once I was untied, I stuffed the rope in my pocket, snatched the wand from the floor, and we all inched toward the crack in the door, careful not to make any noise. I peeked out.

  "... pleased to present to you Ezana Sehul, crown prince of Abyssinia ..."

  I pulled my head back in. "There are two men right in front of this door. Two are at the front of the room, two are on the far side, and one more is in the back. I'm pretty sure they're all armed with pistols, but they'll try not to use them for fear of raising the officers' suspicion."

  "Do you 'ave a plan, miss?"

  "Er, not quite yet. Give me a moment."

  " ... and his high priest, Yeshaq Lebna," Sopcoate continued. "They are here today to view the greatest navy in the world as they begin to build a navy of their own. Even when starting out, why not start from the best, eh?" He laughed, and the room joined him.

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  I was close to panicking now- We were almost out of time and I had no tools and no ideas. Behind me, the boys were whispering together, but before I could hear what they were saying, Sopcoate's words snagged my attention.

  "As a token of Prince Sehul's thanks, he will have his high priest perform a sacred Abyssinian Blessing of the Water ceremony, guaranteed to bring good luck and prosperity to our vessel. Prince Sehul."

  We had just run out of time. Once the staff came into contact with the water, the poisonous gases would be released into the room. Perhaps I should just run into the room screaming the truth? That would at least put a temporary stop to the proceedings. I opened my mouth to take a breath when Will poked me in the shoulder. "What?" I asked, annoyed at having my momentum interrupted.

  "We figure we can take four of 'em out, see. I got my flick knife, and Ratsy's got 'is slingshot. 'E can take out two, mebbe three, with it before they even know what 'it 'em."

  "He's that good a shot?"

  '"E's a ratter, miss. That's 'ow he catches the rats."

  "Oh, well, yes, but that still leaves the others."

  "Mebbe not," Ratsy said from the door. It was the first time he'd spoken and his voice was unusually deep, almost like a foghorn.

  "What do you mean?"

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  "Look."

  I looked out the crack and gasped. The back of Boilings-worth's neck had erupted in black boils and his skin was now a grayish-greenish shade. The rope had worked! Even better, he was swaying on his feet, struggling to stay upright as the curse overtook him.

  Just off to my right, there was a flash of movement at the door as a sailor appeared. The officer on guard lowered his head to hear what he had to say. "A dog?" he repeated, so softly that only those of us near the door could have heard it.

  "Yes sir, a dog."

  A dog? My hopes rose. Could it be ...?

  "Well, catch it as quickly as you can. We don't want our guests' visit to be marred by a beastly animal on board!"

  At that very moment, Sopcoate and a dignitary were balancing a huge vessel full of water. They set it down in front of von Braggenschnott. He raised the staff in his hand and began to chant in a strange language that I recognized as a perverted form of Egyptian.

  Everyone in the room was riveted.

  Except the sailor at the door. "I say, sir, but what's wrong with that gent there?" He pointed at Bollingsworth, whose entire face was now covered in hideous boils.

  "Good gad!" the officer said, probably louder than he meant to.

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  Heads turned to see what the matter was. A ripple of disquiet ran through the room as the conversation was repeated from officer to officer. In the front, von Braggenschnott said something with great flourish, then rotated the staff so it was upside down.

  "Now," I said to Will. I bolted out of the pantry with the wand in my grasp. If I hit von Braggenschnott's hand, it would cause him to drop the staff. The only problem was, he'd drop it straight into the water, which would have the exact effect he wanted.

  Over the chanting I could now hear the barking, but it was quickly drowned out when the most recent officer to have noticed the cursed man stood up and pointed to the back of the room. "The ruddy foreigners have brought us some nasty disease! Look!"

  Many things happened at once then.

  Will stuck the Russian with his flick knife, causing him to drop to the ground.

  Slightly hidden behind the pantry door, Ratsy fired his slingshot. A small piece of coal struck Franz in the forehead, downing him like a ninepin.

  In the confusion that erupted, a lean black shape burst through the wardroom door. It was Anubis! And he was heading straight for von Braggenschnott.

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  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE JACKAL AT THE DOOR

  ***

  IN A HEARTBEAT , the jackal was at the front of the room. His sharp, pointed teeth closed around the staff.

  Seeing my chance, I launched the wand.

  It whirled unevenly across the short distance (thank goodness most of the officers between me and von Braggenschnott were still sitting or they would have stopped it with their heads) and struck von Braggenschnott's hand with a muffled crack.

  Unable to help himself, von Braggenschnott let go of the staff. The jackal stumbled backwards, almost going end over teakettle, the staff still clutched in his teeth. Realizing he

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  was free of a struggle, he darted out of the room. "Nein! Nicht der zauberstab!" von Braggenschnott yelled.

  Pandemonium exploded.

  "Get that jackal!" Admiral Sopcoate bellowed.

  "The high priest is speaking German!" Captain Bacon exclaimed.

  Thwack! Another piece of coal took out the Frenchman kneeling next to Bollingsworth, who had collapsed to the ground.

  "Get the girl!" von Braggenschnott yelled.

  "Now he's speaking the Queen's English!
" someone said.

  My eyes sought out Will. "Go back out the way you came and make sure the jackal escapes."

  Will threw me a puzzled look. "But 'e's got yer staff!"

  "I know, but he'll take it back to the museum. Now go!"

  Will gave a quick nod, and then he and Ratsy disappeared into the pantry.

  Four Chaos agents were down. Unfortunately, that still left four more.

  Hiding behind the officers' legs, I crawled over to where Bollingsworth had fallen and slipped Snuffles's guinea into his pocket. Then, using a group of officers as cover, I duck-walked over to the door and slipped into the passageway. I tried to remember which way we'd come. From the left, I thought.

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  As I headed for the hatchway, a number of sailors were hurrying to the upper deck, intent on obeying Admiral Sopcoate's order to stop the jackal. When I reached the ladder, I saw one sailor coming down. Unlike the others, he didn't look confused--he looked purposeful and had a rather ruthless air about him. When he caught sight of me, he quickened his pace.

  Bother. I'd forgotten they had agents hidden onboard. I whirled around and began running in the opposite direction, looking for a ladder that led up so I wouldn't be cornered in the bowels of the ship.

  Not giving my knickers a second thought this time, I scrambled up the first ladder I came to.

  As I emerged on deck, I took great heaping gulps of air, grateful to be outside at last. To my left lay the bow. Nothing there but anchor chains and vents. Certainly no means of escape.

  I charged right, toward where the sailors had been lining up for inspection. Safety in numbers, I hoped.

  The deck between the forward gun turret and the edge of the ship was relatively narrow, so I crept carefully, hugging the base of the tower as I went.

  Once clear, I raced toward the bridge. As I ran, I glanced up at the chart house. Was that a flicker of movement I saw? I blinked against the bright sky, bringing my vision into

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  sharper focus, but no, it had just been wishful thinking. There was no help from that quarter. All the officers who normally served on the bridge were down in the wardroom.

  There was a shout behind me as Admiral Sopcoate and von Braggenschnott emerged on the upper deck.

  I scrambled down the ladder that led to the level below. In front of me, two burly sailors were headed my way. My first thought was of rescue, until I heard Admiral Sopcoate shout out, "Squidge! Farley! Seize her!"

  There was no place left to go. The smooth steel wall of the ship loomed on my left, the railing and the river on my right.

  I glanced back at von Braggenschnott and Sopcoate, who were now coming down the ladder. Squidge and Farley were seconds away.

  I decided I'd take my chances overboard.

  Holding on to the top railing, I put my feet onto the bottom rail. It was wobbly and precarious, and I'd be lucky if I didn't end up going into the river headfirst. But surely the dark, foul water of the Thames was better than capture? Especially since I'd foiled Chaos's plans twice now. As Bollingsworth had said, they had a debt to settle.

  I lifted my right foot to the top rail. I would have to push off hard to avoid hitting the side of the boat on the way down. I took a deep breath.

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  There was a flutter of blackness off to my right--between Sopcoate and me--as a great black shape swooped out of the sky in my direction.

  An arm came around my middle, knocking a gasp of surprise out of me. My feet left the railing, and my heart, which had been lodged up in my throat, took a nosedive down toward my toes as the deck swayed sickeningly beneath me.

  We landed with a bone-jarring thud (of which the cloaked figure took the brunt, I might add). My rescuer released me and I stumbled, then bent over to catch my breath. "You've simply got to find a better way to--you!"

  The sight of Clive Fagenbush had me gaping in shock. "What are you doing here?" Honestly! Is no one who they seem anymore?

  "Run, you little fool." He whipped a pair of pistols out from under his cape.

  Shouts and yells from the officers' mess let me know that Chaos would be following, so even though I loathed doing anything Fagenbush told me to, I hightailed it out of there. With Fagenbush watching my back, I made my way aft, where, by the shouts I heard, the jackal had been spotted.

  When I arrived, all the sailors were standing on the dock-side, shouting encouragement to a handful of men who were chasing the jackal down the boarding plank. I breathed a

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  sigh of relief. The staff would be out of Chaos's reach, at least for now.

  Fagenbush was right on my heels. "What happened to the others?" I asked.

  "They changed their minds and returned to the front of the ship," he said.

  "But that means they're escaping!" I said in dismay. I started to run back, but Fagenbush reached out and grabbed my arm.

  "No! We've got to get off this ship before Chaos decides they'd rather have revenge than a clean getaway. Besides, I was ordered to rescue you, not chase them down."

  "Ordered?" I asked, momentarily distracted by this revelation. "Who ordered you to rescue me?"

  "Wigmere," he said. "Now move."

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  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO UNEXPECTED FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES

  ***

  CAPTAIN BACON APPEARED ON DECK just then and gave the order to locate the Abyssinians. While everyone was busy with that, Fagenbush herded me down the gangway to the dock. I must say, my shock at Fagenbush working for Wigmere had me at a bit of a loss.

  As Fagenbush led me toward a waiting carriage, we saw a small crowd gathered near the water's edge of the docks. "Haul him up!" I recognized Turnbull's booming voice and altered my direction.

  "Where are you going?" Fagenbush asked. "Come back!"

  Just because Fagenbush claimed he was working for Wigmere didn't mean I was going to start listening to him.

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  I reached Turnbull and his crowd of men just in time to see them pull a wet, bedraggled, shivering Grim Nipper from the foul water. His black and green blisters had subsided, so now he just looked like a week-old bruise. Turnbull scowled. "What happened to you?"

  "A mummy's curse! Gave me a mummy's curse!" The old pickpocket was babbling and hardly making any sense. He caught sight of us watching. "Her!" He pointed directly at me. "She gave me the curse!"

  Everyone turned to look. The minute Turnbull's eyes landed on me, he strode in my direction. "Where's Bollingsworth? You better not have been pulling my leg, because then I'll have reason to put two Throckmortons in jail."

  "He's down in the wardroom on the HMS Dreadnought."

  "That doesn't mean he's the one behind all this."

  "Oh, I think you'll find that he is, Inspector. I think he may even have some of the stolen goods on him."

  Still watching me, Turnbull called over four of his constables. "Go see if what she says is true, and if so, bring him down with you."

  They took off at a trot, but the inspector stayed focused on me. "What makes you so sure he's guilty?"

  Remembering Will's story, I said, "For one, we've located all the missing mummies. They are over at the Salty Dog tavern,

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  in the cellar, I believe. You'll find that Bollingsworth has been staying there, although I'm not sure he's been using his real name."

  Turnbull looked grudgingly interested. He called two more constables over and gave them instructions to get themselves over to the Salty Dog and see if all that was true. Once he'd sent them on their way, he gave me his full attention. "And how exactly do you know all this, miss?"

  Oh dear! How much to tell him? I needed to stick as close to the truth as possible but not mention Will's or Snuffles's or even Wigmere's involvement!

  Behind Turnbull, I saw Wigmere's carriage pull up. I needed to hold out for only a few more moments. "Well, I was desperate to get help for my father, you see, and Admiral Sopcoate had told us he would help, but he was busy today with a del
egation he was taking on a tour of the Dreadnought. As I was rather anxious, I came down here to wait, so I could find him as soon as he was done."

  Behind the inspector, I saw Wigmere, Thornleigh, and Bramfield get out and begin to make their way over to the ship.

  "I happened to see the Grim Nipper, whom I recognized from the picture you'd been showing around the museum--"

  "But I don't remember showing it to you!"

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  "No. You didn't, but I was, er, saw anyway."

  He raised an eyebrow but said nothing further, so I rushed on. "When I saw him, I tried to think of a way to keep him here until you arrived, so I pushed him into the water, hoping he would never have had the chance to learn how to swim. And he hadn't."

  "How did you know Bollingsworth was going to be down here?"

  Oh dear. How was I going to explain that?

  "Excuse me, Inspector." Fagenbush gave a short, formal bow. "If you are looking for a witness, I would be glad to offer up my services."

  "You? You're the Second Assistant Curator over at the museum, aren't you? What are you doing here?"

  "I saw the child leave this morning. Knowing her father was absent and her mother busy with her work, I set out after the girl thinking to catch up to her and escort her back home."

  That diverted Inspector Turnbull's attention. Once again, Clive Fagenbush had come to my rescue. I hoped he wouldn't begin making a habit of that. I wasn't sure I wanted to have to change my opinion of him.

  By the time Fagenbush had corroborated my story, one of the constables was heading back down the gangway.

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  "I just spoke to the captain. She was right, sir! Bollingsworth was there. Even better," he said, drawing closer and lowering his voice, "the captain said he had a gold guinea in his pocket, bold as brass."