Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6 Where did he come from? Dan wondered. He didn't see a door anywhere. It was like he'd just appeared out of nowhere. Creepy. "I had the pleasure of hearing that you made a reservation in my name. I thought it might be my nephew. What a pity not to see him. I was looking forward to it." Bae smiled, but it was more like he'd bared his teeth at a dentist. "Not that it isn't delightful to see you two." Dan didn't believe him for a minute. He thought about the locked exit door. If they had to run, where would they go? He saw Amy's glance dart beyond Bae. She was looking for a way to escape, too. Bae's weird grin grew wider, as if he'd smelled their fear. "Do you like the stronghold of the

Ekaterinas?" he asked, waving his jeweled cane. "I must confess I'm proud of it. I designed it myself." "It's not exactly standing room only," Dan said. Bae's grin vanished. "Even Ekats can be jealous of genius. They don't realize this has nothing to do with my own glory— I designed it for all Ekats. Nevertheless, am I wrong to point out that it was I who had the foresight to buy this hotel? It was I who had the vision? Cairo always had an Ekat stronghold, but it was nothing like this. A shabby house found for us by Howard Carter back in 1915, when he was searching for the second Sakhet. During the Second World War we had to hide the objects here and there, and I saw the wisdom of building a better stronghold. No one else understood the great need. It took me years. And as technology advances, I make improvements. This is as good as a museum, don't you think? Better. Such a fitting tribute to the many geniuses of the descendants of Katherine." "Including your nephew," Amy said. "Bah." Bae's thin mouth curled in distaste. "I thought your name was Bae, not Bah," Dan

said. "My bad!" Bae turned his dark gaze on Dan. Dan felt a chill shudder through him. It was like having a close-up view of a shark's eyes. Right before he opened his jaws and cut you in two. "I have heard that you are something of a wise guy," Bae said to him. "I'm sure it will get you far in life." He returned his attention to Amy. "Alistair has been a grave disappointment to me. Such a brilliant mind and such a silly man." "Th-then why are you so interested in meeting up with him again?" Amy asked. She might be cornered, she might be scared, but she wasn't going to let this evil guy push them around. "I am his uncle. I promised my dear departed brother I would watch out for him. When Alistair was younger, he had such promise. He was the one to discover how to open the third Sakhet. Then he goes off to become an inventor, and what does he invent? A tasteless, indigestible piece of frozen cardboard masquerading as food!" "I heard he made a couple of cool million on that piece of cardboard," Dan said.

Bae leaned on his cane. "You must understand something. Money is not a sign of achievement. Not to the Ekats. That's why we're superior to the others. What do we value? Not power, like the Lucians, or physical strength, like the Tomas. Not even the cleverness of the Janus. No. It is something greater. Ingenuity. Inspiration. And channeling it to usefulness." He waved his stick. "You see what we have done!" "We just saw some pretty horrifying examples of what Ekat ingenuity came up with," Amy said, gesturing back toward the black shadow-curtain. "I thought you were smarter than that, young lady. That remark was not worthy of you." "Why is that?" Amy challenged. "Am I supposed to be impressed with concentration camps and atomic bombs?" Bae thumped his stick. "That is an emotional reaction! Ekats are not evil. They are not good. They invent. They challenge. They lead. Some lives lost? Those are petty concerns. What is important is the discovery. The invention. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, we get it," Dan said. "Here's the four- one-one— you are one creepy dude." Bae Oh moved closer to them, and they backed up a step. "You are Cahills, too. You know that what makes us extraordinary can sometimes make us dangerous. Your ancestors are proof of that. It is your job to learn from their mistakes as well as their triumphs. Isn't that true?" Amy didn't want to listen to him. But at last he'd made sense. He took another step toward them, holding out one arm in a genial way. They backed up again. No way did Dan want to get close to this evil, ancient dude. "Come," he said, in a tone he probably thought was warm and fuzzy. Instead, it was a total creep- out. "We are all one family. We should be allies. You've come far on the search for the thirty-nine clues, but we all need help. How about a simple exchange of information? I will tell you what I know of the great Sakhet mystery. You will tell me the whereabouts of my nephew. I know he is fond of you."

"You first," Dan said. Bae inclined his head. "Gladly. I will show you trust, and you will do the same, I am sure." He pointed with his cane to the first Sakhet. "Here is what we Ekats know for certain. Our glorious ancestor Katherine, the queen of ingenuity, left Europe for Egypt. Can you imagine what kind of courage it took for a woman to travel alone in the early part of the sixteenth century? We know she came to Cairo and purchased three small statues of Sakhet. One had ruby eyes, one lapis, one emerald. She then disguised herself as a man and left Cairo. We know she met up with a family of tomb robbers and hired them to take her on a trip up the Nile. She hid each Sakhet, and each one hid a secret." Bae stared at the statue. "She's beautiful, isn't she? It's no accident that Katherine chose a goddess. She believed she was never given her due as a woman. And she wasn't." He sighed. "We don't know how the other branches found out about Katherine's clue, but we know they have been searching for centuries. That horrid little Lucian, Napoleon, instructed his scholars to keep