Thoth scanned the papers, trying to focus on the words instead of the achingly familiar handwriting. The topmost ones which he’d grabbed first were all written in the ancient language, so they were likely official documents. Giving himself a mental shake, Thoth skimmed the text from right to left, following the direction of the glyphs, and shrugged at Cypress.

“Nothing particularly interesting.” He set the topmost papers to one side and carried on rifling through the drawer. “Mainly memos about boring stuff… this is a note about bills… ohh.” His voice caught slightly on the last word as he tugged out a medium-sized leather-backed notebook and flipped it open. The lined pages within were laid out in letter format, the top of each page was marked with a date and the same opening: Dear Thoth. His mouth felt a little dry. “Her journal.”

He remembered his mother’s journal. He recalled her scribbling most nights in notebooks or on loose paper – whatever she could find – from as far back as he could remember. She hadn’t kept the diary religiously, preferring to jot down her thoughts whenever she had time and felt the need to, which was why she had referred to it as a journal instead. Thoth had only read scraps of it (mostly without permission), but she’d always penned them as if writing a letter to his namesake, the Thoth who’d died thousands of years ago.

The words on the page seemed to blur together. Thoth stood frozen for a second, trying to process what he was supposed to do with this piece of treasure. Even in his state of confused anger towards the journal’s author, he recognised that selling it wasn’t the right thing to do. Should he leave it here, or take it home?

He’d hesitated for too long. Danny appeared in the doorway, remarking on the risks of finding a collector. He didn’t specify precisely what was risky, but Thoth’s exclusion in the afterthought offered some insight. Thoth snapped the journal shut and turned around, leaning back against the writing desk.

“Um, I’m on great terms with Murray.” He pointed out, presenting Danny with a characteristic scowl. “He’s not stupid or brave enough to try anything, and he’s always hoping to get stuff off me to sell.”

Murray would probably very much like to sell Thoth given the opportunity, so Thoth made sure he never got the chance. He always dropped in on him out of the blue, unscheduled, so that Murray couldn’t gather mercenaries beforehand. The flabby shopkeeper wouldn’t dare take a demigod on himself.

The subsequent chain of events was so fast that it would take the three of them reminiscing together to be able to unpick it. Thoth’s feet rooted in the ground, and a rose-gold glow spiralled up his body. Before he had a chance to even process what was happening, the glow solidified into an enormous translucent crystal which encased him all the way up to the shadows. He blinked, staring at Danny and Cypress, who had been similarly captured. Two black-clad figures with semi-veiled faces dropped from the ceiling, studying the trio.

“Well.” Mysterious Figure 1 pulled the mask down from her face, revealing a pointed chin and a small, thin nose. “What have we got here?”

“Looks like a trio of trespassers to me.” Mysterious Figure 2 sighed, sounding bored. He pulled his own mask down and ran a hand through his thick black hair. “Just some stupid kids.”

“We’re not trespassers,” Thoth shot back indignantly, “this is my – ”

He choked on his own words as his eyes settled on the silver-blue logo both adults were sporting on their uniforms: an eight-point star hovering over a building. The symbol of the Auran Church.

Fortunately, neither of them paid him any attention. The man pulled out a smart phone, pressed a button for speed dial and lifted it to his ear, waiting. The woman eyed him and Cypress, ignoring Danny behind her.

“This property is owned and maintained by the Auran Church, and you are illegally trespassing.” She informed them smoothly. “Now, why don’t you start by telling us your names?”

MASTER OF THE ORBIS . MASTER OF THE WATER ELEMENT . SON OF AURA