the_kane_chronicles__book_one__the_red_pyramid

“I think so.”
I could hear her sigh. “Good. At least I’m not going mad.”
“Don’t let the bedbugs bite,” I called. And I realized I hadn’t said that to Sadie since we
had lived together in Los Angeles, when Mom was still alive.
“I miss Dad,” she said. “I hardly ever saw him, I know, but…I miss him.” My eyes got a
little teary, but I took a deep breath. I was not going to go all weak. Sadie needed me.
Dad needed us.
“We’ll find him,” I told her. “Pleasant dreams.”
I listened, but the only thing I heard was Muffin meowing and scampering around,
exploring her new space. At least she didn’t seem unhappy.
I got ready for bed and crawled in. The covers were comfortable and warm, but the pillow
was just too weird. It gave me neck cramps, so I put it on the floor and went to sleep
without it.
My first big mistake.
C A R T E R
6. Breakfast with a Crocodile
HOW TO DESCRIBE IT? Not a nightmare. It was much more real and frightening.
As I slept, I felt myself go weightless. I drifted up, turned, and saw my own sleeping form
below.
I’m dying, I thought. But that wasn’t it, either. I wasn’t a ghost. I had a new shimmering
golden form with wings instead of arms. I was some kind of bird. [No, Sadie, not a
chicken. Will you let me tell the story, please?]
I knew I wasn’t dreaming, because I don’t dream in color. I certainly don’t dream in all
five senses.
The room smelled faintly of jasmine. I could hear the carbonation bubbles pinging in the
can of ginger ale I’d opened on my nightstand. I could feel a cold wind ruffling through
my feathers, and I realized the windows were open. I didn’t want to leave, but a strong
current pulled me out of the room like a leaf in a storm.
The lights of the mansion faded below me. The skyline of New York blurred and
disappeared. I shot through the mist and darkness, strange voices whispering all around
me. My stomach tingled as it had earlier that night on Amos’s barge. Then the mist
cleared, and I was in a different place.
I floated above a barren mountain. Far below, a grid of city lights stretched across the
valley floor.
Definitely not New York. It was nighttime, but I could tell I was in the desert. The wind
was so dry, the skin on my face was like paper. And I know that doesn’t make sense, but