The room looked amazing: soaring stone columns, fiery braziers, a polished marble floor, and in the middle of the room, a golden throne with a red velvet seat. So many gods had gathered around us. Some were just flashes of light, or a blaze of fire. Others were fully human, or fully animal, or a mix of both. I recognized a few of them: Hathor, the cow headed goddess of love. Thoth, the ibis headed god of knowledge. And the group of trouble makers who dragged us through this were standing near the throne.

"Horus," Aria growled.

"Nepthys," I nodded to her in respect.

"Hey, Isis," Carter waved his hand.

        Horus was dressed in full battle armour and had a khopesh at his side. Isis was dressed in a white silk gown, heavy gold necklaces, a metallic crown that made her head teeter, and scowling at her son's casual wear. Nepthys wore a simple blue dress, what common Egyptians would wear. Her black hair was only accessorized with a golden crown.

"Welcome," Horus said, spreading his arms.

Aria's scowl lines didn't fade.

"Aria, I know what you will say, but I must ask you. Will you be my permanent host? We could rule the earth and the heavens and everything in between. Ma'at demands a leader."

"I'm aware." Aria said. Her expression softened, but her arms remained crossed.

"My powers would increase tenfold with you. We have only touched the surface of combat magic. We could accomplish amazing things, and it is your destiny to lead The House of Life. You could lead two thrones."

"Oh, wow," Aria said. "Two thrones...."

"So?" Horus urged. "What do you say?"

For a second, I was happy. But then I realized what that meant. Aria would leave me forever. I would die, and she would stay young, and live eternally as a god. She would leave me for immortality. I would lose my friend.

Aria glanced at me. "Well, the answer is obvious, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I mean, you'd have a lot more power, and you'd live longer-"

Aria punched my arm. "Are you insane? Of course not! If I left you, your life would be horrible! And if I left Carter, who would I tease if I'm immortal?"

"Hey!" Carter protested.

Aria turned to Horus. "Sorry, Horus, but I'm declining your offer. I can barely conjure spells out of my own magic. I need to control my magic first, before I can accept that much power."

Horus sighed. "5 thousand years, and I still don't understand mortals. But- very well."

He stood in front of the throne. "I, Horus, son of Osiris, claim the throne of the heavens as my birthright! What was once mine shall be mine again! Is there any who would dare challenge me?"

The gods flickered and looked uncomfortably at the ground. A few snarled. I could see a dozen gods in the shadows who were growling insults. Most of them looked generally creepy, but I saw a god with a crocodile head bare his fangs. He caught me looking, and snapped his jaws. I backed up, but no one raised a challenge. Horus took his seat on the throne, as Nepthys handed him a crook, and Isis gav him a flail. He crossed them over his chest, and the gods bowed.

Once they got back up, Isis stepped forward. "Carter Todson, Aria Faust, and Sophia Russel, you have served Ma'at well. You have bought us time to defeat the Isfet ahead of us. Apep will not stay locked away forever. However, until that day, you are all heroes."

          Horus stood from his throne. He winked, then kneeling before us. Nepthys swiftly followed his example. Isis was a little hesitant, before gingerly lifting her dress and bowing her head. The other gods shifted uncomfortably, but after Horus glared at them, they bowed.

Horus must have noticed how uncomfortable we all were, because he stood back up and laughed. "You all look like you saw ghost."

"Does a god count?" Aria muttered.

Isis ignored her. "Go in peace. You shall find your gifts in the morning."

"Ooh, I love gifts!" Aria squealed. "What is it? A quad? New clothes? A better trip to Paris?"

"Please refer to my previously answer." Isis waved her hand and we were all on the terrace.

"Wait, is this still a dream? Or are we in real life?" Carter asked.

"I don't know; maybe if you jump off the terrace, you'll find out." Aria said.

"Nope. Real life. In my nightmares, Aria usually has devil horns and fangs."

"My God, Carter, will you ever give up?"

"When will you just-"

"Stop! I'm getting a migraine just listening to you, too." I said. "So, you all had the same weird dream?"

"Yup." They answered.

"Well, I don't know about you two, but I'm gonna be sleeping my life away. Peace, losers." Aria trudged up the stairs and slammed her bedroom door.

~*~*~*~*

          The gods had showered the mansion in gifts. Everything we wanted in our rooms was there. The original white bedroom was decorated with a full length mirror,  a mini fridge full of my favourite snacks, a hook on the to put my magic bag on, and a wall paper, which turned out to be a collage of pictures of my friends including my favourite picture right above my bed: me and Aria celebrating my 12th birthday at Brooklyn Cupcake. Aria's mouth was covered in cream cheese icing, holding a red velvet cupcake. During the picture, she was asking me if there was something in her teeth, and I started cracking up. She had done her makeup for hours, for it all to be ruined over a cupcake. My face was bright red, but my smile covered up my awkwardness. Somehow, the clothes from my house had appeared in my closet, which freaked me out. I grabbed an old favourite: jeans and a Brooklyn Nets jersey. I tied my hair in a bun and headed downstairs for breakfast.

Carter was eating waffles, sausages, buttered toast, and hard boiled eggs. He was wearing a Superman shirt and sweats, with a pair of sneakers. Aria was next to him, wearing a white tank top, black tights, a leather jacket and combat boots. She was enjoying a plate of eggs and soldiers, a British breakfast which was basically, soft boiled eggs with toast cut into strips, but she always added a bit of a twist: a heaping of Tabasco sauce. It made the eggs even less appealing. I was about to say that, but remembered the last time I had disagreed with Aria. In her defence, my broken arm healed overtime.

      I took a seat, and imagined two poached eggs sitting on two pieces of toast. My meal formed on my plate, and I started to eat.

"Where's Alyssa and Don?" I asked.

"They're in the games room. They woke up an hour ago." Carter said.

"Can you believe what the gods gave us?" Aria said. "My room looks amazing! It has everything I've ever wanted! All of my old clothes are in there!"

"Yeah!" Carter said. "My dad's old history books are in there, and my solar system project from the science fair-"

"Oh my God, Carter, do you have to make everything so nerdy?" Aria said. "When will you just act like-"

"Anyways," I interrupted. "This wasn't what I wished for. I mean, this tuff is really cool and all, but that wasn't what I wanted. I wanted-"

"Us?" A familiar voice said.

I turned around, and Bes and Bast were in the kitchen.

"Bast! Bes!" I said. I immediately ran up to them and hugged them.

Aria got up, but still juggled her plate of eggs with her as she greeted them. "So you're our gift?"

"Um, look at me!" Bes zipped his hands around his body. "Don't I look like a gift?"

"No, not really. More like a hairy elf."

Bes scowled. "Anyway, the gods gave us the power to return to the mortal world, since it was Sophia's wish. They already granted the girls' wish, but Carter, they told me yours was realistic enough." He handed Carter a cardboard box. "Only open this when you're absolutely sure you're ready for your wish. Your present holds great power. It can break a magician's heart, but can mend another's soul for the road ahead."

Carter stared at the box in amazement. "They actually granted my- I thought it was just wishful thinking-"

"Literally." Bast purred. "The last time we granted a wish like that, it corrupted the magician so deeply, he turned to Apep in the long run. Carter, we trust you are old enough to make responsible decisions and act your age. May Thoth guide you."

"Thank you!" He jumped up and hugged Bast, before grunting in appreciation to Bes. "Don't worry. I'll do what my heart tells me to do, but it's pretty confused right now, so I'll just leave it in my room."

"Actually, we knew you weren't going to open it right away, so we were gonna put it in the throne room." Bast said.

"What the-" Don and Alyssa peeked out from the game room, and their faces lit up when they saw the gods. Alyssa tackled Bast in a hug, while Don and Bes did a cool handshake. First, Don out his fist over top Bes's fist. Then, Bes put his fist on Don's. They did a short fist bump, then whistled like they saw a hot girl walking down the street.

[Ow! Aria, no, I didn't mean to be sexist! I don't even know if that was sexist! Aria, punch me one more time and I hide snakes in your bed.]

"Hot handshake, boys," Aria said. "When'd you come up with that one?"

"While you three slept in the R.V." Don said cooly.

"We have one!" Alyssa said.

Bast faced the wall while Alyssa faced us, and her and Bast bumped hips. After, they switched, and Alyssa faced the wall while Bast faced us and bumped hope. Quickly, they faced each other and grabbed a weapon, Bast her claws and Alyssa a dagger.

"My girl!" They said in unison as they threw their arms up and pointed their weapons at the ceiling.

"Great. I feel left out now." Aria grumbled.