opened the main door. He was dressed in a customary, impeccable black outfit Thomas had seen in movies and T.V. shows, and he spoke with a slight British accent. “Welcome to Pervagus Mansion, gentlemen.” He nodded politely. “My name is Bolswaithe. I’m the mansion’s head butler.”
“Nice to meet you, Bolswaithe. I’m Morgan Byrne and this is my grandson, Thomas. I’m here for a job interview.”
“I know, sir. Please, follow me.”
The interior of the mansion was very ornate. Marble statues and precious wood abounded inside. The waning light filtered through the stained-glass window, and the two circles of intricate symbols and ancient letters surrounding the Egyptian eye seemed to dance.
A double staircase ran from the foyer to the second floor. In the middle of the room sat a marble sculpture of a man chained to a rock and an eagle biting into his stomach. Morgan and Thomas stopped in front of it, marveling at the precision and beauty of the sculpture.
“Prometheus Bound,” Bolswaithe offered.
“Beautiful work,” Morgan said. “Who’s the artist?”
“Michelangelo,” the butler said. After a few moments, Bolswaithe walked down the hallway, Morgan and Thomas trailing closely behind.
From outside, the mansion seemed large, but from the inside it proved to be huge. The ceiling in the foyer was at least forty feet high and it was supported by white marble columns that looked cut from a single stone.
Long hallways opened on each side of the foyer. The right hallway had a lot of traffic – people bustled out one door and into another, traveling along the corridor and disappearing. Colored tags dangled from their necks and a couple of workers wore colored jumpsuits.
The butler led them through the left hallway. The corridor was lined with doors and large mirrors. Large crystal chandeliers lit up the corridor, and the ceiling was painted with scenes from ancient history and mythology.
One of the paintings was the pyramids of Giza as they were being built by humans and what looked to be jackals and camels walking on two legs and dressed in flowing robes. One of the camels was talking with what appeared to be the pharaoh as they overlooked the construction.
It was followed by the painting of a Chinese armada being sunk by a group of elongated dragons. On top of one of the dragons rode a man in full samurai armor, his sword catching a lightning bolt.
All scenes depicted humans and magical creatures, either working together or fighting side by side against a common enemy. There was one of General Ulysses S. Grant receiving a bag of papers and maps from a humanlike fox wearing a simple blue stripe across his torso.
The scenes would have been fit for a children’s book had they not been spectacular in form and color. Thomas paused recognizing one of the scenes. He pulled out from his wallet the two dollar bill his father had given him for luck. He unfolded the bill and checked it against the scene on the ceiling. It was the Declaration of Independence, with three additions that were not in the bill. Instead of the drum and flags hanging on the wall in the back of the room, there was a four-winged blue and white bird, its wings extended. On the right side where the bill showed only a tablecloth was a row of smaller chairs with animals sitting on them. A fox, an otter, and what looked like a beaver, sat with their legs crossed. A young man, dressed in long robes, stood beside a gentleman on the far right. His hair was long and un-coifed and reached almost to his waist.
Thomas stopped looking for differences and picked up the pace seeing that the butler continued walking without him.
Halfway down the hallway, the butler opened a door on the left. “You can wait in this room, young sir,” he told Thomas. “Would you care for refreshment?”
“No thanks,” Thomas answered stepping into the room.
“Very well.” Bolswaithe turned to Morgan. “This way, sir.”
Grandpa squeezed Thomas’s