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Nekhbet didn’t try to convince me otherwise. She was the protector goddess of the pharaohs, but she didn’t care about them as individual humans. She cared about maintaining the power of Egypt, which in turn kept the worship of the gods alive. She certainly didn’t care about noble acts or fairness. Only the weak demanded fairness. The weak were carcasses waiting to die – appetizers in the long dinner of Nekhbet’s eternal life.
‘You’re a good kid,’ Setne told me. ‘A lot nicer than the goddess you’re trying to host. But you’ve got to see the truth. You should’ve taken Zeus’s offer. You would be a god now. You’d be strong enough to make those changes you asked for!’
Strength is good, Nekhbet agreed. Immortality is good.
‘I’m giving you a second chance,’ Setne said. ‘Help me out, Percy. Become a god.’
We turned in the air as Nekhbet’s consciousness separated from mine. She’d forgotten which of us was the enemy. Nekhbet favoured the strong. Setne was strong. I was weak.
I remembered the way Setne had been strip-mining the Duat – cutting fissures in reality, destroying the entire cosmic order to make himself immortal.
I’ll just take the bits and pieces I can use, he’d told Sadie.
My thoughts finally cleared. I understood how Setne operated, how he’d beaten us so badly up till now.
‘You’re looking for a way into my mind,’ I said. ‘Something you can relate to and use against me. But I’m not like you. I don’t want immortality, especially not if it rips the world apart.’
Setne smiled. ‘Well, it was worth a try. Especially since I made you lose control of your vulture!’
An explosion of cold shattered my avatar. Suddenly I was falling.
My one advantage: I’d been holding Setne in my claws, which meant he was directly below me. I slammed right into him and locked my arms around his chest. We plummeted together through the clouds.
I shivered so badly that I was surprised I could stay conscious. Frost caked my clothes. Wind and ice stung my eyes. I felt like I was downhill skiing without a mask.
I’m not sure why Setne didn’t just magic himself away. I suppose even a powerful magician can succumb to panic. When you’re free-falling, you forget to think rationally: Gee, I have spells and stuff. Instead your animal brain takes over and you think: OH MY GOD THIS KID IS HOLDING ON TO ME AND I’M TRAPPED AND FALLING AND I’M GOING TO DIE!
Even though I was seconds away from becoming vulture hors d’oeuvres, Setne’s squawking and flapping brought me some satisfaction.
If we’d fallen straight down, I would’ve hit solid ground and died. No question.
Fortunately, the winds were strong and Governors Island was a small target in a very big harbour.
We hit the water with a wonderfully familiar KA-FLOOM!
My pain disappeared. Warmth surged back into my limbs. Salt water swirled around me, filling me with new energy. Seawater always did good things for me, but normally not this fast. Maybe the presence of Nekhbet ramped up my healing. Maybe my dad Poseidon was trying to do me a favour.
Whatever the case, I felt great. I grabbed Setne by the throat with one hand and began to squeeze. He fought like a demon. (Believe me, I know. I’ve fought a few.) The crown of Ptolemy glowed in the water, steaming like a volcanic vent. Setne clawed at my arm and exhaled streams of bubbles – maybe trying to cast spells, or maybe trying to sweet talk me out of strangling him. I couldn’t hear him, and I didn’t want to. Underwater, I was in charge.
Bring him to shore, said Nekhbet’s voice.
Are you crazy? I thought back. This is my home court.
He cannot be defeated here. Your friends are waiting.
I didn’t want to, but I understood. I might be able to keep Setne occupied underwater for a while, but he was too far down the path to immortality for me to destroy. I needed to undo his magic, which meant I needed help.
I kept my grip on his throat and let the currents push me to Governors Island.
Carter waited for me on the island’s ring road. His head was wrapped in bandages like a turban. The blisters on his face had been treated with some kind of purple goo. His linen ninja jammies looked like they’d been laundered in a burning wood chipper. But he was alive, and angry. In one hand he held a glowing white rope like a cowboy’s lasso.
‘Welcome back, Percy.’ He glared at Setne. ‘This guy give you any trouble?’
Setne flailed and shot fire in Carter’s direction. Carter lashed the flames aside with his rope.
‘I’ve got him under control for now,’ I said.
I felt confident that was true. The seawater had brought me back to full strength. Nekhbet was cooperating again, ready to shield me from anything Setne
