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Setne rolled up his scroll. He sauntered towards me, the rain parting around him like a bead curtain. His winged snakes followed, their flames making plumes of steam in the storm.
‘Hi, there!’ Setne sounded so casual and friendly I knew I was in trouble. ‘You’re a demigod, I suppose?’
I wondered how Setne knew that. Maybe he could ‘smell’ a demigod’s aura the way Greek monsters could. Or maybe my prankster friends the Stoll brothers had written I’M A DEMIGOD on my forehead in permanent marker and Annabeth had decided not to tell me. That happened occasionally.
Setne’s smile made his face look even gaunter. Dark eyeliner rimmed his eyes, giving him a hungry, feral stare. Around his neck glittered a golden chain of interlocking ankhs, and from his left ear dangled an ornament that looked like a human finger bone.
‘You must be Setne.’ I managed to get to my feet without killing myself. ‘Did you get that outfit at the Halloween Store?’
Setne chuckled. ‘Look, nothing personal, but I’m a little busy at the moment. I’m going to ask you and your girlfriend to wait while I finish my incantation, okay? Once I’ve summoned the deshret, we can chat.’
I tried to look confused, which is one of my most convincing expressions. ‘What girlfriend? I’m alone. Also, why are you summoning a dishrag?’
‘It’s deshret.’ Setne patted his pompadour. ‘The red crown of Lower Egypt. As for your girlfriend …’
He wheeled and pointed behind him, shouting something like ‘Sun-AH!’
Red hieroglyphs burned in the air where Setne pointed:
Annabeth turned visible. I’d never actually seen her wearing her Yankees cap before, since she vanished every time she put it on, but there she was – wide-eyed with surprise, caught in the act of sneaking up on Setne.
Before she could react, the red glowing hieroglyphs turned into ropes like liquorice whips and lashed out, wrapping around her, pinning her arms and legs with such force that she toppled over.
‘Hey!’ I yelled. ‘Let her go!’
The magician grinned. ‘Invisibility magic. Please. I’ve been using invisibility spells since the pyramids were under warranty. Like I said, this is nothing personal, demigods. I just can’t spare the energy to kill you … at least not until the summons is over. I hope you understand.’
My heart hammered. I’d seen Egyptian magic before, when Carter helped me fight the giant crocodile on Long Island, but I had no idea how to stop it, and I couldn’t stand to see it used against Annabeth.
I charged at Setne. He just waved his hand and muttered, ‘Hu-Ai.’
More stupid hieroglyphs flashed in front of me.
I fell on my face.
My face did not appreciate that. I got mud in my nostrils and blood in my mouth from biting my tongue. When I blinked, the red hieroglyphs burned on the insides of my eyelids.
I groaned. ‘What was that spell?’
‘Fall,’ Setne said. ‘One of my favourites. Don’t get up. You’ll just hurt yourself more.’
‘Setne!’ Annabeth shouted through the storm. ‘Listen to me. You can’t make yourself into a god. It won’t work. You’ll just destroy –’
The coil of magical red ropes expanded, covering Annabeth’s mouth.
‘I appreciate your concern,’ said the magician. ‘Really, I do. But I’ve got this figured out. That business with Serapis … when you destroyed my hybrid god? I learned quite a bit from that. I took excellent notes.’
Annabeth struggled uselessly.
I wanted to run to her, but I had a feeling I’d just end up with my face in the mud again. I’d have to play this smart … which was not my usual style.
I tried to steady my breathing. I scooted sideways, just to see if I could.
‘So you were watching in Rockaway Beach?’ I asked Setne. ‘When Annabeth and Sadie took down Serapis, that was all an experiment to you?’
‘Of course!’ Setne looked very pleased with himself. ‘I jotted down the incantations Serapis used while he tried to raise his new Alexandrian lighthouse. Then it was just a matter of cross-referencing those with the older magic in the Book of Thoth, and voilà! I found exactly the spell combo I need to make myself into a god. It’s going to be great. Watch and see!’
He opened his scroll and started chanting again. His winged serpents spiralled through the rain. Lightning flashed. The ground rumbled.
