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‘Setne has perfected the formula,’ I guessed. ‘That Book of Thoth gives him some primo magic.’
Sadie clapped for me. ‘I think you’ve got it. Setne will recreate the crown of Ptolemy, but this time he’ll do it properly, and he’ll become a god.’
‘Which is bad,’ I said.
Annabeth tugged thoughtfully at her ear. ‘So … who was that cobra goddess?’
‘Wadjet,’ Carter said. ‘The guardian of the red crown.’
‘And there’s a guardian of the white crown?’ she asked.
‘Nekhbet.’ Carter’s expression turned sour. ‘The vulture goddess. I don’t like her much, but I suppose we’ll have to stop her from getting devoured. Since Setne needs the Upper Kingdom crown, he’ll probably go south for the next ritual. It’s like a symbolic thing.’
‘Isn’t up usually north?’ I asked.
Sadie smirked. ‘Oh, that would be much too easy. In Egypt, up is south, because the Nile runs from the south to the north.’
‘Great,’ I said. ‘So how far south are we talking about – Brooklyn? Antarctica?’
‘I don’t think he’ll go that far.’ Carter rose to his feet and scanned the horizon. ‘Our headquarters are in Brooklyn. And I’m guessing Manhattan is like Greek god central? A long time ago, our Uncle Amos hinted at that.’
‘Well, yeah,’ I said. ‘Mount Olympus hovers over the Empire State Building, so –’
‘Mount Olympus –’ Sadie blinked – ‘hovers over the … Of course it does. Why not? I think what my brother’s trying to say is that if Setne wants to establish a new seat of power, blending Greek and Egyptian –’
‘He’d find a place in between Brooklyn and Manhattan,’ Annabeth said. ‘Like right here, Governors Island.’
‘Exactly,’ Carter said. ‘He’ll need to conduct the ritual for the second crown south of this point, but it doesn’t have to be far south. If I were him –’
‘And we’re glad you’
re not,’ I said.
‘– I would stay on Governors Island. We’re at the north end now, so …’
I gazed south. ‘Anyone know what’s at the other end?’
‘I’ve never been here,’ Annabeth said. ‘But I think there’s a picnic area.’
‘Lovely.’ Sadie raised her staff. The tip flared with white fire. ‘Anyone fancy a picnic in the rain?’
‘Setne’s dangerous,’ Annabeth said. ‘We can’t just go charging in. We need a plan.’
‘She’s right,’ Carter said.
‘I kind of like charging in,’ I said. ‘Speed is of the essence, right?’
‘Thank you,’ Sadie muttered.
‘Being smart is also of the essence,’ Annabeth said.
‘Exactly,’ Carter said. ‘We have to figure out how to attack.’
Sadie rolled her eyes at me. ‘Just as I feared. These two together … they’ll overthink us to death.’
I felt the same way, but Annabeth was getting that annoyed stormy look in her eyes and, since I date Annabeth, I figured I’d better suggest a compromise.
‘How about we plan while we walk?’ I said. ‘We can charge south, like, really slowly.’
