"As of this moment," Sadie growled. "My brother's name is Punching Bag. Seems he hasn't been telling me everything."
"Ah," Annabeth had to fight the urge to scoot away from her new friend. She feared those glowing angry hieroglyphs might explode. "Awkward. Sorry."
"Don't be," Sadie said. "I'll rather enjoy bashing my brother's face in."
-The Staff of Serapis
Carter's door bust open with a loud bang as it hit the wall. He looked up, startled and saw his sister standing in the doorway glowering at him. She marched across the room, her combat boots slapping ominously against the floor and he cringed; wondering what had made her so angry.
"Sadie, wha-?"
She slapped him upside the head and he yelped. "Ow! What was that for?"
"You left out a few important details about your encounter with the Son of Sobek," she folded her arms across her chest and glared daggers at him.
Carter gave her a guilty look. "Um, details?" he gulped.
She rolled her eyes. "Yes, details. Like a certain demigod that helped you."
He looked down at the scrolls on the desk he'd been going over before she came in and then glanced at Khufu who was quietly sitting on the tire swing with a cheerio box in one hand. The baboon was watching them and eating the cereal like he had ring side seats at a boxing show.
"I meant to tell you," Carter mumbled. "I - the whole situation felt wrong. Me and Percy weren't meant to meet. Something or someone brought us together and we both felt like we were being tested."
Sadie nodded and sat down on his bed. "Annabeth and I thought the same thing."
"Annabeth?" Carter asked in puzzlement.
She quickly filled him in on her adventure with the Greek demigod. First on the train and then at Rockaway Beach. When she finished, Carter felt a shiver run up his spine and she gave him a grim look of agreement.
At some point during her story, Khufu had realized there wasn't going to be a fight and wandered off. Presumably to get a game of basketball together. After a moment Carter told Sadie all about Percy.
"So Setne has been behind all this from the start," Carter mused aloud. "I really hate that guy."
Sadie punched his pillow viciously. "I should have killed him when I had the chance," she frowned.
"We didn't have a choice at the time," he reminded her. "Do you think he's going to set up anymore tests?" Carter's gut churned at the idea of meeting anymore demigods. The whole concept of Greek gods actually existing made him feel like his world had been turned inside out and stuffed in a blender.
His sister blew a strand of blond and purple hair out of her face. "Maybe. We now know from Serapis he's looking for the crown of Ptolemy to help make himself in immortal." Sadie wrinkled her nose in distaste and he had to agree with her.
The whole concept of a guy in a loincloth and bad Elvis hairdo as a god was nauseating. A god who knew both ancient Greek and Egyptian magic was down right scary. "We have to find it first," Carter's mouth set in determination.
"I told Annabeth I'd have our researchers find out what they can of Ptolemy's crown and she promised to do what she could on her end," Sadie said. "No way am I letting that bloody prat take over the world." She stomped her feet as if imagining Setne were there so she could kick him to death with her combat boots.
He half believed she would too.
"Guess we have work to do," He secretly wished they could have a break from saving the world again for one day.
Sadie stood. "We're going to get him," she reassured him. "With the help of our new friends."
"Yeah," Carter followed her out of his room so they could start research on finding the crown before Setne. He only hoped teaming up with the demigods wouldn't blow up in their faces.