WELL THIS ISN'T EXACTLY A LONG CHAPTER, SO I ADDED ANOTHER CHAPTER TO THE STORY.

CARTER:

My ba is seriously ADHD.

It just refuses to stay in my body. I was pretty much wiped out yesterday from all the excitement and passed out immediately. And immediately, my ba decided to take a night trip.

I was back on the Egyptian Queen, though how I got there I have no idea, since the boat was destroyed in the Land of Demons. I wasn't alone in my ba dream. I drifted towards a muscular figure clad in armor. He was sitting in one of the chairs in the Dining Room. His gold and silver eyes sparkled in the moonlight.

I almost choked. "H-Horus?"

"Hello Carter," Horus answered, frowning slightly. "Don't be so surprised to see me."

I opened my mouth, then closed it again, gaping like a dumb fish.

Horus ignored my stammerings and continued, "I know I should not be here. But given the circumstances and the escape of an enemy, my return was...compelling."

I finally managed to get some words out. "What enemy? What circumstances? Why did you return?"

Horus sighed. "Many questions as usual. Set is back, Carter. But at the moment, he is not the enemy. As much as I would love to destroy him, I cannot. He was summoned, by whom, I do not know. I traveled here with Isis to investigate. But we were not summoned, so it was quite difficult. We could not make direct contact with you until you sister spoke with Isis."

"Great," I groaned. My ghostly self slumped into a chair next to Horus. "Just what we needed. Another enemy."

We sat there in silence until I had a sudden thought. "And Ra? Is he coming?"

I was sure Zia would want to know. But Horus shook his head. "Ra is directly connected to Apophis. He cannot return unless Apophis returns."

"Great," I said again. "So it's me and Sadie to the rescue again. Yay."

"A warrior does not sit there a sulk, Carter." Horus scolded. "You must take action. And you cannot fight this battle alone. You will need your Greek friends."

"Percy and Annabeth?" I asked incredulously.

Horus nodded. "But I warn you. Do not notify the House of Life. We must not let our enemy know we're coming after him. If he finds out, he will gather an army far greater than ours."

Horus stood, and I knew our meeting was over. "A pharaoh protects his people. I trust you to make the right decisions, Carter. And don't be surprised to find yourself a godling again tomorrow morning. Since the retreat of the gods, I am in need of a human host."

He disappeared in a flash of golden light and I woke with a start.


I hastily brushed and took a quick shower. Then I raced downstairs, only to skid to an abrupt stop when I saw Sadie staring blankly at the wall.

"Sadie, wha-" I began. Before I even got my full sentence out, I realized. She must've been reunited with Isis.

"Yeah, what's up with her?" someone asked.

I turned. It was Percy. He and Annabeth were sitting on the couch, nearly passed out. I realized they were up all night. Probably wondering if anything was wrong with Sadie.

"Morning," I said, trying to cheerful. "Sadie must be talking with Isis, the goddess she's hosting."

Annabeth's eyes widened. "She's possessed?"

I suppressed a smile. "Not possession. It's more like..." I trailed off, seeing the confused look in their eyes. "Never mind. It's hard to explain."

Percy shrugged. "Forget about it, man. How do we get her out of her...trance...thing?"

I reached out and shook Sadie's arm.

"Oh, sorry," she said, shaking her head. "I was just, you know, talking to Isis. Apparently, the gods are back, and-"

"Yeah, got the memo." I interrupted her, tapping my head.

Sadie nodded, not surprised. "And did Horus tell you about Annabeth's dream?"

I frowned and looked at Annabeth. "You had a dream?"

"Let's have some breakfast first. I'm starving!" Sadie said, before Annabeth could reply.

We agreed and led Percy and Annabeth to our breakfast buffet table.

Percy whistled. "You guys millionaires or something?"

"So," I said, after we got our plates loaded with food (well, Percy did anyway). "You said you had a dream?" I asked Annabeth.

Annabeth took a shaky breath. "Long story short: Atlas isn't looking for Kronos. He's looking for..."

"Me," Percy finished, showing no sign of uneasiness. "He wants to kill me. And somehow...he knows I'm with you guys. He's waiting at Mount Othrys, in San Francisco, on Mount Tam."

Sadie giggled. "Mount Jam?"

At that moment, Walt walked in and pulled up a chair next to Sadie. "What have I missed?"

Within a few seconds of this question being asked, Zia came in, yawning. "So, what's the plan?"

I started to rush the details.

"And Ra?" Zia asked, just like I knew she would.

"Horus said Ra cannot return with Apophis-"

I was once again interrupted by Sadie. "Mount Jam?" She asked again.

"Mount Tam. Or Mount Tamalpais. In San Francisco." Annabeth said airily.

"And we need to get there fast," Percy added. "But I can't risk a flight, under certain circumstances."

Sadie laughed. "Flights? Who needs flight when we have-" she got a mischievous look in her eyes. "-portals?"