The Son of Sobek

After all the dangerous adventures I'd had, I couldn't die like this. Sadie would be devastated. Then, once she got over her grief, she'd track down my soul in the Egyptian afterlife and tease me mercilessly for how stupid I'd been.

Getting eaten by a giant crocodile was bad enough. The kid with the glowing sword only made my day worse.

What the creeping crud is that?" [Percy] demanded. "You’re inside a giant glowing chicken-man!" "Hawk!" I yelled. I decided that if I survived this day I would have to make sure this guy never met Sadie. They’d probably take turns insulting me for the rest of eternity.

I'm Carter Kane-part-time high school freshman, part-time magician, full-time worrier about all the Egyptian gods and monsters who are constantly trying to kill me. Okay, that last part is an exaggeration. Not all the gods want me dead. Just a lot of them.

Could be worse, I told myself. I could be studying cheese demons.

Armed with my sword and wand, I was all set for a stroll through the swamp to look for a hungry monster. Oh, joy!

Normally my sister, Sadie, or some of our other initiates from Brooklyn House would've come with me. But they were all at the First Nome, in Egypt, for a weeklong training session on controlling cheese demons(yes, they're a real thing; believe me, you don't want to know)

Freak is easily spooked. Flesh-eating monsters tend to scare him away. So do fireworks, clowns, and the smell of Sadie's weird British Ribena drink. (Can't blame him on that last one. Sadie grew up in London and developed some pretty strange tastes.

The next microsecond, as the water erupted around me, I realized too late that I should've brought the entire Twenty-first Nome to help me.

I opened my backpack and checked my supplies: some enchanted rope, my curved ivory wand, a lump of wax for making a magical shabti figurine, my calligraphy set, and a healing potion my friend Jaz had brewed for me a while back. (She knew that I got hurt a lot.)

Cheeseburgers,’ Percy said. ‘Food of the gods.

Deal. Now, could you please untie my sword hand from my head? I feel like a freaking unicorn.

Look, man, I don’t know who you are, but that crocodile has been terrorizing Long Island for weeks. I take that kind of personal, as this is my home turf. A few days ago, it ate one of our pegasi.

they were all at the First Nome, in Egypt, for a weeklong training session on controlling cheese demons (yes, they’re a real thing; believe me, you don’t want to know), so I was on my

they were all at the First Nome, in Egypt, for a weeklong training session on controlling cheese demons (yes, they’re a real thing; believe me, you don’t want to know),

would have to make sure this guy never met Sadie. They’d probably take turns insulting me for the rest of eternity. “A little help here?

What the creeping crud is that?” he demanded. “You’re inside a giant glowing chicken-man!

they saw the crocodile for what it was. Maybe their mortal brains made them think it was an escaped elephant from the zoo, or a crazed FedEx delivery driver with a death wish.