“Carter, not to be unkind," I said, "but the last few months you've been seeing messages about Zia everywhere. Two weeks ago, you thought she was sending you a distress call in your mashed potatoes.""It was a Z! Carved right in the potatoes!”

“The Temple of Dendur," Zia said. "Actually it was built by the Romans - ""When they occupied Egypt," Carter said, like this was delightful information. "Augustus commissioned it.""Yes," Zia said."Fascinating," I murmured. "Would you two like to be left alone with a history textbook?”

“Somewhere behind me, Zia yelled, "Hippo!" Which I thought was a little late.~Carter Kane”

“Tell you what," I said. "After the testing after the Demon Days, when things settle down -""Things won't settle down.""- I'm going to take you to the mall."She blinked. "The mall? For what reason?""To hang out," I said. "We'll get some hamburgers. See a movie."Zia hesitated. "Is this what you'd call a 'date'?"My expression must have been priceless, because Zia actually cracked a smile. "You look like a cow hit with a shovel.”

“At the front window was something that looked like a machine gun with a cluster of barrels. “Rocket launcher?” he wondered aloud. “Nope, nope! Potatoes. Ella doesn't like potatoes.”“Ella! Where are the others?”“Roof. Ogre-watching. Ella doesn't like ogres. Potatoes.”Potatoes? Frank didn't understand until he swiveled the machine gun around. Its eight barrels were loaded with spuds. At the base of the gun, a basket was filled with more edible ammunition…“They have cannonballs,” Frank said, “and we have a potato gun.”“Starch,” Ella said thoughtfully. “Starch is bad for ogres.”

“I'll let you and Zia have some quality time," she told me. "Just the two of you and your coat.”

“Zia," I said, "that's a goddess. She defeated Bast. What chance do you have?"Zia held up her staff and the carved lion's head burst into flames - a small red fireball so bright, it lit the entire room. "I am a scribe in the House of Life, Sadie Kane. I am trained to fight gods.”