“Facinating." He broke into a wide grin. "I've discovered something, Khufu. This is not Memphis, Egypt."Khufu gave me a sideways look, and I could swear his expression meant, Duh."I've also discovered a new form of magic called blues music," the man continued. "And barbecue. Yes, you must try barbecue.”

“Amos clapped his hands. “Khufu!”I thought he’d sneezed, because Khufu is a weird name, but then a little dude about three feet tall with gold fur and a purple shirt came clambering down the stairs. It took me a second to realize it was a baboon wearing an L.A. Lakers jersey.”

“All I heard was the blood rushing through my ears, and the distant rumble and crackle of the Lake of Fire. (And Khufu scratching himself and grunting, but that was nothing new.)”

“I blinked the sleep out of my eyes and realized my head was in Khufu’s lap. The baboon was foraging my scalp for munchies.“Dude.” I sat up groggily. “Not cool.”“But he gave you a lovely hairdo,” Sadie said.“Agh-agh!” Khufu agreed.”

“Back in Khufu's day I knew a magician who parted the Nile just so he could climb to the bottom and retrieve a girl's necklace. Then there was that Israelite fellow, Mickey.""Moses?""Yeah, him.”

“Amos sipped his coffee. "Sorry if that distubed you. Khufu's very picky. He only eats foods that end in -o. Doritos, burritos, flamingos."I blinked. "Did you say-""Carter," Sadie warned. She looked a little queasy, like she'd already had this conversation. "Don't ask.”

“I didn’t know baboons could drive recreational vehicles, but Khufu did okay. When I woke up around dawn, he was navigating through the early morning rush hour in Houston, baring his fangs and barking a lot, and none of the other drivers seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary.”