“I woke to a bucket of ice water in my face.“Sadie! Get up,” Zia said.“God!” I yelled. “Was that necessary?”“No,” admitted Zia.”

“Oh, god,” I said. “Sorry, sorry. Do I die now?”--Sadie to Zia”

“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.”

“Another guy barked orders to a small army of brooms, mops, and buckets that were scuttling around, cleaning up the city."Like that cartoon," Sadie said. "Where Mickey Mouse tries to do magic and the brooms keep splitting and toting water.""'The Sorcerer's Apprentice,'" Zia said. "You do know that was based on an Egyptian story, don't you?”

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

“That’s right, Sadie. For our first real date, I picked up Zia in a boat pulled by a deranged griffin. So what? Like your dates aren’t weird?”

“Zia turned toward us, her expression grim. “I will show you to your quarters. In the morning, your testing begins. We will see what magic you know, and how you know it.”I wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but I exchanged an uneasy look with Sadie.“Sounds fun,” Sadie ventured. “And it we fail this test?”Zia regarded her coldly. “This is not the sort of test you fail, Sadie Kane. You pass or you die.”