“Set screamed something in Ancient Egyptian. I was fairly sure it wasn’t a compliment.“I will rend your limbs from their sockets!” he shouted. “I will—”“Die?” Carter suggested.”

“The Ancient Egyptians were not fools, Carter. They built the pyramids. They created the first great nation state. Their civilization lasted thousands of years.”“Yeah,” I said. “And now they’re gone.”

“Carter pulled out several lengths of brown twine, a small ebony cat statue, and a thick roll of paper. No, not paper. Papyrus. I remember Dad explaining how the Egyptians made it from a river plant because they never invented paper. The stuff was so thick and rough, it made me wonder if the poor Egyptians had had to use toilet papyrus. If so, no wonder they walked sideways.”

“You might not think a hippo could inspire terror. Screaming “Hippo!” doesn’t have the same impact as screaming “Shark!” But I’m telling you—as the Egyptian Queen careened to one side, its paddle wheel lifting completely out of the water, and I saw that monster emerge from the deep, I nearly discovered the hieroglyphs for accident in my pants.”

“Then something occurred to me."Get closer," I told Blackjack.He whinnied in protest."Just within shouting distance," I said. "I need to talk to the statue."Now I'm sure you've lost it, boss, Blackjack said”

“Carter started down the stairs, but I grabbed his arm.“Hang on. What about traps?”He frowned. “Traps?”“Didn’t Egyptian tombs have traps?”“Well…sometimes. But this isn’t a tomb. Besides, more often they had curses, like the burning curse, the donkey curse—”“Oh, lovely. That sounds so much better.”

“Piper gripped his hand and followed him, “If I fall, you’re catching me.” “Uh, sure.” Jason hoped he wasn’t blushing.Leo stepped out next. “You’re catching me, too, Superman. But I ain’t holding your hand.”