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The room was suddenly quiet. I was afraid to move. Zia was still wreathed in fire, and it seemed to be getting hotter - burning yelow, then white. She stood as if in a trance. The golden scarab around her neck was definitely smoking now.

"Zia!" My head throbbed, but I managed to rise.

She turned toward me and hefted another firebal.

"Zia, no!" I said. "It's me. Carter."

She hesitated. "Carter...?" Her expression turned to confusion, then fear. The orange flames faded in her eyes, and she colapsed in the pool of sunlight.

I ran to her. I tried to gather her in my arms, but her skin was too hot to touch. The golden scarab had left a nasty burn on her throat.

"Water," I muttered to myself. "I need water." I'd never been good at divine words, but I shouted: "Maw!" The symbol blazed above us:
Several cubic galons of water materialized in midair and crashed down on us. Zia's face steamed. She coughed and spluttered, but she didn't wake. Her fever still felt dangerously high.

"I'll get you out of here," I promised, lifting her in my arms.

I didn't need the strength of Horus. I had so much adrenaline coursing through my body, I didn't feel any of my own injuries. I ran right by Setne when he passed me in the hal.

"Hey, pal!" He turned and jogged along next to me, waving a thick papyrus scroll. "Good job! I got the Book of Thoth!"

"You almost kiled Zia!" I snapped. "Get us out of here - NOW!"

"Okay, okay," Setne said. "Calm down."

"I'm taking you back to my dad's courtroom," I growled.

"I'm going to personally stuff you down Ammit's mouth, like a branch into a wood chipper."

"Whoa, big man." Setne led me up a sloping passage back to the electrical lighting of the excavated tunnels. "How about we get you out of here first, huh? Remember, you still need me to decipher this book and find the serpent's shadow. Then we'll see about the wood chipper, okay?"

"She can't die," I insisted.

"Right, I got that." Setne led me through more tunnels, picking up speed. Zia seemed to weigh nothing. My headache had disappeared. Finaly we burst into the sunlight and ran for the Egyptian Queen.

Carter Kane & Zia Rashid ©Rick Riordan

The Kane Chronicles, The Serpent's Shadow, chapter:12

Art© Karen De la Garza/ Tottiewoodstock

go and like my facebook page www.facebook.com/Tottiewoodsto…

Description

The room was suddenly quiet. I was afraid to move. Zia was still wreathed in fire, and it seemed to be getting hotter - burning yelow, then white. She stood as if in a trance. The golden scarab around her neck was definitely smoking now.

"Zia!" My head throbbed, but I managed to rise.

She turned toward me and hefted another firebal.

"Zia, no!" I said. "It's me. Carter."

She hesitated. "Carter...?" Her expression turned to confusion, then fear. The orange flames faded in her eyes, and she colapsed in the pool of sunlight.

I ran to her. I tried to gather her in my arms, but her skin was too hot to touch. The golden scarab had left a nasty burn on her throat.

"Water," I muttered to myself. "I need water." I'd never been good at divine words, but I shouted: "Maw!" The symbol blazed above us:
Several cubic galons of water materialized in midair and crashed down on us. Zia's face steamed. She coughed and spluttered, but she didn't wake. Her fever still felt dangerously high.

"I'll get you out of here," I promised, lifting her in my arms.

I didn't need the strength of Horus. I had so much adrenaline coursing through my body, I didn't feel any of my own injuries. I ran right by Setne when he passed me in the hal.

"Hey, pal!" He turned and jogged along next to me, waving a thick papyrus scroll. "Good job! I got the Book of Thoth!"

"You almost kiled Zia!" I snapped. "Get us out of here - NOW!"

"Okay, okay," Setne said. "Calm down."

"I'm taking you back to my dad's courtroom," I growled.

"I'm going to personally stuff you down Ammit's mouth, like a branch into a wood chipper."

"Whoa, big man." Setne led me up a sloping passage back to the electrical lighting of the excavated tunnels. "How about we get you out of here first, huh? Remember, you still need me to decipher this book and find the serpent's shadow. Then we'll see about the wood chipper, okay?"

"She can't die," I insisted.

"Right, I got that." Setne led me through more tunnels, picking up speed. Zia seemed to weigh nothing. My headache had disappeared. Finaly we burst into the sunlight and ran for the Egyptian Queen.

Carter Kane & Zia Rashid ©Rick Riordan

The Kane Chronicles, The Serpent's Shadow, chapter:12

Art© Karen De la Garza/ Tottiewoodstock

go and like my facebook page www.facebook.com/Tottiewoodsto…