I can't get through the year without getting kicked out or blowing something up.

Think about Isis,” Jaz repeated. “And Sadie…there is a purpose. You taught us that. We choose to believe in Ma'at. We create order out of chaos, beauty and meaning out of ugly randomness. That's what Egypt is all about. That's why its name, its ren, has endured for millennia. Don't despair. Otherwise Chaos wins.

Even when she looked scared, she had a lot of guts.

I pictured my mom, alone in our little apartment on the Upper East Side. I tried to remember the smell of her blue waffles in the kitchen. It seemed so far away.

But if she'd realized that nine desiccated zombie nymphs would be waiting for her, she never would have come down here.

"Yeah, flattering." Percy raised Riptide. "But actually I'm the son of Poseidon. I'm from Camp Half-Blood."

It doesn't matter! From waist down, my best friend is a donkey.