For an absurd moment, I wondered if Ammit devoured the hearts of wicked cows, and if he liked the beefy taste.

- Carter Kane

I looked across the river to Manhattan. It was a great view. When Sadie and I had first arrived at Brooklyn House, Amos had told us that magicians tried to stay out of Manhattan. He said Manhattan had other problems--whatever that meant. And sometimes when I looked across the water, I could swear I was seeing things. Sadie laughed about it, but once I thought I saw a flying horse. Probably just the mansion's magic barriers causing optical illusions, but still, it was weird.

That sounded about as likely as Apophis and Ra becoming Facebook buddies, but I decided not to say anything.

She was so warm, her drenched clothes had almost dried. Her eyes were rolled back in her head. She started muttering, and I could’ve sworn she said, “Dung balls. Time to roll the dung balls.”
It might’ve been funny—except for the fact that she was dying.
“That’s Khepri talking,” Setne explained. “He’s the divine dung beetle, rolling the sun across the sky.”
I didn’t want to process that—the idea that the girl I liked had been possessed by a dung beetle and was now having dreams about pushing a giant sphere of flaming poo across the sky.

Carter, not to be unkind," I said, "but the last few months you've been seeing messages about Zia everywhere. Two weeks ago, you thought she was sending you a distress call in your mashed potatoes."
"It was a Z! Carved right in the potatoes!

Not long," Zia said. "I wanted to talk to you before [Carter and Amos] come back."
[Sadie] raised an eyebrow. "About Carter? Well, if you're wondering whether he likes you, the way he stammers might be an indication."
Zia frowned. "No, I'm—"
"Asking if I mind? Very considerate. I must say at first I had my doubts, what with you threatening to kill us and all, but I've decided you're not the bad sort, and Carter's mad about you, so—"
"It's not about Carter."
"Oops. Could you just forget what I said, then?