anti-magic page 19-20

Sadie scanned the field for Setne. “Where is the skinny old git?”
The skinny old git appeared right behind her. He spoke a single word from his scroll of nasty
surprises, and the ground exploded.
When I regained my senses, I was still standing, which was a minor miracle. The force of the spell
had pushed me away from Setne, so my shoes had made trenches in the mud.
I looked up, but I couldn’t make sense of what I was seeing. Around Setne, the earth had ruptured in a
ten-foot-diameter ring, splitting open like a seedpod. Plumes of dirt had sprayed outward and were frozen
in midair. Tendrils of red sand coiled around my legs and brushed against my face as they snaked in all
directions. It looked like somebody had stopped time while slinging red mud from a giant salad spinner.
Sadie lay flat on the ground to my left, her legs buried under a blanket of mud. She struggled but
couldn’t seem to get free. Her staff was knocked out of reach. Her scroll was a muddy rag in her hand.

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Page 20

All around the clearing, Setne’s earth magic shattered. The tendrils of red sand fell to the ground with
a loud slosh, and suddenly I could move again. Sadie struggled to her feet. Annabeth ran to my side.
Setne didn’t seem concerned about us.
He gave Nekhbet a mock bow. “Very impressive. But watch this!”