The Son of Sobek

The Son of Sobek is a short story told by Carter Kane in the paperback version of The Serpent's Shadow with a guest appearance by Percy Jackson.

Plot
A giant crocodile has been terrorizing Long Island, along with other magical disturbances in the area. Carter Kane takes his pet griffin, Freak, to go survey the area. After settling down on the ground, Carter is left behind as Freak flies away with his floating boat. Forced to find the monster, Carter goes into a lake to start his search. Suddenly, the crocodile comes from underwater and swallows Carter whole. Carter plans on using a "word of power" to escape when the crocodile spits him out after it is jabbed in the rear end by Percy. The crocodile soon runs away.

Carter picks himself up and sees the other teenager in the mud. The boy is wearing an orange T-shirt that says Camp, but the rest is unreadable. As Carter examines the "camper boy," he soon realizes that he can clearly see his wand and khopesh, something most mortals are unable to see. He also notices the strange sword that the teen carries, which is a double edged leaf-shaped blade. Despite meeting almost all magicians in the North American nomes, Carter has no idea who this person is, only that everything about him seemed un-Egyptian.

The teen tries to get Carter to thank him for rescuing him from the crocodile, but Carter is somewhat embarrassed and ends up getting angry at Percy's comments instead. The two then get into a small argument over the ownership of the monster, with Percy thinking that the monster is Carter's pet after he said it was his monster, but only meant he was chasing it. Percy then asks Carter if he is a son of Ares as he must be a half-blood of some kind. He also asks why his sword is all bent, but Carter tells him it is supposed to be like that. Carter also gets angry at Percy's use of the word half-blood (as his dad is African-American and his mom is white), as well as Percy offering to help because last time Carter was eaten by the crocodile.

Carter accidentally uses the "Fist of Horus" to cause a fist to knock Percy right out of his shoes and into the swamp. Carter instantly rushes over, thinking he might have killed Percy, but is hit in retaliation by a huge wave of water. Furious, Percy lunges at Carter with his sword and Carter is forced to defend himself, not able to attack because of Percy's skills with a sword. During the fight, Percy accuses him of being a monster, which Carter says he isn't. Percy also asks if he is an escaped spirit from the Doors of Death or if the monster was his pet and Carter was just trying to find it.

The fight ends when Carter uses some magic rope to tie Percy's sword to his head just as Percy hit his arm, causing Carter to bleed. During the small break, Percy comments that Carter must be a half-blood because if he wasn't, the sword would have passed right through him. Percy also asks if he was a rogue demigod who used to be part of Kronos' Army. After listening to Percy talk for a bit, Carter starts to realize that Percy isn't a magician and is something completely different, as Percy keeps using words related to Greek mythology. The two form a truce so that they can go after the crocodile, as it has been terrorizing Long Island for weeks now. The two also introduce each other, eventually revealing their names.

They eventually find the crocodile terrorizing a small cul de sac with a few kids spraying the monster with water guns and hitting it with water balloons. Carter sees a gold necklace around the crocodile's neck and tells Percy that they need to remove it to stop the monster, as it can't be killed. Percy tells Carter to distract the crocodile and he will get it. Carter makes a large avatar of Horus around himself (which Percy calls a giant glowing chicken-man) and attacks the monster. Percy then jumps on the crocodile and tries to unlock the necklace, but can't as he isn't a magician. As Carter's avatar fades and the crocodile crashes into a house, Carter and Percy switch places. Percy creates a massive whirlpool in the center of the cul de sac using the water generated by the crocodile. The crocodile is swept up in it and Carter manages to make it to the necklace. As Percy begins to tire, Carter finally manages to remove it and the crocodile returns to its original form; that of a baby crocodile.

Percy and Carter run off with the baby croc after hearing some cop cars approaching. Resting at a nearby diner, Percy and Carter watch the news, as they report that a freak sewer incident had destroyed the homes in the cul de sac. Carter and Percy wonder if someone is trying to bring them together to cause trouble and agree to keep their respective worlds a secret from each other until the time is right. Carter takes the necklace and the baby croc with him, but places an enchantment on Percy's hand so that if he ever needs to contact him, all he has to do is say his name. The two part on good terms, but Carter knows that some day in the middle of the night, he'll wake up to the sound of Percy calling him.

Trivia

 * The audiobook is narrated by author Rick Riordan; the first time he has ever narrated the entire audio for one of his own stories.
 * The short story is a bonus feature with the paperback version of The Serpent's Shadow.
 * The independent e-reader version of the story was released on June 18, 2013, along with a sneak peek of The House of Hades.
 * Percy accuses Carter of being an escaped soul from the Underworld who used the Doors of Death and as a former member of Kronos' Army, making the time frame of the story questionable.
 * The worlds of the Kane Chronicles and Percy Jackson have only crossed paths once before, when Drew and Lacy (daughters of Aphrodite) appeared in The Serpent's Shadow.