The Red Pyramid Chapter 35 Summary

How It All Goes Down

Men Ask for Directions (and Other Signs of the Apocalypse)

  • Sadie tells us that she managed to nap both before and after Amos showed up, so she must've really needed the rest. Her ba, of course, decides to take a vacation.
  • Sadie sees Cleopatra's Needle in London. Isis is standing by it, with multicolored wings.
  • Isis tells Sadie that her parents had the right idea: Bast was growing weaker and would have eventually been overcome by chaos. That's what chaos does: it upsets the balance.
  • Worse, Isis tells Sadie that chaos will destroy the entire human world. She shows Sadie an image of London totally blown up and in pieces.
  • Next, Isis shows Sadie the throne room of the gods, but the throne is empty. Sadie recognizes a few gods—Anubis, Serqet, Sobek—as Isis tells her that they need a god on the throne to restore order. And it needs to be Carter.
  • Sadie asks why it has to be Carter. Isis takes her question seriously and says that there have been good women rulers, but Sadie has a different path.
  • As Sadie thinks about it, she realizes that she doesn't want to rule over a bunch of gods.
  • Isis praises Sadie's courage and faith, saying she'll need them in the times to come. All the gods begin to crowd in on Sadie, who freaks out…
  • And wakes up, because Zia is shaking her awake. They've arrived in Phoenix, it's around 4AM, and the storm is getting so bad that the truck's GPS isn't working.
  • Sadie, Carter, Zia, and Amos are at a gas station so Amos and Carter can ask for directions to the mountain. Sadie thinks that male magicians having to ask for directions is a bad sign.
  • Zia says she wants to talk to Sadie before Carter and Amos get back. Sadie thinks that Zia is going asking her permission to date Carter. She gives Zia permission. But that's not what Zia had in mind. Oops.
  • Instead, Zia wants to talk about Set. Sadie's sick of hearing that Zia thinks Amos is hosting Set. Zia cautions Sadie that Set loves to use traps and deception, and that Amos could be possessed without knowing it.
  • What Zia really wants is to tell Sadie Set's secret name, but she wants Sadie to agree to use it on Amos before they reach the mountain. It might be their only chance. Timing really matters, since they only get one shot at using the spell book before it disappears from the mortal world.
  • Sadie tries to get Zia to tell her the name, saying that she'll use it at the right time.
  • Before they can agree, Amos and Carter come back. As it is, Amos tells them that they're getting close to the mountain. Very close. As though it's a good thing.