The Red Pyramid Chapter 40 Summary

I Ruin a Rather Important Spell

• As Sadie emerges from the pyramid, she sees that things are not going well for Carter, since Set has knocked him down and is calling out that there are thirty seconds to sunrise.
• When she gets Set's attention, Sadie slams down her staff and shouts, "Washington, D.C.!"
• Nothing happens, and Set gloats that it's impossible to open a portal during the Demon Days.
• Sure, a mortal can't, but a goddess of magic can. Oh, snap!
• A giant vortex opens up, swallows the pyramid, and spits everything and everyone out on the snow-covered lawn of the National Mall in D.C.
• The red pyramid already looks less powerful, now that it's been taken away from the desert, its source of strength. Set is so mad.
• Carter gets up and shoves his sword through Set's ribs, sending Set tumbling down the side of the pyramid. Carter charges after him, ready to hold him so Sadie can read the spell.
• Sadie summons The Book of Overcoming Set and begins to read from it. She also summons the feather of truth, which floats about her hand.
• As she speaks the divine words, Sadie hears her mother's voice telling her to stay focused and watch for her enemy. Isis is just egging her on to destroy Set.
• Sadie chants Set's name—and his secret name—and Carter forces Set to his knees. The pyramid implodes. A doorway to the Duat begins to open, and Sadie knows that Set will be banished there for a long time, if not forever.
• There's just one line left to speak in the spell, but Sadie hesitates. She remembers what her mother had said about watching for their enemy.
• Sadie looks up and sees the chaos magic Set had summoned moving upward into the sky. And as Sadie watches, the chaos magic forms a shape.
• At first, it looks like a giant red river. But it's not a river—it's a snake.
• Carter yells at Sadie, asking what she's waiting for. Sadie realizes that Carter can't see the snake.
• As Sadie hesitates, Carter looks at her like she's a stranger. It's like what happened back when their family had been fragmented. Sadie knows that Horus is urging Carter to achieve vengeance, and it looks like Isis is holding back yet again.
• Sadie throws the feather of truth into the sky, telling Carter to look at it.
• The feather explodes into dust that illuminates the form of the serpent for long enough that Carter can see its outline before it fades.
• Then Set's minion, Face of Horror, screams at Sadie and Carter and prepares to stab Sadie.
• Sadie has a moment to see this before Carter throws his sword at the demon, dropping it in place.
• The demon, before it dies, speaks with a completely different voice, telling Sadie that this isn't over.
• Sadie moves toward Carter and Set and asks if they both saw the serpent: Apophis.
• Carter realizes that the demon Face of Horror had been possessed by Apophis all along, and was using Set to create enough chaos energy for its full release.
• Set, of course, is angry at the notion that someone might be using him, so he denies everything.
• Sadie flatters Set, saying that he is one of the most powerful gods, which is why they'll need him to defeat Apophis once again. They still don't trust Set, though. It's a good thing they still have his secret name, because that will make him behave.
• Sadie says that Set's still a bad dude, but they'll release him back into the Duat if he agrees to behave and help them fight Apophis. Carter, influenced by Horus, is a fan of the chopping-off-Set's-head plan.
• However, Set agrees to only make trouble at their command (in fact he swears to it, by his own name and by the throne of Ra), and then Sadie releases him.
• Set winks, says he's looking forward to having fun with them, and then turns into a pillar of salt and vanishes.
• The pyramid is gone, with snow melted in its exact outline. Magicians lay passed out everywhere, as do a few early-morning joggers who got caught in the magical crossfire.
• Sadie runs over to Amos and Zia, who are in bad shape.
• Carter cradles Zia's head as her skin blisters and her life force weakens. He tells her not to leave him, since Sadie's bad company.
• Zia says that she was never here—she was just a placeholder. She asks Carter to find her, saying that Zia would like a date at the mall. Zia's stare goes blank, and Carter falls into despair.
• Then Sadie notices a crack along Zia's forehead. Her flesh looks like it's becoming clay.
• Sadie tells Carter to look, and they see a blue light fly out of her mouth. Sadie tells Carter that she was a shabti, a placeholder for the real Zia, whom Iskandar was keeping safe.
• This makes sense to Carter, too, once he gets over his shock: he tells Sadie about seeing Zia at the First Nome with a similar blue light. It must've been the shabti communicating with the real Zia, wherever she was hidden.
• Carter concludes that now they have to find her, though Sadie doesn't think it's that simple.
• Desjardins shows up right then, and is super angry at the kids for not only bargaining with Set but also letting him go. Sadie calmly tells Desjardins that Apophis is rising, and the House must relearn the old ways. It's the only way to survive.
• Desjardins argues that the old ways are what destroyed them in the first place, and he accuses the kids of being drunk with power. The magicians will continue to fight godlings until the end.
• Sadie turns to Carter and asks if he knows what they have to do. He agrees to do it.
• Sadie and Carter each remove their amulets, thus removing the gods from their minds. Isis asks Sadie to reconsider, to think about how powerful they could be with more practice, but when Sadie says she's not ready for so much power, Isis compliments her on being wise. For a mortal.
• Desjardins is shocked that the kids gave up the power of the gods of their own free will.
• Carter tells him that they're going to learn the path of the gods through work and practice, not through possession. If Carter is supposed to take the throne as Horus, he'll earn it.
• As sirens approach the scene, Desjardins says he'll let them off this time, as there's already been too much destruction today. But if they cross the House of Life again… (insert your own threat here, since he leaves us hanging).
• The magicians vanish, and Sadie and Carter realize that they have to get Amos out of there.