The Serpent's Shadow

Before Neith can shoot Walt and Sadie, Sadie starts boasting about her past hunting accomplishments, which are just stories about traveling through London embellished to sound dangerous. However, she manages to distract Neith until sunset, meaning Walt and Sadie win the challenge. Neith disappears, and the vision of the past starts to crumble. Before Sadie can figure out what to do, Walt collapses, and Anubis arrives. Anubis and Walt hold a cryptic conversation about Walt’s decision that neither of them should leave Sadie, and then Walt casts the spell to capture Bes’s shadow as if nothing strange has happened.

Casting the spell takes the last of Walt’s energy, killing him. Sadie sobs as Anubis holds her, and she wonders, “[J]ust once, couldn’t I succeed at something without a massive sacrifice?” (270). After, Sadie casts the spell to release the shadow back to Bes, unsure if it worked. When she’s done, Anubis is gone. 

Suddenly, Walt comes back to life. He urges Sadie to go help Carter and opens a portal. Since only gods can open portals, Sadie looks into the Duat, where she sees Anubis in Walt’s place. At once, she realizes the two have somehow merged. Feeling scared and betrayed, Sadie leaps through the portal.