The Serpent's Shadow

Carter leads the magicians outside into battle, where Apophis has grown bigger than Cairo. Using Horus’s power, Carter calls the rest of the gods to battle. However, as the gods and magicians charge the serpent, Carter realizes Apophis is fracturing the Duat so that the charge feels like “running through a fun house full of mirrors, each mirror leading to another fun house filled with more mirrors” (355). 

To ensure they don’t get lost, Carter and Sadie hold on to each other as they make their way toward where Zia/Ra battles Apophis. Zia sees them, which distracts her, and in that moment, Apophis strikes. When the serpent lifts its head, Zia is gone. As was foretold in the ancient stories, Apophis swallowed the sun god, and the terrifying cold of chaos settles over everything. Though all seems lost, Carter and Sadie refuse to give up. While Bes and Bast distract Apophis, the siblings cast the execration spell.

As Carter and Sadie cast the spell, Carter finally understands that a creature’s shadow is the imprint they leave on the world. Thus, when they finish, the impact of Apophis’s existence suddenly lifts, as “the wars, murders, turmoil, and anarchy Apophis had caused since ancient times finally lost power” (368).