The Red Pyramid

The boat is called the Egyptian Queen. Sadie and Carter find Bast on board, along with a captain with a battleax for a head. While the captain prepares the ship to sail to the land of the dead, Carter, Sadie, and Bast eat in the lavish dining room. Bast confirms she was fighting Apophis in captivity. For centuries, she battled on Ra’s orders, proud to keep chaos at bay. As she grew weaker, she started to lose the fight, and Sadie and Carter’s parents freed her to let her recover because their mother foresaw terrible things if Bast lost. Though Bast was grateful because she was afraid of Apophis, she fears that Apophis may have escaped, and the chaos he reeks on the world “would be my fault” (326).

Angered by what Bast has had to endure to preserve order, Carter goes to bed. His ba floats up to the boat’s wheel, where Horus is at the helm. He chides Carter for questioning order and sends his ba to an airplane, where Zia, Desjardins, and two other magicians sit amidst a crowd of human passengers. Forces of chaos attack the plane, sending it plummeting. Zia lands the plane safely but passes out from the use of magic.