The Throne of Fire

Carter resumes narrating. Despite their feelings of hopelessness, Carter, Sadie, and Bes continue on with Ra in tow. A magnificent throne of fire appears on the boat, and the group places Ra on it, but nothing changes. They enter the Fifth House, where silent spirits rush to the bank excited by Ra’s presence, and their joy makes Carter feel better because “at least ‘[they’d] shown them the sun one last time before Chaos destroyed the world” (377). The Sixth House passes without incident, and in the Seventh House, Carter and Sadie’s parents are waiting as Osiris and a spirit, respectively. They are proud of what Carter and Sadie have accomplished and bring them into a nearby pavilion for a feast with Khonsu, the moon god.

Khonsu can weave extra time out of moonlight and give Carter and Sadie a chance to get through the Eighth House, but they have to play a game of senet against him. Each team gets three pieces. For each piece the kids and Bes move out of play, they’ll get an extra hour, and for each piece Khonsu moves out, he’ll devour one of their secret names. The kids earn an extra hour before Khonsu moves a piece out of play.