“Maybe that’s why he kept us alive this long,” I said. “He needed our help to get the book. Then he planned on tricking us into casting the spells he wanted.”
Setne mumbled in protest.
“Can we find Apophis’s shadow without him?” I asked Zia.
“Mm-mm!” Setne said, but I ignored him.
Zia studied a few more lines. “Apophis…the sheut of Apophis. Yes, here it is. It lies in the Land of Demons. So we’re in the right place. But this map…” She showed me part of the scroll, which was so dense with hieroglyphs and pictures, I couldn’t even tell it was a map. “I have no idea how to read it. The Land of Demons is huge. From what I’ve read, it’s constantly shifting, breaking apart, and reforming. And it’s full of demons.”
“Imagine that.” I tried to swallow the bitter taste from my mouth. “So we’ll be as out-of-place here as demons are in the mortal world. We won’t be able to go anywhere unseen, and everything that meets us will want to kill us.”
“Yes,” Zia agreed. “And we’re running out of time.”
She was right. I didn’t know exactly what time it was in the mortal world, but we had descended into the Duat in the late afternoon. By now, the sun
might have gone down. Walt wasn’t supposed to survive past sunset. For all I knew, he might be dying right now, and my poor sister…No. It was too painful to think about.
But at dawn tomorrow, Apophis would rise. The rebel magicians would attack the First Nome. We didn’t have the luxury to roam around a hostile land, fighting everything in our path until we found what we were looking for.
I glared down at Setne. “I’m guessing you can guide us to the shadow.”
He nodded.
I turned to Zia. “If he does or says anything you don’t like, incinerate him.”
“With pleasure.”
I commanded the ribbons to release just his mouth.
“Holy Horus, pal!” he complained. “Why did you tie me up?”
“Well, let’s see…maybe because you tried to get me killed?”
“Aw, that?” Setne sighed. “Look, pal, if you’re going to overreact every time I try to kill you—”
“Overreact?” Zia summoned a white-hot fireball into her hand.
“Okay, okay!” Setne said. “Look, that demon captain was going to turn on you anyway. I just helped things along. And I did it for a reason! We needed to get here, to the Land of Demons, right? Your captain would never have agreed to set that course unless he thought he could kill you. This is his homeland! Demons don’t ever bring mortals here unless they’re for snacks.”
I had to remember Setne was a master liar. Whatever he told me was complete and utter Apis-quality bull. I steeled my willpower against his words, but it was still difficult not to find them reasonable.
“So you were going to let Bloodstained Blade kill me,” I said, “but it was for a good cause.”
“Aw, I knew you could take him,” Setne said.
Zia held up the scroll. “And that’s why you were running away with the Book of Thoth?”
“Running? I was going to scout ahead! I wanted to find the shadow so I could lead you there! But that’s not important. If you let me go, I can still bring you to the shadow of Apophis, and I can get you there unseen.”
“How?” Zia asked.
Setne sniffed indignantly. “I’ve been practicing magic since your ancestors were in diapers, doll. And while it’s true I can’t do all the mortal spells I’d like…” He glanced wistfully at the Book of Thoth. “I have picked up some tricks only ghosts can do. Untie me and I’ll show you.”
I looked at Zia. I could tell we were thinking the same thing: terrible idea, but we didn’t have a better one.
“I can’t believe we’re seriously considering this,” she grumbled.
Setne grinned. “Hey, you’re being smart. This is your best shot. Besides, I want you to succeed! Like I said, I don’t want Apophis destroying me. You won’t regret it.”