I Wonder...

 

     I am about halfway through The Throne of Fire and it is getting very interesting. Sadie and Carter Kane just traveled to Russia in search of the second of three scrolls that will help them to awaken Ra the sun god. They have to sneak inside the Hermitage (a tsars palace that had been turned into a museum) and find the secret entrance to the Eigteenth Nome (a region in The House of Life whch is an organization of Egyptian magicians). Once Sadie and Carter find the Eighteenth Nome they stumble apon Vlad Menshikov and he is performing a ritual to summon Set, the god of evil. The Kane kids know they will find the scroll in Vlad's desk. After they get it and try to sneak out without being seen, Set gives away their disguise. Vlad unleashes a double headed demon snake on them and the only way for Sadie and Carter to survive is to unleash Set from Vlad's binding. They know this is a risky move since they have had trouble dealing with Set before. They release Set and, without much help from him, they escape. They have to immediately leave Russia since Vlad is on their tail. Before they leave, Set gives Sadie and Carter a clue on where the third and final scroll is. He does this only under the condition that Sadie gives up his secret name, releasing her power over him. Sadie hesitantly agrees and the Kane kids continue on their journey.

 

     Sadie had felt that getting the second scroll was entirely too easy. While Sadie is narrarating the story she says, "Where were the traps? The alarms? The exploding-donkey curses? I was certain we'd stolen the authentic scroll. I'd felt the same tingle in my fingers as when I'd taken the one from the Brooklyn Museum (without the fire, thankfully). So why hadn't the scroll been better protected?" (Riordan 177,178). You can tell from this quote that retrieving the first scroll had been much more difficult than retrieving the second. It had also involved many more protective curses and charms. This makes me think that Sadie will come across more challenges once she opens the scroll or she could be cursed after she reads it.

 

     Carter had met a girl named Zia in the previous book in the series and fallen in love with her. He then found out that she was only a shabti (an enchanted figure made from clay or wax that is used as a decoy) and that the real Zia had been hidden after she had been possessed by the goddess Nephthys. Ever since Carter learned about this he had made it his own duty to find her. In The Throne of Fire Carter hears a voice that tells him about Zia's where abouts. "You'll never find her, the spirit taunted. She sleeps in the Place of Red Sand, but she will die there if you follow your pointless quest" (Riordan 27). Later on, when Set talks to Sadie before they leave Russia he tells her, " 'And just because I like you so much, I have a free piece of information for your brother. Tell him Zia Rashid's village was called al-Hamrah Makan' " (Riordan 189). I predict that once Ra has been awakened, Carter is going to ask him to help find Zia and free her. I also predict that they will find the entrance to "the Place of Red Sand" hidden some where in Zia's old village. I can't wait to read on and see if I am right!