opposed to cooperation with the gods and disagrees with the Kanes when they claim it is necessary to stop Apophis. As a result of his antagonistic behavior, the Kanes wrongly suspect him of being the host of Set in The Red Pyramid. After Set's defeat, Desjardins is outraged that Carter and Sadie chose to make a deal with the god rather than banish, but chooses not to attack them in the end, realizing that enough fighting has been done for one day and that his men appear to be wavering after witnessing the Kanes give up the powers of Horus and Isis willingly. In The Throne of Fire, he works with Vladimir Menshikov in the latter's attempt to hunt Sadie and Carter Kane, believing his lies about how the Kanes' efforts will empower Apophis. Throughout the book, Desjardins grows visibly weaker and older and Zia Rashid realizes that Menshikov has been poisoning him while Desjardins mistakenly believes that it is the weight of leadership getting to him. Desjardins eventually realizes the truth and comes to the Kanes rescue in the Duat where Menshikov has been possessed by the spirit of Apophis. Desjardins casts an execration spell upon Menshikov, killing him and banishing Apophis deeper into the Duat for a while. However, the effort costs Desjardins his life as Desjardins uses up all of his life force to cast the spell. Before dying, Desjardins makes peace with the Kanes and has them pass on his title of Chief Lector of the House of Life to Amos Kane. He is mentioned several times throughout The Serpent's Shadow, particularly in relation to how the Kanes plan to defeat Apophis is to perform their own execration upon the god. It's noted that Desjardins only faced a weaker manifestation of the snake and couldn't do more than banish him for a while the Kanes will be facing Apophis himself at his full power. Set Set is the ancient Egyptian god of evil and the secondary antagonist of The Red Pyramid and a supporting character in The Throne of Fire and The Serpent's Shadow. Although he initially appears to be the main antagonist of The Red Pyramid, Set is actually manipulated secretly by Apophis throughout the book. While Set is evil, he is stated many times to be more of a necessary evil, unlike Apophis. In ancient times, Set acted as the faithful lieutenant of Ra