Vowing to avenge his beloved Mrs. Underwood, Nathaniel promises to free Bartimaeus when their task is complete. After encountering the Resistance, Nathaniel and Bartimaeus travel to Heddlehem Hall to stop Lovelace's coup. There, Bartimaeus battles a mysterious bearded mercenary, who displays extraordinary resistance to magic and a pair of seven league boots. Nathaniel is discovered by Lovelace and his master Schyler, who offers an ultimatum: to join Lovelace's new order, or die. Nathaniel manages to kill Schyler using petty magical firework-cubes, and he and Bartimaeus arrive at the conference of magicians. Nathaniel attempts to warn the attendees but Whitwell, ignorant of the plot, places him in an impenetrable bubble. The room is revealed to be an enormous summoning pentacle – Lovelace, shielded by the Amulet, blows an ancient horn to call forth the immense spirit Ramuthra, who destroys the surrounding magicians and spirits. Bartimaeus distracts Lovelace, allowing Nathaniel to seize the Amulet. Ramuthra obliterates Lovelace, and Nathaniel delivers the words of dismissal and breaks the summoning horn. Ramuthra disappears, and Nathaniel presents the Amulet to Prime Minister Rupert Devereaux. Recounting a modified version of events, Nathaniel becomes the quiet hero of the government. He strikes a bargain with Bartimaeus: in return for keeping Nathaniel's true name a secret, the magician will not summon him again. With Bartimaeus’ grudging respect, Nathaniel unbinds him, beginning a true magician's life under a new master, Jessica Whitwell.