They approached the mouth, its huge teeth framing the entrance. The cart stopped. The robed man did not turn around. They sat there, unmoving for a minute, two minutes, three. Peter could not take his eyes off the gaping mouth of the Jackal.

Suddenly the horse began to dance nervously sideways, whinnying. Peter felt the air go cold. He turned slowly, not wanting to face what he knew would be there.

"Step down," groaned Ombra.

Peter climbed out of the cart. Ombra flowed toward him. Peter stepped back; the chain attached to his neck went tight and stopped him. Ombra oozed past him to the cart, and Peter heard a metallic sound. The other end of the chain was no longer attached to the cart, but instead was somehow connected to Ombra himself, disappearing into his black form.

"You will follow," groaned Ombra, and he began gliding toward the Jackal, pulling the chain. Peter resisted for an instant but immediately stumbled forward as he was yanked by what felt like immense strength. He was forced to half trot to keep up as...o...b..a moved silently across the sand toward the Jackal.

They entered the open mouth, walking down a giant stone tongue. The dim starlight gave way to darkness, then utter blackness. Peter fought to control the fear rising in him as...o...b..a dragged him relentlessly forward.

Ombra stopped. Peter jerked awkwardly backward to avoid b.u.mping into the hideous thing leading him.

"We will descend steps," said the groaning voice, much too close.

Peter felt the tug of the chain again. He shuffled forward, putting his hands out. He touched a cold stone wall. He slid his toes forward until he felt a step, then started down. He had never experienced such utter, disorienting blackness. He counted twenty-seven steps before they arrived at a landing. The chain tightened, and he was pulled down another flight of steps. He could sense Ombra just in front of him, the only sound the clinking of the chain.

Down they went, down and downa"seventeen more stepsa"Peter utterly blind and increasingly unable to control his mounting dread. Down and down anda "Stop," said Ombra, sounding farther ahead all of a sudden. His groaning voice echoed, suggesting a larger s.p.a.ce. Peter waited in the blackness, barely breathing. He heard a new sound, like whisperinga"many low voices whispering. And thena Peter.

Peter jumped at the sound of the voice. It was like Ombra's cold moan, but it was stronger, and it seemed to come from everywhere at oncea"ahead of him, behind, abovea"as if from the darkness itself.

Peter, the voice said again.

"Yes?"

Do you know why you are here?

"No." It wasn't exactly a voice, he realized. It was more like he was thinking what was being said to him.

You are here because you are a Watcher.

"I don't know what that means."

You have powers, and you will use them to show us where the starstuff falls.

"But I don't know where anya"

You will show us. You are a Watcher, as your father was.

Peter took a staggering step backward, as if he had been struck. The chain clattered. "My father? You know my father?"

Your father helped us. He did so to keep you alive. You will help us now, to keep your friends alive.

"But I don't know what you're talking about! How can I help you if I don'ta"

When the time comes, you will know. You will feel the Fall and you will take us there. If you fail to help us, your friends will die. Do you understand?

"Where's my father now? Can Ia""

Do you understand? The voice inside him was so loud that Peter clutched his head in pain.

"Yayes," Peter said. But he didn't understand anything.

If you fail, repeated the voice, your friends will die.

CHAPTER 26.

CAP'N SMEE THE LINE OF MOLLUSK CHILDREN, bound together by rope tied to their waists, trudged along the jungle path. They were herded by scowling Scorpion warriors, who shouted at the children in a tongue they did not understand, shoving them, jerking them brutally to their feet if they fell. Some of the children were crying; some were too shocked to cry, and moved numbly forward with vacant faces.

Shining Pearl, daughter of Fighting Prawn, was neither crying nor numb. She was watching the Scorpion warriors and studying the rope that bound her to the boy in front of her and the boy behind. The rope formed simple slipknots around their waists. The knots were drawn tightly now, but Shining Pearl thought she could free herself. If the rope goes slack, even for a few secondsa.

She knew this path well, far better than her captors did; she had learned its twists and turns during endless games of chase. Just ahead, it took a long bend to the left.

The closest Scorpion warrior was about fifteen yards ahead of her. Shining Pearl kept an eye on him. In a moment, because of the bend in the path, he wouldn't be able to see her.

"Ssss!" she hissed softly, calling to the boy in front of her, whose name was Green Stone. He glanced back, stumbling as he was dragged forward by the rope connecting him to the girl just ahead.

Shining Pearl held her finger to her lips, then beckoned for Green Stone to edge back toward her. He pointed to the taut rope pulling him forward. Shining Pearl leaned back for an instant, tugging him, and he nodded to show he understood. She held up her hand to make sure he waited for a moment. Again, he nodded.

Finally the path began its slow curve. The warrior disappeared around the bend.

"Now!" she hissed.

Green Stone dug in his heels, nearly pulling the girl ahead of him off her feet. The rope behind him slackened for just an instant, and in that instant, Shining Pearl pulled the slipknot open, sucked in her stomach, and lifted the loop over her head. She dropped to the path, rolled under a giant leaf, and watched as the rope pulled taut again, leaving a gap where she had been.

Praying that the Scorpions wouldn't notice that gap, Shining Pearl lay perfectly still until the line had pa.s.sed and the callused feet of the last Scorpion warrior had disappeared around the bend. She lay still a few minutes more to be sure, listening as the cawing and jeering of the jungle birds finally returned. On hands and knees, she crept deeper into the jungle, staying away from the paths.

For the moment, she was safe. But where should she go? The Scorpions were swarming around the village; if she stayed on this side of the island, she would surely be caught. That left the other side of the island.

The pirate side.

What about the pirates? she wondered. Had the Scorpions attacked them, too? The more she thought about it, the more unlikely it seemed. The Scorpions would have used all their force to defeat the Mollusks. They might not even know that the pirate camp existed.

Would it be safer on that side of the island? It was a very dangerous place: the pirates were cutthroats, and as if they weren't bad enough, Mister Grin, the giant crocodile, was usually lurking near their camp, hoping to make a meal of Captain Hook. Fighting Prawn had told Shining Pearl many times that she must never cross the mountain to the pirate side.

But her father was helpless nowa"the entire tribe was, except for Shining Pearl. Of all the Mollusks, she alone could act. And the more she thought about the situation, the clearer it became: if she had any hope of fighting back against the Scorpions, she would need the help of the ruthless men on the other side of the mountain.

Shining Pearl took a deep breath. Then she began to climb.

Smee stood on the beach, gasping and dripping seawater. The other six pirates stood five yards away, also dripping, staring at Smee, waiting.

They were lucky to be alive. After watching Hook and the boys disappear into the churning, bubbling water, Smee and the others had clung to the overturned canoe, lifting their legs as high as they could, terrified that at any moment they, too, would be sucked below.

Instead, the sea had quieted, and the canoe had drifted from the spot. The pirates had talked about swimming back to the beach where they had stolen the canoe, but they were not good swimmers, and this side of the island was crawling with red-painted, spear-carrying warriors. So they had clung to the canoe, hoping for the best. Their hopes were rewarded as the current carried them, slowly, around the north side of the island, bringing them close enough to a point where, with much flailing and sputtering, they were able to swim to sh.o.r.e.

Now, on the beach, the other pirates were all looking at Smee. It bothered him, facing five and a half pairs of eyes (one of the men wore an eye patch).

"What are you looking at?" Smee said.

"We're looking at you," said one of the men, whose name was Hurky.

"I can see you're looking at me," said Smee. "But why are you looking at me?"

"We're waitin' for orders," said Hurky.

"Ah," said Smee. He resumed gasping. Then he frowned. "Wait a minute," he said. "Orders from who?"

"From you," said Hurky.

Smee was so taken aback by this that he literally took a step back. "From me?" he sputtered. "I don't give orders. Cap'n gives orders."

"Smee," said Hurky. "If the cap'n is givin' any orders right now, it's to a fish. He's gone, Smee. You was first mate. You're next in line. You're the actin'cap'n now. So we're waitin'on your orders."

The other five men nodded in agreement and continued to stare expectantly at Smee. He could feel the weight of all eleven eyes. He rubbed his bare forehead with both hands. He was trying to think, but thinking was the one thing Smee had always found hardest to do. He had spent most of his life doing it as little as possible.

"Cap'n Smee," said a voice. Cap'n Smee. It sounded bizarre to Smee. He peeked out between his hands; he saw the voice had come from a man named Boggs.

"What is it?" he said reluctantly.

"I was thinking," said Boggs, "that it might be a good idea to go to the fort."

"The fort?" said Smee.

"Aye, Cap'n. The fort."

Smee frowned, thinking about it. "The fort," he said.

"Aye, Cap'n."

"We should go to the fort," said Smee.

"So that's your order then, Cap'n?" said Hurky.

"What is?" said Smee.

"That we should go the fort," said Hurky.

"Yes," said Smee. "I believe it is. Follow me, men."

He began walking. The men hesitated.

"Cap'n Smee," called Hurky.

"What?" said Smee, stopping.

"The fort is the other way."

"Ah," said Smee. He turned around and started walking in the opposite direction.

"Follow me, men," he said again.

And one by one, the men fell in behind, following Acting Captain Smee.

CHAPTER 27.

A DESERT CONVERSATION.

LEONARD ASTER WAS GETTING used to the camel. Unlike a horse, it had a swaying, side-to-side gait that was surprisingly comfortable. And he was learning to control it, thanks to Tink, who could speak a little Camel.

He says you're pulling too hard on his nose, she told Leonard.

"Please tell him I'm sorry," said Leonard, easing up on the reins, which were attached to a wooden peg inserted into the camel's nostrils. The camel emitted a snorting sound.

He says thank you, said Tink. His name is Azerraf.

"Please tell Azerraf he is welcome," said Leonard.

Bakari looked on in amus.e.m.e.nt.

"I've never heard anyone speak so politely to a camel," he said.

"Well I certainly don't want to irritate him," said Leonard, smiling. "It's a long way to the ground."

The two riders had said nothing of importance as they made their way out of the streets of Ashmar. Now they were east of the city on the desert road to the Rundoon border; Tink had been released from the confinement of the box, and the men felt it was safe to talk. Just in case, Bakari twisted in his saddle and looked back: in the distance, perhaps a mile behind, he saw two men, also on camels. Other than that, they were alone. Still, Bakari lowered his voice.

"We have an informant in Zarboff's palace," he said. "A guard who detests Zarboff and will tell us what he sees in exchange for gold. He says the boy and his friends are being held in the palace dungeon."

"Is Peter all right?" said Leonard.

"He was quite sick when he arrived, but he's doing better. The palace doctor has been attending to him."

"Does our informant know why they want Peter?"

"No. Only that they want to get him healthy soon. And that last night he was taken to visit a place in the desert near Maknar, a tomb called the Jackal."

"A tomb?"