"We're going to get you out," interrupted Leonard. "Which way is the entrance to the dungeon?"

Peter frowned, remembering the night the prison guards had taken him out. "That way," he said, pointing to Leonard's right. "But there's guards." As he spoke, the sound of men shouting echoed across the courtyard.

"We'll hurry," said Leonard, rising to his feet. "Be ready, Peter."

Leonard and Bakari, with Tink zipping ahead, ran to the right along the dungeon wall to a ma.s.sive wood door, crisscrossed with bands of iron. Bakari tried the handle; the door swung open.

The echoing shouts were louder now.

Stepping through the doorway, Leonard and Bakari found themselves in a small room with two red-coated palace guardsa"both sound asleep. Tink fluttered above them, then pointed to a metal ring glinting from her glow.

Keys, she chimed softly.

The shouts in the courtyard were now very loud.

Carefully, Bakari unhooked the ring of keys from the hook on the sleeping guard's belt. Then, with Tink leading, they raced down a torch-lit corridor leading left, back toward Peter's cell. They pa.s.sed a dozen empty cells, then one filled with small dark shapes. Leonard stared.

Monkeys, said Tink in his ear. The next cell is Hook's, and thena But before she could finish, there were angry roars from behind. Bakari and Leonard whirled to see the two guards they had left sleepinga"apparently awakened by the shouts outsidea"charging toward them with swords drawn. Leonard and Bakari drew their own swords, and in a moment the stone corridor rang with the clash of steel on steel, swords flashing in the torchlight. Leonard and Bakari were excellent swordsmen, but time was against them; the sound of the battle was sure to bring more guards. Leonard heard an urgent chime in his ear.

Close your eyes! said Tink. Tell Bakari!

"Bakari!" shouted Leonard. "When I count to three, drive him back, then close your eyes!"

"During a sword fight?" said Bakari.

"Trust me!" said Leonard. "One, twoaNOW!"

Leonard and Bakari both thrust their swords violently, driving their opponents back; they then closed their eyes, Bakari quite reluctantly. In the next instant the once-dim corridor flashed with a white light more brilliant than the midday desert sun. Tink, having used all her energy, dropped to the floor. The two guards screamed, covering their eyesa"too late, as they were temporarily blinded. When the brightness was gone, Leonard opened his eyes and stepped quickly between the helpless guards, raising his sword, hilt-first, and quickly clubbing them both unconscious.

"Come on," he said to Bakari, turning to run along the corridor. He pa.s.sed a cell where the tall, thin figure of Hook stood in the shadows. Then, at last, he came to the cell where Peter was waiting with his mates.

"All right, boys," Leonard said. "We'll have to move quickly now." He looked over his shoulder at Bakari, who was standing ten feet away, next to a torch.

"Bring the keys!" said Leonard.

Bakari did not move.

"For heaven's sake, man!" said Leonard. "Hurry!"

Bakari did not move.

"Lord Aster," said Peter.

"What?"

Peter was pointing toward Bakari's feet. "Look."

Leonard looked, and his blood ran cold.

Bakari had no shadow.

There was shouting in the corridor now, the sound of many men running, coming closer.

Leonard raised his sword, pointing it at Bakari's chest.

"Give me the keys," he said.

Bakari opened his mouth, but instead of Bakari's voice an awful groan came out.

"Go ahead, Lord Aster," it said. "Stick your sword into your Starcatcher friend. Do you think I care?"

Leonard hesitated, then lowered his sword, his shoulders slumping. Ombra emerged from the shadows, and now the groaning voice came from his own dark shape.

"A wise decision, Lord Aster," he said. Moments later, thundering feet announced the arrival of a dozen guards; Leonard was now hopelessly outnumbered. On Ombra's orders, the guards disarmed him, then shoved him, along with the slack-faced Bakari, into a vacant cell next to the boys'.

"Now that you both are comfortable," groaned Ombra, "I will return your a.s.sociate's shadow. I need no longer burden myself with it, as it has given me all I need to know." A shadow emerged from under his robe, and as two terrified guards leapt out of the way, it slithered across the floor and into the cell. It attached itself to Bakari, who groaned and slid to the floor.

As Leonard was helping the disoriented Bakari to his feet, King Zarboff, surrounded by his personal guards, entered the corridor, huffing from the exertion of crossing the courtyard.

"Lord Ombra," he gasped. "My men have sealed the palace. It is impossible for the Starcatchers to get inside."

Zarboff felt a chill as...o...b..a looked at him, then groaned, "The Starcatchers are here."

Zarboff stared at Leonard and Bakari. "But that's not possible!" he sputtered. "How did they get in?"

"They were admitted by an accomplice, a member of your palace guard," said Ombra.

"Who is this traitor?" roared Zarboff. "I will feed him to Kundalini one piece at a time!"

"I will give you his name," said Ombra. "But first you must dispatch a group of your best mena"ten should be sufficienta"to the port of Ashmar. Have them wear civilian clothes and travel un.o.btrusively. They are to board a French ship called the Mich.e.l.le."

"No!" said Leonard, lunging to the cell bars.

Ombra ignored him, continuing to speak to Zarboff. "On the ship is Lord Aster's daughter, whose name is Molly."

Now Peter was gripping the bars of his cell, staring at Ombra.

"Your men are to seize this girl," said Ombra, "and bring her here."

"You don't need my daughter, Ombra," said Leonard. "You have me."

"Your gallantry is touching," said Ombra. "But the girl has already caused me far too much trouble. She is a Starcatcher; the more of you in captivity, the better." He turned to Zarboff. "Dispatch your men to Ashmar at once. I will see you in your chambers."

Zarboff, who disliked taking orders but had no intention of contradicting Ombra, huffed from the room, trailed by his personal guards.

"Ombra," said Leonard. "Whatever you're planning to do here, I give you my word that I will not interfere if you will leave my daughter alone."

Ombra turned to face Leonard, the red spheres in his hood-shape glowing brightly.

"You amuse me, Lord Aster," he groaned, "talking as though you can interfere, when in fact you are helpless. I will do as I please with your daughter and this boy and you. The only reason you are alive right now is that I expect to enjoy your reaction when you see the undoing of everything you Starcatchers have done for thousands of years."

"What are you talking about?" said Leonard.

"You will see," groaned Ombra, "soon enough." He turned to the guards and said something in the Rundoon language. Then he glided away down the corridor, leaving Leonard and Peter staring at each other through the bars.

"What does he mean?" said Peter. "What's he going to do?"

"I don't know," said Leonard. "Ia"

He was silenced by a guard who banged against the cell bars, shouting. Neither Leonard nor Peter understood him, but it was clear he did not want them to talk. Peter and Leonard stood looking at each other for a few more seconds. Each saw despair in the other's eyes. They were trapped and helpless, and Molly was in danger. Molly was in danger.

Leonard shifted his gaze to look after Bakari. Peter turned and walked to the back wall of his cell, slumping to the floor. James started to say something to him, but a shout from a guard cut him off. There would be no more talking. Under the vigilant eyes of the guards, the prisoners sat silent, each in his own world of helplessness and hopelessness. In time, as the slow minutes ticked past, the prisoners dozed, and the only movement in the dungeon was the flickering of the torch flamesa aand one other thing. Down the dim corridor, a few yards from where the sleepy guards watched over their sleeping captives, a tiny glowing form was climbing, inch by agonizing inch, up the wall toward a window. She was exhausted and had to pause often to rest. But at last she reached the window opening and pulled herself through the bars to the narrow ledge outside. There she rested for a half hour, trying to regain her strength, knowing that each pa.s.sing minute increased the danger.

Finally, she rose on wobbly legs, set her wings vibrating, and leapt forward. She dropped almost to the ground before she found the lift she needed, then slowly began to rise, up and up, above the palace complex and over the wall, hovering there, studying the stars to get her bearings. Then, hoping for a favorable wind, she set off, a tiny bright speck in the unspeakable vastness of the desert night.

CHAPTER 33.

THE ALLIANCE.

FIGHTING PRAWN, on bleeding knees, once again raised the heavy stone over his head and once again slammed it down. He grimaced as the stone struck the hard lava, blasting a cloud of stinging rock chips into his face. He wiped the sweat and dust from his eyes, glancing around to see how his men were doing, keeping an eye out for the Scorpion guards.

He and his warriors were toiling deep under the mountain inside a twisting tunnel left by escaping lava. It was as if a giant worm had dug its way to the surface a thousand years before. The tunnel air was stale and smoky from the sputtering torches, their flickering light causing the workers' shadows to dance on the dark walls.

The men were forced to work without food or water. If a man stopped pounding rock, Scorpion guards would kick and whip him. Hour after hour, the workers pounded their stones against the jagged lava rock, breaking off chunks, which were hauled out in baskets by the Mollusk childrena"for what purpose, Fighting Prawn did not know.

There were pirates down there, too, forced to work alongside their former Mollusk enemies. Fighting Prawn had managed to speak to one briefly, before the guards stopped him.

"They didn't get all of us," the pirate had whispered. "There's some that got away. Maybe there's hope for us."

Fighting Prawn only shook his head. What could a handful of pirates do against the Scorpions? He thought about trying to lead an uprising, but his men had no weapons other than the stones, which would be of little use against the spears and knives of the guards. Besides, his men were hungry and exhausted; many were bleeding from cuts inflicted by the sharp rocks or the Scorpions' blows. Fighting Prawn knew they could not hold out much longer.

He worried, too, about the children, forced to drag the heavy baskets, shoved and kicked by the snarling guards. He had caught one heartbreaking glimpse of his youngest daughter, Little Scallop, but had not yet seen Shining Pearl. He knew Shining Pearl could be headstrong. He hoped she hadn't gotten into trouble with the Scorpions.

Shining Pearl crept toward the murmur of men's voices. She was hungry and soaking wet. A steady rain fell; water dripped from every leaf, turning the ground into slippery black muck. Everything smelled of rot and decay. Shining Pearl wished she were home in the village, surrounded by her family, with a warm fire burning and the smell of cooking fish on the wind.

Close to the voices now, she gently drew an enormous leaf out of the way and saw a group of seven mena"piratesa"crouched in a clearing. She hesitated, then took a breath and stepped bravely forward.

"h.e.l.lo," she said, using the English she had learned from her father.

Six of the seven men leapt to their feet, drawing knives. The seventh pirate, a little round man, fell over backward.

"It's a girl!" said one of the men.

"It's one of them local savages," said another, stepping forward. He grabbed Shining Pearl by the arm and leaned his face in close to hers. His grip was painful; his breath was awful. "What're you doing on this side of the island, missy?" he said.

"IaIa" Shining Pearl stammered.

"You what?" said the pirate, shaking her arm.

"Here, now," said the round little man, struggling to his feet. "She's just a girl. She ain't done nothing. Let her go."

To Shining Pearl's surprise, the man holding her arm said, "Aye, Cap'n Smee," and released her. Evidently this little man, Smee, was in charge.

"Here now, little girl," he said. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm hungry," she said. She thought, And I'm lonely, but didn't say it.

"We're all hungry," muttered one of the men.

"Quiet!" snapped Smee. Shining Pearl could tell by the look on the faces of the other pirates that they were taken aback by his tone. He turned back to Shining Pearl and said, "Where's your family, little girl?"

"Theyatheya" Shining Pearl put her face into her hands, sobbing. She was furious at herself for breaking down, but she couldn't help it.

Smee put his hand on her shoulder.

"Go ahead," he said. "It's all right."

"They took my family," she sobbed. "The Scorpions took them all. I ran away, but there's nowhere to go. I can't go back to the village. Those horrible mena" She sobbed some more, her shoulders quaking.

"There, there," said Smee. "You can come with us, to the fort."

This brought grumbles from the other pirates.

"We've got enough troubles already," said the biggest of the men. "We don't need no girl slowing us down."

Smee faced the men. "I'm acting cap'n," he said. "And I say she comes with us to the fort."

The men glared back; Shining Pearl could tell they were on the verge of rebellion. She cleared her throat.

"You can't go to your fort," she said.

All eyes turned to her. "Why not?" said Smee.

"The Scorpions are there, too," she said.

"How do you know that?" said the big man.

"I've just come from there," said Shining Pearl. "The Scorpions found your fort and they captured the rest of yourapirate friends."

"How come they didn't capture you?" said the big man.

"They did, when they came to our village. But I escaped into the jungle and headed to your fort, thinkinga"