Jake Ransom and the Howling Sphinx

CONTENTS

Cover

Title

Dedication

Also by James Rollins

Acknowledgments

Prologue
Valley of the Kings

Part One
Three Weeks Later

1 Eyes of Fire

2 Broken Cabinets

3 Key to Time

4 Mummy’s Claw

5 Ankh of Gold

Part Two

6 Stranded

7 A Prickly Situation

8 Prince of the Sands

9 Make that Princess of the Sands

10 Up and Away

11 Bloody Skies

Part Three

12 The Dungeons of Ka-Tor

13 A Call for Help

14 Eye of Fire

15 Lock and Key

16 Cloaks and Daggers

17 Mice in a Maze

18 Two Will Fall

19 Sweet Dreams

20 Crooked Nail

21 A Bad Plan

22 Stone of Time

Part Four

23 Riddles of the Sand

24 Forest of Flames

25 Crash Landing

26 Prophecy of Lupi Pini

27 Key of Time

28 A Sandy Grave

29 Storm Crossing

30 What’s Old Is New Again

31 Family Reunion

32 Time and Space

33 Last Prophecy

Translation Guide

A Note from the Author

About the Author

Copyright

To Carolyn,

for always stoking the magic in our lives

Other Jake Ransom adventures

Jake Ransom and the Skull King’s Shadow

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The best journeys are those taken with friends at your side. This second trip into Pangaea was no exception. First, I must acknowledge my entire critique group, whose tireless effort made this book shine: Penny Hill, Steve and Judy Prey, Dave and Will Murray, Caroline Williams, Chris Crowe, Chris Smith, Josh Harris, John Keese, Lee Garrett, Denny Grayson, Leonard Little, Kathy L’Ecluse, Scott Smith, and Sally Barnes. There is not a better group of nitpickers, tech experts, and reviewers out there. Beyond the group, Carolyn McCray—who is a great writer herself—and David Sylvian—who thanklessly slaves behind the curtains—made a hard year easier and helped this book come to be. And finally, a special thanks to everyone at Harper-Collins, especially my editor, Barbara Lalicki, both for her infinite patience and for her brilliant skill at storytelling. And I’d be remiss not to thank two other people who have been with me every step of the way: my agents Russ Galen and Danny Baror. And as always, I must stress that any and all errors of fact or detail in this book fall squarely on my own shoulders.

PROLOGUE

VALLEY OF THE KINGS

No man could survive such a storm for long.

Clouds of red sand blasted out of the Sahara Desert and swept across Egypt. The storm darkened the sun and grew so vast that it could be seen from orbiting satellites. And it was no better on the ground. For those unlucky enough to be caught in the storm, the winds scoured any exposed skin like coarse sandpaper.

But the old man had been summoned and knew he had to obey.