Ka was Kalverum Rex.

“No more games …” the Skull King said, his voice scratching out of Kree’s voice box. An arm rose and pointed toward Jake’s friends. “Kill one of the Calypsians …”

A pair of Blood of Ka priests grabbed Bach’uuk by the arms and dragged him forward. It was rare to see the Ur show fear; but at the moment, his eyes were huge, bright with terror. And with good reason.

Heka hobbled toward Bach’uuk, lifting her staff topped by the ruby crystal.

“No!” came a cry from among the prisoners. “Please don’t!”

Marika burst from the group and ran forward. She fell to her knees between Jake and the creature that inhabited Kree. Her eyes swung between that monster and Jake.

“Just give him what he wants,” Marika pleaded with Jake. “Enough have died.”

Jake balked at obeying, but he saw the tears shining in her eyes and knew she was right. In the end, they’d rip him apart, find the pocket watch, and have the Key of Time. Enough blood had been spilled. He stared at the army around him and recognized the truth.

They had lost.

Jake reached out his arm and opened his fingers. The gold watch rested in his palm, reflecting the firelight. “Take it,” he said.

Kree came forward. “The Key of Time … at last …”

Fingers clawed the timepiece from Jake’s hand.

“Mine at last …”

Jake let his arm drop, defeated. He did not fight as a guard shoved him toward the other captives. Marika came with him, hunched and withdrawn. But once among the others, she snatched Jake’s hand and drew him more deeply into the group, almost tugging his arm out of its socket in her haste.

Bach’uuk and Pindor joined them.

Marika waved them all down, shielded by the other prisoners.

“Did you get it?” Pindor asked.

Marika opened her hand, revealing Kady’s cell phone. Jake’s eyes widened, surprised. She must have snatched it from the sand as she dropped to her knees. The shock in Jake’s eyes drew a crooked smile from her.

“We’re not giving up that easily,” she said.

She still had hold of his hand and gave it a squeeze before letting go. She wiggled and removed something from a pocket. Between her fingers, she held a piece of green crystal.

“The farspeaker,” Jake said. He remembered he’d dropped it in their dungeon cell, but Marika must have recovered it.

She handed both the phone and the crystal to Jake.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Call for help.”

“We certainly need it,” Pindor added.

Marika kept her attention on Jake. “We’re swimming in water that’s much too deep. We can’t do this alone.”

Despite her bravery a moment ago, he read the fear in the paleness of her face. He didn’t know if he could get any help over the phone; but if nothing else, he could let Marika hear her father’s voice one last time. That alone would be worth the effort.