He pictured an army of hostile Egyptians flooding through this portal into the heart of Calypsos.

“C’mon,” he said to Bach’uuk.

Together, they fled across the chamber, dodging babies underfoot, and up the far tunnel. Jake skidded out the exit to the first step. The royal barge, blazing with torches, still floated above the square—but now seven other, smaller ships surrounded it.

As Jake watched, weapons were tossed over the rail of the barge. Swords rained down from above and clattered to the stone floor. A triumphant bugling rose from the surrounding ships.

Closer by, a force of men stormed up the steps toward them.

In the lead was a familiar figure.

“Djer!” Jake yelled.

Bloody and battered, he lifted an arm and gave a tired salute with his sword. The rebellion in Ka-Tor must have been successful. With one victory under their belt, they must have flown here to help.

Jake hurried down to meet them, anxious to hear what had happened, and even more concerned about the fate of Kady. The worry on his face must have been plain.

Djer grabbed him by a shoulder and stared him in the eyes. “Your sister is safe. Those statues coming back to life turned the tide of battle. All of Ka-Tor is celebrating.”

Jake—running on adrenaline for so long—simply fell on his backside on the step. There was so much more to tell, to share; but for now he needed a moment simply to bask in his thankfulness.

That wasn’t to be.

Two figures came shouldering up the steps.

“Get out of the way!” The tone was pure princess.

Djer moved aside to let Nefertiti through. She hardly looked like royalty. Her clothes had been shredded by claws. Scrapes still bled on her face, and one eye was swollen. She must have offloaded from the barge as soon as its crew surrendered. She stopped a step below, one hand on her hip, staring at Jake.

“Glad someone knows how to obey a royal order!” A ghost of a grateful smile tempered her haughtiness. “As a reward, I thought I’d return your friend to you. Thank you for lending him to me.”

She turned to let Pindor past her. He came limping, his condition no better than hers, but he seemed much too happy as he held her hand.

Looks like he’d made a friend.

Pindor joined Nefertiti on the step. It was difficult, because he carried a cumbersome burden. Under one arm he hauled a huge brown egg speckled with red splotches.

Noting Jake’s attention, Pindor nodded to the square. “Found it down there.”

Jake recognized what it was, realizing that his time-reversal spell must have rippled all the way down to the courtyard. It seemed that the pteranodon had returned to its egg.

Pindor struggled with it.

“I’m starving,” he said.

Jake smiled. No matter where in time or space, some things never changed.

“Sun should be rising soon,” Pindor said as his stomach growled. “Thought I’d cook it up.”