Jake sighed, unable to stay mad at them. He patted Watson on the head and carefully lifted a finger toward the winged serpent. He expected to be bitten, but instead a small tongue flickered out and tickled his fingertip.

The wisling then slowly drifted and settled around his neck like a scarf. It folded its wings, tucking its warm head under his chin. In the quiet of his room, Jake heard a soft, contented trilling flowing from the creature, like the purr of a leopard cub.

Watson climbed up to his lap, sniffing at the dragon. The hound’s tail wagged as he slowly accepted this newcomer.

Jake remembered what he’d told Marika earlier.

I have a way with animals.

A small smile formed as he realized how true that was. For better or worse, he was stuck with the wisling. Recognizing that, he gave in and whispered to his new companion.

“Welcome to the family, little guy.”

As his two friends settled in with him, Jake turned and removed a book from his stack. Time to get to work.

TRANSLATION GUIDE

ENGLISH-TO-ATLANTEAN

A NOTE FROM THE
AUTHOR

I hope you enjoyed this latest journey to Pangaea as much as I enjoyed writing it. One of the best things about story-telling is that for months I get to be Jake Ransom, to go on this adventure with him: to be chased across the desert, to feel the wind on my face aboard the Breath of Shu, to walk through long-lost ruins.

Likewise, writing this story allows me to be that explorer of time and space. As many of you might know, I’m already an avid collector of all things ancient and strange. Even as I type this, I have a chunk of tyrannosaurus jaw (including teeth) resting on my desk, waiting to be added to my own Cabinet of Curiosities.

It is just such pieces of reality that I love to fold into Jake’s story. For example, the introduction of this book’s new character—Princess Nefertiti—came about from a true historical mystery. Nefertiti was a real queen who ruled during Egypt’s Eighteenth Dynasty. She was one of the most famous queens in all of history, yet she suddenly disappeared and vanished without a trace. Archaeologists and historians have imagined many different fates for Nefertiti—from a falling out of favor to murder. Of course, within the novel I have imagined an entirely new destiny for this lost queen.

Additionally, I tried to envision how a tribe of ancient Egyptians might cope with being stranded in a prehistoric desert, how they might adapt their skill at navigation and boating into an entirely new means of transportation: riding rivers of wind instead of water. Also within these pages, I’ve added snatches of Egyptian hieroglyphs taken from real writings. Even the issues of grammar and alphabet critical to this story are based on fact.

As to the dinosaurs that appear in the book, they all exist in the fossil record—except, of course, for our winged friend, the wisling. By the way, feel free to send me names for Jake’s new companion. Next time we visit Pangaea, we’ll need to call him something. I’ll post the best recommendations on my website, www.jamesrollins.com, and on my Facebook page. Email me your suggestion at [email protected].