Jake spotted two more fins circling the obelisk.

“We’ll get your friends,” Djer said, and signaled to Horus.

A piercing whistle followed. The skyriders leaped over the railing and dove toward the arena. They plummeted for a breath, then the wings snapped wide and flames burst from their packs, turning hang gliders into one-man jets.

Each skyrider dove toward one of the prisoners.

But would they get there in time?

The dorsal fin of the shark disappeared under the sand as the creature neared the fleeing trio. His friends, sensing the attack, split apart and fled in different directions just as the sand opened up into a maw of teeth. The shark shot up, exposing most of its snakelike body, then dropped back again and slithered underground.

Still, Jake got a good look. The monster was a cross between a snake and some reptilian fish. It was also eyeless—just teeth, muscle, and armored skin: the perfect desert hunter.

One of skyriders dove and grabbed Pindor by his shoulders, pulling him off his feet and up in the air. Another managed to snatch Bach’uuk by an arm. The pair of riders shot straight up with their prizes.

A third raced low across the sand toward Marika; but before he could reach her, another shark burst out of the sand, drawn perhaps by the heat of the rider’s flame. The flyer tried to get out of the way, but teeth snapped onto one wing. The skyrider crashed to the sand and tumbled end over end in a wash of flame and broken struts. He hit the stony wall of the arena hard and lay still.

Jake clutched, white knuckled, to the rail.

Marika continued to flee, clearly trying to make it to Kady and Shaduf; but they were on the opposite side of the arena. A pair of skyriders missed their first pass at Kady and Shaduf, who leaped away when two sharks came at them from opposite sides.

The sand exploded as the two hungry predators collided and began to fight.

Kady and Shaduf crawled across the sand, trying to escape.

Then a new problem arose.

Guards sprouted all around the arena, positioned on the lower stands.

Bows were raised.

The archers fired at the ship, at the skyriders. One bolt struck Shaduf in the leg, pinning him to the sand. Scenting fresh blood, the pair of fighting sharks turned toward the old man.

A skyrider dove through a volley of arrows and grabbed Kady by the collar of her shirt and hauled her up.

“Let me go!” she screamed, twisting, plainly wanting to help Shaduf.

She got her wish. An arrow struck the skyrider’s jet pack. It burst into flames, blasting them both back to the sand. The skyrider quickly shed his wings, patting flames from the seat of his pants.

Kady scrabbled for her fallen sword, grabbed it, and ran for Shaduf.

The rider went to follow her, but the ground opened beneath him. With a scream, he was yanked underground by a shark.