The entire plan was falling to pieces. Even the skyriders with Pindor and Bach’uuk could not reach the ship because of the volley of arrows.

“Bring us lower!” Horus cried out from the stern, where he manned the ship’s rudder. “Drop lines over the sides!”

The roar of the bellows died, and the great ship’s shadow fell over the arena as it sank until its lower keel scraped the tip of the obelisk.

Sailors tossed ropes while others fired at the archers, using everything on hand, including the fire gourds that exploded amid the bowmen. By now, everyone had fled the stadium, trampling in a mad rush to escape the fiery battle. Several archers fell onto the sand, thrashing amid a wash of flames.

Jake spotted Kady directly below him. She had Shaduf up again, but sharks circled them, spooked by the fire and chaos. The pair could not reach the ship.

Nefertiti shook off her cloak, revealing a hunting outfit and a sheathed sword. “I will help your sister and my uncle! You see to your friend!”

With those words, she sprinted to one of the ropes and vaulted over the rail. Drawn in her wake, Jake reached for another rope, stopping only long enough to stuff a firebomb into his pack.

A shout reached him from the deck. “Jake! Don’t! It’s certain death!”

Djer stood at the stern, holding a shield to protect Horus from the onslaught of an archer trying to take out the ship’s captain. The shield bristled with feathered arrows.

Djer shouted again. “We must leave with those we’ve rescued!”

Ignoring him, Jake leaned far over the edge. He spotted Marika trapped against the obelisk, a shark angling closer and closer. He wasn’t abandoning his friends … any of them.

Grabbing the rope, Jake hopped the rail and swung to the ground. As soon as his boots hit the sand, he took off toward Marika.

To the left, he spotted Nefertiti. She ran with the end of her rope twisted around her wrist. As she reached the end of the line, she leaped up, swung in an arc from the rope, and flew over the circling sharks to land beside Kady and Shaduf.

Jake turned his full attention back on Marika. He called to her. “I’m going to lure the shark to me! Then run for one of the ship’s lines!”

Her emerald eyes shone with terror, but she nodded.

Jake twisted his pack and snatched his Swiss Army knife. Baring the blade, he cut into his palm as he ran. The pain was like placing his hand on a hot stove. Once near enough to the obelisk, he angled away and held out his arm. Blood flowed from his clenched fist and spattered into the sand.

He glanced over his shoulder and watched the circling shark turn in his direction, attracted by the fresh blood.

“Run!” he hollered.

Marika obeyed, and Jake took his own advice. He sprinted, intending to circle the obelisk and head back to the ship. But he needed to keep the shark from following.