With her bad wing fluttering, she fell back to the arena floor—and slammed the crystal-tipped end of her staff into the sand.

A wave blasted outward like a ripple on a pond. It sped in all directions, consuming all color, turning all it touched to a dead gray. One of the sharks tried to flee, leaping up in the air; but as the ripple reached its tail, the wave climbed its twisting form and froze it into a grotesque statue.

It had been turned to stone.

The wave spread in every direction, freezing every creature it touched, foe and friend alike. All in its wake were left petrified.

Jake struggled to stand as the same rippling wave sped toward him. He managed to get to his feet, but that was all he could do. He lifted his own crystal toward the grakyl witch’s.

As the wave neared him, it parted to both sides, as if Jake were in a protective bubble. He stared at his stone.

Maybe it is protecting me.

But apparently no one else.

A sharp scream erupted behind him. He turned. Kady stood only a few yards away. Seeing what was coming, she fled backward, her arms pinwheeling. Jake attempted to pursue her, to pull her into his protective bubble.

But he was too weak, too enfeebled. Whatever magic was in the stone, it had sapped all his strength, turning him into an old man. The sand was rock hard under his feet.

“Kady!”

She met his gaze, knew she was doomed; but rather than looking scared, she looked sorry. He knew why: for having to leave him like so many others.

“Jake!” she cried.

Then the wave rolled over her—turning her to stone.

Jake crashed to his knees. Or he would have if something hadn’t grabbed him by the shoulders and yanked him up in the air. He was sure it was the witch, ready to tear out his throat.

“Hang on!” his captor shouted.

Jake craned up at a winged man trailing fire. He’d been rescued by a skyrider. With a blast of flames, the man sped Jake up toward the ship.

Jake kept staring down.

To the statue of a girl with a sword.

PART FOUR

23

RIDDLES OF THE SAND

They had been aloft for most of the day, not that Jake was aware of it. Dull with shock, lost in grief, he retreated to a small cabin belowdecks. Empty of tears, he sat on the bed, staring at the green stone resting on a table. It had both saved his life and ruined it.

Once he let go of the crystal, his strength had slowly returned. He’d touched the crystal with a fingertip to see if it would have the same effect again. But nothing happened. He could guess why. He fingered the bandage around his palm. The wound still throbbed, but the stone required blood.