As they crashed into a heap, Pindor yelled. “What’s happening?”

The answer came from the doorway. Nefertiti stood braced there. Her words offered no comfort.

“We’re under attack!”

24

FOREST OF FLAMES

Jake burst topside into chaos.

The crew ran all about, readying the ship for battle. Swords and axes were being handed out. Teams assembled giant crossbows as large as cannons to the port and starboard sides. Others cranked an even larger catapult into position at the prow.

What was going on?

He searched all around looking for the enemy but saw no threat.

“Follow me!” Nefertiti said, and led Jake and the others toward the stern, where Horus, Politor, and Shaduf had their heads bent together.

As Jake climbed the flight of steps to the raised deck, he finally saw what had the crew in a frenzy. A huge ship flew a half mile behind them, silhouetted against the sinking sun.

Jake hurried to the rail to get a better look. He had seen the ship before at the airfield. With three massive balloons and a battleship-sized deck, it was the royal barge.

Shaduf joined them. “Looks like Kree and the rest of his black-robed ilk grew wings.”

“How dare they steal my father’s skybarge?” Nefertiti said hotly.

“Can we outrun them?” Jake asked.

“For a while,” Shaduf answered with a shrug. “Maybe even long enough to reach the Great Wind. But they’ll be right up our tails by then.”

Jake turned in the other direction. The smudged line of sandstorms was still miles away. “Then what can we do?”

Shaduf waved an arm over the scrambling crew. “Try our best to survive.” He handed a spyglass to Jake before returning to Horus and Politor. “Take a look. Seems like Kree really wants that pretty rock of yours.”

Jake stepped to the rail and raised his spyglass, adjusting the focus. His friends flanked him to either side. The barge swelled into view. It looked like an entire army gathered atop the deck, ten times the crew of the Breath of Shu. He spotted archers with longbows, a trio of catapults at the prow, dozens of giant crossbow cannons.

Not only were they outnumbered … they were outgunned.

A pair of figures stood at the bow. Kree and Heka. As Jake spied on them, he saw the witch’s head snap up and stare straight at him.

Jake tensed, but his hatred kept him rooted in place.

From a fold of her robe, Heka pulled out her small wand made of bone and held it aloft. She waved a clawed hand along its length—where even from here Jake could make out the black shadow of the bloodstone at its tip. Something dribbled from the claw of her hand to the crystal. He could guess what it was, what that dread stone always craved.

Blood.

The end of the wand began to smoke with shadows. The witch bent down and blew on the crystal as if trying to extinguish a candle’s flame. Smoke blasted out from the wand’s tip, shattering into a thousand bits of shadow—then vanishing.