Neil couldn’t even find it in himself to laugh. He kept looking at the pictures of Toby, and the face of Misquamacus was sharply clear in every one of them.

Singing Rock stood up. “Sak will want more than that and, unfortunately for us, he’s going to get it pretty soon. When I talked to the elders of my tribe about this matter, they said that before the day of the dark stars could dawn, several essential rituals had to be completed. The penultimate ritual was the summoning of Sak, who would make the way ready for Ossadagowah. After that, all the twenty-two medicine men have to do is join their strength together in the name of whatever spirits they choose—tree spirits or water spirits or rock spirits. Knowing what little we do about Misquamacus, I’d say they probably chose tree spirits.”

Harry said, “You think they’re already done that?”

Singing Rock nodded. “Almost certainly. If you want me to hazard a guess, I’d say they probably did it on Friday, before they all had to go home for the weekend. When they went out on that school trip this morning, they were ready for the day to begin. The day of the dark stars, or the day when the mouth comes down from the sky.”

“You mean it could be today?” asked Neil, frightened.

Singing Rock checked his watch. “It’s almost noon. The day of the dark stars begins at noon and lasts through until the following noon. It’s supposed to be twenty-four hours of chaos and butchery and torture, the day when the Indian people have their revenge for hundreds of years of treachery and slaughter and rape, all in one huge massacre.”

Mr. Saperstein took his photographs back and looked at them in bewilderment. Then he said to Singing Rock, “Is this true, what you’re saying? Or is it simply fantasy?”

Singing Rock pointed to the misty, wriggling shape of Sak. “Is that true?” he asked. “Or is that simply fantasy?”

Mr. Saperstein took off his glasses. “It’s incredible. I don’t know why I didn’t even see it at the time. It’s enormous.”

“That’s one thing we’ve learned, Mr. Saperstein,” said Harry. “Demons and spirits can be seen through some photographic lenses, even when they’re almost invisible to the naked eye. It’s happened before.”

“I thought I was going crazy,” said Mr. Saperstein. “I took those pictures out and looked at them, and I was sure I was going crazy.”

“That’s what I thought,” said Neil softly. He held out his hand to Mr. Saperstein. “Join the club.”

Singing Rock said, “We have much less time than I thought. If the day of the dark stars begins at noon today, that means Ossadagowah and the rest of the demons will be summoned when Nepauz-had, the moon goddess, appears.”