Then she leaped away and vanished back into the woods. But Jake knew she was still out there.
Jake ran after his friends. He still sensed eyes upon him, but now they offered him a measure of comfort. He felt a little less alone.
“What in all of Hades’ fires was that thing?” Pindor gasped out. “It had horns! Carried a sword!”
“A grakyl lord!” Marika answered, panting. “I read…but no one believed they were real.”
“That looked real to me!” Pindor said.
Jake stopped them at the edge of the forest, keeping to the shadows of the branches. Ahead, bright moonlight lit the way. But as he caught his breath, the world suddenly went a little darker.
Concerned, Jake saw that a low black cloud had swept over the face of the moon and flowed toward the castle.
Below, in the city, all music had stopped. A hush had fallen over the town.
Somewhere high above, a piercing cry screeched downward. At this signal, grakyl after grakyl dove out of the clouds.
Screams rose from the streets.
Jake pushed everyone deeper into the forest’s cover.
“They’re here!” Marika moaned. “Through the barrier. How?”
“I don’t know, but they are.”
“What are we going to do?” Pindor asked.
“Find somewhere to hide. That’s what we must do first.”
“What about Gaius?” Marika asked.
Jake shook his head. They could not count on help from the centurion.
“He told us to go to the castle,” Pindor said.
They all turned toward Kalakryss. Flocks of grakyl already mounted its walls. A few soldiers fought on the ramparts, but they were being swamped. More grakyl disappeared into the courtyard. Beyond the wall, saurians bellowed and men shouted.
The bright blare of a trumpet sounded near the stadium.
Jake stared up again as a new force rose into the sky. The People of the Wind! A wave of the mighty raz took to the air in scores of V-shaped groups, launching from their cliffside homes. They climbed high, then dove quickly downward. Like a volley of black arrows, the birds shredded into the black spiraling cloud. With a single pass, scores of grakyl fell earthward, tumbling and trailing shredded wings. The sharp talons of the raz ripped leather and bone with ease.
But the winged riders were vastly outnumbered.
Pindor realized it, too. “They’ll never last,” he said. “We need more forces.”
“Who?” Marika asked. “The Saddlebacks are spread all over Calypsos. The People of the Wind are only one tribe.”
Pindor shook his head. “I don’t know. But for now, Jake’s right. We need a safe place to regroup, maybe somewhere we could rally more forces.”
Jake studied Pindor. It seemed his skill at strategy was not limited to just a ball game. Did anyone else have a plan? Jake found himself studying the most silent of their group.
“Bach’uuk,” Jake said. “Your caves are on the far side of the wall.”
He nodded. “Our Elders wish to look upon the face of the dark forest, to not forget. That is our way.”
Jake turned to Pindor and Marika. “The town’s not safe, neither is the castle. Our best chance might be to hide out there.”
Pindor stepped before Bach’uuk. “Would your people come and defend Calypsos?”
Jake knew what Pindor was hoping—that perhaps the Neanderthal tribe could be the extra forces he was talking about. But Bach’uuk would not meet the Roman boy’s eye and stared down at his feet. His heavy brow hid his features.
“That is not the way of our people,” Bach’uuk mumbled. “But such matters must be judged by our Elders.”
“Then we’ll talk to them,” Pindor said. “Convince them.”
The Ur boy’s eyes flashed with a moment of anger, but the fire quickly subsided and his features went calm.
Pindor hadn’t noticed. “How do we get all the way over there?”
“There is a way. I can take you.” Bach’uuk pointed beyond the castle to the Sacred Woods. “A tunnel.”
Jake stared out there. For the moment, the fighting focused on the town and the castle. The forest remained dark and undisturbed. Also Kady was out in those woods, too.
Marika frowned. “I don’t remember hearing of any tunnel in the forest.”
Bach’uuk pointed his arm. Jake followed his direction. He seemed to be pointing toward the stone dragon. It hovered over the treetops, lit by moonlight.
“Are you talking about the great temple?” Marika asked.
Bach’uuk nodded. “Tunnel there.”
“Inside the temple?” she pressed.
A nod again, this time followed by an impatient grunt.
“But only the Magisters are allowed to enter the Temple of Kukulkan,” she insisted.
Again fire flashed in the Ur boy’s eyes. “Magisters…and those who serve them.”
Marika stared at Bach’uuk a moment longer, stunned, then over at Jake. “I didn’t know.”
“No one sees us,” Bach’uuk said, letting some of his irritation shine more boldly. “No one counts us. We are only Ur.”
Jake remembered how Marika’s father seemed hardly to acknowledge Bach’uuk. Marika certainly appreciated his help, but Jake recalled her earlier description of Ur intelligence. Papa believes there is a dullness to their thoughts, but they are strong and obey simple directions.
Jake knew better than that. And apparently so did Bach’uuk.
“Will you lead us there?” Jake asked.
Bach’uuk nodded and turned away, but Marika remained where she was.
“Even if the Ur are allowed to trespass in the temple, we are not,” she said. “It is forbidden for any but the Magisters to tread inside the pyramid.”
Jake struggled not to roll his eyes. He had great respect for Marika, but she had some streaks of stubbornness equal to his own. He had to break through her rigidity. He grabbed her hand.
“Mari, there are no more Magisters in Calypsos. At least none around at the moment.”
He saw how much his words wounded her, reminded her of her missing father. But they had to be said.
Jake touched the badge still pinned on his vest jacket. “As apprentices, we are the only Magisters Calypsos has at the moment.”
Her brows scrunched together, digesting his way of looking at it. She glanced to the war in the sky, then finally nodded. “You may be right.” Her voice firmed. “We must try.”
Jake gave her wrist another squeeze, then waved for Bach’uuk to lead them.