Aghast at the horror, no one spoke, and their pace quickened. Jake tried to understand the slaughter here. How could his beautiful mother have played any part in this?
At last, they reached the city’s central square. Bathed in bright moonlight, it was as large as ten city blocks, centered on the stepped pyramid. The city’s temple rose in ten giant tiers. Near the top was a circular opening similar to that of the pyramid in Calypsos. If the third timestone was still in the city, Jake was sure it would be found inside.
Still, the pyramid failed to hold Jake’s full attention. Instead he stared at the battle being waged at the foot of the temple. It was frozen in stone, like a life-sized diorama. Warriors from a mix of Egyptian and other tribes guarded the foot of the stairs leading to the pyramid’s entrance. It was plainly a desperate last stand. Many other warriors littered the square, crushed or torn apart.
Only yards from the pyramid, a massive creature—also stone—stood reared up on two legs, wings spread as wide as half a soccer field. Its long neck ended at an anvil-shaped head with a long crocodilian snout. Its massive jaws screamed at the skies as if summoning forth the storm to help it do battle.
“What is it?” Marika asked.
Jake knew but couldn’t speak for a moment. He’d seen this creature before, both in the fossil record and as a living specimen racing over the treetops of the Sacred Woods of Calypsos. It was the monster of all winged dinosaurs, the pteranodon. When last he’d seen such a creature, the beast had been armored in shadows and ridden by the Skull King. It seemed impossible for it to be here, centuries in the past, but Jake knew it to be the same beast.
He turned to Marika and choked out the impossible words. “That’s the Skull King’s mount!”
The confusion in Marika’s face changed to disbelief.
But Jake knew it to be true. Back in Calypsos, he had stared into the beast’s eyes. Though hardened now into a pair of black diamonds, they were the same. Stone or not, they still opened into a bottomless well of flowing blood and tortured cries. He could never forget such a sight.
He stared at those open jaws, frozen forever in a silent scream.
No other pteranodon—except for the Skull King’s monster—ever had teeth.
“How could that be?” Marika asked. “How could Kalverum Rex have been here centuries ago?”
Bach’uuk answered her but stared pointedly at Jake. “Time is a river. Some can travel up or down it.”
Jake had done so himself—so why not this monster?
They headed across the square, stepping over bodies as if they were nothing more than toppled and broken statues.
“Someone must have used the ruby crystal here,” he said, “turning everyone to stone, including this creature.”
As they continued toward the pyramid, he kept a wary watch on the winged monster, expecting it to suddenly twist around and lunge to life. Even the wisling tightened its tail around Jake’s neck and gave a small hiss of warning at the sculpture.
As they passed under one of the pteranodon’s wings, Marika turned, walking backward, staring up at the creature. A worried look pinched her features.
“What?” Jake asked.
“Back in Ka-Tor, those three pictures, the ones showing the destruction of Ankh Tawy …”
“What about them?”
“Remember the middle picture, the one showing a winged beast blasting the city apart.…”
Jake suddenly understood. He stopped and looked up at the stone figure of the pteranodon. The middle mosaic of the triptych had illustrated a great winged creature done up in bits of broken tile and glass. Jake realized that he was staring at that same creature, frozen in place, forever screaming up at the sky. He remembered his earlier impression, that it looked as if the pteranodon was summoning the storm.
He considered what that implied.
Did the escaping Egyptians of this city make the same assumption, that this beast was the source of the Great Wind? Did they name the creature after a monster out of their own legends?
Marika had already realized the truth. “This beast … this is the Howling Sphinx of Ankh Tawy.”
30
WHAT’S OLD IS
NEW AGAIN
From the top step of the pyramid and under a full moon, Jake had a sweeping view of the city—and of its destruction. Towers lay toppled, crushing entire neighborhoods. Fires had burned large swaths. Roofs had been caved in by massive boulders. Still, if he squinted his eyes, he could imagine how Ankh Tawy must have once looked: a handsome city of gleaming spires, blue-tiled homes, sparkling fountains, and verdant gardens.
But now it was all gone.
Jake stared down at the stone beast—the Howling Sphinx of Ankh Tawy. Even from so far away, a dark cunning glinted from those black diamond eyes.
Is that why future Egyptians sculpted their Sphinxes with human faces, to reflect this monster’s malignant intelligence?
Jake shook his head. Such questions would have to wait. Ultimately, he knew who was truly to blame for all of this destruction.
Kalverum Rex.
The Skull King.
He had laid waste to this beautiful, peaceful city, and Jake could guess why. He stared down at this defiant last stand by the stone warriors, defending the pyramid against that monster, one step away from defeat.
He turned to the circular entrance to the temple. The Skull King had wanted something inside this pyramid, but he’d been thwarted, stopped just inches from his goal. And now, centuries later, he was trying again. Whatever he wanted here, Jake would not let him have it.
But what was it? What source of power did this pyramid possess?
Any hope of an answer lay inside.
Jake lifted a palm toward the opening. Back in Calypsos, the temple had been guarded by an energy shield. But he felt no tingle of warning here.
“Can we enter?” Marika asked from one step below, standing with Bach’uuk.
“Nothing’s stopping us.” That concerned Jake. The pyramid felt as dead and haunted as the city. Jake had counted on some revelation, some weapon to use against the Skull King. What if there was nothing here?
Together they entered the dark pyramid, Jake leading with the raised emerald crystal. Its glow offered some light. Bach’uuk followed Marika, carrying the staff with the ruby crystal. It shone softly with its own fire.
The tunnel descended at a slight angle, heading toward the pyramid’s heart. Their footsteps echoed off the walls, sounding hollow and lost. But the way was not far. The tunnel emptied into a cavernous domed chamber, as large as a ballroom, with a roof that stretched high overhead. A light glowed near the back wall, revealing an archway leading out.