Peter looked even more doubtful, his eyes sweeping up the tall, obviously heavy tower.

"You do not believe me?" said Glotz, his voice getting louder. "You think it is impossible? That is what they said in Russia. They said Viktor Glotz was a madman. Fools! They will see! They will see who is a fool! Theya""

"Dr. Glotz," interrupted Ombra. "I presume your preparations are complete."

"We are on schedule," said Glotz, calming down. "We will launch"a"he pulled out a pocket watch, squinting at it by the lantern lighta""in two hours and twenty-six minutes, a few minutes before dawn."

"And you're certain it cannot be sooner?" said Ombra. "It cannot take place in darkness?"

"No," said Glotz. "I have calculated and recalculated. If we want the Fall to occur near here, we must do it exactly according to the schedule. Otherwise, I can't say where the starstuff will come down. It could be in Scotland again."

Peter listened openmouthed. "You made that happen?" he blurted out. "You made the starstuff fall in Scotland?"

Glotz smiled. "Yes," he said. "I made it fall in Scotland. And in a few hours, I will make it fall here."

"But I thoughta" said Peter, "I mean, the Starcatchers said n.o.body knew when, or where, ora"

"The Starcatchers," said Glotz, his voice dripping contempt, "are fools. They have never understood what they were dealing with. For centuries they had access to power, unimaginable power, the power of the universe itself. And what did they do with it? They sent it back! They gave it away. Well, they had their opportunity, and now I have mine." Glotz glanced at Ombra and Zarboff, then corrected himself: "I mean, we have ours. And we will not waste the opportunity."

"What will you do with the starstuff?" said Peter.

Glotz smiled and said, "We will use it to get more." Seeing Peter's puzzled look, he pointed to the tower. "This rocket," he said, "will carry a small amount of starstuff into the sky. You can see it up there, near the top."

Peter looked up and saw that just below the place where the rocket began to taper to a point, there was a seam in the metal; light was shining through the seam, the yellow-gold light of starstuff.

"It is all we have left," said Glotz. "And it is not much. But my calculations show that it will serve its purpose. Two purposes, actually. One, it will lift the rocket, with help from the fuel these boys are putting in it now." He pointed to Slightly and the others, still methodically dumping their buckets into the opening.

"Then," continued Glotz, "when the rocket reaches maximum alt.i.tude, Albert"a"Glotz pointed to the monkey cagea""will pull the lever that opens the hatch, releasing the starstuff into the sky. That will cause a disruption. And that, in turn, will cause more starstuff to fall. Quite a large amount of starstuff, if my calculations are correct. And I am quite sure they are." Glotz beamed, pleased with his genius.

Peter frowned. "Albert? The monkey will open the hatch?"

"Yes," said Glotz, still beaming. "And he will steer the rocket! I have trained him both to navigate and operate the controls. We tried using humans, but they were unreliable."

"What happens to the monkey after the starstuff is released?" said Peter.

Glotz waved his hand.

"We have more monkeys," he said.

"But whata"" Peter began.

"Enough," interrupted the low wheeze of Ombra. "Dr. Glotz, you will complete your preparations. There must be no problems."

"There will not be, Lord Ombra," said Glotz. "I a.s.sure you of that." He turned to Peter. "When we finish preparing the rocket," he said, "I will give you your instructions."

The remaining preparations took the better part of two hours. Under Glotz's watchful eye, Slightly and the other slave boys finished loading the fuel. Next Glotz climbed the wooden scaffold with two of the boys. Using a winch, they hauled the cage containing Albert the monkey up to a platform next to a small hatchway near the top of the rocket, above the glowing starstuff. Glotz put the monkey inside, closed the hatch, then descended with the boys.

The soldiers then attached ropes to the scaffolding and used horses to drag it away from the rocket, which now stood alone. When they were finished, Glotz called, "Get the fuse!"

Slightly and the boy called Tootles went to the fuel wagon and returned carrying a coil of what looked like black rope. Glotz took this to the base of the rocket and carefully inserted one end into a small hole. Then he backed away, uncoiling the fuse, cutting it at a length of ten feet. Meanwhile, the soldiers moved all of the animals and wagons behind a sand dune. Peter stood near the cage that held his friends. None of the boys spoke.

The first faint hints of pink were now appearing in the eastern sky. Ombra conferred briefly with Glotz and Zarboff, then glided off in the direction of the Jackal. Peter knew he would not let daylight catch him outdoors. When he was gone, Glotz beckoned Peter over.

"In two minutes," he said, "I will light the fuse. When I do, things will happen quickly, so you must be ready. The rocket will ascend. You will see bright lights in the sky. Then the disruption will occur, and the starstuff will fall. I do not know exactly where, but it will be close, within fifteen miles. You must fly to it, confirm the location, and return here immediately with directions, so we can retrieve it. Do you understand?"

"But how will I find it?" Peter said. "How will I know where it is?"

"You will know," said Glotz, "just as your parents knew."

Peter, stunned, took a staggering step back. "You knew my parents?" he said.

"Of course," said Glotz. "They were here in Rundoon for years. You didn't know that?"

"Where are they now?" said Peter. "Are they still alive?"

Glotz waved his hand dismissively, exactly as he had when talking about the monkeys.

"There is no time for talking," he said. "It is almost time to light the fuse."

Peter, his mind swirling with questions, watched as Glotz, with his pocket watch in one hand and a match in the other, squatted on the sand next to the fuse. He said something to himself in a strange-sounding language. Then he struck the match and touched it to the fuse. It flared to life, sending out a shower of sparks that crept toward the waiting rocket.

Glotz walked quickly away from the rocket, to where Peter was standing.

"Now, boy," he said to Peter, "it is up to you."

CHAPTER 36.

PURSUIT.

THE RIDERS WERE GAINING.

Tink heard them first, long before Molly or George would have. This was hours after they had fled Ashmar. They were crossing the desert under the billion-star night sky, the camel moving at a leisurely swaying walk, when suddenly Tink leapt up from her spot on the camel's head and took off flying in the direction from which they'd come. She zoomed back a few minutes later and chimed something urgent-sounding into the camel's ear. Immediately, the camel lurched forward into a gallop, nearly sending Molly and George spilling out of the saddle.

"What is it?" George shouted, clinging to the saddle. "What's happening?"

"Tink must have seen something back there," said Molly, trying to look behind her without falling off the jouncing camel. It took her several tries, but finally she caught sight of them coming over a rise, four tall silhouettes against the star-lit sky.

"Oh dear," she said. "There are men on camels galloping after us."

George looked back. "They're probably the men whose camel we borrowed."

Molly nodded. The two of them hung on as the camel raced forward into the night, urged on by Tink. From time to time, Molly glanced behind her. Each time she did, the pursuers appeared to be closer.

CHAPTER 37.

THE HEAVENS EXPLODE.

PETER AND THE OTHERS watched as the sparking, sputtering flame crawled along the fuse. It reached the rocket and crawled up the side, disappearing into the hole.

For a moment, nothing happened. Peter wondered if the fuse had gone out.

And then all thought was driven from his mind as the desert exploded with a roar that sounded and felt like a thousand thunderclaps all at once, and a brilliant light that left him temporarily blind. When he could see again, he barely believed what his eyes showed him: the rocket, which had seemed so ma.s.sive, so immobile, was shooting into the sky like an arrow with a fiery tail, growing smaller each second.

He felt a hand grip his shoulder and turned to see Glotz looking down at him, his face flushed with excitement.

"Be ready," Glotz said.

"What on earth is that?" said Leonard Aster. He had been awakened by a rumbling sound in the distance, like thunder, although it couldn't have been thunder, not on this cloud-free desert night. He and Bakari were now standing by the tiny window of their cell, watching a bright streak of light ascend into the sky a few miles away.

"It's like a shooting star," said Aster. "But it's going in the wrong direction."

Bakari frowned. "That reminds me," he said. "I had a report from one of our people in Rundoon concerninga""

But before he could finish his sentence, the heavens exploded.

Suddenly, the entire sky was red, from horizon to horizon, and then an iridescent purple, and then the brilliant blue-green of a sunlit tropical lagoon, and then red again, the colors not blending but changing one into the other in an instant. At the launch site the boys cried and the soldiers cowered and the horses whinnied and reared in panic. King Zarboff got on hands and knees and crawled underneath his carriage.

Glotz, standing next to Peter and staring at the spectacle in the sky, was delighted.

"Exactly as I calculated," he said. "The Fall is taking place very near us. Can you feel anything yet?"

"No," said Peter. "Ia"

At that instant, the heavenly colors suddenly disappeared, as if a giant candle had been snuffed. The sky was all star-studded blackness, with the edge of dawn just barely appearing in the east. A moment later, Peter stagger-stepped backward as he felt an invisible wave of heata"not hot air but a surge of warmth that went into him, through him, taking his breath away.

"Now you feel something, yes?" Glotz said eagerly.

"Yes," gasped Peter.

King Zarboff had crawled out from under the carriage and was waddling over.

"Does he feel it?" the king asked.

"Yes," said Glotz.

"Where?" Zarboff shouted at Peter. "Where did it fall?"

"Give him a moment," said Glotz quietly, his eyes on Peter. "He will find it."

"He had better find it," growled Zarboff.

Peter inhaled, trying to get his breath back. He could still feel the warmth, but now it was only on one side of him, his right side. He felt as though his skin was burning; he wondered how Glotz and Zarboff could not feel it.

Glotz was watching him closely.

"Which way is it?" he said. "Which way is the Fall?"

"That way," said Peter, pointing to the right.

"Good, good," Glotz said. "We will start moving that way. You will fly ahead and locate the exact spot. It will be easy for you to see when you get closer. But you must not get too close. You must locate the Fall and fly back immediately to tell us where it is. Do you understand?"

"Yes," said Peter.

"If you are not back within an hour," said Zarboff, "I will put Kundalini in the cage with your friends."

"But what if Ia" began Peter.

"Find it!" thundered Zarboff. "Now!"

Peter took a step and launched himself into the slowly brightening sky. He rose about fifty feet and hovered for a moment, looking down at the cage containing his friends. He could see their pale faces looking up at him through the bars. He gave them what he hoped was an encouraging wave, then made his body horizontal and began swooping over the desert toward the source of the heat.

The four pursuers were quite close now. Molly and George could hear their shouts and, when they turned around, see the fury on their faces.

Molly glanced at the sky. The strange lights were gone. She had never seen anything like them, nor had George, who was an amateur astronomer. The lights had energized Tinker Bell, who had pointed at the sky and chimed a series of excited statements, giving up in disgust when it was clear that Molly and George did not understand her.

The pursuers had also reacted to the lights, slowing down to point at the sky and yell to each other. For a moment Molly hoped that they would abandon the chase, but when the lights stopped, they resumed galloping at full speed. They were excellent riders, and they gained steadily. Molly saw now that each of the men had a sword. She wondered what they did in this country to camel thieves.

The men drew closer, closer. Tink chimed constantly to the camel, but it was clearly overmatched. Molly was reluctant to turn around now, for fear that the next time she did, the men would be upon them. Ahead, the desert stretched endlessly into the empty distance, offering no help, no safety. The pursuers' shouts grew more excited; they had their prey almost in hand, and they knew it.

Molly felt something. It was a sensation of warmth at her throata"quite intense, almost painful. Her hand went under her robe, to her neck, toa The locket. She pulled it out; it was glowing. Tink was fluttering in her face, chiming something over and over.

"Look out!" George yanked Molly forward. She felt something brush against her hair. She turned and saw one of the camel riders, who had drawn even with her and George. It was his sword she had felt; he was drawing it back for another strike. And he would have struck Molly this time, had not Tink, who made up in speed what she lacked in size, delivered a kick to his nose that made him yelp in pain and veer sideways, his blade harmlessly slicing the air.

But he was coming right back, and his cohorts had now drawn alongside Molly and George as well. Tink was in Molly's face again, chiming something and gesturing frantically towarda The locket! Of course! As Molly fumbled with the clasp while she balanced on the bouncing saddle, Tink bought her some time by zipping back and forth among the camel riders, fluttering in their faces and making a sound that their camels apparently found upsetting. But she could not stop all four at once, and it would not be long before one of their swords found its mark.

Molly finally got the locket off her neck. "George!" she said. "Lean sideways!"

"Why?" said George, eyeing the angry swordsmen on either side.

"Do it!" shouted Molly, giving George a hard sideways shove with her left hand. George wisely obeyed, leaning out of the way. With her right hand, Molly flicked her locket open and dumped its contents onto the camel's neck. Molly had not opened the locket since she had retrieved it months ago from under the bed in her room: it had wound up there during a struggle on the awful night when Ombra had kidnapped her mother. Thus, Molly did not know how much starstuff the locket contained. And she had no idea how much starstuff it took to make a camel fly. As she watched the glowing golden stream pour onto the camel, she desperately hoped it was enough.

There were shouts from both sides, as the four pursuers, organized now, all lunged toward George and Molly at the same moment, their swords flashing out and strikinga aair.

One of the riders had thrust so hard that he fell sideways off his camel. The other three could only gape as Molly and George rose swiftly out of their reach on the back of what was, at that moment, the happiest camel there had ever been.

Peter flew as fast as he could, which was very fast indeed. He had not flown for what seemed like weeks, and despite the unhappy circ.u.mstances, it felt good to once again have the wind streaming past his face and to see the ground racing beneath him.