The snake eased out of the basket, its ma.s.sive head sliding across the carpet toward the cage. James, Prentiss, Thomas, and Tubby Ted backed against the far wall of the cage. Peter's mind raced, looking for arguments.

"If you kill me," he said, "you won't have anyone to find the starstuff."

Zarboff smiled. He gestured toward the glow in the sky. "You've already told us where to find it. And have no fear: we will use that starstuff to get even morea"all we wanta"more starstuff than the Starcatchers ever dreamed of. We don't need you anymore."

The snake's tail slipped out of the basket now; its long, thick body slithered easily across the carpet. It raised its head to the cage bars, flicking its tongue toward Peter's bare legs. Peter jerked backward, away from the probing tongue.

"I think Kundalini likes you," said Zarboff. "Perhaps if you're lucky he will eat you first and spare you the agony of seeing your friends consumed."

The snake, trying to get to Peter, pressed against the cage bars, but its head was too large to fit through. Zarboff barked some orders, and three soldiers came running over. One of them, keeping a wary eye on Kundalini, opened the cage door; the other two stood next to the opening with swords drawn, to prevent the boys from escaping.

The soldiers stepped back as Kundalini thrust his ma.s.sive head through the opening. Peter backed against the far wall of the cage with the other boys. They watched in horror as the snake entered the cage. Prentiss screamed. Zarboff, seeking a better view, rose from his throne and stepped forward.

Neither Zarboff nor his soldiers, intent on watching the drama in the cage, saw what Peter saw: a shadow flying toward them across the sand. None of them looked up until the sound came from overheada"the sound of a young man and a young woman shouting. Peter thought the voices sounded familiar. He glanced up, but in the glare of the sun he couldn't see anything more than a dark, flying shape. Quite a large flying shape, in fact.

Some of the soldiers looked up, too. They began shouting and pointing as they realized that the flying shape was, impossible though it seemedaa camel.

For a moment, Kundalini was forgotten, as all faces turned skyward, including the face of King Zarboff the Third, whose mouth fell open in amazement. This was unfortunate for him, for it was at exactly that moment that the flying camel, on Tink's chimed command, released a long pent-up load of camel dung, which fell directly and ma.s.sively onto His Royal Highness's upturned face. He roared in rage and began to stagger around blindly, screaming for someone to wipe his face; his men raced to help him but were hindered by the flying camel, which was making low swoops back and forth across the area, continuing to emit dung bombs.

"Tink!" shouted Peter, hearing the familiar bells. She answered with a chime and swooped down to him, darting through the cage bars and dropping something into his hand. He looked down: it was Molly's locket. Tink was at his ear, chiming as loud as she could.

The snake!

Peter looked and saw that Kundalini, who was not going to be distracted from a tasty meal by a flying camel, was only inches away, preparing to wrap its first deadly coil around Peter.

Peter flipped open Molly's locket. His hand was instantly enveloped in a radiant sphere of golden light. He reached down and poured some starstuff onto Kundalini's head. The effect was immediate: the huge snake reared back like a snake charmer's cobra and began to rise with a spiraling motion. In a moment its entire body had lifted off the floor of the cage. The head turned slowly until it found the still-open cage door, and then it spiraled out of the cage. The appearance of a flying snake had the effect of further disconcerting the soldiers, who were still dodging the flying camel while trying to a.s.sist their king, who was wandering blindly into the desert, screaming for somebody to wipe his face.

With Kundalini gone, there was nothing between the boys and the open, unguarded cage door. Peter grabbed the still-stunned Prentiss and Thomas and shoved them toward the opening; James did the same for Tubby Ted. The boys clambered out and jumped from the wagon onto the carpet where Zarboff had been sitting on his throne. Peter looked around: the soldiers were all preoccupied with the swooping camel, the flying snake, and their highly irate king. But the moment would not last. They had to get out of there. But how?

"Get them!" screamed Zarboff. The king was pointing at Peter and the others. Soldiers were running toward them.

Peter looked down at Molly's locket. And the carpet.

The carpet.

With a flick of his wrist, Peter dumped the locket's contents onto the carpet. In the next second, it was six feet off the ground and rising so fast that all the boys, even Peter, lost their balance and fell.

"Help!" yelled Ted, who was falling off the edge. Peter lunged and grabbed him, managing to pull him back onto the flying carpet just as a soldier's sword sliced the air where his legs had been. Soon the carpet was well out of reach, rising weightlessly, balloonlike, into the desert sky. They pa.s.sed by the sinking Kundalini and left behind the furious, frustrated screams of His Royala"and currently quite smellya"Highness King Zarboff the Third.

"h.e.l.lo, Peter!" called a voice, a very familiar voice, one that made Peter's stomach flutter in a way that was not at all unpleasant. Peter looked up and saw her, looking quite self-a.s.sured on the back of a flying camel, and such was the joy in Peter's heart that he even managed to muster a lukewarm fondness at the sight of George.

"h.e.l.lo, Molly," he called back.

"I suppose we should get out of here, before we start to come down," she said.

"Yes," said Peter. "I suppose we should."

They stared at each other for a few more seconds, which was longer than Tink could tolerate.

I'm the one who rescued you, remember? she chimed unnecessarily loudly into Peter's ear.

"Of course, Tink," said Peter, still looking at Molly.

"What did she say?" said Molly.

"She says it's wonderful to see you again," said Peter.

CHAPTER 41.

OASIS.

THE CARPET WAS DESCENDINGa"and sagging in the middlea"as the starstuff wore off. Behind the carpet, the camel carrying Molly and George was also rapidly losing alt.i.tude.

Peter, shielding his eyes from the glare of the sun, scanned the horizon. Far in the distance he could see the spires and sprawl of Maknar. Otherwise there was nothing but an endless sea of sand.

Then he spotted ita"a patch of green in the vast expanse of desert.

"To the right!" Peter shouted. Holding the edges, he and the other boys leaned right, steering the carpet. They didn't have quite enough lift to make it to the oasis and came down a bit short. Behind them, the camela"now an experienced flyera"landed without so much as a stumble.

The noonday sun had turned the sand to fire; the boys had not had a drop to drink for hours. So when Peter pointed to the palm trees and said, "Water," the race was on. In a minute, James, Tubby Ted, Prentiss, and Thomas were plunging their heads into a small pond in the shade of a towering palm.

Peter was thirsty, too, as were George and Molly. But instead of racing to the oasis, the three of them stood in an awkward triangle on the blistering sand. They had not seen each other since London, the day after that terrifying night at Stonehenge. They had much to say to each other, but n.o.body knew how to start.

Molly broke the silence, stepping forward and giving Peter a hug, which made his face even redder than the sun already had.

"I'm so glad we found you," she said.

"I'm glad you did, too," said Peter. "Thanks." He straightened up, making himself as tall as he could, although he was no longer as tall as Molly, and never would be again.

I'm the one who found you, noted Tink, landing possessively on Peter's head.

Peter, ignoring her, turned to George. They shook hands awkwardly.

"Thanks to you as well, George," said Peter.

"It was nothing," said George.

That's true, said Tink.

"Be quiet, Tink," said Peter. He turned back to Molly. "Molly, I've so much to tell you. Your fathera""

"Where is he?" said Molly.

"In Zarboff's dungeon," said Peter. "He was brought in with another man."

"Bakari," said Molly, her face falling. "This is awful."

"It's worse than you know," said Peter. "First of all, Ombra is still alive. And he's here."

"But how cana"

"I don't know," interrupted Peter. "But he's definitely here, along with others like him, and they're controlling Zarboff and the Others. They're after starstuff, Molly, but they don't just wait for it to fall. They can make it fall. They made it fall last night."

"The lights in the sky," said Molly softly.

Peter nodded.

"How did they make it fall?" said George.

"They sent up a rocket," said Peter.

"A what?" said George.

As George and Molly listened with growing amazement, Peter told them about Viktor Glotz and the huge, monkey-piloted rocket. George had many questions about the rocket, which Peter answered as best he could. When he was finished, Molly said, "So they send up starstuff to bring down more starstuff?"

"Yes," said Peter. "They call it aaa Disruption. And when they collect the starstuff they've just brought down, they plan to send it up in another rocketa"they've one lefta"and it willa" He hesitated.

"It will what?" said Molly.

"Glotz said it will change the universe," said Peter.

"That's nonsense," said George.

"Well, it's what he said," snapped Peter.

"Then he's insane," said George.

"Is he?" said Molly. "Seems to me his plan to make starstuff fall wasn't insane."

George reddened. Peter enjoyed that sight, but only for a moment. "Anyway," Peter said, "whatever they plan to do with the starstuff, they have it now, thanks to me."

"What do you mean?" said Molly.

"I mean," said Peter, "I led them right to it." He told Molly how Zarboff had threatened to kill his mates with the snake if he refused to cooperate. He spoke with his face down, unwilling to look Molly in the eye. When he was finished, she put her hand on his forearm.

"Don't blame yourself, Peter," she said softly. "You had no choice."

Peter nodded. "The odd thing is," he said, "they knew I would be able to find the starstuff. Theya"Ombraa"brought me here from the island just to find it for them. They said they used my parents for the same thing. I never even knew who my parents were, or whether they were alive. And they were here, Molly!"

Molly and George exchanged a significant look.

"What is it?" said Peter. "Do you know something about my parents?"

"Yes," said Molly. Peter listened intently, his eyes locked on hers as she told him what she had learned on her trip with George to Oxforda"the notices placed in the newspaper by the mysterious Mr. Pan; the disappearance of Pan and his wife at the same time that Peter, as a baby, was placed in St. Norbert's Home for Wayward Boys.

"Pan," said Peter. "That's my name, then? Peter Pan?" n.o.body at St. Norbert's had ever told him that.

"Yes," said Molly.

"And my fatheramy parentsathey worked with the Starcatchers?"

"Yes," said Molly again. "They warned us when the starstuff was going to fall. Somehow they could predict it. The Others brought you here because they knew you could, too."

"But I didn't predict it," said Peter. "I only felt it after it fell."

Molly thought about that for a moment, then said, "Well, somehow you have a special connection to the starstuff, as your parents did."

"The Others forced my parents to help them," said Peter bitterly. "And now they've forced me to do the same thing. Thanks to me, they have all the starstuff they need for whatever they have planned."

"This Glotz fellow," said George. "Did he say when they were going to send up the last rocket andachange the universe?"

"Yes," said Peter, thinking back. "He said something odd, about aashower. In two days, he said."

"The Leonid shower!" said George.

"What's that?" said Molly.

"A huge meteorite shower," said George. "It happens only once every thirty-three years. I believe it peaks after only a few nights. That must be when this Glotz fellow intends to send up the rocket."

"Then we must stop him," said Molly.

"How?" said Peter.

"First, we must get Father and Bakari out of that dungeon," said Molly.

"That won't be easy," said Peter.

"Well, we must," said Molly.

She likes to give orders, observed Tink.

"Yes, she does," agreed Peter.

"What did she say?" Molly asked suspiciously.

"She said you look thirsty," said Peter. He gestured toward the oasis, with its beckoning pool of shaded water. The three of them began walking that way. Tink, riding on Peter's head, c.o.c.ked her head, then took off and flew high into the sky. She returned a minute later, landing on Peter's shoulder with a brief burst of bells. He nodded to her, then turned back to Molly, who was outlining her plan.

"Before we get to Maknar," she was saying, "you and the other boys will need robes."

"We've no money to buy them robes," said George.

"No," said Peter, "but we have a very fine carpet." He grinned. "A carpet fit for a king, in fact. I'm sure we could trade it for robes."