"We barely got it back," said Leonard. "We were never warned about that Fall."

"No," said Ombra. "We were warned. For the past twelve years, the only Watcher on Earth has been working for us."

"Peter's parents," said Leonard.

"Very good, Lord Aster," groaned Ombra. "But not both his parents. Only his father. He made a mistake, unusual for a Watcher. He fell in love with an ordinary human. He married her. They had a child. That gave us the control we needed. To save his wife and child, he had to work for our side, the shadows."

"But," said Bakari, "didn't your enemiesa"the powers of lighta"notice that they lost their Watcher twelve years ago?"

"No," said Ombra. "As I have said, their attention is focused elsewhere in the universe, and twelve years is nothing in the time span of this struggle. The powers of light have no reason to believe anything is wrong on Earth. And when they discover the effects of what we're about to do, it will be far too late."

"What do you intend to do?" said Leonard softly.

"At last," groaned Ombra, "we come to the present. You have no doubt noticed the tall metal structure in the courtyard outside."

Leonard and Bakari nodded.

"A rocket, designed by Dr. Glotz. He is quite intelligent, for a human; we have enhanced this intelligence by exposing him to controlled doses of starstuff. Since this exposure, he has been using his talents to exploit the flaw in the conduit. He has made remarkable progress. He developed a means to send up a rocket containing a small quant.i.ty of starstuff, thereby causing a Disruption that brings down a larger quant.i.ty. That is how he caused the Scotland Fall. More recently he has learned to control the location of the Fall, as he did this morning. That starstuff was located for us by the Watcher's son, Peter, who apparently has inherited at least some of his father's powers. It is a very large quant.i.ty of starstuff we now have in our possession. Tonight, Dr. Glotz will send it up in the rocket, to be released at precisely the right moment during the Leonid meteor shower. You will want to be looking out your cell window when it happens. Dr. Glotz a.s.sures me that it will be quite spectacular. But there is another reason why you should watch, Lord Aster."

"Why is that?"

Ombra's eyes glowed brightly in the cell gloom.

"Because," he said, "it is the last thing that you, and all other humans, will ever see."

The cell was silent for a moment.

"I don't understand," said Leonard.

"You will never understand," said Ombra. "As I said, the limitations of your languagea"and, with all due respect, your mindsa"render the concept beyond your grasp. I will leave it at this: if Dr. Glotz is correcta"and I am confident that he isa"the extreme, sudden shock to the starstuff flow caused by the rocket tonight will cause it to reverse, like a wave hitting a wall. The result will be an immediate stop to the expansion of the universe. It will actually begin to contract. This Reversal will happen with inconceivable swiftness. In less than a moment, all light and all it has ever created, will be gone. All of ita"from the tiniest mote of dust, to your precious Earth, to the galaxies themselvesa"all gone back to before the Beginning. Before time. In their place: timelessness and nothingness. And we will rule in darkness, as we once did. Forever."

Leonard and Bakari stared at the red orbs for several long moments. Bakari broke the silence.

"Why are the Others helping you, if it will cause their deaths?" he said.

"The Others are humans: ignorant fools," said Ombra. "Zarboff knows only that there will be more starstuff. He does not think beyond that."

"But surely Dr. Glotz knows what he is bringing about," said Leonard.

"He trusts his theories," said Ombra. "But he cares only about one thing: that in his last instant of existence, before the Reversal, before everything becomes nothing again, he will have proved his theory correct."

"He's insane," whispered Leonard.

"That hardly makes him unique among you humans."

Again the cell was silent. When Leonard spoke again, his voice was hoa.r.s.e.

"You won't win, you know," he said. He felt the red orbs gazing intently at him. He forced himself not to look away.

"And why is that, Lord Aster?" Ombra said.

"Because," said Leonard, "light overcomes darkness. A tiny match can illuminate the darkest room. As long as there is some light somewhere in the universe, you can be defeated."

"But that is precisely the point, Lord Aster," groaned Ombra. "What if there is no universe?"

Ombra kept his gaze on Leonard, as if awaiting a response; Leonard had none. Finally Ombra turned and oozed back through the cell bars. Then he was gone, disappearing into the dungeon gloom, leaving Leonard and Bakari to look out the window at the bright desert day. Perhaps the last day ever.

CHAPTER 45.

DOOMED.

IT TOOK THE CHILDREN HOURS to reach Maknara"hot, thirsty hours, with the city beckoning in the distance, a mosaic of sunbaked huts, hunchbacked palms, and the glinting spires of Zarboff's palace. The sea of sand played tricks on their eyes: sometimes, as they trudged forward, the city seemed to move farther away, like a desert mirage of shimmering blue water.

But finally they were standing in a bustling marketplace, doing their best to look inconspicuous in their newly acquired robes. Around them swirled the sounds of people bargaining, and a hundred scentsa"acrid sweat, sweet incense, coconut, spices. The camel, which had carried Tubby Ted, Prentiss, and Molly most of the way, let out a strange humming noise. Thomas led it to a water trough, from which it drank thirstily.

"What now?" James said. He intended the question for Peter, but it was Molly who answered.

"We must go to the palace," she said, "and free Father."

And be caught immediately, like a big stupid fish, observed Tink, who was hiding under Peter's robe.

"What'd she say?" asked Molly.

"She said the palace is heavily guarded," said Peter. "We can't just go barging in there, Molly."

"Well, we can't just stand here, either," said Molly. "People are starting to notice us."

This was true: even in the colorful chaos of the market, their group was drawing curious looks.

"All right," said Peter. He gestured for the group to gather, whistling to Tubby Ted, who was wandering toward the food stalls. When they had all huddled together, Peter spoke, his voice low.

"As I see it," he said, "we need to do two things. We need to free Lord Aster and Bakari. Then we need to get all of us out of here. We need a ship."

"We came by ship to Ashmar," said Molly. "But that's another long trip across the desert. I doubt we'd make it if we were being chased."

Peter nodded. "There are ships here," he said. "There's a harbor below the city. That's where Ombra brought us in his underwater ship. There were sailing ships there."

"Then perhaps we need to borrow one," said George, giving Molly a look.

"Do you think you could be in charge of that, George?" said Peter. He was reluctant to admit it, but George was quite good at things like getting ships.

"My pleasure," said George.

"Good," said Peter. "So you, Molly, and the boys will get a ship and have it ready to sail. Tink and I will go to the palace anda""

"I'm going with you," said Molly.

No she's not, said Tink.

"No, you're not," said Peter. "Molly, think about it. Tink and I can fly. And we've been inside the dungeon. We know where we're going."

"He's my father," said Molly. She pulled out her locket. "And I have starstuff left. I can fly if I need to." Peter started to object, but she cut him off. "I'm going with you," she said, "like it or not."

Not, said Tink.

"All right," said Peter.

"Thank you," said Molly.

We're doomed, said Tink.

A few minutes later, with the plan settled, they left the market in two groups. George and the other boys headed toward the harbor, with George leading the camel. Molly and Peter, with Tink still tucked away, headed toward Zarboff's palace.

Peter eyed the looming spires, recalling how close Kundalini had come to making a meal of him and his mates. He glanced at Molly, glad she was with him. But at the moment he had no idea how the two of them, and Tink, could possibly free Leonard Aster from Zarboff's dungeon. He also had grave doubts that George, capable as he was, would be able to procure a ship.

We're doomed, Tink said again.

"What did she say?" asked Molly.

"She says," replied Peter, "that this should be exciting."

CHAPTER 46.

TINK'S MESSAGE LEONARD ASTER SAT SLUMPED against the cell wall, staring at nothing. Next to him, Bakari, equally downhearted, rose to stretch his legs. He glanced out the small barred window, then moved closer for a better look.

"They are working on the rocket," he said.

Leonard rose quickly and stood next to Bakari. The blazing bright afternoon was yielding, slowly, to the softer light of evening. Across the courtyard, the rocket thrust its dark, tapering silhouette into the sky above the palace wall. A tall, thin mana"Viktor Glotz, Leonard a.s.sumeda"was supervising a crew of boys, who appeared to be about Peter's age. The boys were carrying buckets from a wagon to the rocket. Stationed around the rocket were a dozen soldiers armed with rifles; at least fifty more armed men were positioned around the courtyard. Many of the men were shading their eyes with their hands, scanning the sky.

"They're watching for Peter," said Leonard.

Bakari nodded. "Do you think he'll try to return?"

Leonard allowed himself a thin smile. "If I know Peter," he said, "he will indeed try to return." The smile faded. "But I don't see how he can get past all those rifles."

"Perhaps when it gets darker," said Bakari.

"Perhaps," said Leonard. "If it's not too late."

They stood in silence for another minute, watching the rocket preparations. Leonard was about to turn away when he thought he saw movement at the left edge of his vision. He pressed his face against the bars, straining to see in that direction, and saw it again: a darting glimmer against the sky.

"Tink," he whispered.

The tiny shape zigzagged closer as Leonard and Bakari watched anxiously, fearing that she would be spotted. But the soldiers were watching for something far larger. In a moment she had shot through the bars and was hovering in front of the men in their dim cell. She glanced at the corridor, and, seeing no guards within earshot, chimed quietly.

Peter sent me to you.

"Is he all right?" said Leonard.

Yes.

"And Molly?"

She's with Peter, chimed Tink, with a disapproving expression. They're hiding. They're going to fly over the wall when it gets dark and the men can't see them. They're going to rescue you.

Leonard shook his head. "No," he said. "Listen, Tinker Bell, this is very important. Tell Peter and Molly that rescuing us will have to wait. The important thing is that they must stop the rocket from going up. Do you understand?"

Tink nodded. Don't rescue you. Stop the rocket from going up.

"That's right. Good."

How?

"What?"

How do they stop the rocket?

Leonard rubbed his forehead. "I don't know," he said. "But they must stop it, somehow. If they don't, the world will beathere will be no world."

Tink had no response, which was unusual for her.

"Hurry, Tink," said Leonard, glancing out the cell window. "Tell them there isn't much time."

I'll tell them, said Tink. She shot through the bars, a streak of golden light. Bakari and Leonard watched her disappear over the palace wall. The sky was getting darker; soldiers were lighting torches in the courtyard.

"There isn't much time," repeated Leonard.

CHAPTER 47.

MOLLY'S DECISION TINK, ZOOMING THROUGH the darkening evening sky, found Peter and Molly where she'd left thema"in a narrow alley between two buildings close to the outer palace wall. Ignoring Molly, Tink landed on Peter's shoulder and chimed into his ear for a full minute, Peter's frown deepening all the while.