فصل 23

CHAPTER 23

THE JACKAL COMMANDS

OMBRA GLIDED SILENTLY ACROSS THE SAND, beneath the night sky. Ahead of him there were sporadic movements and rustling sounds—the scuttling and slithering of spiders, snakes, and other night hunters fleeing the path of the swift-moving, cold, dark shape.

Ombra traveled alone. He had left the sea pod after dark and skirted Maknar, choosing to cross the open desert rather than take the road. Now the head of the Jackal lay before him, its huge stone form looming in the starlight. Ombra glided up the steps and into the dark hole beneath the giant teeth that framed the entrance.

He descended the narrow, deep stairwell, the air growing colder and more stale with each landing. He arrived finally at the underground chamber; it was, as always, pitch dark. Ombra swept to the center of the chamber and stopped, waiting as the beings in the blackness around him merged with him and he with them, so their thoughts could intermingle.

We have the Watcher boy, Ombra thought.

Where is he? thought the beings.

At the palace.

Why did you not bring him here?

He is injured. But he is gaining strength.

We will need the boy soon. He must be ready.

I will see that he is ready.

Will he cooperate?

We have his friends. The boy is loyal to them. He will do as we instruct him, to keep them alive. And we have another prisoner, a pirate. The boy fears him. He may also be useful. I am certain that the boy can be made to cooperate.

You must be certain. There is little time left, and the boy is essential. You failed once to control him and placed the plan in jeopardy. You must not fail this time.

I will not fail. I will control the boy.

Understand that you will not get a third opportunity. If you fail, you will be sent to the Brightness.

Ombra did not respond. There was no need: the other beings could feel his fear.

As soon as the Watcher boy is strong enough, you will bring him here.

I will bring the boy here.

That is all. Go.

Ombra separated himself from the beings, moving back up the stairway and out into the desert night. He began to glide toward the palace spires rising in the distance. Just ahead, a large spider emerged on thick hairy legs from a hole in the sand. It sensed Ombra’s approach and tried to retreat into its hole. Too late; the dark shape was upon it, then past it, leaving behind a dead, cold carcass on the sand. Ombra took no notice. His thoughts were on the palace ahead and the boy who would determine his fate.