"Hello?" someone shouted from outside. "Come and look!"
The Skellians headed for the door of the hut.
"What are we going to do?" Gliss whispered.
"We can't get back to Magica without a wormhole!"
"We'll figure something out," Zann said, trying to sound confident.
Zann and his friends joined the Skellians at the doorway. Everyone was staring at the beach.
"What's going on?" Perda asked Ello.
"It's the gulpers." Ello pointed. "They're clustering along the shore!
It's weird—they don't usually do that."
Zann squinted through the rain. Several gulpers were splashing around in the shallows.
A few Skellians climbed down the rope ladder for a better look.
"Isn't it dangerous to get too close to those things?" Gliss asked.
"It's okay," Ello replied. "The gulpers can't come onto land. Let's take a look!"
Following Ello, Zann and his friends climbed down to the beach.
That seemed to make the gulpers even more excited.
They churned up the water so much that part of the beach was flooded.
"It's because of our visitors," a woman said, staring at Zann and the others.
"They must give off enough magic energy to attract the gulpers."
"Good thing they can't come on land." Gliss sounded nervous.
"Be careful, Darb! Don't get too close!"
Zann smiled. "Darb is always curious about new creatures," he told Ello.
"I think that's the same gulper that bumped our raft."
Darb pointed to one of the creatures.
"See? I recognize its color and the shape of its eye."
"If you say so," Perda said dubiously. "They all look the same to me."
"I can't see anything in all this rain," Gliss complained.
Snapping her fingers, she conjured up an umbrella.
That caused the gulpers to go into a frenzy.
One even flopped onto the beach, splashing everyone.
"Wow," Zann said. "They definitely noticed that magic you just did, Gliss."
"Yeah." Perda stared at the gulpers with amazement.
"It's almost like we're having our magic tracked by Morb again!"
Until that moment the Skellians had been laughing and pointing at the gulpers, seeming to enjoy the unusual spectacle.
But at Perda's comment, they all became silent.
"What did you say?" one of the women asked Perda.
Perda looked confused. "What? You mean about Morb?
He's just this guy from Magica. It's a long story, but I guess we could tell you . . ."
The Skellians traded serious glances. "I'm sorry," an older man said.
"I'm afraid we cannot welcome you into our village after all. You'll have to leave."
"What?" Perda exclaimed. "Where are we supposed to go?
You just told us there's hardly any land here!"
The man shrugged. "I'm sorry," he said again, though Zann didn't think he sounded very sorry.
Ello looked dismayed. "Rellu, no! You can't turn them away."
"You don't understand, Ello." The man's voice was stern. "Come, let's get inside."
Most of the Skellians turned to leave. But Ello grabbed his mother.
"We can't do this," he said. "I'm sure they're not—"
"Hush, son." His mother shot a nervous look at the visitors.
"What's wrong?" Gliss cried, her chin quivering. "Please! We don't understand."
Ello's mother's expression softened. "Wait here," she said. "Let me talk to Rellu."
She hurried off with Ello at her heels.
"What was that all about?" Darb wondered.
Zann shook his head. "It's like they heard Morb's name and freaked out."
"But how would they know about Morb here?" Perda said.
"Shh," Gliss shushed her. "Here they come."
Ello was hurrying back. "I'm sorry, they're being very stubborn," he said.
"They still won't let you stay with us.
But they said you can stay in the old village for a few days."
"The old village?" Zann said.
"It's this way." Ello led them over a ridge. Then he pointed down a slope.
A single hut stood at the bottom.
The lower halves of its stilts were in the water.
"That's where the village used to be when I was born," Ello explained.
"The waters rose and submerged most of the houses, but that one is still out of reach of the gulpers. You'll be all right there."
"Why did everyone get upset when we mentioned Morb?" Perda asked.
Ello shrugged, looking uncomfortable. "I'd better go," he said.
"The others will need my help cleaning and cooking today's catch." He rushed off.
"That was weird," Darb said.
"Never mind." Gliss shivered. "It's cold out here. Let's get inside."
The hut's interior was damp and moldy.
But Perda created a fire, and Zann conjured up some food.
As they ate, Darb wandered onto a balcony facing the sea.
"The gulpers are swimming near this hut now," he reported. "They must have sensed your magic."
"Let's hope they can't knock the hut off its stilts," Zann joked weakly.
"Or they might swallow us right up!"
Perda glanced out the window. "It's getting darker. It must be almost night."
"How can you tell?" Gliss grimaced. "The rain makes everything so gloomy all the time!
No wonder these people want to escape to other worlds."
Zann yawned. "It's been a long day.
Let's try to get some sleep. Maybe we can figure out a plan tomorrow."
Zann was in the midst of yet another confusing dream about his parents when a shout awakened him.
His eyes popped open, and he sat up.
Ello was standing in the doorway. "A storm is coming!" he said breathlessly.
"Huh?" Gliss mumbled, rubbing her eyes. "So what? It never stops raining here."
"You don't understand!" Ello's voice was urgent.
"This storm is big. It may cause the water to rise again.
If that happens, you'll be cut off from the shore, and at the mercy of the gulpers!"