"No!" Zann yelled. But it was too late. Darb, Gliss, and Zing were gone.
"I couldn't hold on!" Perda cried. "I tried to hold on to Gliss, but I couldn't!"
"I know," Zann said. He was glad Perda had restored the Shackle spell.
Otherwise, his friends might all be gone.
"We have to get out of the vortex. Then we'll figure out what to do."
He glanced around. A wormhole was sliding past, showing a peaceful green meadow.
He lunged for it, but his hand came up empty.
"How do we get through one?" Perda asked.
"I don't know." Zann grabbed for another wormhole and missed again.
"Wyssa got me out the first time. And Zing brought us out into Skellia."
He felt a pang of despair as he said Zing's name.
Would he ever see his fiery little buddy again? Or Darb, his best friend?
Or Gliss, whom he'd accidentally dragged into danger yet again?
Zann tried not to think about it.
"Zing got us out when he tried to grab that fish he saw.
He spotted it through the Skellia wormhole and really jumped at it.
Hang on. I'm going to try harder for the next one."
"Okay. But even if that works, how will we know which world we're entering?" Perda wondered.
"We won't. But anywhere has got to be better than here, right?" Zann glanced forward. "Hold on!"
He hurled himself toward the next wormhole.
This time he felt his fingers latch onto the edge of the wormhole. Its magic energy burned his hand.
"Ouch!" he cried, letting go. He caught a glimpse of a gleaming city as he tumbled away. "Drat!"
"What happened?" Perda asked.
"Nothing. I'll try again in a second."
This time Zann vowed not to let go, no matter what.
He lunged at the next wormhole. His fingers caught the edge, and he ignored the magical burn, pulling himself forward.
"Oof!" he said as he slid through the wormhole and fell flat on his face on the other side.
Perda landed beside him. "You did it!" she said. "Now, where are we?"
"I don't know. But at least it's dry." Zann looked around.
They had landed on an open plain surrounded by a dark forest.
A flash of lightning lit up the sky.
Strange lights flickered on and off, and strange sounds came from every direction.
The air crackled with strong magical energy.
"Where are we?" Perda asked again. This time she sounded a little nervous.
Zann climbed to his feet and then helped Perda up.
She undid the Shackle spell to release his arm.
"Come on," said Zann. "Let's—"
"Look out!" Perda shouted, yanking him back as the ground opened up at their feet.
They jumped backward as the opening grew bigger, emitting a blast of energy that sizzled several nearby trees into burnt stumps.
A second later the ground closed again.
"Let's get away from here," Perda said, backing away toward a cluster of trees.
"Stop!" Zann cried. One of the trees was reaching toward Perda, its branches snaking out like tentacles.
Zann grabbed her and dragged her out of range just in time.
He didn't stop until they were in the open, well away from any of the trees.
"What's wrong with this world?" Perda said, looking worried and confused.
Zann didn't answer for a second. He was staring at something passing by on the far side of the plain.
Something huge and hairy. It looked like a giant spider, but with ten legs and three long, curved teeth sticking out from its mouth.
"I think I just figured it out." He pointed at the creature, which was too far away to notice them.
"See that? I think it's a deca-stinger.
I recognize it from one of my parents' books—Creatures of the Known Magical Worlds."
"S—so this is a known magical world?" Perda asked. "Which one?"
Zann gulped. "I think it's . . . Fardark."
"Fardark?" Perda echoed. "Oh boy."
Zann knew exactly how she felt. Fardark was known for its dark magic and dangerous creatures.
Zann tried to remember what else he'd read about Fardark, but he was soon interrupted.
"Look out!" Perda cried, pointing up.
Zann glanced up. A huge dragon was flying down toward them, its claws bared.
Boiling droplets fell from its mouth like hail, leaving burned spots sizzling all around Zann and Perda.
Zann raised his hand to throw up a Shield spell, but realized it was no use.
Once again the vortex had drained most of their energy.
Their magic might not be strong enough to protect them.
"Run!" Zann yelled.
He grabbed Perda's hand and sprinted across the plain.
The dragon turned and came at them again.
This time Zann heard Perda cry out as one of the droplets burned her arm, leaving a red mark.
"This way!" Zann pulled her toward the trees.
They would just have to hope they weren't the same kind of trees that had tried to grab them.
As lightning flashed again, he spotted a hollow tree trunk just ahead.
Pulling Perda with him, he ducked into it.
A rain of sizzling droplets burned the earth around them.
"Did that dragon see us hide in here?" Perda whispered, peering out.
"I don't know." Zann looked out too.
The dragon landed with a thud, its red eyes searching the darkness and its nostrils sniffing the air.
Suddenly there was a wail. A second later the deca-stinger appeared and flung itself onto the dragon!
The two huge beasts rolled in the dirt, clawing each other and howling.
"This could be our chance!" Zann whispered.
"Let's get out of here while they're both distracted."