"I hope Darb and Gliss came here," Zann mumbled in his sleep. "It's so relaxing."
Zann's mind drifted in and out of a dreamlike state.
Empty of all energy, all he wanted to do was float, float, float.
He was roused slightly by the buzz of the flizzes as they returned and zipped around Wyssa.
Her eyes popped open, and she dropped back down to the cloud.
"Thank goodness," she said faintly.
Zann heard Wyssa call his name, but he didn't respond.
Then he felt a hard pinch. "Ouch!" he yelped. He heard Perda cry out as well.
"We need to get to the wormhole!" Wyssa said.
"The flizzes said your friends aren't here."
Something seemed to be holding Zann back. He heard a crackle overhead.
The dark cloud was so close he could almost touch it.
He reached out but suddenly felt himself pulled backward.
"Let's go, you two!" Wyssa cried in frustration.
Just as another bolt of energy shot out from the dark cloud, Wyssa dragged Zann and Perda into the wormhole.
"Whoa!" Perda cried as the three of them tumbled wildly through the vortex. "What's happening?"
"That place drained almost all our energy," Zann said, beginning to wake up a bit. "Even Wyssa's!"
Wyssa lunged at the next wormhole they passed, scrabbling for a hold.
It was nothing like her usual, effortless navigation.
"Come," she croaked weakly. With a grunt she pulled herself through.
"Ouch!" someone said when Zann landed on the other side.
"Sorry!" Zann scooted aside quickly, fearing he'd just crushed some tiny native of this world.
But he didn't see anyone. All he saw was a small rock.
"That's better," the voice said.
"Who said that?" Zann demanded.
"I did," the voice came again. "Right in front of you."
Wyssa smiled weakly. "Ah, we're in Gabble.
Sorry about this young man's clumsiness, friend."
"Who are you talking to?" Perda asked. "Are the people here invisible?"
"Not at all." Wyssa bent and patted the rock.
"In Gabble, everything has a voice.
Not just people, but plants, animals, and other objects as well."
Zann's jaw dropped. "You mean we're talking to . . . a rock?"
"You can call me Gray," the rock said cheerfully.
Zann and Perda stared in amazement.
"Don't stand there staring like idiots," Wyssa said. "Introduce yourselves!"
"Um, hello," Zann stammered. He and Perda introduced themselves to the friendly rock.
"Welcome to Gabble," the rock said.
"Thank you," Wyssa replied. "This will be a safe place to rest," she told Zann and Perda.
Zann felt a flash of anxiety. How much time had they wasted in that cloud world? "Rest? But our friends—" he began.
"Are still out there somewhere, yes," Wyssa said.
"But we're no use to them until we've regained our energy. That requires time."
Zann realized she was right. So he and Perda wandered around, chatting with various plants, animals, and other objects.
As Perda got involved in a discussion with an opinionated squirrel, Zann talked with a tree.
"What brings you to Gabble?" the tree asked.
"It's kind of a long story . . ." Zann described their escape from the cloud world.
That led to more questions. Before he knew it, Zann was telling the tree the whole story.
"Oh my," the tree said sympathetically. "I hope you find your friends soon.
Then you can return to searching for your parents."
"I hope so." Zann sighed. "I'm afraid Wyssa will make me go back to Magica once we find the others."
"Can she do that?" the tree asked.
"She can try." Zann squared his shoulders.
"But she won't succeed. I'll sneak away if I have to!"
Just then Perda called him over to settle an argument between her and the squirrel.
After that Zann had a long conversation with a pretty flowering vine.
"Zann!" Wyssa snapped, stomping over and interrupting.
"A tree just told me you're planning to sneak off and look for your parents. Forget about that crazy plan right now.
It's far too dangerous." She stomped off again.
"I can't believe that tree told Wyssa my plans!" Zann complained.
The vine chuckled. "We residents of Gabble love to talk."
Zann saw Perda hurrying toward him. "Keep quiet about this, okay?" he whispered. "Please!"
"I'll try." The vine sounded doubtful. So Zann intercepted Perda, dragging her off to talk to a boulder instead.
Ten minutes later Wyssa approached. "It's time to go," she said.
"We should be recovered well enough by now."
"She's right, I feel better. Come on!" Perda hurried toward the wormhole.
Zann started to follow, but then he heard his name.
A bird landed on a branch beside him.
"Don't fret," the bird chirped. "Wyssa wants to find your parents as much as you do."
"No, she doesn't." Zann kicked at the dirt.
"I heard her muttering to herself just now," the bird said.
"When I asked why she was upset, she said that she feels responsible for your parents' disappearance.
She wants to find them and help get them back to your home world."
Zann frowned. "Really? How's she going to do that?"
"I don't know," the bird admitted. "She stopped talking after that."
"Zann! Now!" Wyssa shouted.
Back in the vortex, Zann thought about what the bird had said. Could it be true?
He was distracted by a bright purple glow.
"Someone has passed this way very recently," Wyssa said. "Hold on!"
She pulled them through another wormhole and into a bustling city. Zann landed hard, scraping his knee.
"Ow." He snapped his fingers. "Heal!"
Nothing happened. "Let me try," Perda said. "You've always done sloppy Healing spells."
"Don't bother," Wyssa said. "Your Healing spells won't work here.
We've just landed in a world with no magic at all."