Zann and Darb headed out of the meeting. Perda and Gliss followed them.
"What's wrong?" Gliss asked. "Darb, I figured you'd want to stay and find out more.
Just think—soon you might have magic of your own!"
"I'm not sure I want that," Darb said softly.
"I mean, sometimes I think it might be nice to conjure my own food instead of asking someone else to do it. But . . ."
"But what?" Gliss sounded perplexed.
"All I want to do when I grow up is become an animal caretaker," Darb blurted out.
"What if having magic gets in the way of that?"
Now Zann understood why his friend looked conflicted.
Most Voids were limited to a few simple jobs that required no magic.
One of those jobs was animal caretaker.
Darb had dreamed of doing that for as long as Zann had known him.
"I understand," he told Darb. "But Magica will still need animal caretakers even if all the Voids get magic."
"Maybe," Darb said. "But . . . I'm used to being a Void. I actually don't mind it."
Zann was shocked. How could anyone not want magic?
Still, Darb was his friend, so Zann didn't question him.
Instead he flashed a smile at Darb and changed the subject.
"Do you think Laddno can really do what he's promising?"
"I doubt it," Gliss said. "That guy says Laddno has some secret knowledge.
But nobody knows for sure if the Source is real."
"I read that it might be deep beneath Mount Mystery," Perda said.
"Or maybe inside the Cave of the Unknown."
"If the Source is in the Cave, then Laddno is out of luck," Zann pointed out.
"The Cave was destroyed, remember? Let's get home before Boz starts to worry about us."
When the kids reached Zann's house, a magical note was floating in the living room.
"It's from Boz," Zann said. "Venna called another meeting.
Boz won't be back for several hours."
Perda's eyes widened. "This is our chance to help Ello!"
Zann swallowed. He knew Boz would be furious if he ever found out that the kids had gone out again.
Zann quickly pushed that thought out of his mind and checked his pocket to make sure the guidelink was still there. "Let's go."
They headed back outside. Zing tried to come with them, but Darb convinced the dragon to stay behind.
"Maybe I should stay too." Gliss looked pale.
"I swore I'd never go near a wormhole again!"
"You'll be fine." Perda grabbed her hand. "Let's zap straight to Wormwood."
Wormwood was as creepy as ever. A variety of makeshift huts huddled around the central green where a gnarled and ancient tree grew.
The wormhole at the tree's base wasn't visible, but Zann remembered exactly where it was.
On the way to the tree, they passed Wyssa's old hut.
An older man with gray hair sat outside.
He stared suspiciously as the kids went by.
Suddenly there was a growl from the tent next door to Wyssa's hut.
A small silver dragon leaped out, spitting shards of ice.
"Eek!" Gliss cried. "Stay back!"
"Sorry!" A young man hurried out of the tent and grabbed the dragon. "She won't hurt you."
"Hey, it's you!" Perda blurted out. "The guy from the meeting."
The man brushed his wild hair to the side.
"Oh, were you there?" he asked in a friendly voice.
"I hope you enjoyed it—especially you." He smiled at Darb. "You're a Void, aren't you?"
"You live here?" Zann said before Darb could answer. He peered past the man.
Piles of strange items filled the tent.
Other items lay in the grass outside the tent.
"Yes, home sweet home." The young man noticed Zann's red hair and frowned.
He turned back to Darb and Perda.
"Some mess, hmm? I brought home a bunch of stuff from the meeting."
"We should go." Gliss sounded nervous as she glanced toward the tree.
The man ignored her. "Are you interested in joining our group?" he asked Darb.
"We can use more help to get the word out about Void Rights."
Zann expected Darb to mutter "no thanks."
Instead Darb cleared his throat. "Did you say you brought back some things from the meeting?" he said.
"I'd, uh, love to see that boat again."
"Of course!" the man exclaimed. "Our mission is to share new kinds of magic with everyone.
Come in and look at it all you like."
"Actually I was hoping to borrow the boat for a while," Darb said. "I'd like to study it."
The man looked uncertain. "It's the only one we have.
Laddno went to great personal trouble to acquire it."
"I wouldn't need it for long," Darb added quickly.
"I'd be happy to bring it back to Laddno campaign headquarters tomorrow to discuss how I can help the cause."
The man still looked hesitant. But finally he smiled. "I suppose that would be all right."
Soon the deflated boat was draped over Darb's shoulders. The kids hurried toward the tree.
"What was that all about?" Zann asked.
Darb smiled slyly. "We're going to Skellia, right? A drowning world with weak magic?
I thought a boat that doesn't require magic might come in handy."
"Good thinking, Darb!" Perda said. "Now we won't have to use magic to create a raft."
"And that means we won't attract the gulpers." Zann shivered, thinking of the magic-eating creatures that swam in Skellia's waters.
When Zann and his friends approached the tree, the wormhole spun open.
"I was hoping the wormhole had disappeared," Gliss joked weakly.
"Not this one," Zann said. "It's been here for a long time."
Perda laughed. "Hey, maybe the Source is located right here under this spooky old tree with its super powerful wormhole!"
"Who knows?" Zann snapped his fingers. A Shackle spell linked the friends' hands together.
Zann stepped toward the wormhole. "Let's go!"