"The election will be next week?" Gliss blinked in surprise.
"Laddno can't do that, can he?"
"He did it," Fala said grimly.
"Venna wants this to be over, so she didn't object. Neither did anyone else."
"That makes sense," Darb said.
"The longer the campaign goes on, the more time Laddno has to get people all riled up.
So Venna probably wants the election as soon as possible."
"I suppose you're right." Fala looked troubled.
"It doesn't give us nearly as much time to stop Morb though."
"Yeah," Zann said.
"Maybe we should try to rescue my parents before we go to the Far Frontier."
"No," Perda said.
"I'm sure Venna won't let anything bad happen to the prisoners, no matter what happens with the election."
"But—" Zann began.
"Think about it," Perda urged him.
"Morb is a much bigger threat to everyone, including your parents, than anything that might happen with this election.
We have to stop him."
Darb nodded. "Besides, Wyssa won't wait for us if we try to rescue them.
For all we know, she already left for the Far Frontier."
"I'll check." Fala hurried over and grabbed the Remote Eye from a shelf.
She put it to her eye.
"Check the palace square," Perda suggested.
"That's where we saw her last."
Fala nodded. "I don't see her there," she reported after a moment.
"I'm checking the streets nearby too."
Zann was only half listening. He was still thinking about his parents and Boz.
What if the election took place before Zann and the others returned from the Far Frontier?
And what if Laddno won?
Maff had told the kids that Laddno couldn't be trusted.
What would he decide to do with the prisoners?
Suddenly Zann had an idea.
"Can you use that thing to look inside the palace?" he asked Fala.
She lowered the Eye. "Sure," she said.
"I've been checking on Venna whenever she's there, just in case something strange happens."
"What about the dungeon?" Zann asked.
"Oh, I see." Fala scratched her chin.
"I'm not sure about that. There are probably spells protecting it from spies."
"Can we try?" Zann asked.
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt." Fala raised the Eye again.
After a moment she smiled.
"Hey, it does work! I can see everyone. They all look fine."
She gestured to Zann. "Take a look."
Zann eagerly peered into the Eye.
He gasped as he saw his parents, Boz, Teplo, and the others.
They were talking quietly to one another from their cells.
"I can't believe there are no Shield spells on the dungeon," Gliss said, reaching for the Eye.
"Can I check on my uncle?"
"There probably are spells," Perda said.
"But the Remote Eye is a very old form of magic, remember?
Maybe the spells don't protect against stuff like that."
"That's probably the case," Fala agreed.
"Now let's see if we can locate Wyssa."
The kids took turns scanning the city with the Eye.
Meanwhile Fala tried a few other Search spells, but nothing worked.
"Maybe she really did leave without us," Gliss said.
"Now what are we going to do?" Perda exclaimed.
"I know one place we haven't checked," Darb said.
Zann glanced at his friend, who was scratching Zing with one hand.
The sniffer goose was cuddled up against Darb's other side, honking softly as she drifted off to sleep.
"Where?" Fala asked.
"The zoo," Darb replied. "That's where she took us before, remember?"
"Let me check." Fala raised the Remote Eye to her face.
As soon as she looked through it, she gasped.
"There she is—in a dragon pen! But what's she doing?"
Perda grabbed the Eye.
"It looks like she's cleaning up dragon scales," she reported. "That's weird."
"Not if she needs the scales for some kind of travel spell," Fala pointed out.
"We'd better hurry. She could decide to leave at any moment."
"We?" Zann glanced at Fala. "Are you coming with us?"
She shrugged. "I'd love to see the Far Frontier."
"But what about the animals?" Darb asked.
"I thought you might want to stay with them this time," Fala told Darb, smiling.
"No!" Zann blurted out. "We can't leave Darb behind."
"But he's so good with animals," Fala said.
"This is where he can be most helpful."
Gliss shook her head. "He's most helpful with us," she said firmly.
"That's right," Perda agreed.
"I've lost count of how many times Darb has helped us during our travels."
Zann nodded. "He might not have magic, but he has skills the rest of us don't have."
Fala looked surprised, but she raised both hands in a gesture of surrender.
"All right," she said with a smile.
"You've convinced me. Darb can go with you, and I'll stay here.
But be careful, all right?"
"We will," Zann promised, reaching for his friends' hands. "Zap!"
They landed in a little fountain filled with moon minnows and other fish.
"Ugh, what is it with you and water, Zann?" Gliss complained.
She climbed out and used magic to dry herself and Darb.
"Never mind that." Zann jumped out of the fountain and looked around.
"Which dragon pen was Wyssa in when you saw her?"
"It wasn't the big one with the mean dragons," Perda said.
"I think I saw a cloud glider in the background."
"That pen is this way."
Darb led the way along a path and around a large display of animals native to the Magica Mountains.
When they rounded the corner, Wyssa was just letting herself out of the dragon pen.
She frowned when she spotted the kids.
"It's about time you got here," she snapped.
"I hope you're ready, because we're leaving for the Far Frontier right now."