“From the blue fog?” asked Eric.
“It’s where they’re coming to that worries me,” said Keeah. “And they’re coming to us! Hide —”
But just as they tried to run, there was a sudden crackle of twigs, a flash of yellow across the path, and — floomp! — a giant leaf crashed from the trees above and trapped them completely.
“Hey, let us out —” cried Neal.
“No,” whispered Keeah. “Hush. Stay still!”
Kaww-kaww! The giant birds dived for the ground. The friends heard them flapping nearer and nearer, circling the river.
A minute later, there was nothing.
Max carefully poked his head out from under the leaf. “The birds are leaving,” he whispered. “We’re safe.”
Djambo flipped the leaf over.
“Nice of them not to stay for lunch,” said Neal.
Eric watched the birds fly away over the distant trees. Then he glanced into the forest. He was almost certain he had seen a pair of eyes just before the leaf fell — piercing yellow eyes — but now there was no one. “I don’t like this place. We need to get out of here. Fast.”
“The fastest way is down the river,” said Keeah. She looked at the leaf and grinned. “I admit it’s not the Jaffa Wind or a flying ship, but this leaf just might float.”
“Float?” said Neal. “No way am I going down the waterfall on that!”
Djambo dragged the giant leaf to the edge of the river and slid it in. “Are you staying behind then, Neal?”
Neal frowned. “I don’t like waterfalls. But I don’t like being alone, either. I’m in!”
He hopped in, followed by Max, Keeah, Djambo, and finally Eric. Pulling branches from the riverside for oars, they pushed off.
Right away, the current drew them in.
Waves tossed the leaf, gathering speed until the friends were swept straight for the waterfall. In a moment, the leaf was tossed over the edge.
Eric tightly clutched the leaf. “Whoaaa!”
For a few moments they were airborne, then — splooosh! — the leaf struck the river below, nearly going under.
“Yahoo!” cried Djambo. “It worked!”
“I think I love waterfalls!” said Neal, grinning with excitement.
Five minutes later, the river pushed them out to the open sea.
Ten minutes after that, they glimpsed another flying figure soaring above them. This time, it wasn’t an ancient bird.
“Julie!” cried Djambo, waving his arms. “Over here!”
Julie dived through the clouds and soon lighted on the leaf between Keeah and Max, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
“Wow, you are such an expert flyer now!” said Neal.
“Thanks,” she said, trying to catch her breath. “Okay. There’s good news and bad news. The dragon ship escaped into one of those orange flame holes and vanished. I totally lost Sparr.”
“So what’s the good news?” asked Eric.
Julie sighed. “That’s the good news. The bad news is that a gigantic storm came out of nowhere. It’s full of thunder and red lightning. And it makes a hurricane look like a sprinkle!”
“Out of nowhere?” said Keeah. “Oh, my gosh, that’s it!”
“What do you mean?” asked Neal.
Keeah started rowing harder. “Sparr is using the Red Eye of Dawn to hide the very thing we’re looking for. The thing not on any map. The place no one could ever find!”
Max gulped. “Oh, dear. The Isle of Mists?”
“The Isle of Mists,” said Keeah. “Come on!”
As they rowed faster, the giant storm came into view.
“There is no Isle of Mists,” Neal moaned. “There is no —”
Suddenly, the storm became huge. Whoo-oo-oosh! — a powerful wind swept over them and sucked the leaf into a giant funnel of water.
After what seemed like an eternity of spinning wind and crashing waves, the leaf bobbed out onto water as thick and black as oil.
Everyone looked around.
A whirling wall of water hundreds of feet high surrounded them. But they drifted calmly in the center.
They were inside the storm.
“This is much better,” said Djambo.
“We hope,” said Keeah.
A heavy mist, as thick and gray as dirty cotton, rolled over the dark waves. When it parted for a moment, they saw it.
In the distance was a long shape rising above the water.
It was high in the middle and sloped down at the edges.
It was an island.
Julie swallowed loudly. “The Isle of Mists?”
“The Isle of Mists,” said Djambo.
“So, okay,” mumbled Neal, “maybe it does exist.”
As the friends rowed toward the island, the mist thickened so they could barely see beyond their tiny boat. All of a sudden — sloooo! — a glint of silver cut across the sea just ahead of them.
“The d-dragon ship!” Max said with a shiver.
Hushed and slow, the magic ship moved over the black water. Sparr stood at the helm, his cloak wrapped tight, his eyes staring ahead. His army of Ninns huddled silently behind him.
On a stand in front of Sparr was the Coiled Viper, gleaming in its own light, poised as if it were ready to strike.
Eric’s blood ran cold. He knew they would soon discover what the Viper was actually created for. He trembled to imagine what Sparr was really up to.
Thick fog swirled once more around the dragon ship, like the smoke of a snuffed candle, and it was gone.
“Okay, that was creepy,” said Julie, rowing faster with her tree branch.
“Get ready for even more creepy,” said Eric. “We’re about to find the darkest magic ever.”
Keeah nodded. “I hope my mother and father get here soon. We’ll need as much help as possible.”
Eric felt the same way. He remembered how afraid Salamandra had seemed. And if she was scared about this place …
For twenty minutes more, they rowed toward the island.
Then Djambo spoke softly. “There,” he said. “Look….”
On the shore not twenty feet away lay the silver hull of the flying dragon ship.
It was leaning on the black sand.
It was empty.
“They landed,” said Keeah. “Now it’s our turn.”
Giving a final push with their paddles, they urged their leaf to the dark shore.
It rode up onto the sand and stopped.
When they stepped from the leaf, their feet sank into the black sand with a soft squish.
“That’s nice,” said Neal, tugging his foot up. “I just remembered I left my hat in the boat.”
“You weren’t wearing a hat,” said Djambo.
“You’re right,” said Neal. “Maybe I should take the boat and go shopping for one. But you guys go on. Start without me —”
Eric and Julie grabbed his arms.
“All for one and one for all,” said Julie.
“All right … I’m coming … I’m coming….”
As they made their way up the island, branches curled like fingers above them. Moss dripped down from the vines, brushing their shoulders. And here and there were traces of blue foggy air.
“Some light would be handy,” said Max.
“Allow me,” said Keeah. But the moment she raised her fingers, a violet beam shot out, looped sharply, and blasted the ground at her feet.
Splooog! Mud splashed up on her.
“Oh, yuck!” she groaned. “That didn’t work!”
Eric flicked his fingers. Zzzzeeeoooorr — splooog!
He wiped mud from his face, too. “So, okay, then. That’s one thing about the Isle of Mists. Wizard powers shoot back at themselves.”
Neal grumbled. “We’re in the total lair of the bad guy and we have no powers? Just great!”
“But maybe it’s a good thing that we’re in the dark,” said Max, pointing up the main hill of the island. “We certainly don’t want them to see us.”
A dozen campfires were scattered up the rising ground in front of them. Ninn warriors crouched near every fire, their red cheeks even redder in the flames’ glow.
But instead of singing one of their usual growly songs, the Ninns were strangely silent.
“My poor brothers,” whispered Djambo. “Their faces show they are afraid of something. Very afraid.”
“For once, I feel the same as the Ninns,” said Neal.
“Salamandra was afraid, too,” said Eric. “I think the thing we’re all afraid of might be in there.”
At the top of the hill was a giant mass of old battered walls and tumbled stones. Even through the hanging moss and mist, they could see carvings of winged and hoofed animals and statues of terrible beasts.
Above the ruins stood a black tower curving up from the soggy ground. It ended thirty feet high in a jagged, broken rim.
“If this is Ko’s palace,” whispered Julie, “I can’t believe he was homesick for it.”
As they crept closer, Eric felt his blood go cold. His heart pounded as he remembered what Salamandra had said.
I saw a black tower in the shape of a horn, all shiny and new.
“Salamandra must have been flying in the past if she saw this when it was new,” he said.
“Four hundred years ago,” said Keeah. “That’s when Goll was destroyed and Ko’s Empire of Shadows fell into ruin.”
They crouched behind a large black stone. Up ahead, a band of heavily armed Ninns blocked a doorway at the foot of the palace.
The more Eric stared at the palace, the more he was sure light was coming from inside. “Sparr must be in there with the Viper.”
Keeah grumbled. “Our powers are no good here. How do we get past the Ninns?”
“Just don’t ask me to tiptoe past them in Nelag’s slippers!” whispered Neal.
Djambo giggled softly. “I wonder…. Long ago, Orkins were afraid of a creature called a striped bumbalo. Now we play a game. We imagine we hear a bumbalo growling, and we all run for cover. Then we eat cheese!”
Julie blinked. “Nice story, Djambo, but —”
“Since Ninns come from Orkins and Orkins from Ninns,” Djambo continued, “to scare the Ninns away, just growl like a bumbalo!”
Everyone looked at him.
“A bumbalo,” said Eric.
Djambo nodded excitedly. “A striped one!”
“What does a striped bumbalo sound like?” asked Keeah.
“Like this!” Djambo put his fingers in his mouth and breathed.
Eeee-gggg-arrrrr!
Suddenly, the Ninns stood up and stared into the distance.
Something moved in the swirling mist.
A moment later, a long furry tentacle thrust itself into the light.
“Uh, Djambo,” said Max. “What’s that?”
The Orkin looked thoughtful. “That looks like a gruffle. Funny it should be here. But then again, gruffles do like bumbalos.”
Before they knew it, a huge spider with thick red legs and black fur loped out of the mist, trailing slimy white webbing behind it.
Ooooooggggg! the beast roared.
Eric gasped. “Djambo, when you say gruffles like bumbalos, do you mean are friends with, or do you mean want to eat? For supper?”
Djambo scratched his chin. “More like lunch. Gruffles come from ancient Droon, you know —”
“Well, they should go back!” said Max. “Ahhhh!”
The spidery beast charged. Shrieking wildly, the Ninns bolted every which way across the hillside. They yelled and squealed, bumping into one another to get out of the way.
“Forget the gruffle!” shouted Keeah. “Now’s our chance!” She jumped out of hiding and rushed up the hill.
As the friends charged through the tumbled stones, Neal turned to Eric. “You sure were right!”
“About what?” said Eric, leaping over a broken column.
“About being ready for everything!”
The next instant, Eric, Neal, Julie, Keeah, Max, and Djambo rushed into the darkness of Ko’s palace.
The black, creepy, oh-so-smelly darkness.
As the gruffle’s cry faded away behind them, so did the confused yelling of the Ninns.
Swatting through cobwebs as thick as ropes, the six friends soon entered a great hall.
Or what had once been a great hall.
Splish! The broad stone floor was riddled with so many cracks that soupy water had risen from below into dark pools. Parts of the ceiling had tumbled down, and they could see the storm in the sky above. When lightning flashed, the room blazed with red light.
“Holy cow!” whispered Julie, waving at the mist.
“I know,” agreed Neal. “How creepy can you get?”
Carved on the walls that were still standing were beastlike creatures, some with wings, some with hooves and fur, others with fins. Great thick columns, a few upright, many in pieces on the floor, were covered with pictures of more beasts.
And over everything wafted a stale breeze, sour and damp, pushing the mist first one way, then the other, back and forth across the hall.
“What is this place?” whispered Max.
Neal wrinkled his nose. “Wherever we are, I’d say it needs a good spring cleaning.”
“Maybe the question isn’t where we are,” said Keeah, “but when we are. Look at this.”
In front of her stood what looked like the remains of a bed. It had a little curved horn at each corner, railings on both sides, and rockers at the bottom.
“My gosh,” said Julie. “That looks like a … a … cradle!”
Nearby was a serpent with a seat on its back and wheels instead of legs. It was tipped on its side, broken.
Djambo spun one of its wheels. “Friends, I believe we have found the legendary birthplace of Emperor Ko. This is where his terrible life began!”
“According to the legend,” said Keeah, “it ended here, too —”
Keeah and Max passed between massive columns into a rounded chamber at the end of the room. Torches leaning out of the wall burned with mysterious red flames. Against the back of the chamber, and facing the main hall, was a throne of shiny black stone.
A colossal statue lay on the floor in front of it. It was shaped like an armored giant with a bull’s head and four massive arms.
Max whimpered. “It’s a statue of him. It’s Ko.”
“And now, it’s no more than a crumbled-up wreck on the floor,” said Neal. “Well, people, Sparr’s supermagic is a supermess. There’s nothing on the Isle of Mists but nothing!”
Staring at the fallen statue, Eric felt his neck tingle. The breeze blew past him. “Maybe,” he said.
Julie turned. “What do you mean?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. This place is a mess. But if Sparr flew here to use the Viper, there’s got to be a reason. I keep going back to what the Viper does. Keeah, when the blue fog touched you, you got younger, but nothing else around you did….”
Keeah frowned. “Okay. But what do you mean … exactly?”
Eric felt the breeze coming through again, and his heart began to pound faster. “Exactly? I don’t know. But maybe there’s another way to look at this. Maybe the blue fog makes something from the past come back into our time. Like the young you and your younger father. And the creepy old birds. And the gruffle!”
“Something from the past?” whispered Neal. “Like supermagic?”
Everyone’s mouth dropped. They turned and stared at the fallen statue. Eric took a step to join them, then stopped. He crouched to the floor. Amid the dust and broken stones was a small piece of black wood. It was carved in the shape of a bird. He picked it up.
Two little dots of green were painted above a long, narrow beak. It looked like a toy crow, he thought.
Lightning flashed again and the bird’s green eyes seemed to glow brighter. Then, just as mist wafted over him again, he heard his name.
Errrricccc!
Suddenly, there was a sc
rape against the floor behind him. He jerked around to see a dim figure emerge slowly from the shadows.
“Salamandra!” said Keeah.
The thorn princess had changed from the last time they saw her. What was left of her cloak was no more than shredded cloth. One arm hung down at her side. Her green face was paler than ever. And she limped into the room.
“You’re hurt,” said Eric, rising from the floor.
She held up a hand. “Not enough to stop me!”
Eric saw that Salamandra’s cruel smile was gone and that her eyes were tired. Her blazing yellow eyes.
Yellow. Just like the flash of yellow he thought he saw on the moutaintop.
He gasped. “It was you! You made the leaf drop! You saved us from those creepy birds. You were on the mountain with us —”
She waved her hand sharply. “I needed you to find the Isle of Mists. I helped you there. Then I followed you —”
“Wait a second,” said Julie, scratching her nose and frowning. “When you came to our school this morning, you told us to stay out of Droon. But you didn’t really want us to listen, did you? You wanted us to come!”
Salamandra stared at them one after another. Finally, she let out a breath. “If I hadn’t given you all the clues and helped you along the way, you wouldn’t be in this palace now. To see what Sparr will do —”
Neal shook his head. “I still don’t get it. If Sparr’s here for some supermagical thing, he’ll be really bummed out. There’s nothing left but rocking serpents —”
“He doesn’t want a supermagical thing,” said the thorn princess.
“What?” said Keeah.
“Not a thing!” Salamandra said. Then she turned, her eyes wild. “He’s here — Sparr!”
With a swish of her tattered cloak, she was gone.
The next moment — zzzzzt! — the Golden Wasp flew into the chamber.
On its back sat Lord Sparr himself. His Red Eye of Dawn was blazing in one gloved hand, the Coiled Viper in the other.
He gazed at the children.
Slowly, he began to smile.
Zzzzzt! The Wasp hovered over the floor, its eyes flicking everywhere, staring at everything.
Hot blue sparks twinkled on Eric’s fingertips.
“Oh, don’t try that!” Sparr said, grinning as he slid to the floor. “You know that wizard powers are no good on the Isle. But just in case, I brought my army —”