“What?” said Eric.
“I didn’t say anything,” said Keeah.
“Om did!” said Eric. “He’s trying to scare me!”
Suddenly Om sent a blast of red light out from the Eye. The explosion struck Keeah and knocked her far from the pit.
She tumbled off the island.
“Keeah!” Eric cried.
Great howling noises filled the chamber. Wind tore at Eric. The island rumbled and shook.
“Keeah!” he called out. There was no answer.
A huge flame burst from the gem angrily and whirled around Eric as he clutched the staff.
You saw where they hid it.
“Keep quiet!” snapped Eric.
They, the princess and the witch. They hid it in your world. Seven years ago. You will find it.
“I don’t think so!” Eric shouted angrily.
You will find it and bring it … to Sparr!
Eric’s arms suddenly felt as heavy as stone. His head ached. He wanted to sleep. He felt weak all over. Just as Demither had felt weak.
He closed his eyes.
He felt his grip on the staff loosening.
Then he was falling … falling …
He dropped the staff … and fell off the island.
“Eric!” cried a familiar voice.
Suddenly Keeah was there.
Her long hair flying back, her face red from the heat of Om’s anger, Keeah grabbed the staff.
Then she shot a beam of light at Eric.
He stopped falling.
The light flowed over him, flashing from her fingertips and into him. It was not the red light of witches that flowed over him.
It was the blue light of wizards.
The light surrounded Eric, and he felt suddenly strong. He flew up from the darkness as if by his own power.
He jumped back onto the island.
Together he and Keeah clutched the staff tight and, with one mighty thrust, they threw it deep into the pit.
Noooo! Om howled.
Red fire leaped out of the pit. But a bright blue burst of light forced it back.
Then, with a loud and final wump! Keeah kicked the thick black lid over the pit.
Instantly, the storm vanished. Om went silent. The Red Eye went dark. The chamber was still.
Eric looked over at the princess. His knees felt as if they were made of jelly.
She stared down at the pit and tried to catch her breath. Finally she spoke. “Well, that was something.”
Eric laughed. It was strange to hear himself laugh, but that was all he could do. “That was something, all right! You did it!”
“No,” she said. “We did it. Together. I just hope I didn’t hurt you with that blast of light.”
Eric shook his head. “Actually, it felt great!”
Together they walked back over the bridge to Neal and Julie, who lay fast asleep near the door.
Keeah closed her eyes, her face going still. “Okay, then,” she said. Murmuring some strange words, she held her hands over them.
A moment later — poof! — Neal and Julie were not only awake, they were themselves again.
“Did anything happen?” asked Neal, stretching his neck.
Eric shot a smile at Keeah. “Not too much.”
“Then we’d better get back to the dome,” said Julie, doing a little wiggle. “My snake hearing was telling me that the fighting is worse.”
As they headed back through the door, Eric turned one last time. The dark lid over the pit glowed for an instant, as if it were red-hot.
And he thought he heard Om whisper once more before the chamber went black.
“Eric, come on,” said Keeah. “Our battle isn’t over yet.”
Eric turned from the chamber and trotted over to her. As he did, a smile broke out on his face. Keeah had won at least one battle right there. The wizard in her had won out over the witch.
Keeah had passed her trial.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s boot those Ninns back where they came from. No jewel for them. They’re going home empty-handed!”
“Yahoo!” Neal yelled. “Now you’re talking!”
“Let’s go!” cried Julie.
Cheering loudly, the four friends raced back through the three doors of the Doom Gate.
They charged out into the big grotto.
And stopped dead.
“Uh-oh,” muttered Neal. “Talk about battles not over yet …”
Om’s rumbling and storming had cracked the walls of the grotto. Water was rushing in from outside. A whole ocean of water.
So were Ninns, hundreds of them, riding in on their sharp-toothed fish monsters. The spiky tails on each fish whipped about wildly as the waves washed them in.
“Helmets on,” said Eric. “We’re going underwater!”
There was a dull thunk as the first Ninn arrow struck the Doom Gate behind their heads.
“Don’t those Ninns have anything better to do than attack us?” Julie asked.
“Attack them!” bellowed the chief Ninn.
“Guess not!” said Keeah. “I’ll just have to stop them the old-fashioned way. With a spell.”
She raised her hands and flicked her fingers at the charging Ninns.
Fzzz. A tiny spray of blue sparks left her fingers, traveled a few inches in the air, sputtered, then faded.
Neal was nodding slowly as he watched the Ninns advance. “Okay. Now really do it.”
Keeah’s eyes grew big. “I can’t. My battle with Om must have weakened me.”
Neal was still nodding. “Then could I be a turtle again? Because I need somewhere to hide!”
The Ninns surrounded them on every side and began pushing them back against the Gate.
“Now what do we do?” asked Eric.
“I know what I’m going to do,” said Neal. “I’m going to freak out. I’ve been holding off because the timing wasn’t right. But now I’m going to freak out and I don’t care who sees it!”
Eric saw Neal’s finger go for his belt. “Neal — don’t! Remember what Friddle said —”
Neal pressed the red button on his sea belt.
Whoomf! A tiny jet of flame burst suddenly from the back of Neal’s sea belt.
“Whoa — it’s hot!” he cried. Before he had a chance to say anything else, he blasted straight through the front line of Ninns.
Flimp! Bloink! Ooof! Yeowwww!
Screaming, Neal whizzed around the grotto at lightning speed, leaving a trail of foamy water and toppled Ninns behind him.
“Help!” he cried as he zipped by his friends. “Can’t control it — glub! — need — help!”
He blasted through another bunch of Ninns and zoomed up the tunnel to the throne room.
“Well, he freaked out,” said Julie. “But he escaped.”
“We need to get out of here, too,” said Keeah.
“Too late for that!” growled a deep voice.
A rush of bubbles burst in their faces, and three fat Ninns charged in on their fierce sea beasts.
“Get the princess!” the Ninns grunted.
“Never!” said a familiar voice.
Suddenly — thwump! — the Ninns and their creatures went crashing into the grotto wall as a smooth black shape swam out of nowhere.
It was a dolphin!
“Mother!” Keeah exclaimed, rushing to her.
The Ninns shouted and grumbled inside their fishbowl helmets. But they sped off quickly.
“Follow me,” the dolphin queen said. “Demither needs us, all of us.”
With a wiggle of her flippers, Relna motioned for Keeah to climb onto her long, sleek back. “Let’s go!”
Speeding ahead, Relna bumped Ninns out of the way, clearing a path for Eric and Julie.
Eric looked at his friend. “Well, should we freak out, too?”
Julie grinned. “It’s the only way!”
They both hit the red buttons on their belts.
Whoomf-whoomf!
They shot a
cross the grotto after Keeah and her mother. Together they rocketed up through the water-filled tunnels and finally back into Demither’s throne room, where they met up with Neal.
Ker-splash! Eric and Julie broke through the water’s surface and shot straight up to the dome.
“How — do — we — stop?” Julie cried.
“Try — pressing — the — button — again!” shouted Neal, who was still zooming around.
They all pressed the red button a second time.
The three friends smashed against the inside of the dome — splat! — their jets died — fzzzzt! — they plummeted straight to the ground and dropped right into Demither’s pool — splash!
When they jumped to their feet they saw that Demither’s guards had pushed the Ninns from the throne room.
But that wasn’t the biggest news.
The biggest news was Demither.
She was turning into a sea monster.
Demither’s tail, now long and spiky, splashed wildly in the pool beneath the throne.
Her eyes, sunken before, were now gleaming red. Her skin was turning crusty and covered with spikes.
Claws were growing where fingers had been.
“Sparr is casting his spell over me once more,” the witch said. “He is near — so near!”
“We will help you,” said Relna.
“There is no time,” Demither replied. “Keeah, come to me quickly. Together we will release the queen from her spell.”
Keeah looked at her mother.
“You must trust her,” said Relna.
Wump! Wump! The Ninns were using pieces of the wrecked ship to batter on the dome.
Keeah took Demither’s hand.
Kkkkk! Blue light from the princess mixed with the red light of the witch and became a shimmering purple. Then the light flowed outward to the dolphin, swirling around it.
As the light encircled the queen, Relna’s black skin turned ashen, then as bright as sunlight. Then the dolphin vanished.
“But where — ” Keeah said.
A moment later — slooosh! — there was a sudden spray of crystal water. A fountain of light and air and wind filled the dome.
When it cleared, Relna stood before them, a queen once more.
“She’s beautiful!” gasped Julie.
Relna was dressed in a long wizard’s cloak. It was all pearly white and stitched with glittering quarter-moons of gold and blue.
Around her head sat a crown of diamonds.
Even though her eyes told of many years of trial and heartache, she beamed at her daughter.
“Mother!” said Keeah, running into her arms. “I’ve waited so long for you!”
“One curse ended,” Demither said softly, “another begins. Sparr will take me now —”
Ka-foom! The Ninns blasted into the dome once more. Demither’s guards rushed to them.
But the Ninns kept coming. Hundreds of them. They charged in, filling the palace.
Keeah turned to the witch. “You said you gave me your powers for a dangerous journey. Tell me now — why did we go to the Upper World?”
The witch’s face had changed again. It was now as terrifying as Relna’s was beautiful. “You will learn when the time is right, not before!”
Eric looked at Demither’s cold expression. He remembered what Om had told him.
Keeah had no memory of it. But together she and Demither had hidden something in the Upper World.
And Om said Eric would find it.
With a final push, hundreds of heavy-footed red warriors blew past Demither’s guards and surrounded the witch.
“Sparr wants you now!” the warriors grunted. They quickly threw an iron net over her and pulled her away.
“Beware the sorcerer!” Demither shouted. “He could be anyone! Beware … beware!”
Splash!
A dark wave swept into the throne room. On the wave rode the snakey creature with the stubby red snout. It slithered into the throne room, hissing and growling.
“Galen?” said Julie.
“Eerrgh!” the creature growled. Its burning eyes flashed at the children, then it turned and vanished into the dark sea again.
The witch struggled briefly in her net, then was dragged into the darkness by the Ninns.
“I will find you!” Relna called to her sister. “I will never give up hope!”
A moment later, the witch was gone, the Ninns were gone, and the undersea world was quiet, peaceful, and still.
Even Demither’s guards had disappeared into the far corners of the green city.
“It is over,” said Queen Relna. “We must go.”
Linking their hands, Keeah and her mother whispered strange words together. Surrounded by a glistening bubble of air, Queen Relna, Keeah, and the three friends then left the dome and floated away from the witch’s realm.
Breaking the surface, they found Friddle’s plane — its wings folded up on the sides — rocking gently on the waves.
Darkness was now passing away from the water and the land. The hurricane had vanished.
It seemed like a new day.
“Welcome, Queen Relna, to my humble craft!” the inventor said, helping them aboard, then giving the queen a deep bow. “I was as worried as anything! Besides, the yip-yips were getting quite restless —”
All of a sudden the two blue fur balls jumped out of their cage and — ploof-ploof! — instead of yip-yips, two figures appeared before them.
“Galen!” exclaimed Keeah. “And Max!”
“We could not stay away,” said the wizard.
“And the only way I could stop him from meddling,” chirped Max, “was to go with him!”
“My queen!” said the wizard, bowing his white head. “We are all at your service.”
Relna smiled at her old friend. “I see Droon has been in good hands.”
“Keeah has indeed done well today,” Galen said. “And against such terrible odds!” Then he hugged the princess and her mother tightly.
As he did, Julie stared at him, then at the dark water below, then at Galen again.
“Wait a second … if you were up here the whole time, then who was that ugly monster down there —” Julie stopped. She jumped.
“Oh! It was him, wasn’t it? It was Sparr! He’s even uglier now. And I thought he was you! Oh! I bopped him! I bopped Sparr! With this hand!”
“Julie, don’t freak out,” said Neal with a grin.
“You’d better wash that hand,” said Eric.
Julie plunged it into the water. “Eeew! Yuck!”
Laughing, Keeah turned to her mother. Her smile faded. “Sparr will come back, won’t he?”
The queen looked out across the sea. The last of the Ninn ships was disappearing over the horizon. “Yes,” she said, “but in what form, we do not know.”
“Keeah, you have learned much today,” Galen added. “You were tempted by the dark forces but did not bend to them. You have acted far older than your years.”
Keeah beamed at first, then frowned. “But does having powers mean I have to grow up? That I can’t have fun anymore?”
“Ha!” said the old wizard, smiling under his snow-white beard. “I think you are getting a tiny bit ahead of yourself, Princess. There is still much for you to learn. For instance, Quill wrote something after you left. The legendary Hob has gotten loose again. And we must all go in search of him.”
Keeah blinked. “Hob? I never heard of Hob.”
Galen grinned. “Of course not — he is one of the best-kept secrets of Droon!”
Neal turned to Eric. “Why do I get the feeling that there are tons of secrets about Droon?”
“And that it will take about a million years to learn them all?” added Julie.
Keeah put her arms around her friends. “I guess this means I’ll be seeing you soon.”
Eric laughed. “Real soon!”
Max pointed to the nearby coast. The magical staircase was resting on the very top of the cliffs. “Your world calls yo
u back again,” he chirped. “At least for a little while.”
Friddle giggled. “Which means that I need my yips-yips back! Max? Galen?”
Ploof-ploof! The wizard and his spider troll helper were suddenly blue fur balls again. They hopped into their cage and began to run.
As they did, the plane lifted up over the waves and flew toward the cliffs of Mintar.
The orange sun of afternoon peeked out behind the last few clouds. It shone across the green water and made even Demither’s scary realm seem peaceful.
Friddle landed next to the shimmering stairs.
“Farewell, friends of Droon!” said Queen Relna, giving each of the kids a special hug.
“I hope you have sweet dreams,” added Keeah. She smiled as they started up the stairs.
Neal ran up the steps first, waving to Keeah and Friddle and Queen Relna.
“’Bye, yip-yips!” Julie called out.
“Yip! Yip!” said Galen and Max.
“Hey, guys,” said Neal, when his friends joined him halfway up the stairs. “How about a nice, normal day of just hanging out? No magic. Just us. What do you say?”
Julie smiled. “A nice, normal day? That sounds soooo good!”
Eric laughed, feeling lighter than air as he chased his friends to the top of the stairs. Then, turning, he raised his hands to wave at Keeah one more time.
That was when he saw the faint blue sparks shooting from the tips of his fingers.
“Ahhh!” screamed Eric Hinkle as he raced down the empty hallway at school.
He was running because he was being chased.
By hundreds of tiny green birds.
Quawk! Eeeep! Cheeeeep!
Eric knew these were no ordinary birds chasing him. They had sharp green wings and stubby pink beaks. And they came from another world.
The magical world of Droon.
Kraw! Kraw!
The birds zipped and swooped and fluttered and flitted up to the ceiling lights. Then they dived for his head, screeching all the way.
The amazing part was that he — Eric Hinkle, regular kid — had made the birds appear!
Quawk-awk-awk —
Out of breath, Eric slid into Mrs. Michaels’s classroom and tumbled behind a desk.
He searched his memory to find what he had done wrong. Earlier that day, he had arranged with Mrs. Michaels to get extra math help. She said they could do it during last period when the rest of the school was in assembly.