Zann screamed as the fire consumed his arm.
Hoping to create more friction, he started to rub his other hand against his side.
"Stop!" Wyssa's harsh voice rang out.
A moment later the fire was gone.
Zann felt Wyssa touch his hand and arm, and the pain disappeared.
"What happened?" Perda asked. "Why is it so dark here?"
A cool white flame appeared in Wyssa's hands.
Wyssa dropped it on the ground, and it spread to surround her, Zann, and Perda so they could see one another clearly.
"You'll need to be careful here," Wyssa said. Her voice was calm now.
"Galvan is a land of extra-strong magic energy.
Any magic you perform will be greatly intensified, often in unpredictable ways."
Zann could still hear a buzzing sound.
Now he realized it was the steady hum of magic energy.
"Let me try some magic." Perda sounded intrigued.
She snapped her fingers. A cup of airberry juice appeared in her hand. "There," she said. "That didn't—"
She gasped as the airberry juice expanded and flowed over the edge of the cup like a fountain.
Soon all three of them were drenched.
"No more magic!" Wyssa snapped. She waved her hand, and the airberry juice disappeared.
"Wow," Perda said. "Just imagine what someone with Morb's powers could do in a place like this!"
Wyssa glared at her. Zann wasn't sure if that was because of the airberry juice stunt, or because Perda had mentioned Morb's name.
"Don't do any magic, either of you," Wyssa said sternly. "Leave it to me."
"Okay," Zann said. "Now, how are we supposed to figure out whether our friends are here?"
"I'm going to do a Seeking spell," Wyssa said. "Join hands."
Zann took Perda's hand and then reached for Wyssa's.
Wyssa grabbed his wrist with one hand and snapped her fingers.
A second later all three of them were yanked off their feet and flying through the air.
"Whoa!" Perda yelled. "What's happening?"
"It's the Seeking spell," Zann called back.
They were moving so fast he couldn't see a thing.
"The intense magic here must be affecting the spell, like Wyssa said.
It's pulling us toward the others! That means they're definitely here, right?"
"Not necessarily," Wyssa replied. "A Seeking spell can't be used to find one particular person.
Don't they teach you anything in those Magica schools?"
"We haven't really done Seeking spells yet," Perda said. "At least not in school."
"Well, we're Seeking anything from Magica," Wyssa explained.
"The spell could be leading us to your friends, or—oh!"
They flew through the doorway of a small cottage and came to a sudden stop.
A short man with large ears and feet was staring at them with a look of total surprise.
"Zann!" Perda pointed toward a table. "It's your parents' book—Creatures of the Known Magical Worlds!"
Zann gasped. "What's that doing here?"
Wyssa smiled at the strange little man. "Greetings, Fud," she said.
"I should have realized where my Seeking spell was leading us."
Fud smiled and clasped her hand. "Wyssa! What a wonderful surprise!"
Zann was pretty surprised too. First the Niffians had greeted Wyssa like an old friend, and now Fud was doing the same.
Until now Zann hadn't thought of Wyssa as the type of person who had many friends. Or any friends, really.
"Where did you get this?" Zann asked Fud, picking up the book.
"Wyssa brought it to me," Fud replied.
"She knows of my interest in other worlds."
"Have you visited many of the worlds in the book?" asked Perda.
"Sadly, I've visited none of them," Fud said with a wry smile.
"We Galvanites can barely manage to feed ourselves with our weak magic.
I'd have little chance of surviving the vortex."
"Really?" Zann said. "But this world has such strong magic energy!"
"That's true," Wyssa said. "And as you saw "—she glared at Perda—"it can be dangerous to perform magic in such a place.
The Galvanites have evolved to avoid that danger."
She went on to tell Fud about their search for Darb, Gliss, and Zing.
"Oh, dear," Fud said. "I'll send out a message to see if they've been spotted."
With the others following, he hurried outside.
"If these people don't have much magic, how can he send a message?" Perda wondered.
"Just watch," Wyssa said.
Fud began stomping his large bare feet on the ground.
The sound echoed like a drumbeat as the constant magic energy caught it.
Soon the rhythm was vibrating all around Zann and the others. Before long they heard another rhythm.
"Is that someone answering?" Zann asked.
"Yes." Fud frowned with concentration as he listened. "And here comes another response."
For the next few minutes, more and more drumbeats came from all directions. Finally, though, Fud shook his head.
"I'm sorry," he said, "but it seems nobody has seen your friends."
"That means they're likely not in Galvan," Wyssa said with a sigh.
"Especially since my Seeking spell didn't find them either.
Thank you, Fud. We'd better get back to the wormhole."
"Please visit again soon," Fud urged her.
"I will, my friend." Wyssa grabbed Zann and Perda. "Zap!"
Splash!
"Drat!" Zann had landed in a muddy stream, and his legs were soaked.
"This doesn't look like the right spot," Perda said.
She and Wyssa had landed on the stream bank. "Where's the wormhole?"
Wyssa shrugged. "As I said, magic can be unpredictable here."
Zann climbed out of the stream and rubbed his hands, automatically conjuring dry pants and shoes.
A second later he was wrapped in reams of heavy fabric from head to toe. "Help!" he gasped. "I can't breathe!"