"Don't fret," Wyssa said. "I learned magic in a world nearly as devoid of natural magic as this one."
"Really?" Gliss said. "You can get us home?"
"I know some tricks," Wyssa said. "First we need to find a spice market."
She led them in and out of several shops, gathering mysterious ingredients—a strong-smelling powder, some dried leaves, a ceramic bowl, and more.
After a while Zann noticed that they were attracting more and more attention.
Perda noticed too. "People are staring at us," she whispered.
"I think they're staring at Zing," Darb said, sounding worried.
"What if someone else tries to grab him?"
"Or what if the man who took Zing finds us?" Zann said. "He seemed really angry."
He felt nervous as Wyssa led the way back to the wormhole.
They were pretty close to the young man's shop. What if he spotted them?
"Do you think this will work?" Gliss whispered as Wyssa started mixing ingredients and muttering spells under her breath.
Zann shrugged. He knew that Wyssa was powerful.
After all, she'd rescued him and Perda from that scatter beast.
Then again, Zann couldn't help thinking about another time when Wyssa had lost control of a scatter beast.
Maybe she wasn't quite as powerful as she let on.
A little boy came toward them, kicking a ball.
"Hi," he said, staring at Zing. "What's that?"
Zann and his friends exchanged a cautious look.
"Um, what does he look like?" Perda asked the boy.
"He looks like a dragon," the boy said.
"But dragons aren't real. My daddy said so."
Zann glanced at Wyssa. She'd finished mixing and was stepping toward the spot where the wormhole should be.
"Excuse us," Zann told the little boy. "We're kind of busy."
The boy ignored him, stepping closer to Zing.
"There's no such thing as dragons," he insisted. "So what is he?"
Zann was so anxious that he lost his patience.
"There might not be dragons in your world, but there are in ours," he snapped.
"We're trying to get home, and we're worried that a bad man might try to stop us.
So we don't have time for questions, okay?"
The boy took a step back. He didn't say anything.
"That wasn't very nice," Darb whispered.
Zann shrugged. He felt bad, but he tried not to worry about it.
All he cared about was getting out of this no-magic world.
Just then a shout came from across the street.
"Oh no!" Perda hissed. "It's the guy who took Zing!"
The young man raced toward them clutching a large net.
Behind him were two other men. They didn't look friendly.
Zann glanced at Wyssa. She was sprinkling her potion over the wormhole, which was starting to glow.
But the men had almost reached them!
"Hurry!" Gliss screamed. "They're coming!" She grabbed Darb and crowded toward the wormhole.
Zann grabbed Zing and did the same. But it was opening so slowly.
"Stop, thief!" the young man shouted. "That dragon is mine! I—whoa!"
The little boy had kicked his ball.
The man tripped over it and slammed facedown into the pavement.
"Oh no!" the other men cried, but they were running too fast to stop.
They fell on top of their friend.
"The wormhole's open!" Perda cried.
"Let's go," said Wyssa.
Everyone held hands as Wyssa pulled the group into the wormhole.
Zann barely had time to glance back at the little boy, who was grinning at the fallen men.
"Thank you!" Zann shouted to the boy.
The boy waved. "You're welcome!"
Then Zann found himself back in the vortex.
"Whew!" Perda exclaimed. "I've never been so glad to be in this crazy place."
Gliss laughed. "Yeah. At least there's magic here!"
"We'd better stop and rest," Wyssa said.
"Being in a world without magic might have weakened our energy.
And we'll need plenty to get safely back to Magica."
She pulled them through another wormhole.
This time there were no people or buildings in sight.
A babbling brook weaved its way through a grove of purple-leaved trees waving in a soft breeze.
"The magic here isn't particularly strong," Wyssa said.
"But there's enough to conjure food and fresh clothes.
Then you'd better sleep for a while."
"Good idea." Gliss stifled a yawn. "I feel as if I haven't slept in days!"
Soon they were all clothed and fed.
Zann lay down beside his friends, his mind racing with questions and plans.
Wyssa knew he wanted to search for his parents.
How could he get away without her noticing?
Before he could figure it out, his weariness overcame him and he drifted off to sleep.
He woke some time later, his heart pounding.
He'd just had a dream about his parents again.
This one had been especially intense, though Zann couldn't remember much about it.
Just that his father was trying to tell him something about Morb.
"Weird," Zann muttered. He reached into his pocket and touched the message stone.
It was warm. That was weird too.
"Are you awake, boy?" Wyssa stepped into view.
"Good. We shouldn't stay here much longer."
"Why not?" Zann asked. "What world is this, anyway?"
"It's my home world," Wyssa admitted. "I'm, er, not exactly welcome here anymore.
Besides, I promised your grandfather I'd get you kids home as quickly as possible."
"Boz?" Zann was startled. "What does he have to do with this?"
Wyssa turned away without answering, nudging the others with her foot to wake them.
"Time to go," she said. "Next stop, Magica."
Zann's friends cheered. But Zann felt his heart sink.
He should have sneaked away while the others were sleeping.
How was he ever going to escape from Wyssa now?