Several days later Zann rushed for the door as soon as school ended.
He heard Mari laugh and call his name.
"Why are you in such a rush?" she exclaimed, catching up with him.
"I thought I was the only one so eager to escape today!"
"I think everyone is ready to leave." Zann looked around.
The next week was a school holiday, and all the students looked excited.
"But why are you so eager? I thought you liked school."
"I do." Mari smiled. "But I like working at your parents' lab even more.
Want to walk over there with me?"
"I can't today," Zann said. "My best friends are arriving later for a visit."
Zann had been happy ever since receiving the message moth.
Gliss' Uncle Gar was coming to First City for a meeting.
He'd offered to zap Zann's friends there for the party.
That reminded Zann—he'd meant to invite Mari to his party the next day.
He opened his mouth to tell her about it. But just then Jev walked over.
"Watch out, Mari," Jev said with a smirk.
"If you keep hanging out with Reds, people might start to talk."
Zann frowned at him. "Mind your own business, Jev."
Then he hurried away, figuring he could send Mari a message moth later.
He didn't want Jev to hear about the party, especially since Gliss would be there.
Even though Gliss was a Red, Jev had always liked her.
When Zann got home, Zing was the only one there. The dragon looked at him expectantly.
Zann shook his head. "No park today, little buddy. We have guests coming."
Zann ducked as Zing shot an angry flame at him.
He felt sorry for the dragon being cooped up in the house all day.
But he knew Zing would be happy when Darb arrived later.
Darb had a special bond with animals, including dragons.
He conjured up some snacks and puckerberry juice.
Then, feeling restless, he wandered around the house.
He was still waiting when his parents came in.
"Are your friends here yet?" Asta asked.
"Not yet," Zann said. "You left the lab early?"
Nax nodded. "We wanted to be here when your friends arrive."
"Besides, we're not needed at the lab." Asta chuckled.
"Your friend Mari is so enthusiastic, she's doing the work of three people.
I'm glad you reminded us to contact her."
Zann noticed that his father was holding something.
"Isn't that one of your inventions, Dad?"
"Yes, it's the infusinator." Nax held it up.
"I thought Darb might want to use it while he's here."
"It will provide him with magic energy," Asta added.
"It uses a magical technique we discovered in a world called Atmo.
Atmo's magic source is the energy in its air.
Some plants and animals can ingest large quantities of that energy and store it for future use.
"We heard Morb used leeches from Atmo to power one of his contraptions," Asta added grimly.
Zann shuddered. Those blue leeches were horrible!
"Does the infusinator use leeches too?" he asked.
"No, it's made out of wood from lung trees," Asta said.
"Lung trees have an amazing ability to store magic."
"Darb just needs to breathe in stored energy from this hose," Nax said.
"Then he can use that energy, just like any Magician."
"But we brought back only one piece of wood from the lung tree," Asta said.
"And we've already used a lot of its energy while experimenting.
So Darb will have to use the infusinator carefully."
"I thought it could suck magic out of the air," Zann said.
His mother shook her head. "Only in Atmo. Magica's energy works differently.
We're still trying to figure out how to refill it."
"We've been experimenting with different techniques," Nax added.
"For now, Darb won't be able to zap long distances or do anything else that requires lots of energy.
But at least he can create food and do other simple tasks."
"Yes, and we hope he'll let us know what he thinks of it," Asta added.
"This infusinator is only a prototype, but if it works well, we—"
"Surprise!" Perda cried, appearing in front of them. "We're here!"
Gliss appeared next, holding onto Darb's arm.
Zann grinned, so happy to see the three of them that he hardly knew how to respond.
Zing let out a burst of flame and raced toward Darb.
"Hi, Zing." Darb smiled and scratched the dragon's scaly head. "I've missed you."
"I've missed you guys too," Zann blurted out. "I'm so glad you're here!"
For the next few minutes, the four of them couldn't stop talking.
There was so much to catch up on!
A few times, though, Zann couldn't help feeling a little awkward.
His friends mentioned people and events he didn't know anything about.
But mostly it was great to be with them again.
After a while his parents showed Darb the infusinator.
"We'd love for you to try it out and let us know how it works for you," said Nax.
"Oh, sure." Darb seemed a little uncomfortable. "Thanks."
Zann had conjured a bed for Darb.
But since Zann's house was fairly small, Saffa and Staz had offered to let the girls stay with them.
Teplo had offered too, but Zann knew Perda and Gliss wouldn't want to deal with Teplo's cranky goose.
"Let's go to Saffa's so you can settle in," Zann said.
"I'll show you my neighborhood on the way."
The kids headed out, with Zing scurrying along at Darb's heels.
"That's the park Zing and I go to," Zann said, pointing. "And over there is—"
Suddenly that weird feeling struck Zann again.
This time the pain was so strong, it knocked him to the ground!