"Zing!" Zann cried again, relieved. "Hey, little buddy. Let's get you out of there."
He reached for the latch on the cage. The young man stopped him.
"Not so fast," the man said. "This creature is one of a kind—that makes him quite valuable.
I can't just let you take him."
"What do you mean?" Perda said. "He belongs to Zann. Zing is his pet."
The man smiled slyly. "He was wandering loose when I found him.
That means he belongs to me now."
Zann could hardly believe his ears. "But he wants to be with me! See?"
He pointed to Zing, who was jumping excitedly.
"I'm not saying you can't have him," the man said. "I'm saying you must pay."
"Pay?" Zann wasn't sure what the man meant.
Wyssa stepped forward. "We have no money," she said.
"Perhaps you'll accept this in trade?"
She pulled a shiny stone out of her clothes.
Zann finally realized what the man wanted.
In Magica most people could acquire whatever they needed through magic.
But Voids sometimes traded for goods and services.
And this was a whole world of Voids!
The man examined the stone, and then tossed it back.
"Not good enough. I'm sure I can find a buyer who's willing to meet my price for a real, live dragon!"
Zann was furious. First he'd lost his parents, and then his friends.
Now this man was trying to steal his dragon!
"You can't do this!" Zann yelled. "You have no right to keep him!"
"Yeah!" Perda added. "He's Zann's!"
An old woman peered into the room.
She'd been sitting behind a tall counter when Zann and the others had entered, though she'd paid them no attention.
"Is everything all right?" she asked. "I heard yelling."
"It's nothing, Grandmother," the young man said quickly. "We're just talking."
"Why don't you tell her the truth?" Perda snapped. "You're stealing Zann's pet!"
The old woman peered at the cage. "What an odd-looking dog," she commented.
Then she turned to the young man.
"What's the problem, Hyun? Give the kids back their pet."
"But Grandmother!" the young man began.
"No back talk!" the old woman scolded.
Slowly she walked to the back of the shop and opened the cage. "There you go, young ones!"
Zing flew out and dive-bombed the young man.
"Ah!" the man cried. "It's trying to bite me!"
"No," Zann said. "He's trying to flame you."
He guessed that without magic energy, Zing couldn't create fire.
"Come on, boy. Let's get out of here!"
"Thank you, ma'am," Perda said to the old woman.
"Stop, thieves!" the young man yelled.
Zann, Perda, and Wyssa ran out of the shop with Zing flying overhead.
They didn't slow down until they were several blocks away.
"Whew!" Perda said when they finally stopped to catch their breath.
"I've never been so glad to see you, Zing."
"Me too," said Zann, scratching the dragon's knobby head.
Zing panted with delight. "But where are Darb and Gliss?
They must be in this world too!"
"Zing probably doesn't know; they obviously got separated," Perda pointed out.
"Perhaps he can lead us to where he last saw them," Wyssa suggested.
Zing seemed to understand. With a whistle he took off and flew down the street. The others followed.
They ended up in front of an interesting-looking building.
The area was just as busy as the rest of the city.
"Look!" Perda exclaimed. "There's someone with red hair!"
They all rushed over. But when they got closer, Zann saw that the redhead was a short, stout man—not Gliss.
Looking around, he saw more people with light hair.
Zann clenched his fists in frustration. How would they ever find Gliss and Darb without magic?
Why did they have to end up here of all places?
If none of them ever made it home to Magica, it would be all Zann's fault.
And he couldn't stand that thought! How could he have been so angry with Gliss before?
She was the one who should be mad at him for dragging her into danger. Darb too.
The others were still searching for their friends.
But Zann stopped, completely overwhelmed by guilt and despair.
"Zann!" a familiar voice cried.
Zann gasped. "Gliss?"
Spinning around, he saw Gliss racing toward him. Darb was right behind her.
"Oh!" Perda cried, running to meet them. Zing flew after her.
Zann, Perda, Darb, Gliss, and Zing all met in an excited tangle of hugs, laughter, and relief.
"I was afraid we'd never see you guys again!" Gliss exclaimed.
"Us too," Perda said.
Darb gave Zing a scratch on the head.
"I'm so glad you found Zing. We were looking for some food and when I turned around, he was gone!"
"That guy must have grabbed him," Zann said.
"What guy?" Gliss asked.
Zann and Perda told their friends about the young man named Hyun.
That led to more questions, especially when Wyssa joined in.
Both sides ended up sharing the stories of what had happened to them.
"And then Zing led us here," Zann finished.
"Yes," Perda said. "But there were so many people here I was ready to give up! How did you find us?"
"It was Zann." Gliss glanced at Zann shyly. "We had a . . . Red Share."
Zann was amazed. "A Red Share? But I thought that required magic."
Wyssa looked thoughtful. "I thought so too.
Perhaps this land is not completely devoid of magic after all."
"Does that mean there's enough magic to open the wormhole?" Perda asked hopefully.
"No, I'm afraid not," Wyssa said.
Everyone stared at the old woman.
Finally Gliss said what they were all thinking.
"How are we going to get back to Magica?"