The Chariot of Queen Zara Read online

  “Rooo!” Kem agreed.

  Eric practically jumped in the air. “What? No. Wait. This is impossible! Neal, how did you get here? We just saw you down there! Why did the beasts run away? Where have you been?”

  Neal shrugged. “I think it’s more when I’ve been. And I think the answer is yesterday.”

  “Yesterday?” said Max.

  Galen peered closely at the boy. “Neal?”

  “No, really. It was weird,” said Neal. “When that big fireball struck near us in the forest, Kem got spooked and tore off. I raced after him and you guys left. Then a bunch of wingsnakes shot after me. They were a half second from frying me when I finally caught up to Kem at the lake. We cracked through the ice. I fell like a stone. Then, it was like — pooof! — and there I was, in that sewer from yesterday.”

  “Yesterday,” repeated Max.

  Neal nodded. “I knew it was yesterday because I saw us sneaking up the sewer behind me. At first I thought, Huh? Did that tangfruit do something crazy to me? But then I was pretty sure I must have gone back in time and that maybe that weird shadowy guy with the beasts wasn’t the Sultan at all. Maybe it was me! So I covered myself in the chariot’s black cloth and pretended to be a friend of Ko’s and told the beasts a prophecy. Then I hid the chariot under the cloth again and — pooof! — here I am!”

  Everyone was staring at him, their eyes huge and their mouths hanging open.

  “You want to hear what I told the beasts?” Neal coughed, then grinned, then said in an eerie voice:

  “Beware tomorrow morning’s fight!

  Beware the flying silver light!

  Beware a boy so blond and cute,

  For when you see him, you must scoot!”

  As they all kept staring at him, there came the sound of fluttering in the air. A moment later, Anusa, Hoja, and Fefforello materialized and hovered above them. With them were three others, a pair of tiny twins and an old woman — River, Stream, and Jyme.

  “All six genies!” said Galen, bowing.

  Anusa, Hoja, and Fefforello looked at one another, their eyes huge and brimming with joy. “All seven genies, you mean,” said Hoja.

  With expressions full of astonishment and excitement, the six genies turned to Neal and bowed low before him until their turbans touched the ground.

  Then they spoke in a single voice. “All hail the First Genie of the Dove!”

  Neal began to wobble. “Uh … what? Who? No, this isn’t right.” He turned completely around. “Somebody had better cough three times, or else it looks like you’re talking to me!”

  “We are!” said Fefforello. “And it’s true. We honor you, Neal Kroger, Genie of Genies!”

  “A little birdie told us,” said Anusa. “In fact, a million birdies told us.” As she said this, the sky was alive with snow-white doves, fluttering together like a giant warbling cloud.

  Neal finally slumped down to the ground, stammering, “But … but … but … but …”

  “You accomplished the Four Genie Wonders, Neal,” said Hoja.

  He looked up. “I did?”

  The genie nodded. “You gave Eric the potion, yet you received invisibility when you needed it; you told him how to find the tower, yet you followed him up the stairs; you found Galen where others had failed, and yet you found yourself as a genie. And just now, you risked your life to save a friend — you ‘died’ underwater — yet here you are! Neal, you are a genie. You finally have powers.”

  For a long time, everyone just looked at Neal, who had begun counting on his fingers. They were waiting for him to speak.

  Finally, he did. “Okay. But one question. If I really am a genie, do I get a cool name, too?”

  Everyone laughed.

  “You do!” said Hoja. “For instance, my name was not always Hoja. Oh, no. I was born with the name Bobba-bobba-bobba-batta!”

  The children stared at him.

  “Your name is … Bob?” said Julie.

  He winked. “You see why I chose Hoja?”

  Neal thought for a second, but only for a second. “Then I want to be Zabilac, First Genie of the Dove!”

  “It’s beautiful,” said Anusa.

  “And it sounds familiar,” said Keeah.

  Neal grinned. “It’s Calibaz spelled backward,” he said.

  “As for powers,” said the genie named Jyme, “this will tell you everything you need to know.”

  Poof! A long golden-tipped scroll appeared out of nowhere. Floating next to it was an enormous blue turban speckled with white, silver, and green gems.

  “The First Genie commands doves like no other,” said Fefforello, setting the turban on Neal’s head. “Normal genies have a hundred doves, but you command a hundred million! As you know, they can assume any shape.”

  Neal looked up at the glimmering surface of the moon. “How about … a road? Can the doves make a road?”

  The genies looked at one another.

  “Certainly,” said Anusa. “But why?”

  “I think I know,” said Eric. He looked into the distant sky over the volcano palace. It was the place where their adventure had begun. “A road from Calibaz to Parthnoop? So the hoobahs can finally have a home?”

  Neal smiled. “Yeah. They’ve been waiting for a long time.”

  “No sooner wished than done,” said Anusa. “Zabilac, behold your doves!”

  At once, the birds that had been fluttering around them flew high up over the volcano palace and wove a feathery road from the pit of Calibaz to the silver surface of the moon.

  Neal pulled the hoobah horn out of his pocket and blew into it. Its melody soared into the sky. Before long, the small froglike creatures emerged from Calibaz. They wound down the road, one and all, as if they had been waiting for the sound of Neal’s horn.

  “Just like the legend,” said Eric. “A hero was destined to free the hoobahs from their dark life and lead them into the light. That hero is you, Neal.”

  “And that is the Fifth Wonder!” said Hoja, bowing again with everyone else.

  While Neal kept playing the horn, the hoobahs, some on foot, some riding giant, blue, shovel-nosed beasts, made their way across the winding ribbon of fluttering doves all the way up to the silvery streets of Parthnoop, beaming in the light of Droon’s sun.

  “My boy,” said Galen, “you’ve done a wonderful thing today.”

  Anusa smiled. “The first of many, I think.”

  “By the way,” said Fefforello, “our very first genie convention will be seven hundred years ago. Can you make it?”

  Neal grinned. “Will there be lunch?”

  “There were a hundred lunches!” said Hoja.

  Neal laughed. “I think I’m already there!”

  At that, the twin baby genies began to giggle.

  “Now, we must go and set an extra place for lunch!” said Jyme. “See you a long time ago, Zabilac!”

  Then all six genies began to vanish, though Anusa more slowly than the others.

  “Anusa, my dove,” said Galen, “your love made me young again.”

  “There is much I must do now,” she said, not taking her eyes off the wizard.

  He smiled. “I know. And there is much for me, too. But now that we have found each other again, we are only a whisper away.”

  Anusa laughed brightly as she disappeared, sharing Galen’s gaze until the last moment.

  The wizard laughed softly. “Oh, yes,” he murmured, “the adventure shall continue!”

  Ten minutes later, the chariot swept into the main gates of Plud. Eric moved the Medallion and steered the horse through the passages until at last they reached Sparr’s main hall.

  “It won’t ever be hidden again,” said Galen, running his hands over the silver rails one last time. “If my mother built it for her sons, perhaps we shall need it to save Sparr. And perhaps, someday, even to find my brother Urik, wherever in time or place he may be. Ninns, guard this well. It may yet play a role in Droon’s future. Until then, keep it safe.”

/>   Together, Bludge and his army of warriors stood at attention before the silver chariot.

  “And who knows,” said Eric, taking Zara’s sword from his belt. “Maybe Sparr will need this, too. I didn’t even use it once today.” He set it next to the chariot.

  Keeah removed the Moon Medallion from the chariot and hung it around her neck again.

  With a silent nod to the Ninns, the chil-dren, Max, Kem, and Galen left the fortress.

  “Plud doesn’t seem so forbidden anymore, does it?” asked Keeah.

  Julie smiled as the giant gates closed softly. “No. Not so much.”

  “Perhaps we have begun to bring light to the darkness,” said Galen. From his robe, he pulled out the dark stone. “Who knows? In this lump may lie the very future of Droon. And, perhaps, of everything else, too.”

  They all stood in silent awe of the stone.

  Finally, Neal spoke. “It reminds me of a coal from my barbecue grill.”

  Julie laughed. “Trust Neal to put things in perspective!”

  “And speaking of food,” said Neal, stooping to Kem. “Boy, I’m going home to eat. But maybe there will be a next time for us?”

  “Rooo!” affirmed Kem.

  Just then — whoosh! — the magical staircase appeared, gleaming in the sky above the black plains of Plud.

  “We have to go home now,” said Eric.

  “And we have to find my parents in Agrah-Voor,” said Keeah. “Ko is up to something evil. I only hope that Sparr is still safe.”

  “A new mystery calls us to a new adventure,” said Galen, drawing his staff from his belt and setting his sights on the distant south. “How good it feels to be back in the game!”

  “Just like old times,” said Max as he wiped away a tear of joy.

  “And just like new times!” said Neal, folding his turban and scroll to the size of cookies and slipping them into his pocket.

  “We’ll be back,” said Eric. “Soon, I think.”

  “Soon, I know!” said Keeah with a laugh. Then, waving good-bye, she, Max, Kem, and Galen set out together across the plains.

  Neal grinned at his friends. “Race you up the stairs?”

  “You’re on!” said Julie.

  “Let’s go!” said Eric. “Last one up is —”

  But before he could move, Neal and Julie flew straight past him — whoosh! — and were already on the top step looking down.

  Eric shrugged and laughed. “The last one up … is me!”

  Then, as quickly as he could, Eric ran up to his friends and back to his normal life once more.

  Eric Hinkle stood under the rafters of his dusty attic and read aloud from a large golden scroll.

  “Okay. Sit on the floor, cross your legs, close your eyes, touch your knee, tap your nose, and nod your head.”

  With a giant blue turban pressed low over his brow, Eric’s friend Neal Kroger plopped down on the floor and began tapping and nodding. “You mean like this?” he asked.

  Eric glanced at him, then back at the scroll. “That seems right. Now say, ‘Tembolembo-polly-molly-zoot-boot!’”

  Continuing to tap and nod, Neal drew in a long breath and said the words.

  All of a sudden — fwoosh! — he floated straight up to the ceiling, nearly grazing his head on the rafters.

  “Awesome!” he cried.

  “Now it says to lean forward,” said Eric.

  Neal did. Whooom! He shot across the attic, narrowly missing Eric’s head. Leaning to one side and then the other, he zigzagged back between towers of cartons and storage boxes.

  “This is amazing!” said Neal. “It’s stupendous! It’s terrific! It’s —”

  “Magic?” said Eric.

  “You got that right!” Neal slowed, tilted his head, and began spinning over the attic stairs.

  Eric laughed. It was magic. It was genie magic, and Neal had gotten it from the mysterious land of Droon.

  Droon was the magical world Eric, Neal, and their friend Julie had discovered one day under his basement stairs. It was a place of enchantment and adventure, a land of close friends and powerful enemies.

  It was there that they had met the young wizard Princess Keeah, her teacher, the great wizard Galen, and their spider troll friend, Max. It was there that they had battled sorcerers and beasts of every kind imaginable.

  Droon was where Julie had been scratched by a creature called a wingwolf and had developed the ability to fly and to change shape.

  Because of Droon, Eric was discovering that he himself had the powers of a major wizard.

  And finally, Droon was where Neal was revealed to be none other than the magical, time-traveling First Genie of the Dove!

  “Wait until Julie sees me do my stuff!” said Neal, zipping by Eric again and snatching the scroll from his hand. “Man, I really love this!”

  Laughing, Eric realized he loved it, too. Having powers didn’t only mean that Neal could use ancient genie magic to help battle the bad guys. It also meant that since each of the three friends now possessed special powers, it wasn’t even about magic anymore.

  It was what it was supposed to be about — being plain old friends.

  Neal paused over Eric’s head, chuckled to himself, then whispered some words from the scroll. Pooof! A small steaming pie appeared in the air in front of him.

  “That was fast!” said Eric with a smile.

  Neal took a bite of the pie and grinned. “I think this genie thing is going to be good.”

  But just when Neal was about to conjure a glass of milk — stomp! stomp! — someone opened the attic door and started up the stairs.

  “Holy cow!” gasped Eric. “It’s my dad —”

  Neal flailed suddenly, then dropped to the floor in a heap. Both boys turned to the stairs to see a tall man wearing a flannel shirt and paint-stained pants, staring at them over his glasses.

  “Uh, hi, Dad!” said Eric nervously.

  “Ditto, Mr. H!” added Neal. “I mean, not the ‘Dad’ part, but the ‘hi’ part —”

  “Neal,” said Mr. Hinkle. “I saw you flying! You must be a … a … genie!”

  Neal gasped. He and Eric looked at each other with wide eyes. “But … how did you know?”

  A long moment of silence was followed by a bright laugh. Then Mr. Hinkle started to wobble and shrink and blur. A few seconds later — floop! — it wasn’t Eric’s father standing there anymore. It was their friend Julie.

  “Julie!” said Neal. “You scared us to death! I thought our secret was out. Nobody’s supposed to know about Droon.”

  “Sorry!” she said, laughing. “I couldn’t resist! I don’t get many chances to use my shape-shifting powers —”

  Boing — boing — boing — thunk!

  “Eric!” called a deep voice from downstairs. “What did I tell you about playing soccer in the house? Do I have to come up there?”

  The three friends stared at one another.

  “It wasn’t me this time!” Julie whispered.

  Boing — thonk — boing — boing!

  “What’s going on?” said Eric. He looked down just in time to see a soccer ball bounce across the floor below. It rolled to a stop at the foot of the attic stairs.

  “What is that doing here?” asked Neal.

  The kids’ soccer ball had been charmed long ago by Princess Keeah. When she wanted her friends to join her in Droon, she often used the ball to send a coded message. But the kids always kept the ball in Eric’s basement.

  Boing! The soccer ball bounced up onto the bottom step.

  “Eric!” Mrs. Hinkle called.

  “Sorry!” In a flash, Eric ran down the stairs, scooped up the ball, and carried it up to the attic. As he did, words began to appear on its surface.

  Roov-Harga

  The kids knew the letters were in reverse.

  “Agrah-Voor,” said Julie. “The city of ghosts. Sparr told us to go there the last time we were in Droon.”

  Right, thought Eric. Sparr.

  Droon
was about him, too.

  The first time the three friends had ever met Sparr, he was a superpowerful, black-cloaked, fish-finned evil sorcerer. Not long ago, however, Sparr had fallen victim to his own magic and been transformed back into a boy.

  As a boy, Sparr had been helping the kids. He had even become their friend.

  Right now, Sparr was with the wicked beast ruler, Emperor Ko, and his second-in-command, Gethwing, secretly hoping to defeat them. He had sent a secret message to the kids that the emperor’s armies were gathering for battle in the terrible Serpent Sea. He’d also told them that something bad was happening in nearby Agrah-Voor.

  Eric hoped their friend wasn’t in danger, but as hard as he tried to think otherwise, he knew it was only a hope.

  Sparr was in the very heart of evil now.

  “Keeah, Galen, and Max are probably already in Agrah-Voor,” said Neal, folding his magic turban and rolling up his scroll to the tiniest size imaginable. Then he stuffed them both into his pocket. “If they need reinforcements, that means us, and that means now.”

  In a few quick moments, the three of them had run down the attic stairs, down the main stairs, through the kitchen, and into the basement. Eric placed the soccer ball — which was normal once more — on the workbench. Then he turned to the little storage closet under the basement stairs and smiled.

  “It’s Droon time again!” he said.

  The three friends turned on the closet light, piled in, and closed the door behind them.

  “Let me,” said Julie. She reached for the ceiling light and pulled its short chain.

  Click. The light went out. The closet was pitch-black for a moment. Then it wasn’t.

  Whoosh! In a blaze of color, the floor became the top step of a long, curving staircase. As always, Eric’s heart beat faster when he saw the magic stairs appear.

  The fabulous world of Droon — and a new adventure — were waiting for them.

  They started quickly down the rainbow-colored stairs, curving into the sky below. But no sooner had they climbed down through Droon’s wispy pink clouds than the air grew thick and dark around them. It began to feel close, as if they were inside. By the time the kids climbed down the last few steps, the space surrounding them was as black as night.