Up in the Air

by Ann Marie Meyers

  “You were there? I wish I’d known. Just before I arrived in Chimeroan I saw you in the park with your mom. Then Natasha and Wendy—I guess you saw me running from them.” He looks away, but a second later his eyes meet mine, steady and calm. “On Earth I’m a coward, but I guess you already know that.”

  I make a decision. “I’ll show you how to handle those bullies, don’t worry.” It will be fun teaching him the zombie. “I didn’t know you wanted to be an elf.”

  Andrew shrugs. “We never spoke much, so how could you? And you’re a flier.” He touches my wings. “Ouch!”

  I try not to laugh. “I have to give you permission first.”

  He makes a face. “Well, can I?”

  “Sure.”

  Andrew puts out his hand slowly this time. “They’re soft. And warm.”

  “And ticklish,” I say, giggling.

  Sara walks up to us. “You must be very good friends to have your dreams cross like this,” she says.

  “We’re not friends,” I say. “I mean—”

  “We’re in the same class at school, that’s all,” Andrew says.

  Sara looks surprised. “Well, you’ll have someone nearby to talk to about Chimeroan back home.”

  “If I return,” Andrew says.

  My heart skips a beat. “You mean, you’ll stay here? Forever?”

  He blinks as if he’s got something stuck in his eyes. “Gunther says the decision will be mine to make after my quest.”

  It’s an effort to keep my smile in place. We weren’t friends in school, it’s true, but I can’t imagine never seeing him again. “What about the resident who took your place? And your parents?”

  Andrew shrugs. “I guess they’ll have to know. But I haven’t decided yet.”

  “Okay. Well, um, okay.” I push the thought of his staying on Chimeroan to the back of my mind.

  “Hey, have you seen any dragons?” Andrew asks.

  “When we first got here, remember?”

  “Oh, yeah. Well, I rode on one.”

  “No way! What was it like?”

  Andrew tells me how he almost fell off, and how the dragon tipped over to help him back on. “And today, I’m on a quest to find Dlicans. They’re cousins of dragons and are as long as my arm. The female Dlicans cover their eggs in moss and bury them in river banks.”

  “Moss?” My ears perk up as I remember my clue.

  “Yes,” Andrew says. “It protects the eggs from predators, mainly fish. But moss also makes it difficult for the babies to hatch. That’s where we elves come in. An underground shortcut takes us to the river.”

  This has to be the one I’m supposed to find, filled with moss and fish just like my clue says. “Where’s the river?”

  Andrew points. “North of here, about ten miles beyond the forest.”

  Bingo!

  “What about you?” Andrew asks.

  I tell him about my wings and how amazing it is to fly. I also mention the jewel Patrick O’Hara gave me. I try to take off my ring to show him, but it doesn’t budge. Because it’s mine for life.

  “Can I take a look at the jewel?” Andrew asks.

  I pull it out of my pocket. “It’s magic.”

  “I know. Do you see the blue light over it?”

  “No.”

  “I can ’cause I’m an elf. Gunther, come check this out.” He turns around. “Oh, no.”

  “Oh, no,” I repeat like a robot. Andrew’s guide and Sara are leaning against a tree, watching us. Everyone else, including the witches, are gone.

  “It’s late,” Andrew says. “Why didn’t you tell me, Gunther?”

  “Because this is your quest,” Gunther says.

  Andrew sighs. “Is your guide as frustrating as this?”

  “Oh, yes.” I nod several times to show him how frustrating Sara can be.

  “I got to go. Guess I’ll see you in school? Unless I decide to stay here, I mean.”

  “Yeah. See you.” I don’t want Andrew to remain in Chimeroan. I’d like to be his friend when I return home, but I say none of this as he dashes off with Gunther. “Sara, what time is it?”

  “After one.” She sounds nervous.

  My stomach rumbles. “Can we have lunch first and rest a bit? I’m starving.”

  She raises an eyebrow. “Of course.”

  “Don’t worry,” I tell her. “We’ll have time. I know exactly where we have to go.”

  19

  Delays

  We’re barely a minute in the air, heading north, when my wings become sluggish. That’s a bad sign and I pull up quick.

  This can only mean one thing. I’m going the wrong way. No problem. I’ll turn until my wings start to hum.

  “What’s the matter?” Sara asks.

  “Nothing. I thought the river was this way, and it’s not.”

  “What river?”

  “The one in my clue.”

  Sara shrieks. “Don’t say anything else!”

  Dum bra dum bra dum, dum bra dum bra dum.

  My wings hum the same beat they made just before the Jibber Jabbers caught us. What’s wrong now?

  “You revealed part of your clue,” Sara says.

  The lunch I just ate does its best to come right back out. Vivian said I wasn’t to share the contents of my clue with anyone. I messed up.

  “Did you tell your friend?” Sara asks.

  “No.”

  “You could be disqualified.”

  Dum bra dum bra dum, dum bra dum bra dum, dum bra dum bra dum.

  This can’t be happening. “Don’t let them take my wings, Sara.” I’ll fight anyone who tries. I’ll run away. I’ll . . . I’m more scared than I’ve ever been in my life because I have the gut-wrenching feeling that nothing I do or say will make any difference if I’m disqualified.

  Sara removes her goggles. “It’s not up to me.”

  How can the trees look so peaceful when my life is about to fall apart? “Who is it up to?”

  “The Dream Stone. If you are to be disqualified, we’ll know soon enough.”

  I barely hear above the frantic rustling of my wing feathers. “How?”

  “Your wings will drop off.”

  Dum bra bra, dum bra bra, dum bra bra, dum bra bra, dum bra bra, dum bra bra.

  “Drop off?” My voice sounds weird. I clutch every part of my wings I can reach. They’re trembling.

  “They will fly you down and then . . .”

  I picture myself with two holes in my back and nothing to show for my time here on Chimeroan. “I didn’t mean to tell you, Sara, I promise. It was an accident. Make the Dream Stone understand.” I clutch my leprechaun jewel.

  Patrick O’Hara will put my wings back on if they fall off.

  “It may be all right.” Sara smiles, but her lips don’t stop quivering.

  A piercing screech shatters the silence.

  “No!” Sara flies in tight circles.

  I do the same. There’s nothing to see but branches swaying in the wind. What is she looking for? Seconds pass. Minutes. More minutes.

  “It was just a bird,” Sara whispers.

  “What did you think it was?”

  “Fliers lose their wings differently. Sometimes they fall off, like I said. Other times, someone comes and takes them.”

  “Who?”

  Sara shrugs. “No one has ever told me.”

  Dum bra dum bra dum, dum bra dum bra dum, dum bra dum bra dum, dum bra dum bra dum.

  Why did I mention the river? Why did I have to run into Andrew? This is his fault. If he hadn’t told me about a river, I wouldn’t have known and . . . I squeeze my eyes shut.

  This isn’t Andrew’s fault. It’s mine.

  “I guess it’s all right,” Sara says. “We’ve waited long enough.”

  I let out a huge breath and gulp down another.

  Sara puts her goggles back on. “From what I’ve heard, the decision is immediate. It’s been five minutes already, more than enough time for a sign that you’ve be
en disqualified.”

  Five minutes? It seemed like hours.

  “Melody,” Sara says. “You have a clue to solve.”

  “Let’s find that ri—Let’s solve it then.”

  Directly north of here is the river with the Dlicans. Wrong way. I turn right, in the direction we came from yesterday.

  Not a hum from my wings.

  I keep on spinning slowly. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Panic. I’ve almost completed the circle and am staring west with the sun in my eyes, when:

  Drraaa. Drraaa. Drraaa.

  “That way,” I say and pull out my clue.

  There’s a river and a lot of fish;

  And come to think of it,

  A lot of moss, too.

  Every river has fish and moss, which I should have remembered before jumping to conclusions like I did.

  It takes us over an hour to reach the end of the forest, and the instant we do, thick clouds roll in. Within minutes, the sun is gone. A raindrop lands on my head. Another on my nose. Soon, it’s dark and rain tumbles down in heavy, stinging drops. Lightning ignites the sky.

  Horns blaring, glass shattering.

  Thunder roars.

  I dive for the ground. Trees come into view and I zoom toward one with the thickest branches and sink to my knees on the muddy soil.

  Someone shakes me. It’s the man who pulled me out of the car. But when I open my eyes, I see Sara.

  “Are you all right, Melody?”

  Black hole! Black hole!

  “Melody?”

  “I’m okay.”

  “Are you ready to tell me what’s bothering you?”

  “I’m fine.” My wings bombard me with rose smells, but I keep shaking my head until the scent fades.

  Horns blaring, glass shattering.

  My whole body is a trembling mess. I grab the trunk of the tree, and with Sara’s help, pull myself up. We can’t stay here or I’ll lose my wings. A jagged fork of lightning rips across the sky and I clap my hands over my ears.

  “The lightning won’t hurt us,” Sara says. “Our wings will move us away in time.”

  “Ca-can we fly in this weather?”

  “Do birds fly in the rain?”

  “Yes. But won’t our feathers get waterlogged?” I picture my wings, feathers soaked to capacity, unable to move.

  “The water will run off. Do you want to keep your wings, Melody?”

  “Yes.” There’s only one thing to do, really. “Let’s go.”

  20

  Clue No. 2

  Once, I saw my Granny’s neighbor blast a cat with a hose. I remember it fleeing with its tail between its legs. It looked so pathetic I laughed myself silly. Now, I know how the cat felt. And I’m not laughing.

  My eyes are closed, hands pressed over my ears, but I can still tell when lightning flashes. Thunder pierces my eardrums. I have no idea where we’re going, and it takes all of my effort to just let my wings fly. I don’t know how many times I count from one hundred to one to keep myself from freaking out.

  It’s impossible to tell how long we’ve been traveling like this, but finally sunlight warms my face. The rain lessens and most of the clouds drift away. If the river is the same distance as between the main flier outpost and the forest, I’m in big trouble. My wings beat the air slowly and I can tell they’re exhausted, even more than me.

  A small desert sprawls below us. People on camels wave, I wave back. We pass a ravine, then a swamp. Sara takes a quick drink from the canteen she’d placed in her pocket. If only I’d thought to put my water bottle in mine, too. No time for wishful thinking or for another break. I have a river to find.

  Even though we see a few Exit Points, I don’t look twice at them. The sun sinks lower. Lower. No sign of a river. My insides are a churning mess. How much further do we have to go? When I ask Sara the time, she peeks at the sun.

  “About seven.”

  So late.

  Another hour passes, though it seems longer. Flat land. Rolling hills. A canyon. Not a drop of water anywhere.

  “Sara.”

  “Yes.”

  “We aren’t going to make it, are we?”

  “Is it night yet, Melody?”

  “Almost.”

  “Do you see the sun?”

  “Yes.”

  “Is it night yet?”

  “No.”

  “Do you want to give up?”

  I reach for my leprechaun jewel. Think of Dad. Release the jewel. Look at the sun. Take another wheeze.

  “Melody?”

  I take a deep, shaky breath. “No. I won’t give up.”

  “Good.”

  The ground drops away and a shimmer in the diminished sunlight catches my attention. Please, let that be a river. My wings make a powerful upstroke.

  “We have company,” Sara says.

  I recognize the ostrich and bumblebee wings immediately, plus the short dreadlocks flapping in the wind. It’s Jackson with his guide, Kevin. They’re below us and going in the same direction we are. I tap the left button on my earphones twice.

  “Hi, Jackson,” I say, glad my voice sounds mostly normal. My mouth is parched though; I’d give anything for a drop of water.

  “Hi, Melody. We’re cutting it pretty close, aren’t we?”

  “Yes.”

  I’m too tired to say anything else, and Jackson must feel the same because he doesn’t speak either. I can hear his nervous breathing though, and I’m sure he can hear mine. My eyes stay fixed on the horizon, on the growing expanse of water.

  I bite my lip so I won’t shout out. No way will I risk revealing my clue a second time, even though a river is right there IN FRONT OF US!

  Finally, with the sun a mere inch above the horizon, we cross the riverbank. By now, the four of us are flying side by side, with Jackson on my left. An awful thought hits me and I glance at him. If his clue and mine are different, one of us will be wrong.

  “Hi, wait up,” a new voice hollers through my earphones.

  Two more fliers are heading our way from the south. One has green wings with red polka dots—Liz, the girl who is afraid of the dark. The green and black pair must belong to her guide, though I don’t remember her name.

  “You guys had better have the same clue as me,” Liz says.

  “You took the words right out of my mouth,” Jackson says.

  His voice is tense, face covered in sweat. His ostrich wings look as sluggish as mine feel, and I wonder if he had as hard a time as I did getting here. Maybe he got caught in the storm, too. I’ll ask later.

  The river spreads for miles in either direction. When I look right, my wings hum, so I change direction. The others follow.

  Is it a good sign the three of us are here? Yesterday only Sean and I had the unicorn clue.

  There’s a river and a lot of fish;

  And come to think of it

  A lot of moss, too

  Even though we’re close to the water, I can’t see any fish. Or moss. What I take to be a rock turns out to be an island so small I’m sure I can jog around it in half an hour or less.

  Drrrrraaaaa. Drrrrraaaaa. Drrrrraaaaa go my wings.

  That’s our destination.

  There are only a few trees on this island. I can make out patches of grass, several rocks. The beach is a thick strip of pebbles along the water’s edge. It’s much darker now. The lower part of the sun kisses the water. Jackson pulls off his gloves as soon as we land.

  “You have a ring.” I yank off my own gloves to show him mine.

  “Way to go.” Jackson gives me a thumbs-up.

  “I’ll say,” Liz says, displaying hers. “So, what now?” The freckles on her face stand out like stars.

  “Can we talk about our clues since we obviously have the same one?” Jackson asks.

  The guides shake their heads. Jackson, Liz, and I glance at each other and shrug. We don’t have time to argue. It wasn’t enough to find the unicorns; I also had to get the ring. My ring. That means there’s more
to this clue than just a river with lots of fish and moss.

  The three of us rush off in separate directions, and soon, I notice a huge rock covered in moss. I rub my hands over it and check the area nearby. Nothing. There’s another rock up ahead, but it’s a dead end, too.

  My wings sweep me off my feet and swing me to the right. Jackson is standing motionless next to a tall triangular rock, also covered in moss.

  Drrrrraaaaa. Drrrrraaaaa. Drrrrraaaaa.

  I take the hint and race toward him, zooming past Sara and the other two guides. Liz gets there a second after me.

  “Three holes,” Jackson says. “One on each side.”

  What he doesn’t say is that the holes are the same size as our rings.

  “No.” I cover my ring protectively. “This is mine to keep, right Sara? You said so, remember? Besides, it doesn’t come off. See?”

  I tug at my ring half-heartedly and, to my horror, it slips off my finger. This can’t mean I have to part with it. My ring is proof Dad will walk and dance again. It’s a sign from Chimeroan, where dreams come true. I have the magic jewel, which I’ve almost used twice, and didn’t, because it’s meant for Dad.

  “I . . . can’t.” I won’t. My wings are dead silent.

  Then I notice the shape of the moss right above the hole in front of me: a wolf. No. Please no. My hands are clammy as I peek at the moss Liz is staring at.

  A unicorn.

  There is no mistake. I touch Jackson’s hand and point to the wolf. His skin is cold. Mine, too.

  “An eagle is here,” he says.

  Liz closes her eyes and tears tumble down her face. Slowly, reluctantly, we switch positions.

  “Let’s do it,” Jackson says in a tight voice.

  Liz’s lips tighten into a thin line, but a second later she pulls off her ring.

  “On the count of three,” Jackson says. “One.”

  “Two. Three,” we finish together.

  One of the guides sniffles; it sounds like Sara.

  My ring glides in easily. Three lights flare out through the holes: blue, red, green. The rock sinks. In its place is a gap big enough for my mom to squeeze through.