“The welcoming committee.” Patrick frowns. “They’re speedier than we are. Now that could be a problem.”
“Fiona,” I shout.
Music fills my ears. Then the words: “Will you walk into my parlor, said the spider to the fly?”
We’re so dead.
Dum bra dum bra dum.
Two octopus-shaped spacesuits pop out, their eight arms dangling at their sides. My scalp prickles. I get the awful impression there’s a reason why the spaceship is shaped like a whale.
The octopuses lift several arms and hurl a mesh cloth studded with what looks like diamond-shaped pieces of glass. It’s a net.
“Like fishermen,” I mutter. And we’re the fish. “What do we do now?”
“Improvise.” Patrick takes the red ruby out of his pocket and mutters what sounds like gibberish to me. The ruby flares.
Of course. There’s no reason to be afraid. Patrick O’Hara is a leprechaun resident of Chimeroan. He has stronger magic than witches.
“Patrick, make those octopuses go back inside and leave us alone,” I shout.
“I can’t,” Patrick says. “That type of net repels magic.”
What?
Beads of sweat cover his forehead. That can’t be good. Despite what my clue said, I think I made the wrong choice in calling Patrick.
“Let’s improvise some more,” I say. But not one idea pops into my head. Patrick shrugs. Definitely not good.
We should leave now before it’s too late, but Patrick makes no effort to flee. Maybe he’s coming up with another plan. I reach over my shoulder to touch Dreamstar.
Dum bra dum bra dum bra dum bra dum bra dum bra dum bra dum bra dum.
Even my wings are too scared to talk.
The net drifts closer. And closer.
We can’t wait any longer. “Patrick, let’s go.”
Too late.
The ruby goes dull. Spacesuits appear on our bodies, and before I can react, we’re floating in space, trapped within the net.
We’ve been sucked into the Zookeepers’ dream!
“Patrick,” I shout.
His lips move, but I can’t hear a word he says.
“Dreamstar.” My wings don’t respond. Or twitch. Not that there’s much room for them to budge inside the spacesuit, but still, I expect a flutter, even a soothing scent of sunflowers. “Dreamstar?”
Nothing. I kick and push like I did when I jumped from the swing, just before I landed in Chimeroan. Except my arms and legs move in slow motion.
I’m beyond panic. Out of the corner of my eye I glimpse the rainbow, a multicolored tunnel adrift in space, extending into the distant darkness.
All I can do is listen to my thumping heart as Patrick and I draw closer to the humungous octopus arms reeling us in. Huge eyes peer at me from behind visors. I scream, but I’m the only one who hears.
Way too soon, we reach the spaceship’s open hatch and down we go. The hatch closes. Water floods the compartment but doesn’t penetrate the spacesuits. I’m as weightless as in outer space.
An eerie glow pierces the gloomy greyness of the water. The octopuses are no longer in their spacesuits. Their heads are a big, lumpy mass; their long arms resemble sea serpents.
I cringe. Dreamstar, we’ve made a huge mistake.
A door opens and the octopuses glide forward, hauling Patrick and me inside the belly of the whale. It’s impossible to walk in the water, so I let myself drift, unable to resist.
As they pull us through water-filled corridors, sea creatures poke their faces at us. None is smaller than my arm, and the only kinds I recognize are dolphins. I’ve always liked dolphins, admired them even. How can they be involved in such a shady operation? I’d considered them honorable.
Then, as if someone has given them a command, the dolphins and other fish fall in at the back, leaving our sides free and the octopuses up front. We enter a vast cavern. It’s much brighter here. Light shines from diamond-shaped plants dangling from above. The water is as clear as glass, and I see a row of cells on my right. The cages on the opposite side are too far away to see clearly. How big is this place?
I feel helpless as we are dragged past the prisoners. No, they’re exhibits.
Centaurs, Barbie Mermaids, bikers with motorcycles leaning against the glass walls, even hoarders, whom I hope never escape. An entire team of hockey players and their guides occupy a gigantic cell. The words Humming Birds are scrawled across their shirts.
On, and on, and on. Fiona and Janice had better be on this level, otherwise I have no idea how we’ll rescue them. I don’t want to become an exhibit. I need to get out of here and find out what’s wrong with Dreamstar.
“We’re not staying!” I zombie the octopuses. They don’t react. I tap on the visor of Patrick’s spacesuit and frame the words slowly so he can read my lips. “It’s time to improvise again.”
He nods but continues to glance around as if he’s on a sightseeing tour. How can he look so unconcerned? Maybe that’s a good thing, though. It means he’s not panicking. He has things under control. He’s improvising. Right?
His lips split into a grin and he points to a cell where two leprechauns are pounding on glass doors. What’s so funny about that?
Just then, I hear static, followed by a familiar tune, then the words: “‘Welcome to my parlor,’ said the spider to the fly.”
The frequency to my earphones is no longer blocked.
“Fiona,” I shout, so relieved I want to cry. “Can you hear me? Fiona!”
“Melody!” Her voice explodes in my ears. “I hope it’s not you in one of those spacesuits.”
“Uh, yes.” We’re on the right level. “Fiona, where are you?”
She groans. “In the cell next to the leprechauns. Now you’re trapped, too.” Fiona gives a half wave as we sweep by her.
I bang on Patrick’s visor again and point. “There they are.”
He reaches up and taps his helmet. To my horror, his spacesuit slides off.
“What are you doing?” I shout. “You’ll drown.”
Patrick pulls the ruby out of his pocket. It’s glowing. There’s magic in the water! He must have known it would be enough to counteract the magic-proof net. No wonder he wasn’t worried.
The sea creatures scatter. Water surges away from us as if suctioned off by a huge magnet, and hurls the octopuses back in a jumbled mass of arms and heads. I drop to my knees, heavy and cumbersome without the buoyancy of the water to hold me up. Then, I keel over, face down, in slimy green algae. Patrick’s ruby is holding the water off on both sides of us, leaving a clear passage free of water to only one cell: Fiona and Janice’s.
There’s a thump on my helmet and the spacesuit slides off. The air is stale with the stench of rotten fish, but I don’t care because, at that precise moment, Dreamstar unfurls and lifts me to my feet.
“You’re all right,” I say, caressing every feather I can touch.
Dum bra dum bra dum. Later. Stay alert.
I nod, eyeing the hundreds of fish peeking through the water barrier.
“Let’s get out of here.” Patrick mutters something and his rainbow glides through the shell of the spaceship. He whispers a few more words and the door to Fiona and Janice’s cell springs open. The leprechauns glare at Patrick, but he just waves at them.
Janice and Fiona rush out. Fiona hugs me, tears streaming down her face.
“Time for that later,” Patrick says. “Take my hand so you can pass through the rainbow wall.”
But before any of us can move, five octopuses plough through the water barrier and sprint forward on their eight arms like giant spiders. The nearest one lunges. One tentacle-like arm closes over my chest, crushing Dreamstar against me. Another whacks Patrick across his back and he falls. The ruby flies up in the air. I watch in horror as a thick, scaly arm reaches out and catches it.
BEEP BEEP BEEP!
Patrick scrambles to his feet. In his hand is a gadget similar to the one he gave Sara.
Ten seconds before Sara presses the button for the rainbow to retreat. Help!
Dum bra dum bra dum. Dum bra dum bra dum.
ONE
Patrick slips a hand inside his pants pocket and pulls out a brown looking stone.
TWO
He mutters a word and the ruby flies from the octopus’s arm into his other hand.
THREE
Patrick whispers something else and the arm holding me spasms open.
FOUR
Dreamstar speeds me away.
FIVE
Thirty-two octopus arms loom over Patrick.
SIX
The ruby flashes a deep red and the octopuses jerk backward and slam into the wall of water.
SEVEN
SPLAT! SPLASH! SPLUSH!
EIGHT
Patrick grabs my wrist.
NINE
I reach for Janice, who clasps Fiona’s elbow.
TEN
We dash through the rainbow wall.
The cells vanish and we’re back in space in a limousine, no longer a sports car. I feel sorry for the prisoners we left behind, but there’s nothing I can do. I’m just relieved it’s not my dream, or fear, to be stuck there.
Janice starts talking with Patrick about the Zookeepers.
Fiona looks exhausted. “Thanks,” she manages, but says nothing else.
I sit back, tired as well, and Dreamstar snuggles against me.
The Exit Point approaches fast. In no time at all, we are through and stop next to a tree. We pile out of the limousine and Patrick stretches, a proud smile on his face.
“That was exciting,” he says. “I truly need to get out more. Thank you for this adventure, my young lady.”
“You’re welcome. And thank you for helping me.” I bend over and hug him.
He goes red in the face. “Oh my.”
I turn to Fiona. “Are you all right?”
“Who are you?”
“What do you mean? I’m Melody.”
“Hi, Melody.”
And her wings fall “clunk” to the ground.
25
What Are the Odds?
I gape at the pale pink, oval-shaped wings. “Fiona still has time to figure out her clue. It’s not yet sunset.”
“What are those?” Fiona bends over and strokes them. “Pretty.” There aren’t any marks on her back where her wings were attached.
Janice sighs. “We’ve been trapped since yesterday so Fiona didn’t solve the second clue. She couldn’t stop obsessing over aliens. When we saw the Exit Point she insisted on going through, and of course I had to—”
“Let her make her own choice,” I say.
“You understand.” Janice gives me a half smile. “Next time I go to a zoo, I’ll have a different perspective when I watch the caged animals. Thank you, Melody. Sara. And you, of course, Patrick O’Hara.”
Patrick bows. “The pleasure is mine.”
“I’m glad we could help,” Sara says.
“How come Fiona’s wings didn’t fall off yesterday?” I ask.
“Wings are magical,” Janice says. “They fell asleep in the cell.”
I feel foolish. Of course, wings are magical.
“Am I dreaming?” Fiona asks.
“Yes.” Janice takes her hand and leads her to . . .
“The gold door.” My skin crawls when it opens. I stare at the black hole of night into which the two of them vanish.
“What will happen to Fiona?” I ask. Her wings look like they’re dead.
“She’ll go home,” Sara says.
“She didn’t remember us. She thought she was dreaming.”
“I know. Fiona wanted to fly, that’s how she was able to come to Chimeroan. But she couldn’t let go of her fears and allow her wings to help, like you, Jackson, and Liz did.”
I want to cry. “If only guides could hint this might happen, Fiona wouldn’t have lost her wings.”
“Would this have made sense to you when you first got here?” Sara’s dark brown eyes stare directly into mine.
“I guess not. No.”
“Guided have to make this choice on their own. We guides do what we can to help you trust and believe in yourselves. Melody, you wouldn’t have been able to solve all the clues if you continued to shut Dreamstar out. By facing what happened with the accident, you freed yourself from guilt and allowed him in.”
Dreamstar hums a happy Duummmm duuuummm daaaaaa deeeeee. I sigh and caress his feathers—my feathers. “Can Fiona ever return to Chimeroan?”
“Once she is able to overcome her fears and trust in her dreams, everything is possible.”
That wasn’t a “yes,” but it wasn’t a “no” either. Somehow, I feel much better. “Dreamstar speaks to me.” It feels natural to confide this to her, even though I hadn’t planned on it.
Sara looks surprised. “Not many fliers can hear their wings talk.”
“Can you?”
She shakes her head. “Not words. Silversling whistles at some of my thoughts, and I know that’s what she’s thinking, too.”
“Dreamstar hums, too. He agreed I should use the jewel to call Patrick. Oh, no.” In all the excitement, I’d forgotten.
“What’s the matter?” Sara asks.
“I was going to heal my dad with the jewel, but didn’t want Fiona to lose her wings. She did anyway.” Dreamstar sends me the soothing scent of sunflowers, but I still feel bad. “It was all for nothing.”
I fling the jewel away, but it loops around like a boomerang and falls at my feet. I kick it and it hits the rock on which Patrick is sitting, legs crossed in a yoga position. The jewel wobbles and rolls back to me.
Patrick rubs his chin. “You have a generous heart, my young lady.”
“It didn’t get me anywhere, though. Fiona lost her wings and Dad will be stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Unless . . .” Unless Patrick gives me another jewel.
“Healing is not always a physical thing, my young lady. Sometimes to get the things you want, you have to let them go.”
Goosebumps everywhere. I’ve heard those words before—from the unicorn I rescued on the island.
“What do you really want, Melody?” Patrick asks.
“I want my Dad’s paralysis to go away so he can dance with Mom.”
“Why?”
“Because I want my parents to be happy.” Tears stream down my face.
“And is dancing the only way they can be happy?”
“I-I don’t know. But they’re not happy now.” I picture Mom on our patio, humming as she waters the flowers and plants, Dad tapping on the arms of his wheelchair and writing music with a smile on his face. “Well, sometimes they are.”
“I gave you one of my jewels as a gift,” Patrick says. “Are you sure you want to throw it away? That is actually quite rude, you know, especially in front of the person who gave it to you.”
“I’m sorry.” The last person I want to insult is Patrick. I wipe my eyes with the back of my hand and pick up the cold jewel.
“Don’t give up just yet,” Patrick says with a wink. “Now ladies, my debt is paid, so I’ll be off. Good day to you both, and until next time. Maybe.” With a salute, he walks over to his rainbow, which retreats as soon as he steps through.
“Sara, what will happen to Fiona’s wings?” I search the ground, but there’s no trace of them. I want to cry because I know what happened.
“They’ve returned to the earth,” Sara says. “Remember what I told you. The cycle is complete.”
“They’re dead.” I wipe my eyes. “If only Fiona didn’t have to lose them.”
“Melody, no matter how sad you feel for Fiona, you can’t help her. So, it’s no use being upset.”
That’s cruel, I want to say. And heartless.
Hmaduummm hmaduummm hmaduummm.
Or is it? There’s no way I can help Fiona if I mope over what
happened to her. Sara’s right. No matter how unhappy or angry I might feel, it won’t bring her wings back.
“You know what’s strange?” I say. “If I hadn’t helped Fiona, I think I’d feel worse than I do now.”
Sara nods. “You’re beginning to listen to yourself.”
“I always do.”
“Do you always do what feels good?”
“I . . .” At lunchtime in school, when everyone is playing, I sit by myself and pretend to read or do homework, even though I want to join in. When Mom stuffs her face, I want to tell her to stop because it’s not healthy for her to eat so much junk. But I don’t. When Dad looks at his legs like he wants to pick them up and force them to walk, I want to go over and hug him. But I don’t.
“After you return home, try and do what feels right,” Sara says. “Dreamstar will help.”
“Will it be easy?”
“It gets easier with practice.”
I laugh. Of course, my guide wouldn’t answer with a simple “yes” or “no.” “So, did I solve my clue?”
“Do you think you have?”
“Yes.” I made a choice, which was neither good nor bad. “But I still want to go to the sea.”
“Then, that’s where we’ll go,” Sara says. “Are you hungry?”
We leave as soon as we’ve eaten the lunch the merpeople left for us on the little island this morning. In no time at all, we reach another Exit Point. At first I think it’s a cloud, but then I notice how much paler the blue sky is around it.
“Is this ours?” I ask Sara.
She just smiles. I study her face. It’s calm, a bit amused, curious even, but not anxious. I listen for a hum from Dreamstar. Nothing. But he’s not sluggish and he’s not sending me any rotten flower smells. Good enough for me.
“Here goes.”
As soon as we fly through, the air gets warmer. I grin when I see how close we are to the sea. No more than half an hour’s flying at most. And I’m not surprised to see Claudine and her guide appear through another Exit Point. She’s the only one from my group I haven’t run into since the treasure hunt started.
She’s not wearing goggles, only her glasses. And I don’t find them thick or ugly. In fact, they suit her. I tap twice on my left earphone button.
“Melody,” Claudine squeals. “Do you think we have the same clue? It would be awesome to travel together.”
Up in the Air Page 13
