Zann stood at the top of the waterfall. Mist rose from a deep, sparkling pool far below.
"You're not scared, are you?" a teasing voice said behind him.
It was his friend, Perda. She smiled at him, and Zann noticed that the mist made her look even prettier than usual.
"I'm not scared," he said with a laugh. "Here I go!"
He leaped off the edge of the cliff. A second later he heard Perda yell, "Look out below!"
He glanced up and saw her falling along with the sparkling water. "Whee!" he shouted as they both hurtled toward the pool.
At the last second, Zann snapped his fingers and used magic to slow himself down. He splashed into the pool gently. A moment later Perda splashed down beside him, spraying him with water. She hadn't slowed herself as much as he had. That was typical. She was pretty brave.
"Here come Darb and Gliss," Perda said, pointing up.
Their two friends were at the top of the cliff. They jumped together, holding hands. That was partly because Darb was a Void, which meant he couldn't do magic. He needed Gliss' magic to keep him from falling too fast.
But it was also because Gliss and Darb held hands a lot lately. Zann thought it was nice that they were a couple now, but it also made him feel a little bit uncomfortable.
Splash! They landed together nearby.
"That was fun, wasn't it?" Darb said, swimming over to Zann.
"Yeah," Zann agreed. Then he spotted a boy around their age hurrying toward the pool. "Look! Ello's back."
Zann swam to the edge of the pool, with his friends following. Ello had stopped to look at a tiny creature with silvery wings that had landed on a rock at the edge of the pool.
Darb climbed out of the water. "Is that a dragon?" he asked. He was very interested in animals of all kinds.
Ello carefully picked up the tiny creature and handed it to Darb. "Isn't it cute? There were no dragons in Skellia, but there are several species here in Mistafar."
Gliss climbed out of the pool for a better look, squeezing water out of her bright red hair. She and Zann were the only Reds in the group—their red hair was a sign that they had especially strong magic.
"It's cute," she said. "And it's definitely much less scary than the gulpers from your old world!"
Zann agreed with that. They'd first met Ello in Skellia, a world of rising seas and constant rain. The Skellian people had wanted to escape before all of their land disappeared beneath the waves. However, the only way to leave was through the vortex that connected all the known worlds. Reaching the vortex required going through a wormhole. But magic-eating sea creatures called gulpers ate the wormholes as fast as they appeared.
"True. None of us miss the gulpers," Ello said with a shudder.
"Do you miss anything about Skellia?" Darb asked.
Ello looked thoughtful. "I liked sailing on the open sea. And it's hard getting used to a whole new place." He smiled. "But Mistafar is great! Everyone is grateful that you convinced Wyssa to move us here."
Wyssa was a mysterious woman with strong magic powers. Zann and his friends had met her during some earlier adventures. She'd brought the Skellians to Mistafar. This was the first time Zann and the others had traveled from Magica to visit.
Suddenly Zann noticed that Ello's hands were empty. "Hey, I thought you were bringing snacks," he said with a grin.
"Oh! I almost forgot to tell you—it's time for Perda's birthday cake," Ello said.
Perda's birthday was the reason for the visit. Back in Magica, Zann lived with his parents in First City, while the other three kids lived in his former hometown of Swamp Bottom. They were able to visit one another occasionally with the help of zap accelerators, magical devices that helped them to travel long distances quickly. But Zann still missed seeing his friends every day like he had when he lived in Swamp Bottom.
"Great! Waterfall jumping made me hungry," Perda said. "Let's go and have cake!"
They walked back to the Skellians' village. Zann's parents were in the main square, chatting with some other adults. A platter of small, beautifully decorated cakes was sitting on a wooden table.
"Happy birthday, Perda!" Ello's mother said. "Help yourselves to cake, kids."
Zann and his friends each took a cake. Then they sat down to eat. "I'm glad your parents brought you to visit us," Ello said.
"Perda talked them into it since it's her birthday," Zann said. "They know she's interested in being an explorer someday."
"Or maybe a researcher," Gliss said. "She's absolutely obsessed with the ancient history of Magica!"
"You are?" Zann looked at Perda in surprise. The last time he'd spent time with her, she had been more interested in studying other worlds.
Perda took a bite of cake and then nodded. "Yes, it's really interesting. But it's hard to find much information about the Old Times."
Gliss shuddered. "That's probably because everyone wants to forget about the Old Times. My parents say it was a time of dark magic and danger."
Perda licked frosting off her fingers. "There's even less information about the time before the Old Times," she said. "Hey, Zann, remind me to ask your parents if they have any books about that period."
"Okay." Zann nodded.
Just then his parents came toward them. "Finish your cake, kids," his mother, Asta, said. "It's time to go home."
Zann sighed. He wasn't sure what to think about Perda's new interest. "It's so strange," he thought. "I hardly know anything about my friends anymore!"