10 The Door Home

CHAPTER Ten The Door Home "Whoaaa!" Eric shrieked as the six friends barreled out through the volcano at top speed. Then—splat-at-at-at-at-at! They hit a wall. Luckily, it was a soft wall. It was a wall made of sand. It was a sand dune. "We're outside!" Julie yelled. "Yahoo!" "There they are!" cried a voice. Galen rode up quickly. Behind him, the Lumpies had just finished tying the fire monsters in a giant knot. "Yes!" Max chittered. "My master is safe!" "We have the Eye!" Keeah called out.

Galen's eyes lit up. "My friends, you have done well!" Carefully, he took the glove from Eric. He closed his hands around it and put it safely in a golden box in Leep's saddlebag. "We must leave Kano at once," the wizard said. "Keeah, your father's ship is waiting at the coast. The stairs to the Upper World have appeared there, too. Max, come. Hurry, everyone. Hurry!" Max jumped up on Leep's head. "The way out is in the West! The old riddle says, it cannot be seen where it is!" Eric sighed. "Another riddle? Can't anything in Droon be easy?" "This will make it easier," Khan said. Flump! He tossed something heavy on the sand. "A carpet from Pasha." "A flying carpet!" Julie exclaimed. "The perfect escape vehicle!" Neal added. "Better hurry," Khan cried, sniffing the smoky air. "Groggles—lots of them. Coming fast!" Out of the smoke came dozens of Ninns on their ugly flying lizards called groggles. Huge flapping wings darkened the dark air even more. Kaww! Kaww! the groggles cried. "Let's see how fast this baby can go," Julie said. "Everybody on Pasha's rug! Now—fly!"

Whoosh! The carpet lifted into the wind and soared up over the volcano. As Galen, Max, Khan, and the Lumpies galloped away, Julie tugged at a corner, and the carpet shot out across the dunes. But the flying groggles were fast, too. They chased the kids for mile after mile, getting closer and closer. Eric scanned the desert ahead. In the middle of the dunes was a single rock. It was tall and wide and stuck straight up from the desert floor. "Watch out for that rock," Keeah said. "Yeah," Neal added, "we definitely don't want to crash into that!" "Right…" Eric began. Then he shook his head. "No, head for it! The riddle says that the way out cannot be seen where it is. The way out is through the rock!" "Are you sure?" Julie asked. "Trust me!" Eric said. Kaww! The groggles were right behind them. The rock was right ahead of them. "It sure looks solid!" Neal cried, shutting his eyes and clutching the carpet tight. "I hope this works!" Around the rock was open air, stretching into the distance. Still, the kids dove for the rock. They went… into the rock.

Whoosh! At the moment the carpet hit the rock, the rock became an opening. At the same moment, the air around it became solid rock. "Agh!" the Ninns cried. Their groggles lurched away, nearly smashing into the wall of rock. "Hooray!" Eric held on tight as they swept into a world of trees and rivers and meadows. The air was clear and fresh. It smelled sweet. "We're out of Kano!" Keeah said, pointing to the distance. "And heading for the coast." Minutes later, they landed on a sandy shore. A blue ocean rolled gently to the distant horizon. And the stairs back to Eric's house glittered nearby, hovering inches above the beach. A grand wooden ship was floating in a peaceful bay. It had white-and-pink sails and a blue smokestack. The ship's sides swept back from a sharp point in front to twin wings in the rear. "Today, we won," Keeah said. "We learned that Sparr is some kind of—creature." "He turns back into it sometimes," Eric said. "And he needs to drink from the witch's pool." "It's weird," said Neal. "How all our dreams sort of came true…."

Eric shook his head. "I guess there are still lots of secrets about Droon we don't know." "Like the whole story about the witch, Demither," Julie added. "She was strange. Kind of sad, too." Keeah breathed in, smiling. "She said my mother is alive, under a curse somewhere. If she is, I'm going to find her and set her free." "We'll help you," Eric said. "We'll be back as soon as we can." "Definitely," Neal said. "Count me in!" "Count us all in," Julie added. As the kids made their way to the magic stairs, a pilka whinnied behind them. Hrrr! They turned to see Galen, Max, and Khan riding down the beach toward them. They waved. "You're safe now," Eric said to Keeah. "I guess we'd better go before the stairs fade." "The magic of Droon goes with you," Keeah said, waving. "It will tell you when to return!" The three friends raced up the magic stairs. At the top, Eric turned to look back at Droon.

"I hope the adventure never ends," Julie said.