6. A New Enemy

CHAPTER Six A New Enemy? Batamogi led the children down from the big round platform. His people joined him. "What is the big wheel, anyway?" Eric asked. The Oobja king smoothed his whiskers. "Ah, yes, well, let me explain—" "There's a big stick here," Neal said, peering around the wheel. "Like a control stick. What happens if you push it—" Errrch! The stick squeaked as Neal touched it. At once the wheel began to spin. Then a loud whooshing sound came from nowhere. A whirling storm of dust

exploded up from the ground. It encircled Neal and swept him up in the air. "Whoa!" he yelled. "Help me!" Batamogi quickly pushed the stick back down. The dust storm disappeared and—plop!—Neal landed in a heap on the ground. Julie laughed. "That's how I got here!" Batamogi helped Neal up and brushed him off. "We call this our Wind Wheel. We use it to make dust storms to keep others from finding our village. Too bad it didn't keep Sparr from stealing my brothers." Then the king led the children to the edge of the village. He turned and waved to his people. They waved back from the big wheel. "Where are your brothers?" Keeah asked. The king tapped his forehead again. "I don't know. But something tells me they are alive." Sunlight slanted across the dust hills as Batamogi led the troop into a narrow pass. The hills on either side rose hundreds of feet in the air. The fox-eared king pointed up ahead. "Sparr brought his Ninns through this pass. They came to dig up the giant. We are not far now." Eric shared a glance with his friends. They were heading straight for Lord Sparr.

"I know I say 'careful' a lot," Neal said. "But maybe now is a good time. You never know when something might—" Fwap! Fwap! The sound of wings filled the air. "Hrooooo!" came a loud cry. "Groggles?" Neal yelped. "No! Worse!" Batamogi replied. "Hide!" The air grew hot, and a burst of blue flame shot across the hills above them. Then a giant blue wing flapped overhead. It was scaly and rough. A spiky arm clawed at the sky. "A dragon!" Keeah whispered, touching her feather necklace. "It's all blue!" Dust and rocks crumbled from the hillsides and into the pass in front of the kids. The shadow of the dragon's wing glided over them. "Hrooooo!" The dragon's call coiled down once more. Then the shadow vanished. Sunlight flooded the high walls again. The dragon was gone.

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Batamogi waddled to the middle of the pass and looked up. "This dragon has been here since Sparr arrived, frightening my people. The hills used to be quiet. I hope they will be quiet again." Clank! Clong! From nearby came the sounds of metal and stone banging together. "Digging?" Eric whispered. The king nodded. "Come, we're nearly there." Quietly, they tiptoed to the end of the passage. Beyond the last range of hills lay a small valley. "Holy cow!" Julie said. The valley lay torn open. Piles of sand-colored rocks were strewn about. Flying lizards called groggles whined loudly as they helped to pull large stones out of the ground. Lord Sparr stood by while hundreds of his red warrior Ninns dug away at the earth. "They're digging up the whole tomb," Keeah said. "They've dug up the resting place of Zor." "He won't be resting long," Max said. "Look!" Two Ninns dragged a heavy box across the dirt. Eric and his friends recognized that box. It contained Zor's amulet. Sparr had stolen it when he turned Jaffa City to ice. With the amulet, Sparr could bring the dead giant back to life. The Ninns opened the box. Sparr took out the large black amulet. The jewel in its center glistened in the sunlight. The

sorcerer began to laugh. "He's going to do it!" Neal whispered. Sparr stepped down into the open tomb. Slowly, he strode across the giant's dark chest. He set the amulet into a spot near Zor's neck. Click! It fit perfectly into place. The air grew hushed in the valley. "Now what?" Eric whispered. They heard a grunting noise behind them. "Uh-oh," Neal mumbled. The group turned around to find a fat, red-faced Ninn warrior standing over them. "I've been expecting you!" he growled.