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“Flying lizards. Big ones. With weird-looking red guys riding them…”
    “That’s not so normal,” Neal said.
    Thwang! A long, flaming arrow whistled past Eric’s ear.
    “Not so friendly, either! They’re attacking us!”
     

Three

Groggles and Ninns
     
    Thwang! Another arrow flew at them.
    Suddenly, flying lizards were everywhere. The riders on their backs were getting their bows ready for another shot.
    “Run back up to my house!” Eric shouted.
    “We can’t!” Julie said. “The steps are disappearing. Look!” She pointed. The stairs were fading into the mist. Vanishing into the pink sky.
    “Oh, man!” Neal cried. “I knew this would happen!”
    Thwang! A third flaming arrow shot by.
    “Follow me to the bottom,” Eric yelled. “We can hide in the trees!” He rushed down, jumping two steps with every jump.
    But the steps were disappearing under him.
    “No!” he cried. He tumbled into the air.
    “Ahhh!” Julie screamed.
    Neal shouted, “Grab onto the –”
    Eric didn’t hear the rest. He fell like a rock through the trees. Branches snapped and cracked around him.
    “Umph!” Eric moaned when he finally hit the ground. He lay there, facing the sky. For a second he couldn’t remember where he was.
    Then he saw the giant lizards circling lower.
    Kaww! Kaww! They dived toward him.
    “Holy cow!” Eric tried to crawl under a bush.
    “Ouch! My ankle!” he groaned. He must have hurt it in the fall. He could hardly move.
    The lizards swept even closer to the treetops. When they swooped, Eric saw the riders clearly. Their skin was as bright and shiny as red crayons!
    “Oh, man, I must be dreaming!” he whispered to himself. “A really bad dream, too.”
    “It’s bad,” said a voice. “But it’s no dream.”
    Eric turned his head. “Who said that?”
    “Shhh!” Suddenly the bushes before him began to move, and someone leaped out at him.
    It was a girl! She was dressed in a blue tunic. A thick brown belt was wound around her waist.
    Kaww! Kaww! The lizards swooped again.
    The girl picked up a pebble. She threw it hard. It hit a distant tree with a loud smack .
    “Over there!” cried a lizard rider, pointing to the tree. The lizards flew away.
    “Whoa, cool move!” Eric looked into the girl’s green eyes. Her skin was as pale as a cloud. “But…who are you?”
    “Keeah,” she said. “You must be from the Upper World. How did you get here?”
    Eric blinked when he thought of how to tell her. “I…uh…sort of…fell.”
    “You picked the worst place in all of Droon. Lord Sparr is very close. His red Ninns are everywhere, hunting for me on their flying groggles.”
    “Lord Sparr?” Eric repeated. “Ninns? Groggles?”
    “Did you hurt yourself?” The girl pressed her finger on Eric’s ankle.
    “Ouch!” Eric grunted.
    “It’s probably sprained.” Then the girl opened a small leather pouch on her wrist. She sprinkled some sparkly dust on Eric’s ankle. “Better?”
    His leg began to tingle. He moved his foot.
    “The pain’s gone. How did you do that?”
    “Never mind,” the girl said. She began to scribble on a piece of paper. “You have to help me. Find Galen and tell him to send this message to my father, King Zello.”
    “King?” Eric repeated. “You’re a princess?”
    “There they are! Get them!” a voice cried out from above.

    Fwap! Fwap! The lizards dived suddenly toward Keeah and Eric. They flapped to the ground and their red riders leaped off.
    “The Ninns have spotted us!” Keeah cried. She pushed the wrinkled scrap of paper into Eric’s hand. “Lord Sparr is a wizard. He’s pure evil. He will stop at nothing to conquer Droon. Now, hurry. You’ll find Galen in his tower.”
    “Tower?” said Eric. “I can’t find any tower. I’ve got to find my friends and get home!”
    The girl looked into his eyes. “If you’re from the Upper World, you’ll need help getting home. If you do this for me, I promise to help you. Now, I’ll distract