"Wow!" Perda thought when she saw Zira's mansion. "Things have changed since I left!"
"Zira made her house even bigger," Zann said. "And look! There are fancy houses all around now."
The humble shacks of Zira's closest neighbors had been replaced by large houses.
"I wonder if other people are figuring out how to use magic," Perda said hopefully. "That would be a good thing for Terrica."
Vilkor was nearby, heading toward Zira's front door. When he heard Perda's comment, he laughed.
"Don't be silly," Vilkor said. "Only a few trusted and worthy people know the secret of . . ." He glanced around and lowered his voice. "Friction."
"I see." Perda frowned. "So you and Zira are still hoarding all the magic power."
Vilkor shrugged. "Why not? That's how the world works. Some people have power, and some don't." He went inside.
"Let's go in and see if Mellis and Zing are safe," Zann said.
The front door opened into an enormous reception room. Zira was seated in a throne-like chair at the center, with several goons standing guard beside her. People in fancy clothes were sitting on sofas or chatting with one another. Perda didn't see Mellis or Zing though.
Zira was talking with one of the goons, but she looked up when Vilkor strutted toward her. "Oh, you're back." She didn't sound particularly pleased.
"Yes, and we need to talk." Vilkor put his hands on his hips. "It has come to my attention that you might be trying to take over this whole operation. I've been suspicious ever since you shared our secret with that shifty Krub."
Zira smirked. "So you're worried about losing a little power, are you? You're afraid I'll kick you out of the inner circle? Oh, dear." She snapped her fingers to create a large fireball, which she flung lazily in Vilkor's direction.
He dodged it. "Hey! You could have burned me!"
"She created that fireball so easily," Zann whispered. "It reminds me of Morb. Nobody believed that a Void could have that much power."
Perda thought about what Zann had said. "Yes, Zira seems powerful and scary," she murmured. "Still, most of the magic she uses is flashy but fairly easy to counteract. For instance, I had no trouble zapping out of that Compel spell."
Zann nodded thoughtfully. "I see what you mean. That fireball looked impressive, but it didn't even come close to hitting Vilkor."
"Zira is quick and clever about learning magic. But maybe she's not quite as powerful as she's making herself seem." Perda stepped forward. "Hey, Zira!" she shouted. "You have no right to hold Mellis prisoner. We demand that you release her—along with the dragon—right away!"
Zira frowned when she saw Perda and Zann. "How did you—? Oh, never mind. I have no time to deal with bratty children right now."
She clapped her hands to create several large fireballs.
Perda didn't flinch as they came toward her and Zann. Instead, she snapped her fingers and created a glowing purple shield that easily repelled the missiles, causing them to bounce back toward Zira.
"Hey!" Zira ducked, falling out of her throne. The goons also dodged the fireballs, shouting with dismay. One of them didn't move quite fast enough and ended up with a singed shoulder.
"Get ready," Perda whispered to Zann. "She'll try to scare us, but just remember that we know more magic than she does."
Zann nodded, rubbing his hands together vigorously. "Join friction," he whispered back.
Perda held out her shackled hands, and Zann started rubbing them. Within seconds, magic energy was crackling around them.
"That wasn't funny," Zira snarled. "You'll be sorry you tried to humiliate me."
She rubbed her hands together. Angry red smoke appeared, billowing away from Zira. People coughed and fainted as it reached them.
Perda thought quickly. "Rain!" she said.
Sheets of water poured down from the ceiling, beating down the smoke until it disappeared. The people who were still conscious ran around in confusion or crawled under the furniture to protect themselves from the downpour.
Zira snapped her fingers to create an umbrella. Then she strode forward. "Don't be cowards, kids," she said. "Face me without your silly magical wall."
"Sure, why not?" Perda snapped her fingers, and the shield disappeared. So did the rain. "We're not afraid of you."
"You should be." Zira rubbed her hands. An enormous fireball appeared, almost as big as Zira herself.
As it flew toward her and Zann, Perda sighed loudly. "Don't you know how to do anything else?" she commented. "I mean, really—this is getting boring."
She used a Deflect spell to send the fireball spinning upward. Then she used a Levitation spell to lift Zira off her feet. The woman dangled in the air, her eyes wide with alarm.
"Put me down!" Zira shouted.
Perda obeyed. As soon as the woman's feet touched the floor, Zira clapped her hands. Right away a gorzog appeared.
"Whoa!" Zann cried. "I thought you couldn't create animals with magic!"
"You can't." Perda could see that the gorzog looked surprised and confused. "Zira just transported it here from somewhere else."
The gorzog regained its senses enough to snarl and leap toward Perda. But Perda was ready. "Cage," she thought. A sturdy cage formed around the creature in midair and then crashed to the floor.
Zira looked surprised. But she recovered quickly. "Ah, well done," she said smoothly. "You've proven yourselves and passed my test." She turned toward Vilkor. "It was wise of you to bring them here, my trusted friend."
Vilkor tilted his head. "Huh?"
Zira ignored him. She turned back to Zann and Perda. "Welcome to the inner circle, you two."