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we
do.”
    Nia grabbed a piece of bacon and chewed
slowly.
    “ But Grandpa is
investigating Caldbeck,” I pointed out. “And we have assignments to
do.”
    “ We could always just stop
by Caldbeck on our way to Giza,” Rena suggested.
    Nia chocked on her bacon. “Stop by
Caldbeck?” she said. “People don’t just stop by Caldbeck.
Once you’re there, you’re there. You’re crazy.”
    “ Maybe,” Rena admitted,
crestfallen.
    I, however, knew why Rena was so
gung-ho about Caldbeck and gave a small smile. “I think we should
try it,” I declared. Rena, Nia, and my house all made a noise of
surprise. “I want to know what I have to live up to. And I know you
want to find out how Grandpa’s doing, sis.”
    “ I agree,” came a small
voice from my neck.
    I jumped and rolled my eyes. “Londa,
you’ve got to stop doing that.”
    “ Well, what do you want me
to do, ring a bell whenever I want to say something?” Yolonda
replied. “Anyway, I know there aren’t any rules on visitors at
Caldbeck. We could sneak around for a minute, see if we can find
your gramps, and if not, on to Giza to dance the zombie
dance.”
    “ You think it could work?”
Rena breathed, her eyes dancing with excitement. “You really think
we could get in find someone?”
    “ I don’t see why not,”
Yolonda kept on, her voice beginning to swell with pride. “I’ve
been here on Turgor for thousands of years, before Caldbeck was
even built, and I happen to have a cousin who knows the ins and
outs of the place.”
    “ Oh yeah?” Nia asked,
sucking her teeth. “And exactly where is this cousin?”
Yolonda mumbled something incoherent. Nia leaned forward and raised
her eyebrows. “I’m waiting.”
    “ Well, Cousin Finny
is...complicated. See, he’s...um...well, he’s buried. Alive, if you
must know.”
    “ He’s buried alive?” I
echoed, wincing. I didn’t like where Yolonda was going with this.
“Why?”
    “ Because he made people
angry and they sort of overreacted...but he really is a cool guy.
All we—”
    “ You sure like using we a lot, Yolonda,” Nia snorted.
    “— have to do is dig him up
and bring him with us. He can be our compass.” Yolonda finished,
unperturbed by Nia’s accusations. “Easy as one, two,
three.”
    Dia sighed. “Yolonda, where exactly is
Mr. Finny located?”
    “ He’s buried underneath
Nipsin’s Lodge.”
    “ And of course, you’re
speaking of the Nipsin’s Lodge that is inside the KaKonian
Bubble?”
    “ Yup.” Yolonda said, unaware
that Dia had begun to quake.
    I looked around the table at my sister
and friend. “What’s Nipsin’s Lodge?”

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER EIGHT
     
     
    “ OH, THE BARREL OF
ROM
    HAS COME AND HAS
GONE
    AS TRAVELERS MOVE
AND
    MAKE WAAAAAYYYY
    BUT DEAR OLD BEARD
JACK
    HAS SNATCHED ‘EM RIGHT
BACK
    AND THE RUM MAKES SURE
THEY
    STAYYYYY!
    IN HERE YOU COME
    FOR SOME OR FOR
NONE
    EACH HAS ITS OWN
MISFORTUNOUS
    DAYYYYYYYSSS!
    BUT ONE SLIP OF
TONGUE
    AND YOU NOW OWN
NONE
    FOR DEAR OLD BEARD
JACK
    THE PRICE YOU
PAYYYYY!”
     
    “ You’ve got to be kidding
me,” I whispered to my companions as we watched the thick crowd in
the small little shack bump glasses and roar the song with
ferocity. We were crouched down behind the hut and peering through
the small opening of wood that just happened to be shaped like a
fist. Nia insisted that we dress in all black, and as I watched in
awe I became very appreciative she had. Inside were all shapes and
sizes of men, creatures, and the occasional woman in a tattered
dress, who looked like she had been kidnapped and had no chance of
escaping. A very tall creature with thick nostrils, no hair and
harsh, green teeth growled, slammed his fist down onto the rickety
table, and demanded more rum.
    “ Troll,” Nia whispered. “And
the thing there...that’s a KaKonian.” She pointed to a medium
height man who was a violet color and had bright white eyes. Smoke
rose out of his