hair.
He broke away from her and charged at me again. He sniffed my sweatshirt and
jeans. Then he crawled under the table and sniffed Marissa’s hiking boots.
“Get away, Luka!” Ivanna ordered. “Off! Off!” She turned to me. “He’s a good
boy. He’s just nosy. He’ll calm down—once he gets to know you.”
“Gets to know us?” Marissa demanded, watching Luka scurry over to Silverdog
by the stove.
“Luka will be a big help to you when you enter the Fantasy Forest,” Ivanna
said with a smile.
“He’s coming with us?” I cried.
Ivanna nodded. “He will be your guide. And he will protect you.” Her
expression turned solemn. Then she added softly, “You need all the help you can
get.”
We finished our soup quickly. Silverdog and Luka watched us from beside the
stove.
When we finished, Ivanna led us to a small back room. The room was bare
except for two cots.
“You will sleep here,” she said sternly.
“But our dad—” Marissa started.
Ivanna raised a hand to silence her. “You want to find the silver chest—don’t you? You want to surprise your father and make him proud—don’t you?”
Marissa and I nodded.
“Then you will take the test. If you pass it, I will tell you how to find the
chest.”
She dropped a coarse wool blanket onto each cot. “Sleep quickly,” she
instructed. “The test begins first thing in the morning.”
I awoke slowly. Stretched. Turned and reached to push the blanket off me.
No blanket.
Had I kicked it onto the floor?
I blinked several times, trying to clear the sleep from my eyes.
How long had I slept?
Sunlight streamed all around.
Yawning, I sat up. Started to climb off the cot.
But the cot had disappeared, too.
“Hey—!” I cried out when I realized the cabin had also disappeared.
“Where am I?”
I was sitting on the grass, fully dressed. I blinked, waiting for my eyes to
adjust to the bright morning sunlight. The grass still shimmered wetly from the
morning dew.
I stood up. My mouth dry. Feeling stunned.
Nothing but forest all around.
My mind whirled. Ivanna had said the test would begin first thing in the
morning.
Had it already begun? Was I in the Fantasy Forest?
Had the test begun before I awoke?
Rubbing my eyes, I turned to Marissa. “Where are we?” I asked, my voice still
hoarse from sleep. I cleared my throat. “Do you think—”
I stopped with a gasp when I realized Marissa wasn’t there.
I was alone.
Alone in the middle of the forest.
“Marissa—?” I called, feeling the panic tighten my chest. Where was she?
Where was I ?
“Marissa—? Marissa—?”
15
“Marissa—?”
My voice cracked. My throat tightened.
I heard a low growl from the trees. The thud and crackle of heavy animal
footsteps.
I turned to the sound. And watched Luka come hopping out of the forest. He
stood on his two feet like a man. But he hopped like a rabbit. Scratching the
thick fur on one leg, he grinned at me as he came near.
I didn’t grin back. “Where is Marissa?” I demanded. “Where is my sister?”
He tilted his head and stared at me, confused.
“Marissa!” I screamed at him. “Where is Marissa?”
“Over here!”
I jumped when her voice leaped out at me. “Where are you?” I called.
I saw a flash of her red hair. Then she poked her head out from behind a
wide, leafy bush.
“Over here,” she repeated. “You were still asleep. So I thought I’d explore.”
“You scared me to death!” I admitted. I began trotting through the tall grass
and weeds, eager to join her. “Where are we?” I demanded. “What happened to
Ivanna’s cabin?”
Marissa shrugged. “Beats me. I woke up—and here we were.”
Behind us, Luka growled.
I turned and saw him pawing the dirt, like a dog. “Do you think he’s part
human?” I whispered to Marissa.
She didn’t seem to hear me. She pointed to a spot between two trees. “I found
a path over there. Do you think we’re supposed to follow