Raya hadn’t seen Namaari for six years, but she recognized her at once. Namaari’s head was shaved on one side, just as it had been when she was a girl, and her face wore the same cold, haughty expression.

A surge of hatred washed through Raya at the sight of her old foe. “Namaari.”

“What’s dripping, dep la?” Namaari sneered. “Oh, I see you finally made a new friend. And here I was worried you were gonna end up becoming a cat lady. Like me.”

At that, Namaari’s Serlots, felines of unusual size from the Land of Fang, slinked into the chamber. She ran a hand over the head of her monstrous cat, who held perfectly still except for the tip of its tail, which flicked back and forth as if the Serlot was waiting for the chance to pounce.

“Something tells me you’re not besties?” Sisu whispered to Raya.

“Stealing Dragon Gem pieces, are we? Why?” Namaari asked.

“What can I say? Bling is my thing,” Raya retorted.

“I gotta admit, Raya, until a few months ago I thought you were stone. But then someone stole Fang’s ancient manuscript—” Namaari started.

“Oh, is that why you’re chasing me? And here I thought it was because you missed me,” Raya interrupted, throwing Namaari the folded-up manuscript.

Namaari caught it. “Are you really looking for Sisu? What are you? Twelve?”

“I actually was looking for Sisu. Ooh, and guess what? I found her.” Raya kept her voice steady. But her eyes darted around the room, searching for an escape.

Sisu glanced at Raya with alarm. Namaari looked startled.

“Say hi, Sisu,” Raya said with a smile.

“Hi! It’s very nice to meet you. And I love your hair—and your cats’…hair,” Sisu said.

Namaari was not amused. “Take them,” she commanded. Her warriors raised their crossbows.

With a deft kick, Raya tripped the wire connected to the skeleton’s hand.

An ominous rumble came from overhead. The trapdoor over the entrance fell open. A mountain of sand poured down on the Fang warriors and their Serlots.

As Namaari and her soldiers struggled to dig themselves out, Raya grabbed Sisu and swung them both back across the chasm. “Run!” she told Sisu.

Sisu fell onto all fours and tried to run on her hands and legs. She had forgotten she had a human body!

“Not like that! Two legs!” Raya hollered.

“Right!” Sisu hopped to her feet and hurried after Raya, weaving crazily on her unsteady legs.

Raya glanced back. Namaari and her gang were almost clear of the sand. She had to find another way to slow them down.

As they charged through the tunnel, Raya ran her hands along the walls, disturbing the toot-and-booms. The beetles swarmed, filling the tunnel with tiny, fiery explosions. Behind them, Raya heard curses and shouts as the Fang warriors dodged the blasts.

Moments later, Raya and Sisu burst out into the bright sunlight. Tuk Tuk was standing right where they’d left him. Raya had never been so happy to see her roly-poly friend.

She leapt onto his saddle, then pulled Sisu up behind her. “Tuk Tuk, go!” Raya screamed.

Tuk Tuk rolled into a ball, and they tore away.

As they barreled through narrow canyons, away from the Tail ruins, Sisu looked back over her shoulder. “Who was that girl?” she asked.

“That’s Namaari,” Raya said through gritted teeth. “She’s the backstabbing binturi that broke the world.”

“Wow,” Sisu said, looking back. “Those cats are really fast, huh?”

Raya looked back, too. Namaari and her soldiers were following. The Serlots bounded easily over the rocky landscape. They were closing the distance fast. Raya knew it would take more than just speed to escape them.

They had almost reached the Kumandran River. Ahead was the port of Tail, a sleepy cluster of wooden houses and ramshackle docks. A cluster of boats bobbed in the muddy water.

Raya suddenly had an idea. “What do cats and Druun have in common?” she said, thinking aloud.

Sisu paused, as if giving the question serious thought. “Um…they have no…souls!”

Raya raised an eyebrow. That wasn’t exactly the answer she’d been expecting. “And they both hate water,” she replied.

“Oh.”

“Hold on!”

The Serlots were almost upon them. With a sudden swerve to the left, Raya steered Tuk Tuk over the edge of the embankment. They sailed down and landed with a splash in the water.

Tuk Tuk started swimming toward the nearest boat, a low wooden skiff with what appeared to be a giant crustacean on its roof.

Raya glanced back. Namaari and the Fang warriors had turned and were heading toward the docks.

When Raya reached the boat, she climbed aboard. Sisu and Tuk Tuk were close behind. “Hello?” Raya called. “Is anybody here?”

“Welcome to the world-famous Shrimporium!”

A boy popped up, startling her. He was dressed in a vest and loose-fitting pants. The hair above his forehead stood straight up in a cowlick.

“My name is Boun. I’ll be your server today. Would you like to hear our daily specials?” he asked, producing chairs and a table like a magician performing a trick.

“Yes, please!” Sisu said, falling into a chair.

“We got shrimp. We got congee. We got a shrimp congee that won’t quit,” Boun recited.

“The captain! Where is the captain?” Raya cried.

“Let me get him,” the boy replied.

He walked away a few paces, then turned back to them. “What’s up, my new customers? I’m Captain Boun, the owner, chef, and chief financial officer of the Shrimporium,” the boy said. “How can I help you?”

With that, he started dancing. Sisu was very impressed. “Well, I’m Sisu and—”

“And we need to get to Talon. Now,” Raya insisted, watching Namaari and the Fang warriors arrive at the docks. In another minute, they would reach them.

Boun folded his arms. “I’m sorry, the Shrimporium is not a water taxi.”

From her satchel, Raya produced blocks of jade. She held them out.

Boun’s jaw fell open. “Toi! That’s a lotta jade!”

Raya offered half to him. “Half now, half when we arrive in Talon. Deal?”

Boun grabbed the jade and shoved it into his pocket. “Clasp on to your congee. Today’s special is…” He raised one eyebrow and smiled. “To go.”

Tuk Tuk was about to take a bite of his food when Boun whisked it away!

Then the boy picked up a long pole and pushed the boat away from the dock. It inched out into the river with the approximate speed of oozing mud.

“Uh…Captain Boun? Does this thing go any faster?” Raya asked as the Serlots bounded onto the wooden docks.

“Whoa. You didn’t tell me Fang was after you!” Boun shot back. “This is gonna cost extra!”

“Don’t worry. I got it!” Sisu shouted. Without waiting for a reply, Sisu leapt over the side of the boat. They heard her splash.

Boun gaped. “What is she doing?”

Boun couldn’t see Sisu from where he was standing. But Raya could. As soon as Sisu hit the water, she changed back into a dragon. She grabbed the bottom of the boat and pushed it down the river, using her tail as a propeller.

As the boat lurched forward, Boun and Raya looked at each other in amazement. “Whoa!”

“What is happening?” Boun cried.

“My friend’s a really strong swimmer,” Raya said, trying to sound as if this was the sort of thing that happened every day.

Namaari and her warriors arrived at the end of the dock just in time to see the boat speeding away. Namaari’s face contorted in fury.

Raya grinned and gave her a big, friendly wave. “Bye-bye, binturi!”

Seething, Namaari watched them go.

“Princess Namaari,” said a Fang officer, “they’re after Gem pieces. Their next stop would be Talon.”

Namaari considered this with narrowed eyes. Then she dismissed the idea. “We’re not following them to Talon. We’re going back to Fang. I need to speak with Chief Virana.”

Without waiting for a reply, Namaari turned her Serlot around and started for home.