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“What do you think I do? Kill them?” she asked indignantly.

“No, no, I just…well, yes,” Jackson stammered.

Rayaa shook her head angrily. “Tranquilizers. Effect lasts ten seconds. Come with me.”

Jackson fell in step with Rayaa. He looked over his shoulder for Meeka, but she had climbed up onto one of the golden perches of the cage and was stroking a blue chicken. She squeaked at it. It seemed to be enjoying the chin scratch.

“Crubbies are very mischievous,” Rayaa began. “They know that the birds can’t chew gum. So they blow bubbles in the birds’ faces.”

“Why do the birds want to chew gum?” Jackson asked.

Rayaa looked at him strangely. “Don’t you like to chew gum?”

“Well, of course I do.”

“Do you think you’re the only one in the world who likes to chew gum? Honestly!” Rayaa tossed her hair. “Anyway, they blow bubbles in the birds’ faces, and it vexes the birds. It frustrates them to the point of trying to chew gum themselves, when clearly they shouldn’t chew gum.”

“Why can’t they chew gum?”

“This is why,” she said, and they stopped in front of a very strange sight.

The strange sight was not the new birdcage that stood before them. It was not the many birds perched within it. What was strange was that they were all eerily quiet. And if you’ve ever been in the presence of birds, you know that they never shut up. However, what was even stranger, oh yes, even stranger than

quiet birds, was that the birds were all covered in a weird pink goo.

“Gum,” confirmed Rayaa. “These birds gave into temptation and tried to chew a few pieces, poor things. Got gum all over themselves, and their beaks are now stuck. They have to stay here for a few days while I clean them.”

“How do you get gum off a bird?”

“With ice cubes and lemon juice of course. Don’t you ever get gum stuck in your hair?”

Jackson got a little frustrated with Rayaa, and rightly so. She was smart and sometimes you can get frustrated with smart people because they are just so darn smart.

Jackson changed the subject. “So what do the birds do?”

“They sing, of course!”

“Yes,” (he was a little exasperated now), “but why are they in cages?”

“So they can sleep at night! Listen, do you really know so little about birds?”

Jackson changed the subject. “So, Meeka’s your sister?”

“Yes, she is. I used to be a tour guide too, but I was promoted to Hunter. She still has a long way to go before she’s promoted.”

“Why is that?”

“Well…she always manages to find trouble.”

Jackson nodded. Meeka was definitely one of those people…er, elves, whose curiosity always got the best of them.

A piercing shriek shattered the air.

Chapter 28

A Chapter with Lots of Shrieking (Perhaps You Should Put in Earplugs before Continuing)

There are many different kinds of shrieks. There are the quick shrieks, like when someone startles you. And the long shrieks, like when your mom sees a mouse. There is her angry shriek, like when you’ve left the kitchen a mess, again. And there’s the sad shriek, like when your dad finds all of his tomato plants uprooted by the dog.

But this was a different shriek.

A loud, horrified shriek.

Jackson and Rayaa ran back toward the beautiful cage with the amazing birds.

It was quite a sight.

The amazing birds were attacking Meeka. Not attacking like they were trying to pluck her eyes out or anything, but they were flying all over her. She shrieked again, waving her arms wildly in the air as a bright pink finch snatched at her hand.

“Meeka! Drop the gum!” Rayaa yelled.

Meeka couldn’t hear her for all the birds screeching. Rayaa ran toward the cage, rifle in hand. A crubbie slunk away, a little pink bubble forming on its mouth. Meeka shrieked again.

Rayaa leapt onto the golden perch and knocked an orange woodpecker off Meeka’s arm. She grabbed Meeka’s hand, pried her fingers open, grabbed the gum, and threw it. The birds squawked angrily.

“Jackson! Hide the gum!”

Jackson didn’t think twice. He dove to the ground, and his fingers snatched the gum as it flew through the air. He