Free The Lost City of Faar by D.J. MacHale Page A

few feet of us. This was going right down to the finish line. And . . .
    We won! We passed the marker buoy first. With an exuberant “Yes!” Uncle Press killed the engine.
    But Spader didn’t stop. He kept on full throttle, headed toward the water dock. All we could do was watch him in wonder.
    â€œMaybe he is crazy,” I said.
    Uncle Press gunned the engine and followed him in, though at a safer speed. What I saw in the next few seconds was amazing. As I told you before, Spader jammed into Grallion at full throttle and full speed for these skimmers were fast . I saw a handful of dock workers go wide-eyed and scramble out of the way in anticipation of the nasty crash that was sure to follow.
    Spader didn’t flinch. He drove his skimmer right toward the dock. In seconds he would be mush. But with only a few yards to spare he hit the water brakes and spun the skimmer—later he called it autorotating—into a complete 360 that killed all his speed. With a rush of water caused by his turn, he slid sideways and barely kissed the dock. Without missing a beat, he jumped out, turned back to us, made a deep bow and said, “You lose, mates.”
    We pulled up slowly in our skimmer. All I could do was applaud. Forget anything they’ve ever shown on those network stunt shows, this was hands down the most amazing thing I had ever seen.
    â€œOh, no,” Uncle Press called out to him. He was trying to sound angry though I know he wasn’t. “We all play by the same rules. We passed the buoy first.”
    â€œBut the race was to Grallion!” answered Spader. “That buoy isn’t Grallion. Almost doesn’t count.”
    Spader was laughing. So was Uncle Press. Maybe this trip to Cloral was going to be fun after all.
    â€œSpader!” came an annoyed voice from above the dock.
    We all looked up to see a woman wearing what looked like some kind of uniform standing on a catwalk above the dock. She looked ticked.
    â€œWu Yenza,” Uncle Press whispered to me. “Chief aquaneer.”
    â€œSpader’s boss?” I asked.
    â€œYeah, Spader’s boss.”
    â€œUh-oh.”
    Yenza looked to be in her thirties. She had short black hair and was in pretty good shape. I guess all aquaneers had to be in good shape. She wore a black outfit that was similar to Spader’s, but it had long sleeves with yellow stripes near the cuff that gave it a kind of military feel. I’d go so far as to say she was kind of hot, in an older woman way.
    â€œNow, Spader!” shouted Yenza. She then stormed off.
    Spader turned to us and gave a little shrug. He didn’t look all that nervous about the slamming he was sure to get.
    â€œLet’s call it a tie, right, mates?” he said with a smile. “Sniggers on me at Grolo’s, soon as I can make it!”
    With that he turned and bounded up the stairs that led offthe dock and into the bowels of Grallion—and to deep trouble for him.
    â€œHe’s doomed,” I said.
    â€œNah. He’ll get yelled at and told never to be so reckless again. But they won’t do anything to him. Everyone likes Spader. He’s the best aquaneer they’ve got.”
    We maneuvered the skimmer to the dock, tied it up, and stepped onto the floating platform.
    â€œYou didn’t answer my question,” I said.
    â€œWhat question was that, Bobby? You’ve got so many.”
    â€œIs Spader the Traveler from Cloral?”
    Uncle Press didn’t answer right away. He busied himself getting our air globes and fins out of the skimmer. I knew he wasn’t ignoring me, but the fact that I didn’t get a simple yes or no made me nervous.
    â€œYes,” he finally answered. “Spader is the Traveler from Cloral.”
    â€œI knew it!” I shouted.
    â€œThere’s just one thing. Spader doesn’t know it yet. He has no idea that he’s a Traveler. We’re going to have to tell