Story (c) Llee
Everything else (c) Susan Cooper

Author's note~
Just a little clear up here, Novia and her mom, Mrs. Senalda, are NOT going to Las Vegas. They're going to a city close by. That's why Novia said in the last chapter that they weren't quite there yet. The city is Laughlin, Nevada, a great place for jet skiing since it has a river running through it. They went to the Las Vegas airport because Laughlin doesn't have one. You ok on that? Cool.
And I drew the Six. I drew them all in lion form, my specialty, except for Corbin, who I drew as a black panther. I wish I could show you all, but alas, I do not have a scanner. Blah.

Reviewers~
Thanks for reviewing, and just for the sake of time, I'm not going to reply to everyone's reviews separately. Just to keep it fair and square. I'll still commend those who have reviewed anyway. Thanks, Wild Magick Girl, Alana the Rain Goddess, Rosaline (Cherry Blossom 29), and Azure Hope! Glad you took the time to review my little story. *lusk* (Lusk is my shortened word for 'sticks tongue out') Well, I think everything went haywire for Will because he wasn't /fully/ in his power (words that are in between //'s means they're in italics). I love Corbin. *grin* I drew him with the raven feather as well. And no, I won't tell you anything yet... about Novia and Corbin. I'm even having trouble deciding whom Jane would be better with... Will or Bran? I think Bran. I don't know. It just seems that way to me. I still need opinions here. I practically analyzed my entire name on what it means and everything. *lusk* How weird of me. Anyway, have any of you noticed that Senalda is Spanish, too? I mean, what does that tell you about Novia? And I looked up Corbin again and found that it's Latin. It means "dark as a raven." How fitting. *grin* Read on and find out what will happen next! Hehe.

Chapter 4~
Three

'Come on, Jane. It'll be fun!' Barney pleaded.

'Oh... I can't. I'd rather stay at the hotel,' Jane said stubbornly.

'It'll be great! Just like a... a carnival ride!'

Jane bit her lip in thought.

'Don't worry, it's not the least bit frightening. You won't have to go on for long, just a few minutes are quite satisfactory. You can read the rest of the time or something. This is the whole reason why we're here! You can't miss out on this chance of a lifetime!'

Jane sighed. 'All right, I'll go,' she said, waving an imaginary white flag of surrender.

Barney beamed. 'I thought you'd never have agreed!'

'I wonder why I did,' Jane mumbled.

'Hurry, we leave in a couple minutes!' Barney said excitedly. He bounced up and down, his sunlight blonde hair flying up with him.

'See you in a minute or two.' Jane waved and went into her room.

'Oh, hello, Jane.'

Jane looked up. 'Oh, hello, Miss Alondra.'

'Are you going jet skiing with the boys?'

'Why yes.'

'Have a wonderful time. I was just getting my hat.'

'Yes, ma'am.' Jane said politely.

The amiable woman left with her sunbonnet. She and her brother had taken Jane and her brothers to see the Colorado River. Miss Alondra was a friend of Mrs. Drew, Jane's mother.

Jane changed into her swimsuit. She wore short jeans on top and a loose T-shirt. She slipped on her slippers. She tightened her ponytail and stepped out into the hallway. She knocked on her brothers' room.

'Oh, hullo, Jane. Come on in.'

Jane stepped inside. She sighed. 'I am really going to regret this.'

'Oh no, jet skiing is awfully fun. You'll love it!'

'Thanks, Simon. I just...'

'Yea, well, no one's perfect. Don't worry. It won't kill you. It'll be fun. Trust me.'

Jane frowned doubtfully. 'When are we leaving?'

'Right now. Let's go!'

'Where's Barney?'

'Putting on sunscreen. He'll be right out.'

'Oh, ok.'

'Come on you guys!' Barney came rushing towards them, white smears of sunscreen still visible on his face. 'We have no time to waste!' He grabbed them by their arms and dragged them outside.

'He sure is strong for his age.'

'I've been drinking milk. Now, come on!' Barney excitedly pushed them to the elevators. He punched the down button. He hopped impatiently from one foot to the other.

'Calm down, Barney. We have to wait for Mr. Alondra and Miss Alondra,' Simon uttered.

The elevator door opened with a ding. Barney dashed inside. 'Come on you guys! Let's go. I'm sure they'll catch up later.'

Simon shrugged and stepped into the elevator. Jane frowned, looking back down the hall. Then reluctantly getting in, too. 'We should really wait for them,' Jane said worriedly.

'They know where we are. Don't worry about it.' The elevator door shut. Soft elevator music played. Ding! The elevator doors swung open. The three stepped out. Barney ran towards the hotel door. 'Wait, Barney!' Simon ran up behind him, tugging on his collar.

'Ow! What?'

'You shouldn't go rushing off like that,' Jane scolded, catching up. 'We should wait for Mr. Alondra and Miss Alondra. You know you should. Who knows what could happen? We could have been kidnapped or something.'

Barney rolled his eyes. 'Come on, Jane. You worry too much. I'm sure they'll be right along.'

'Well, we should wait anyway,' Jane said stubbornly.

'All right, all right. Let's wait, Barney. Before she gets even more insistent about it.' Simon sighed and sat on a nearby bench. Barney and Jane followed.

'Where are they?' Barney said impatiently.

'I don't know. They should be here by now,' Jane said. Her worried tone of voice was returning.

'Let's go back and check. Something might be up.'

'Ok.'

The three stepped back onto the elevator. They rode up and up. Ding! The doors slided open.

'Oh!' They all said at the same time. Mr. Alondra, Miss Alondra, and another lady were standing outside the elevator, obviously waiting for it.

Miss Alondra had a surprised look on her face. 'Oh, hello, children. We were just heading down. We were waiting for you, but Vasco thought you had already gone down. I guess he was right then.' She smiled. Mr. Alondra stuffed his hands in his pockets gruffly

The other lady peered at the children with interest.

'Oh, this is Mrs. Senalda. We were old friends. Small world, isn't it? Well, say hello.'

'Hello,' they said politely.

'I have a daughter, Novia. Maybe you'd like to meet her.' Mrs. Senalda smiled.

The three smiled meekly at the towering woman with short, wavy black hair. 'That would be lovely,' Jane spoke up.

'Wonderful. She's in her room right now, but later maybe you can go jet skiing. If, that is, you don't have other plans?'

'Oh! We were planning to go right now!' Barney exclaimed.

'That's great! Novia will be out shortly.'

Simon had to keep pressing the "open" button throughout the conversation.

'Well, let's go down. I'm sure you guys are impatient to get to the river.' Miss Alondra and Mr. Alondra stepped into the elevator. 'Aren't you coming, Tierra?'

'No, I'll wait for Novia. I'll catch up later.'

The doors closed, and they fell down, down into space.