She retains her bright feathers as she grows. She changes her face first, so at first she’s bird-girl. Her tail retracts, but her feathered wings still flutter. Slowly, her feathers turn into smooth skin, starting with her feet and slowly moving up her body.
Again, the tribe doesn’t move. They don’t raise their spears.
“Espirito,” the leader says.
<He called her a spirit,> Marco translates.
<Cassie, nod,> Jake directs.
Cassie nods. She holds out her arms as though she is gathering the tribe to her. It is a welcoming gesture. You realize she is telling them not to be afraid.
<Now draw a Hork-Bajir with a stick,> Jake tells her.
Cassie bends over and draws the Hork-Bajir in the dust. It’s not a great drawing, but the Hork-Bajir are pretty distinctive.
“Diablo,” the leader says.
<Devil,> Marco says.
Cassie nods.
<Now draw the Blade ship,> Jake directs. <They need to understand that we have to get aboard.>
Cassie draws the Blade ship. She points to herself and the ship. Then she points to the leader and stabs the Hork-Bajir with her stick.
The leader grins. He throws his spear.
<Cassie!> Rachel cries.
But the spear just misses Cassie and lands at her feet. Straight into the center of the Hork-Bajir drawing.
Cassie smiles. The leader smiles.
You all say CA-CA-CA-Err-EPP-Err-EPP!
* * *
Cassie needs time to recover from her morph, so you all rest in human form. With a combination of signs and pointing, Cassie has arranged to meet up with the tribe again just as dusk falls.
Your parrot morph was successful. You met up with the tribe and escaped the notice of the Hork-Bajir. But you need another morph to sneak aboard the Blade ship.
You choose:
Chameleon. Go to chapter 21.
Poison-arrow frog. Go to chapter 26.
Jaguar. Go to chapter 27.
The parasol ant morph makes sense. Who notices an ant? You congratulate yourself on your bright idea.
Until you’re an ant. The others had really warned you about this morph. They told you how hard it was to hang onto their own selves during it. The ant has no self. It is focused on solely food and enemies and getting back to the colony.
So you thought you were prepared. But the loss of self frightens you intensely. Your antennae wave in front of you, smelling for food and enemies.
<Stay focused, everyone,> Jake orders.
You start up a tree. That’s what you’re supposed to do. Got to find food.
<Let’s get this over with,> Marco says. <I hate the ant morph.>
<I must admit, this is not a creature I would want to morph again,> Ax says.
<Hold it!> Tobias warns. <I only see five of you.>
The others tick off a roll call. You don’t answer. You’re halfway up the tree now. You’ve got to keep going.
Food is up here. You can bring food back to the colony. You smell something dead. A beetle. You will dismember it, carry pieces back.
<Guys, we have a problem,> Tobias says.
<Get a hold of yourself! You’re not an ant!> Jake yells at you.
And your human mind screams to life. You don’t want to dismember a beetle. A beetle leg is not your idea of good eating.
<All right,> you say shakily. <I’m back. I’m okay. But whew. That was a close one.>
Closer than you think. Because hanging on a tree branch over you is a sloth. And she’s hungry.
She hangs onto the branch with her tail while her head swings past you. Her long tongue swoops out, and —
SLURP! You’re lunch.
Not your best morph. Go back to the end of chapter 17 and try again.
First, your skin turns green.
“Are we Martians or reptiles?” Marco is just able to get out before he is unable to speak. The rest of his complaint sounds like ack ack.
<I love this tail!> Cassie thought-speaks.
You know what she means. A chameleon’s tail is almost like a monkey’s — curled and strong. You roll your eyes. One goes left, the other right. You can get a 180-degree view without turning your head.
You follow behind the others as you make your way to the perimeter of the landing site.
<Okay, remember, when you see Visser Three in the window of the Blade ship, it’s only a decoy,> Jake says. <That’s what he did in the last Sario Rip. So all we have to do is come to the ship from behind. And meanwhile, the tribe will cover us with a diversion.>
<If all goes as planned,> you say.
<Which it never does,> Marco adds.
<The tribe is in place,> Tobias tells you. <Visser Three is in Lerdethak mode. I can see the vines moving.>
Jake has told you about Visser Three’s morph. The Lerdethak is as tall as a tree. It has hundreds of vinelike tentacles. They can strike like whips and squeeze all the breath out of you. Then the Lerdethak can just pop you in its cavernous mouth like Good and Plenty.
It’s an experience you’re happy to skip.
<It’s dusk,> Cassie observes. <Time for the tribe to attack.>
Your coloring protects you as you scurry along the floor. You belong to the forest, are part of the forest. You can hear the sound of Hork-Bajir in the distance, but you are quick and agile and unafraid. You let the chameleon’s instincts take over.
Because if you let your human mind start to think, it will fill up with fear. You are running toward Visser Three. Not away from him.
<The tribe is attacking!> Tobias, the lookout, tells you. <They keep melting back into the forest. The Hork-Bajir are going crazy.>
<Get onto the Blade ship, Tobias,> Jake urges while he runs. <Do it!>
You are running flat out now. A chameleon can’t run very fast, not as fast as a jaguar, but you reach the burned-out clearing. The Blade ship looms ahead.
Jake goes first. Then Rachel. One by one, moving as fast as you dare, but keeping to the dark green shadows, you approach the huge, black ship. The gangway is down. You all scamper up it,
