Chapter 20
“O MG!” Paige squealed as she stared down at the scales on her skin. “What happened?”
“You tell me!” Dewey shouted back, studying the smooth porcelain skin covering his body. “I’m wearing your skin!”
“I’m wearing your scales,” she answered, with a grimace.
“Whoa,” Devon said before his jaw fell open. “You switched appearances.”
“Thank you for stating the obvious, pal,” Dewey said. “Wonder if my wings still work.”
He flapped the smooth, bat-like wings and fluttered upward. “Yep, they work. Whew.”
“What do you mean ‘whew?’” Paige shrieked. “I’m covered in teal scales! We can’t stay like this.”
“No duh, Paige. But there’s not much we can do about it right now.”
“Uh, sorry, but I think it should be our first priority. I can’t stay like this.” She fidgeted, wiggling her shoulders and scratching at her side. “These itch.”
Dewey wagged a finger at her. “Hey, stop insulting my scales.”
“Okay, just calm down. This had to have happened because you came through the portal together,” Devon said.
“Right. I had no idea it would happen,” Paige said.
“So, just…go back through together and see if that works.”
Paige blew out a long breath and nodded. “Okay, yes, that’s reasonable. I’m sure that’ll fix it.”
“And then don’t come back through together. Come back separately.”
Paige bobbed her head up and down as Dewey landed on her shoulder. She spun to face the swirling portal and blew out a long breath, shaking her arms and kicking her feet as she prepared to go through it.
“Fingers crossed,” she said, taking a step forward. They emerged on the other side, and Paige stared down at her body. “Did it work?”
“Uhhhh, nope,” Dewey answered.
“Yes, it–” Paige’s eyes went wide, and she clamped a paw over her mouth. “OMG! I look like me, but I can see me in the third person.”
Dewey shook his head. “You’re seeing me, dingbat. I’m trapped in your body.”
“But with your skin,” Paige said. “I’m in the dragon body with human skin. And you’re in my body with scales.”
“So, wait…” Dewey said, tapping a scaled finger against his cheek. “Our skins are still swapped. And now our personalities are, too.”
“Yes. Devon’s suggestion made it worse.”
“I’m not surprised,” Dewey said, with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
“What are we going to do now?”
Dewey ripped off his glasses. “These are annoying. Oh, wow, you’re blind.”
“I told you that. Put them back on.”
Dewey slid the spectacles back on his new face. “You should get contacts. These are really bothersome.”
“Sorry my vision is a problem for you. Hey,” she said, furrowing her thick brows, “can I fly?”
“Watch it, Paige. Those wings are not toys.”
She wiggled her back muscles, fluttering her wings before she rose lazily into the air. “I can fly!”
She buzzed around the room, with a grin. “This is fun.”
“Oh, yeah, super fun. Just wait until you have to fly everywhere because your squatty little legs can’t keep up with everyone else. It’s exhausting, you’ll see.”
Paige landed on Dewey’s shoulder. “I hope not. Go back through the portal, maybe we’ll swap everything back.”
“Right,” Dewey said with a curt nod, sending his glasses sliding down his scaly nose. “Third time’s the charm.”
Paige tried to cross her fingers but found them too fat to work with. “How do you handle these things? They’re like hot dogs.”
“Oh-ho-ho, ha-ha, very funny, Paige. Tell me…how do you handle these gangly things?” He kicked a foot out. “It’s like walking on stilts. No wonder you’re always falling.”
“Ha ha ha,” Paige spat out. “Just use my stilts to go back through the portal already, huh?”
“Okay, okay. Let’s hope we’re back to normal when we reach the other side.”
Dewey stepped through the swirling opening, and they reached the crystal cave on the opposite end. Paige thrust her hands out and studied them. “No, I’ve got scales again.”
“And I’ve got skin.”
“OMG, you’re switched!” Devon exclaimed.
Paige flapped her wings and flew into the air. “He’s right. Our skin is back to normal, but I’m still in your body, and you’re in mine.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Dewey said, jabbing at the bridge of his glasses.
Paige balled her paws into fists and growled. “Unreal. Should we try again?”
“I’m afraid. I don’t know what’ll switch next.”
Devon ran a hand through his hair as he studied them with a dubious expression. “Okay, maybe we should get the Astral soda first and then work this out.”
“Oh, right, sure. What was I thinking? I’ll just keep walking around on these stilts through the Astral realm. No problem.”
“I’ve got to fly everywhere,” Paige shot back. “But he’s right. We’re wasting time, and we need to get that Astral soda. At least then we can start working on the cure for your family and friends.”
“Are you seriously suggesting I stay in this body?”
“It’s not that bad,” Paige answered. “I’ve got to stay like this.” She swept a hand over the tiny dragon shell.
“You’ve got the better end. Okay, hop on board, pal,” Dewey said, with a pat on his shoulder. “We’ll get the soda and hope the next pass fixes us.”
Paige settled on Dewey’s shoulder. “Right. Where would this stuff be?”
“Near water,” Dewey answered.
“Okay, let’s look for the water. Onward!” Paige thrust out a paw.
Dewey shuffled forward toward the cave’s entrance. “Ouch, watch it, Paige. Your claws are a killer.”
“ Your claws,” Paige reminded him. “And believe me, I know. You’re constantly puncturing me with them. And then you do this.” Paige clamped her hands around Dewey’s head and squeezed.
“Ow, you’re killing me. I can’t see!”
“Yep. Try running from a werewolf like this,” Paige answered as she released her chokehold.
“Well, you’re always doing this,” Dewey said, coming to an abrupt stop. Paige wobbled on his shoulder, flailing her tiny arms to stay upright. “Pretty horrible, right?”
Paige clamped her now-teal lips together and shook her head. “Okay, okay. We’re both doing things that aren’t great for the other one. We’ll work on that. If we ever get our bodies back, that is.”
“I really hope I’m not stuck in this body,” Dewey said. “It’s not comfortable by any stretch. Honestly, as much as I long to be bigger, this is for the birds.”
“Hey, watch it. That’s my body you’re bemoaning. And I happen to think it’s pretty okay.”
Dewey flicked up his eyebrows as they stepped out into the moonlit space. The pink glow turned the crystal caves around them into a variety of colors.
“I can’t take it. And this stupid hair. It’s hot. Why is it so hot?”
“Hey, I like my hair. What’s hot and uncomfortable are these stupid scales.”
“Stop talking about my scales like that. I like them. They’re an excellent first line of defense. Also, the color is nice.”
“Yeah, well, red hair is coveted by some.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“Yes, it is,” Paige insisted as they wound around a rocky, crystal outcropping.
Dewey flicked a hand in the air. “Try again. No one likes gingers.”
“That’s…not true and is extremely rude,” Paige said, flicking her tail. It cracked Dewey in the back of the head.
“Ouch, watch it.”
“I can’t help it,” Paige said, with another swish . “How do you control this thing?”
“Carefully. Stop swinging it around because you’re annoyed.”
Paige’s tail flicked again. “I’m not annoyed.”
“Your tail is the tell- tale sign that you are.”
Paige clamped her lips together as she worked hard to steady the appendage. She glanced around at the cave entrances as they passed. “Do the crystal bears live in these caves?”
“Yep,” Dewey answered. “Along with the golems and ogres.”
Paige’s horns wiggled as she wrinkled her nose. “How far away is the water?”
“Pretty far, I’d say,” Devon answered. “I haven’t seen any crystal roses yet.”
“Crystal roses?” Paige questioned.
Dewey bobbed his head up and down, flicking a long lock of hair over his shoulder. “Yeah. Crystalized plants that grow nearest the water. We’ll see a few hardy ones as we approach, then tons of them as we get closer to the water source.”
“Huh. This is an odd place. Everything is made of crystals, but yet everything looks so different.”
A loud pounding sounded in the distance. Devon shooed them into a cave opening nearby and pressed a finger to his lips. A tall, bipedal creature stomped its way across the ground, seeming to be made up of a variety of crystals that formed its human-like shape.
“What is that?” Paige whispered.
“Golem,” Dewey answered.
It thundered past the cave opening and continued on its journey. They waited for the footsteps to recede before Devon peered out of the cave.
“It’s clear.”
“Those things were weird,” Paige said.
Dewey nodded. “Everything here is like that.”
Paige snapped her head to him. “The bears?”
“Furless crystal creatures.”
“Weird,” she murmured as the ground sloped down. A few springs of crystal plants began to crawl up the side of the caves.
She studied the sharp angles of the vines and leaves. “I wish I had a camera.”
“It wouldn’t matter. You can’t photograph it very well. It’ll just come out smeary,” Dewey answered.
Paige fluttered into the air and flew over to a small bush. “How weird. Is this a crystal rose?”
“Yeah,” Devon answered.
“Give it a sniff,” Dewey said.
Paige backed away from the plant. “No way.”
“What’s wrong with you?” Dewey asked.
Paige crossed her puny arms and shook her head. “I’m not smelling a crystal rose. Who knows what’ll happen to me. I’ll probably melt. Or break out into hives. Or throw up diamonds.”
“That could be useful,” Dewey murmured. “Anyway, it won’t hurt you. It’s not poisonous to humans or dragons. Just smell it.”
Paige narrowed her eyes at him before she dropped down to one of the angular flowers and gave it a sniff. “It smells like a rose. This place is so neat.”
Dewey fiddled with the long hair that continued to fall into his face. “It’ll be neater when we get the soda. I will be so happy when I am making my life-saving potion.”
“Also, when we switch back to the right bodies,” Paige answered as she landed on his shoulder again.