CHAPTER 7Ping and Mara plunged from the sky toward an ornate Queen Anne mansion with gables going in every direction and a large turret on the southeast corner. As the gated ball carried them past the turret, they flew around a corner and dipped almost to ground level, where Mara noted the finely carved balusters beneath the porch railings that flanked the grand house. Large windows, some arched, others rectangular, some filled with stain glass, whipped by as the ball gained altitude once again. Mara’s chin pressed against her chest until they leveled off.
And everything went dark.
A loud rumbling filled the air, and Mara jerked and bounced in her seat, like a roller coaster ride, as the vehicle swung to and fro, up and down.
“Ping! What is hap—”
They popped back into the afternoon day
