Journey to the Volcano Palace (3 page)

Galen spurred his pilka quickly to the mountain. “Khan and I will scout for the entrance to the volcano palace. In the meantime – beware of fire monsters!”

Neal blinked and looked at Julie. “Did he say
fire
monsters?”

Eric clambered up onto a long, crusted rock that lay in front of the mountain. “Maybe the entrance is behind these big stones.”

“What do you see?” Keeah called out.

“Not much,” Eric said. “Wait, there
is
an opening! We can go in – hey! This rock just moved!”

“Uh, I don’t think it’s a rock,” Julie said, pointing to a big green eyeball flicking open just under Eric’s foot. “I think it’s…it’s…a monster!”

Hrooosh!
A column of fire spurted from the beast’s mouth, burning the black ground blacker.

“A fire monster!” Neal shouted.

Suddenly, another stony-gray shape shook itself. A large green eye opened on it, too. It thrust its head up into the air.
Hrooosh!

“Two fire monsters!” Neal shouted.

Galen charged over. “Get inside!” he yelled to the children. Then he leaped onto the back of one monster and began wrestling with it.

“Lumpies, help the wizard!” Khan called out. Instantly his Lumpies jumped on the second monster. They pinched it and poked it with all their might.

“Max, Khan, lead the children through!” Galen shouted.

The stone-skinned monsters thrashed and twisted, but Galen and the Lumpies kept on fighting.

“We can’t leave you!” Keeah cried.

“You must!” the wizard commanded. “Find the eye! It is the only way to save –”

The rest of what the wizard said was lost beneath the howling cries of the fire beasts.

“Galen can take care of himself,” Max chittered.

Khan rushed up to the entrance. “Hurry, everyone! Into the mountain!”

The four kids, with Max and Khan leading the way, charged between the raging fire monsters.

They ran into the opening.

They entered the world of the volcano.

Five
Smoke and Mirrors

They dashed through the dark entrance and found themselves in a vast cavern. The red glow from a lava pool lit the high walls around them.

“Phew! It smells burned in here,” Neal whispered, creeping up behind Eric and Keeah. “Sort of like that brick oven pizza place back home.”

“Without the good pizza smell,” Eric added.

“Sparr is good at burning things,” Khan said. “I hope to repay him for attacking my village.”

Julie shivered. “You know, most people don’t go inside a volcano. I hope we can get out.”

“If we’re careful, we will,” Keeah said. “Now, first things first. Which way do we go?”

The cavern around them was dark and smoky. But it was empty. In the flickering red light, they saw a rough path dug out of rock.

The path wound downward into the earth.

Eric knew where it led.

He wasn’t sure
how
he knew, but he knew.

It led to the center of the volcano.

“We had to follow that path all the way down,” he said. “I have feeling that’s where Sparr keeps the Eye. Down there.”

“How can you be sure?” Julie asked.

“Because the center is probably the scariest place anybody can think of,” Keeah replied. “And Sparr would want to make it as hard as possible for anyone to find the Eye.”

Max nodded. “And it
will
be harder, once he knows we are here.”

Eric wondered how long it would take Sparr to find them poking around his secret hiding place. And what he would do when he did.

Khan sniffed. “Danger this way. Let’s go on.”

They all started down the winding path. It led below the level they had entered on, passing boiling pools that hissed and bubbled loudly.

They were being as quiet as they could be.

“The rock is getting hotter,” Max said, crawling along the jagged walls of the path. “I wonder how we’ll know when we reach the center.”

“That’s where they keep the lava,” Neal said.

“Phew!” Julie sniffed. “What’s that smell?”

Neal looked down. “My sneakers are on fire! Yikes! Now I know where my dream came from!” He stamped his sneakers until the fire went out. “Oh, man, that really hurt!”

“So do Ninns!” Eric hissed. “Quiet!”

The kids crept down to still another level.

The air was even hotter and smokier. It smelled worse. Keeah stopped. She held up her hand. “There’s a cave up ahead,” she whispered. “Something’s moving. I saw a shadow –”

Suddenly, a figure stepped out of the cave.

“Guards, seize them!” a man said in a deep, snarly tone. The man was Lord Sparr!

“Whoa!” Neal gasped. “Let’s get out of here!”

Everyone rushed back up the path, but Julie didn’t move. She seemed frozen to the spot.

“Guards, seize them!” the sorcerer repeated in the same deep tone as before.

Eric dashed back to her. “Julie, come on! Sparr’s the bad guy! Do I have to drag you out?”

“Wait a sec,” Julie whispered.

“Wait?” Eric cried. “For big greasy Ninns to come clomping over and grab us? Come on!”

But Julie wouldn’t budge. Seconds passed and there were no clomping footsteps. No greasy Ninn claws grabbing them.

Instead, Sparr turned stiffly and walked back into the cave. He appeared to touch the cave wall, but didn’t quite touch it.

“See?” Julie murmured. “That’s not him –”

“We’ll be caught, you two!” Max cried, scampering up behind them with the others.

Julie laughed. “No, look. That isn’t Sparr. I mean, it’s not really Sparr. That is – I don’t know what – special effects or something.”

The figure strode forward again, not even blinking. Neal cringed as it stared icily at them.

“Guards, seize them!” Sparr repeated.

“Ha!” Julie said. “I don’t think so, Sparr.” Then she leaned forward and slapped the sorcerer in the arm. Her hand went right through!

“Whoa!” Neal whispered.

“See what I mean?” Julie said.

Keeah nodded. “Maybe Sparr created a double to take his place because the jewel burned him. Maybe the real Sparr is hurt.”

“Maybe it’s done with mirrors,” Eric said.

“Weird,” said Neal, peering around the figure. “He’s Sparr, but he’s fake.”

“Well,
they
aren’t!” Max suddenly chirped.

The spider troll pointed at two giant red-faced Ninn soldiers. They came clomping down the passage right toward them.

“I thought I smelled something bad,” Khan snorted, starting to run.

The Ninns grunted and hissed.

They pulled out big swords.

“GET THEM!” yelled the Ninns.

Six
Meeting the Witch

“Get the small ones!” the Ninns shouted. “And the purple Lumpy king, too!”

The kids shot down the passage like rockets.

They dived into the first cave they came to.

The two Ninns didn’t see them. They charged away down the passage, thumping their big feet.

Eric breathed a sigh of relief. Then he looked around. “Uh…who picked this cave?”

“You did!” Neal answered.”

Instead of a hot, red cave, the space inside was tinted blue. A cool breeze blew through it.

And in the center was a large pool of the bluest water imaginable.

The surface of the water glistened and sparkled like glass.

“Whoa!” said Julie, peering around. “This is the place from my dream! This is what I saw!”

“Do you think it’s regular water?” Eric asked.

“I don’t see anything yucky,” Neal said.

“I don’t like it,” Khan murmured.

Keeah stepped closer. “Let me test it out.”

Keeah had told the kids she had powers. But they weren’t exactly sure what she could do.

“Careful,” said Eric. “This is Kano, don’t forget. Sparr’s home base.”

Keeah reached for the water.

Suddenly, something with scaly skin slithered toward her from the far side of the pool.

“Watch out!” Julie cried. “A sea monster!”

Keeah jerked back from the edge of the pool.

A long, green, scaly tail broke the surface with a loud splash. It slapped down hard, and seconds later a head popped up out of the water.

It was the head of a woman!

“A mermaid!” Eric whispered.

Her skin was white, her lips were black. She had long, wet, green hair. Her shoulders were dark and scaly. And her deep blue eyes narrowed as she looked from one child to the next.

“No,” said Max. “Not a mermaid.”

The woman spoke. “Who – are – you?”

Her voice was eerie and deep.

It seemed to come from every corner of the cave. Each word echoed off the stony walls.

Keeah glanced at her friends, then turned to the woman. “Uh…we…I am Keeah, Princess of Droon. And these are my friends.”

The woman’s eyes didn’t move. “Friends from the Upper World. Sparr has spoken of you.”

Julie shuddered. “What did he say about us? What does Lord Sparr know about us?”

But the woman didn’t answer. She turned to Keeah. “You have come for the Eye of Dawn.”

Eric jumped. “How did you know that?”

“I am Demither,” the woman said. “Some people say I am a witch. I know many things.”

Her spiked tail flipped up suddenly. Water splashed on the cave walls and hissed.

“I’ve heard of you,” Max twittered. “My master, Galen, has spoken of your evil deeds.”