Journey to the Volcano Palace (4 page)

“Some choose to be evil,” the witch said. “Some are forced to be evil.” Demither clenched her teeth and dove under the water again.

“Something’s weird,” Eric said. “She looks like she’s in pain or something.”

“I am still afraid to trust her,” Max said.

Splash!
Demither rose again. “The Eye is in the Room of Fire!” She closed her eyes and groaned. “Cross the Bridge of Ice, and you will find it.”

Keeah stepped to the edge. “If you know things, can you tell me how my mother died –”

“Your mother is alive!” the witch cried sharply. “Like me, she is cursed, in prison!”

Keeah gasped. “Prison! Here in the volcano?”

“Not here…everywhere!” the witch cried. “Find her. Help her –
as no one has helped me!
”

Seven
The Fierce Beast

The four kids all stared at Demither.

“So it’s true!” Keeah exclaimed. “My mother is alive. “I knew she was! I knew it!”

“Why are you helping us?” Eric asked the witch. “I thought you were a friend of Sparr.”

“Friend!” the woman shrieked. She rose up ten feet in the air. Her scaly skin rippled and twisted as she curved up toward the cave’s ceiling. “I – am – a – friend – of – no – one!”

“Wait,” Keeah pleaded. “I need to know –”

But the witch’s scaly body slithered back silently into the dark pool. The water hissed loudly as she passed under it.

Then the surface went still.

Demither was gone.

The kids looked at one another for a long time.

“It sounds like Sparr is forcing the witch to do bad stuff,” Julie said finally. “Maybe he cursed your mother, Keeah.”

“I don’t like it,” Max said. “Demither could be lying to us.”

Keeah stared at the pool. “We need the Eye.”

“Can the Eye do good things, too?” Eric asked her. “Can it, like, heal people and stuff?”

Keeah nodded. “Galen told me once that the jewel does what its owner wants it to.”

“Cool,” Neal mumbled. “I wish my dog did.”

“But it is dangerous, too,” said Khan. “Even Sparr was hurt by its power.”

Eric turned to Keeah. “We’ll get the Eye back for you. We’ll do it, I promise. No matter –”

He never got a chance to finish.

Clomp, clomp!
Heavy footsteps rushed toward the blue cave from the path outside.

“Hurry, or we’ll be trapped!” Julie cried. She and Neal slipped out, with Max and Khan scrambling behind. But Eric and Keeah couldn’t make it.

“Behind these rocks, quick!” Eric said to her.

They jumped behind a low pile of rocks near the cave entrance.

In marched ten Ninns. In between them crawled a strange, dark beast. It snarled and growled at the nervous-looking Ninns.

The beast stopped at the pool’s edge.

“What is that thing?” Eric whispered to Keeah.

The princess shook her head. “I don’t know.”

The beast yowled sharply, as if it were hurt.

In the dim light, Eric could see that the creature had four thick, clawed legs and a long body.

Its skin was black and bumpy from its large head all the way to its long, spiked tail.

On the top of its head were rows of large, pointed ears, like bat’s ears.

Eric’s stomach turned just looking at the ugly thing. He swallowed hard. “It’s some kind of weird, horrible monster.”

“Is this Sparr’s secret weapon?” Keeah asked.

Eric struggled to keep his food down. “Maybe
this
is his secret. The one in my dream. The secret Sparr thought I knew. He keeps a monster for a pet.”

Suddenly, the creature charged forward and leaped to the pool. It began to slurp loudly.

“Let’s get out of here,” Keeah whispered. “That thing could turn on us.”

Eric began to tremble. “Wait…”

They watched the beast drink and drink.

Eric turned to Keeah. She looked at him.

Then they looked back at the creature.

Their eyes went wide with amazement.

“No!” Eric gasped softly. “It…can’t…be!”

Eight
Sparr’s Secret

As the beast slurped from the pool, it began to change. Its dark, spiky hide shrank away. One by one, the sharp claws shriveled. Two became hands, two became feet.

Pale, smooth skin formed over the head.

The creature’s arms and legs began to grow longer.

Suddenly, the thing stood upright. Like a man.

All that remained of the monster were two pointed fins growing behind the ears.

Eric caught his breath. “Holy crow!”

The man threw his powerful arms into the air.

Deep, frightening laughter filled the cavern.

The man was Lord Sparr!

Without taking a breath, Eric and Keeah crept from the cave and ran quickly down the path.

“I can’t believe it!” Eric whispered. “Sparr’s a monster! A creature! A creepy beast thing!”

Keeah shivered. “Remember what Khan told us? The Eye of Dawn burned Sparr. Maybe it did worse things. Maybe it made him like this.”

“Yeah, and he drinks from the pool to make himself human again,” Eric said. “Because if he doesn’t, he changes back into this –
thing
! Maybe
that’s
his secret! Just like in my dream!”

Julie, Neal, Max, and Khan ran up to them.

“Are you guys okay?” Julie asked.

“You’ll never believe what we saw!” Keeah said. “There was a –”

But Keeah didn’t get to finish.

Lord Sparr stepped out of the shadows.

“Ninns! I have found them!” the sorcerer said in a snarly tone. His eyes flashed at the kids.

Neal laughed suddenly. “Oh, look. Mr. Special Effects is back! Guys, let me handle this.”

“Neal, no!” Eric began.

Neal stuck his hands behind his ears and wiggled them as if they were fins. “Fake Sparr! Fake Sparr!”

Then he marched up to the sorcerer, stood right in front of him, and made a fist. “Now, I’m going to punch right through your bogus self!”

“Neal, don’t,” Keeah said. “It’s really –”

Smack!
Neal’s fist stopped at Sparr’s arm.

Neal frowned. “It’s supposed to go through.” He turned to Julie. “It went through for you.”

“Neal…” Julie said.

Neal punched Sparr again.
Smack!

“Oh, now I get it.” Neal said quietly. “Ouch.”

“NINNS!” the sorcerer shouted at the top of his lungs. The passageway filled with red-faced warriors.

The kids were surrounded.

Keeah’s eyes burned with anger. “We know your secret, Sparr. You’re a monster!”

“A creepy one!” said Eric. “Much creepier than you are now. Which is pretty creepy!”

The sorcerer’s lips curled into an evil snarl. His eyes darkened. His purple fins began to curl.

“Now you can never leave!” he said. His muscled hand clamped down on Neal’s shoulder.

Neal screeched. “It’s because I did hands behind the ears, isn’t it? You didn’t like that.”

“You leave my best friend alone!” Eric yelled. He jumped as hard as he could on Sparr’s feet.

“Ahhh!” The sorcerer released Neal.

“I sniff an escape this way!” Khan yelled.

The six friends shot away down the narrow passage. They were still going deeper into the volcano.

Sparr leaped into the air after them. He flew like a bullet, swooping through the tunnels, screaming strange words.
“Selam! Ala
! Kwitt!”

“Same to you!” Julie shouted back.

Eric and Keeah were in the lead, threading through the curving passages.

Suddenly, the passage split before them. Two tunnels lay ahead. Both were dark.

“Left! Left!” Keeah cried.

Eric flashed a look at his hands. He couldn’t decide.
Left? Left!
He kept running toward the passages. He ran faster.

“Hurry!” the princess shouted.

Right? Left! Huh? This is so dumb!
With all the smoke and darkness, he couldn’t even see!

Eric picked one dark passage, running into it as fast as he could. He wanted to get as far as possible from Sparr. He’d discovered his secret.

But now sounds were swirling all around him.

Hissing and bubbling. Clomping and stomping. Eric stole a quick look backward.

It was dark. He couldn’t see Keeah anywhere.

He slowed to a stop. “Guys? Are you back there in the dark? Oh, man, please answer!”

No answer.

Eric swallowed hard. “Sp-Sparr? Please
don’t
answer….”

No answer. Eric was alone in the dark.

He couldn’t tell front from back. Right from left. Up from down.

“Where am I?” he breathed.

Splurt – ssss!
A sudden fiery splash of lava burst from the volcano floor. It flashed against the walls of a vast cavern. Smoking red lava bubbled and hissed away into the far distance.

“It’s a lake,” Eric gasped. “A lake of lava!”

He knew right away where he was.

He had found it.

The Room of Fire.

Nine
Fountain of Danger

Splursh!
The fiery column spurted again. It was coming from a strange fountain on a small island in the center of the lake. The fountain was formed of craggy, hardened lava.

Then Eric noticed something else.

Near the top of the fountain, and sheltered from its spray, was a dome of glass.