The Dragon in the Volcano (12 page)

“Do we get to take a torch or something with us?” Daisy asked.

The guard shook his head. “Visitors are responsible for providing their own illumination.”

Jesse looked at Daisy. She had that queasy look she got before entering dark, enclosed spaces. He wasn’t crazy about them himself, but he hated them a little less than she did. The fire fairies spilled down the stairway and disappeared into the blackness. Jesse squared his shoulders and stepped down into the hole. Soon after, he heard Daisy’s feet on the rusty stairs above his head.

“You okay?” he called up to her.

“I’ll be fine,” she said bravely. “My arms are glowing. Are yours?”

Jesse looked at his wrist. He didn’t wear a watch these days, except to school, but his arm was shining as if he were wearing a glow-in-the-dark wristband. He rolled up the cuffs of his jeans and his ankles glowed, lighting his way to the next step.

“I wonder how Emmy got down these stairs,” Daisy said.

“Or any dragon,” Jesse said. “They’re small … and they’re iron.”

Down and down the spiral staircase wound, around and around, an endless corkscrew. At the bottom, it felt hot and airless and silent, like the engine room of a giant ship with its power switched
off. Jesse stood aside and waited for Daisy to join him. The fire fairies flitted ahead down the hot, narrow stone corridor.

“They seem to know their way around the hole,” Jesse commented.

They followed the fire fairies and made their way past a long, gloomy procession of empty cells. Finally, they came upon Jasper. He lay on a bed of ashes, next to a feeble lantern, behind a stout, rusty grate.

“Pssst, Jasper!” Jesse called out to him through the grate.

Jasper got up and lumbered over. His proud shoulders were slumped, and his great golden eyes were sad. Jesse noticed he stood well back from the iron grate that separated them.

Jasper spoke in a low voice. “I’m sorry, Keepers. When Malachite told me to make a mote of Emmy, I never realized—”

“Malachite
told
you to?” Daisy said.

“She
ordered
me,” Jasper said. “She has won so many trouncings over time, I have allowed her to dominate me.”

“Poor Emmy,” Jesse said under his breath. “She was set up.”

“I don’t get it. If it was Malachite’s idea, why did she challenge Emmy to a trouncing?” Daisy said.

Jasper shrugged. “To weaken her, perhaps. Or just for fun.”

“Some fun,” Daisy said glumly.

“After the fight, I told Malachite it was over between us. I think that’s when she went to the Grand Beacons. If I wasn’t going to participate in her plot, she wanted me out of the way.”

“What plot?” Jesse asked.

Jasper looked from left to right and moved a little closer to the grate, still without touching it. “Malachite is in league with dark forces,” he whispered.

“Who?” Jesse and Daisy whispered back through the grate.

“I have never met them myself. All I know is that they are not of this realm. Malachite made a pact with them. In exchange for Emerald and a mother lode of precious gems, they said they would help her seize the Ruby Throne. She needed my help to get Emmy to stay here in the Fiery Realm. If I made Emmy claim me as her fiery mote, Malachite promised that she and I would share the Ruby Throne.”

“Then I hate to say it,” Daisy said, taking one step backward, “but the Beacons are right. You are a traitor.”

“That’s just it!” Jasper said. “I don’t
want
the
Ruby Throne! I no longer even want Malachite. I really like Emerald! For the first time, I know what it’s like to have a she-boon.”

“So how did Malachite meet up with these dark forces?” Jesse wanted to know.

“She met them while patrolling the Outer Reaches,” Jasper said. “She must have penetrated the membrane where it is thinnest, near the Great Grotto.”

“What membrane?” Jesse asked.

“One of the membranes that lies between our realm and yours,” Jasper said.

Jesse’s eyes darted about. His mind was racing. “Daisy,” he said, his voice charged, “do you think that membrane might be anywhere near where Queen Hap imprisoned St. George?”

“St. George!” Jasper burst out, his golden eyes gleaming in the dimness. “
That
was what she called him! The first time she heard his voice, it was coming from inside a block of amber.”

Daisy said, “Tell us, would Malachite’s flame be hot enough to melt the amber?”

Jasper nodded. “Malachite has one of the most powerful flames in the realm,” he said.

“So St. George got Malachite to melt the amber and set him free!” Jesse said. “That’s what Queen Hap meant by ‘things heating up.’ ”

“And rumblings and tumblings,” Daisy said. Her eyes met Jesse’s. “Do you think the treasure St. George was searching for when he was digging in the hobgoblins’ mine was actually in the Fiery Realm?” she asked.

“It makes sense,” Jesse said. “I mean, the gems in this place would be worth gajillions to someone in the Earthly Realm.”

“Plus it explains how Sadra escaped from the Toilet Glass,” Daisy said. “St. George broke the spell and freed her! Who knows what powerful magic they can unleash together!”

“And now Emmy’s gone looking for them both!” Jesse said. He pressed his face to the grate. “How do we get there, Jasper? Which way to the Outer Reaches? You’ve got to tell us. Emmy may be in great danger!”

Jasper wagged his head. “Sorry, Keepers. I’ve never been there myself. The fact is, I’m a bit of a homebody. I’m afraid I am worse than useless. Poor Emerald!”

Daisy said gently, “You’ve actually been a big help. At least we know what’s going on. Now all we need is a plan!”

“Let’s not make it here,” Jesse said, standing back from the grate and brushing the flakes of rust from his forehead.

“Why not here?” Daisy said. “Maybe Jasper can help us.”

Jesse leaned over and whispered in Daisy’s ear, “Not here.” He reached out and lightly tapped the rusty grate holding Jasper prisoner. “I’ll tell you why as soon as we’re out.”

They bid Jasper a hasty farewell and followed the fire fairies out of the hole and back up the rusty winding stairs. Every time Daisy started to speak, Jesse shushed her.

Finally, when they had cleared the pink quartz gates of the Grand Hall, Jesse broke their silence. “Remember Lady Flamina said she could hear us coming on Old Bub because of the rusty horseshoes?”

Daisy nodded slowly as they walked.

“That’s why she and Lord Feldspar allowed us to visit Jasper in the rusty hoosegow,” Jesse said.

“I get it!” Daisy said, her eyes lighting up. “The
rust
helped them overhear everything we said!”

“Exactly!” Jesse said.

Daisy hesitated. “But that’s good, isn’t it?” she said. “Because Jasper’s innocent, and now they’ve heard it for themselves and will set him free.”

“Maybe,” said Jesse. “But I don’t think we can stick around to find out. We need to track down
Emmy.” Jesse looked at the fire fairies. “We’re going to the Great Grotto, guys,” he told them.

The fire fairies sputtered.

“We have no idea how to get there,” said Flicker.

“But we want to go with you,” said Fiero.

“How can we help?” said Spark.

“Fiero and Flicker,” said Daisy, “you go fetch Opal and Galena, and anyone who knows the way to the Great Grotto.”

“Spark,” Jesse said, “can you go to the stables to get Clipper and Speedy? We’re going to need our trusty mounts.”

The fire fairies dispersed to carry out their assignments.

When the Keepers got back to the cottage, Daisy said, “Let’s check the Fire Screen. Who knows? Maybe Miss Alodie is sitting by the fire.” Daisy waved her hand over the wall in their bedroom.

Sadie Huffington, otherwise known as Sadra the Witch of Uffington, appeared on the screen. The cousins yelped and jumped behind the computer table.

Sadra’s wavy red hair and the sharp planes of her face showed vividly on the Fire Screen, illuminated by the flickering flame of a torch. Even in the halflight, they could see that her lipstick was gleaming red, her teeth were large and white, and her eyes
shone an eerie yellowish green. She strode down a passageway that sparkled with gemstones.

“I wonder where she is,” Jesse whispered to Daisy.

“Do you think it’s the Great Grotto?” Daisy whispered back.

They didn’t get a chance to find out, because the next moment, a shadow blotted out their view. Someone had licked in, whether on purpose or by accident they could only wonder.

Jesse waved his hand and closed the Fire Screen. “So much for that,” he said.

“Who needs lava-vision?” Daisy said. “We have work to do. If we’re going up against George and Sadra, we need to be properly outfitted.”

Jesse watched as Daisy got busy weaving her hands over her body. She looked a little like one of those irritating street mimes, only who she was supposed to be or what she was supposed to be doing was a mystery to him—until she had finished, when both mysteries were solved.

“Ta-da!” Daisy said. She stood, battle-ready, in a suit of fine silver chain mail, with a breastplate, leg armor, boots, and a helmet.

“You look great,” Jesse said with envy. “Show me how you did that.”

“It’s simple. All you do is picture in your mind
what you want to make and then sort of fiddle with your fingers—”

“Like a mime?” Jesse said.

“Exactly!” Daisy said.

Jesse remembered a suit of armor he had seen in the British Museum. It had belonged to a page of Henry II of England. He had liked the way it sheathed the body of the child-size mannequin in the showcase. It looked strong and sword-proof but sleek and lightweight at the same time. With his eyes half-closed and his fingers busily working, he envisioned this same suit of armor, dense but not too heavy, covering his own body. When he opened his eyes, he was wearing it.

“Awesome armor!” Daisy said.

Not bad
, Jesse thought. But he still needed something more. He closed his eyes again, ran his hands down his chest, and created a white silken tunic. Emblazoned across the tunic was a bright green dragon with green eyes against a field of—what else?—purple socks!

“Brilliant!” said Daisy, and instantly whipped up one just like it for herself. “Okay, now we need the weapons to go along with the outfits,” said Daisy.

Jesse felt uneasy. “Really? Weapons can be dangerous if you don’t know how to use them.”

“No worries,” Daisy told him, already getting busy with her hands. “Remember how well I danced at the Fire Ball?”

Jesse nodded. “You were practically a prima ballerina.”

“Well, Emmy explained to me when we were getting ready for the ball that the same magic that allows us to conjure these things also helps us use them like experts!”

Jesse thought quickly. “So I could make a guitar and play it like one of the Beatles if I wanted to?” he asked.

“Probably … But right now, it’s weapons we need, not guitars.”

Daisy made herself a sleek golden bow with a taut silver string. After that, she produced a quiver full of ebony arrows tipped with silver and fledged with the feathers of fire birds.

Not to be outdone, Jesse went ahead and fashioned himself a crystal sword with a silver handle studded with emeralds. The sword had two razor edges that tapered to a sharp point. Then he made a silver scabbard that hung low on his left hip so that he could reach over with his right hand and loose his sword.

Jesse went outside and held the sword high,
toward where the sun might be if there were such a thing in this place. “For the greater glory of Emerald of Leandra!” he cried.

“All hail Emerald!” Daisy shouted.

They began to test their skills with these new weapons. Jesse pranced around the garden, pretending to fend off a platoon of topaz sunflowers, slicing off head after head with speed and deftness. Daisy aimed at a faraway tree and brought down one ruby apple after another. When her quiver was empty, she snapped her fingers and more arrows appeared.

“Nifty,” Jesse said. “You don’t even have to retrieve your arrows.”

“But you do need to put the heads back on Emmy’s sunflowers,” Daisy said.

Jesse smiled slyly. “Only if you put the apples back on that tree,” he said.

“Deal,” said Daisy.

They each went about repairing the damage they had done. Neither felt particularly elated about these new skills they had acquired. It was like being in possession of a magical loaded gun that could hit whatever you waved it at. Although they didn’t say so, they both felt suddenly weighed down by a grave responsibility. It was not unlike how they had felt when they first learned they were
Dragon Keepers. Now, in order to defend the dragon in their keeping, they might have to shoot arrows into real hearts and lop off real heads.

“What I don’t understand,” Daisy said when she returned from sticking the apples back on the tree, “is why Emmy would just slip off by herself and not tell us where she was going.”

“I was thinking about that—” Jesse began, but he was interrupted by the arrival of a gaggle of fire fairies and dragons.