8 Sparr’s Secret

CHAPTER Eight Sparse 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.

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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…."