9 Fountain of Danger

CHAPTER 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. Inside the dome was a strange black object. An armored glove with a red jewel on it. "The Eye of Dawn!" Eric said to himself. "Just like Demither said."

But the fountain lay in the center of a lake of burning, bubbling lava. He would burn to a crisp if he took one step into it. Then he remembered what else Demither had told them. Cross the Bridge of Ice. Eric circled the shore of the lava lake. Something about the lava's surface seemed strange. Some parts of it didn't move the same as in other places. He bent down at one spot and gazed across the top of the lava. A narrow strip of something clear lay just above the bubbling surface. It looked like a strip of glass, stretching from the shore to the island. "The Bridge of Ice!" he said. Carefully, he stepped onto the bridge. It held him. He took another step. He felt as if he were walking a tightrope. But he kept going. Soon he was halfway across. Halfway to the island. To the stone fountain itself. To the Eye! Splursh! The fountain exploded with a giant spurt of molten rock. Fiery spray shot to the ceiling and showered back down to the giant lake. Tssss! The rocks hit the surface all around him. But Eric kept going. He couldn't turn back. Not until he got what they had come for.

"We have to stop Lord Sparr," he said firmly. Splursh! The fountain went off again. Tssss! Eric timed it to see how long he had until the next eruption. "One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi, four Mississippi—" Splursh! Tssss! "Four seconds," Eric told himself. He took a deep breath, ran to the end of the bridge, and sprang off. He landed at the base of the fountain. One Mississippi… In two quick moves, he was up to the top of the fountain. Using a rock, he broke the glass dome and grabbed the black glove. Two Mississippi… He jumped down to the base of the fountain. But the rocks were covered with a thin layer of ashes. His sneakers slid on them. He tried to steady himself. He hit the ground. "Ooof!" Three Mississippi… Plonk! The glove fell from his hand. "No!" Eric yelled out. He reached out wildly for the glove. His fingers fumbled for it. Four Mississippi! SPLURSH! Molten rocks exploded up from the fountain to the ceiling. Then they began to fall.

Eric grabbed the glove and pulled it on. The fiery rocks seemed to aim right for him. "Nooooo!" he screamed, throwing his arms up to shield himself from the burning rocks. Suddenly, the Eye of Dawn began to glow. Blam! Blam! Blam! Flashes of red light shot from the glove's fingertips. The molten rocks blasted apart in midair. One after another, the chunks of molten stone exploded to nothing. Eric's hand was going crazy. He couldn't control the Eye. It blew up everything in sight. Blam! Blam! The fountain itself shattered into a thousand pieces. "Whoa!" Eric cried. "Glove, stop! Eye, stop!" But the Red Eye of Dawn wouldn't stop. Eric struggled to his feet and rushed onto the bridge of ice. Then the Eye forced his hand around and blasted the bridge! Ka-whoom! He dived to shore as the bridge exploded into a million little pieces. The walls of the cavern were starting to quake. The volcano floor was rumbling. The lava lake swelled. Waves churned and splashed. "Uh-oh!" he gasped, scrambling up. "I think I started something! And it's not good!"

"Eric!" someone shouted. He turned. It was Keeah, running into the cavern. Behind her were Julie, Neal, Khan, and Max. "I've got the Eye!" Eric shouted to them. "But I can't control it too well!" Blam! Blam! The glove blasted the black walls two feet away from his friends' heads. "We get the idea!" Keeah shouted. She ran over and grabbed Eric's hand. Suddenly, the glove became steady. It seemed as if a power moved through Keeah's hand to his own.

"Good work, Eric!" Julie cried. "You did it!"