9 At the White Cliff

CHAPTER Nine At the White Cliff The kids huddled together to avoid the flames. "A prison of fire," Sparr said. "You may thank Witch Demither for the idea. Thoughtful, isn't she?" "My happy mood is fading fast," Keeah whispered. The wall of fire edged closer. "Let them go," Galen boomed, struggling against his chains. "Give me the Eye and you may all go," Sparr told them. He snapped his fingers, and one large Ninn raised his heavy sword. "Your chains will be cut, Galen. You will be free."

第九章在白崖孩子们挤在一起躲避火焰。 “一座火狱，”斯帕尔说。 “你应该感谢德米特女巫的主意。 她很体贴，是不是？”“我的快乐情绪很快就消失了，”基娅低声说。 火墙慢慢靠近了。 “放开他们。”盖伦大声说，挣扎着挣脱他的锁链。 “把圣眼给我，你们就都可以走了，”斯帕尔对他们说。 他打了个响指，一个高大的宁人举起了沉重的剑。 “你的枷锁会被割断的，盖伦。 你就自由了。”

Max's eight legs trembled. "D-d-don't trust him." Eric looked up. The flames coiled high into the air. The strange, green-winged seaflies were beginning to gather above them. Eric felt something wasn't right. What was it? Sparr stared through the flames. "I created the Red Eye of Dawn centuries ago to do my will—" "Your evil will!" Keeah said, trying to remain calm. "All you do is put curses on people. Like Demither. Like my mother!" Eric kept staring at their prison of fire. Demither's fire. He recalled how she had said once that she was a friend to no one, not even to Sparr. The flames slithered over one another. They gleamed red, then silver, then red again. The Ninns were afraid of the fire. They wouldn't come close. But still, something was wrong. Zzzz! The seaflies buzzed lower. Then, in a flash, Eric knew what it was. The fire looked hot enough to burn them to a crisp. But no smoke was coming from the fire. And no heat. The flies would never buzz so close if there was heat. That was it! The fire wasn't real. It only looked hot.

马克斯的八条腿颤抖着。 “别——别——别相信他。”埃里克抬起头来。 火焰高高地盘旋在空中。 奇怪的绿翅海蜇开始在他们上方聚集。 埃里克觉得有些不对劲。 是什么？斯帕尔凝视着火焰。 “几个世纪以前，我创造了黎明的红眼，来执行我的意志——”“你的邪恶意志！”Keeah说，试图保持冷静。 “你所做的一切都是诅咒别人。 像Demither。就像我妈妈一样！”埃里克一直盯着他们的火狱。 Demither的火。他回忆起她曾经说过，她不是任何人的朋友，甚至不是斯帕尔的朋友。 火焰相互蔓延。 它们闪着红色的光，然后是银色的，然后又是红色的。 小矮人害怕火。 他们不会接近。但还是有些地方不对劲。 睡眠!海底生物嗡嗡作响。 然后，刹那间，埃里克知道了那是什么。 火看起来热得足以把它们烤焦。 但是火里没有烟冒出来。 没有热量。如果天气热，苍蝇就不会飞得这么近了。 就是这样！火不是真的。 它只是看起来很热。

The fire was… something else. In fact, it was hundreds of something elses! Sparr circled the flames. Soon, he would guess. Demither had tricked him. In an instant, Eric formed a plan. He tapped Neal with his foot and glanced up at the seaflies. Then he nodded at the Ninn with the sword. "Can your pals do something?" Neal smiled a big smile. He twitched his feelers. Slowly, the flies lifted and buzzed over to the Ninn. "Give me the Eye!" Sparr demanded. "Get ready to move," Eric whispered. He stepped to the wall of fire. "Eric, what are you doing?" Julie said. "Just follow me." He held out his hand. "Master Eric, no!" cried Max. "Now!" Eric shouted. Neal twitched, and the flies surrounded the fat Ninn. "Ugh!" the guard growled, swatting the flies. His heavy sword dropped to the ground. At the same instant, Eric leaped through the fire. He was ready to scream, but he didn't have to. The instant he stuck his hand in, the flames ran over his fingers. The fire was icy cold! "Silfs! I knew it!" he cried. The strange creatures spilled in a shower to the ground.

火是…别的东西。 事实上，它是数以百计的其他东西！斯帕尔围着火焰转。 很快，他就猜到了。德米特欺骗了他。 一瞬间，埃里克制定了一个计划。 他用脚轻拍了一下尼尔，抬头看了看海草。 然后，他用剑向小精灵点了点头。 “你的朋友们能做点什么吗？”尼尔笑得很开心。 他抽动了一下触角。慢慢地，苍蝇飞了起来，嗡嗡地飞到妮妮家。 “把神眼给我！”Sparr问道。 “准备行动。”埃里克小声说。 他走向火墙。 “埃里克，你在干什么？”朱莉说。 “跟我来。”他伸出手来。 “埃里克少爷，不要！”马克斯叫道。 “现在!”埃里克喊道。尼尔抽搐了一下，苍蝇围着胖尼恩。 “啊！”卫兵咆哮着，拍打着苍蝇。 他的重剑掉在地上。 与此同时，埃里克从火中跳了出来。 他已经准备好尖叫了，但他没必要。 他的手一插进去，火焰就从他的手指上窜了出来。 火是冰冷的！“Silfs !我就知道！”他叫道。 这些奇怪的生物在阵雨中洒到了地上。

"Demither has betrayed me!" Sparr cried. Eric and Julie dashed over and grabbed the Ninn's sword. Together they swung hard. Chung! Galen's heavy chains fell away. "Now you will pay!" Sparr shouted. "No, Sparr," Keeah cried. "You will pay for the curses you have put on people!" Ka-whoom! Bright beams shot wildly from Keeah's hand. A terrible bolt blasted the ground near the Ninns, sending them rushing in every direction. Another exploded near Neal. "Oww!" he cried, as he leaped for cover. "Keeah!" Galen shouted. "You cannot control the Eye. Your anger will destroy you!" "Throw it away!" Max yelled. Keeah hurled the burning stone at the sea. "IT IS MINE!" Sparr cried. He sucked in his breath and seemed to grow to twice his size. His eyes flashed, and his fins turned black with rage. He grasped his magic staff. Ka-bam! Bolts of fire leaped from the staff. They shot across the air to the Eye. And the jewel stopped its fall to the sea. Slowly, it moved back toward Sparr. "You see? The Red Eye of Dawn knows its master!" he howled. "Come to me, my jewel!" Laughing, he reached for the sparking jewel.

“狄米特背叛了我！”Sparr哭了。 埃里克和朱莉冲过去，抓起小精灵的剑。 他们一起奋力挥杆。钟!盖伦沉重的铁链掉了下来。 “现在你要付出代价了！”Sparr喊道。 “不，斯帕，”基娅叫道。“你要为你对人的诅咒付出代价！”轰的一声!明亮的光束从基娅的手中疯狂地射出。 一道可怕的闪电击中了尼恩人附近的地面，他们四散奔逃。 另一枚在尼尔附近爆炸。 “哎哟！”他一边大叫，一边跳到掩体里。 “Keeah !”盖伦喊道。“你控制不了魔眼。 你的怒气必毁灭你！”“把它扔掉！”马克斯喊道。 Keeah把燃烧的石头扔向大海。 “这是我的！”Sparr哭了。 他吸了一口气，似乎长到了原来的两倍。 他的眼睛闪闪发光，他的鳍因愤怒而变黑。 他抓住了他的魔法杖。 Ka-bam !火苗从杖上跳了出来。 他们从空中向天眼射击。 宝石停止了坠向大海的脚步。 慢慢地，它向斯帕尔移动。 “你看到了什么?黎明的红眼认识它的主人！” “到我这儿来，我的宝贝！”他笑着伸手去拿那颗闪闪发光的宝石。

Suddenly—KA-WHOOOM! The peaceful sea exploded, and a giant serpent rose from the waves. "Witch Demither!" Eric said. The serpent reared her head and opened her jaws. "I am Demither, queen of oceans!" And with a single lunge of her scaly arm, the witch closed her claws over the Red Eye of Dawn.

Suddenly-KA-WHOOOM !平静的大海爆发了，一条巨蛇从波浪中升起。 “女巫Demither !”Eric说。 那条蛇昂起头，张开了嘴。 “我是黛米特，海洋女王！”女巫用她那长满鳞片的手臂猛扑了一下，在黎明的红眼上合上了她的爪子。