7 A Royal Wizard

CHAPTER Seven A Royal Wizard They climbed up a secret passage and came out a small door on the main level of the palace. Max peered around in all directions. "No Ninns," he chirped. "As long as we're quiet!" "The throne room is not far from here," Keeah said. "Everybody, follow me." Eric crept close to the frosty walls. Julie and Neal were right behind him. The red wolves padded silently next to Keeah. Soon they were outside the throne room.

第七章皇家巫师他们爬上一条秘密通道，从宫殿主楼的一扇小门出来。 马克斯四处张望。 “没有小鬼。”他唧唧喳喳地说。“只要我们保持安静就行！”“正殿离这儿不远，”基娅说。 “大家跟我来。”埃里克蹑手蹑脚地靠近结霜的墙壁。 朱莉和尼尔就在他后面。 红狼默默地走到基厄身边。 不久他们就出了王宫。

Eric and Neal peered around one side of the doorway, Julie and Keeah around the other. The throne room was large and round. The walls were covered with tapestries. The floor was tiled in a strange pattern of colored stones. Eric had seen that pattern before, in Galen's secret tower. The throne room's floor was a giant map of Droon. Sparr sat in the king's large golden throne. Galen stood nearby, as white and unmoving as a statue carved of stone. "Bring the amulet to me!" Sparr commanded. Grrr! The wolves growled behind Keeah. "Hush!" she said, patting their heads. "Soon." Four big Ninn soldiers carried an iron box into the room. They set it down in front of their master, opened the box, and bowed. With both hands Sparr reached in and pulled out a large black object. He held it over his head. It was a long triangle piercing a circle. Horns stuck out from either side. A glittering crystal hung in the center of the triangle.

埃里克和尼尔在门口的一边偷看，朱莉和基娅在另一边偷看。 正殿又大又圆。 墙上挂满了挂毯。 地板用彩色石头铺成奇怪的图案。 埃里克以前在盖伦的秘密塔里见过这种模式。 正殿的地板上挂着一张巨大的德鲁恩地图。 斯巴达坐在国王的金色大宝座上。 盖伦站在旁边，脸色苍白，一动不动，像一尊石雕雕像。 “把护身符给我！”Sparr所吩咐的。 叽阿!狼群在基娅身后咆哮。 “嘘！”她拍拍他们的头说。 “很快。”四个大兵抬着一个铁箱子进了房间。 他们把它放在主人面前，打开盒子，鞠了一躬。 斯帕尔双手伸进去，拿出一个很大的黑色物体。 他把它举过头顶。那是一个长三角形刺穿一个圆。 犄角从两边伸出来。 一个闪闪发光的水晶挂在三角形的中心。

"Behold the amulet of Zor!" Sparr cried out. The Ninns bowed before the strange object. The amulet sparkled in the torchlight. "Soon, we shall begin our long journey," Sparr announced. "Zor… we shall come to you!" "Oh, dear!" Max whispered. Then Lord Sparr drew his sword. He attached the amulet to the handle and tightened it. "What is he doing?" Julie asked. Keeah frowned. "I don't know." The sorcerer strode to the center of the room. He stood over the spot where the colored tiles showed the outline of Jaffa City. "Soon our questions will be answered," he said. He clutched his sword with both hands. He pointed the blade down.

“看，佐尔的护身符！”斯帕尔喊道。 Ninns在这个奇怪的物体面前鞠躬。 护身符在火炬的照耀下闪闪发光。 “很快，我们就要开始我们的长途旅行了。”斯帕尔宣布。 “佐尔……我们会去找你的！”“哦,亲爱的!”马克斯低声说。 然后斯帕尔大人拔出剑来。 他把护身符系在把手上，拧紧。 “他在干什么？”朱莉问。 Keeah皱起了眉头。“我不知道。” 巫师大步走到房间中央。 他站在彩色瓷砖勾勒出雅法城轮廓的地方。 “我们的问题很快就会得到解答，”他说。 他双手紧握剑。 他把刀刃向下一指。

With one powerful thrust—clong!—Sparr sank his blade deep into the floor. Deep into the map of Jaffa City. "What is going on—" Eric began. Suddenly, the amulet's crystal lit up. It began glowing bright green. It sparked and hissed. Keeah stood up. "It's time," she said. "We'll bring back the king," Eric said firmly. The princess took a deep breath. "Good luck." "To you, too," said Julie, smiling at her. Keeah stepped from the shadows. "Detchu-tah!" she called out sharply. In a flash, the three large red wolves roared into the throne room. They growled and bared their fangs. Steam rose from their open jaws as they skittered by Keeah's side. Sparr stepped back. Fear crossed his face. "The wolves? They were frozen! So… you are your mother's daughter. Too bad your little show of magic won't last very long." "Long enough to stop you!" Keeah said. She raised her hands at Sparr. Eric felt his blood go cold, then hot. "Maybe we should stay to help her. This is all my fault." "Sometimes bad things happen for a reason," Max said. "Perhaps Keeah was meant to do this. I shall stay here. Galen would want me to. But you, you must find the king."

一个强大的推力！斯帕把剑深深插进地板。 深入到雅法城的地图。 “这是怎么回事——”埃里克开口了。 突然，护身符的水晶亮了。 它开始发出亮绿色的光。 它闪着火花，发出嘶嘶声。姬娅站了起来。 “是时候了，”她说。“我们会把国王带回来的。”埃里克坚定地说。 公主深吸了一口气。 “祝你好运”。“对你也一样。”朱莉对她微笑着说。 姬娅从阴影中走了出来。 “Detchu-tah!”她厉声喊道。 刹那间，三只大红狼呼啸着冲进正殿。 它们咆哮着，露出獠牙。 它们在基娅身边窜来窜去，从张开的嘴巴里冒出蒸汽。 斯帕尔退后一步。恐惧掠过他的脸。 “狼?他们被冻住了！你是你妈妈的女儿。 可惜你的小小魔法表演不会持续太久。” “长到足以阻止你！”Keeah说。 她向斯帕尔举起双手。 埃里克感到自己的血液先是变冷，然后又变热。 “也许我们应该留下来帮助她。 这都是我的错。”“有时候坏事的发生是有原因的，”马克斯说。 “也许基厄注定要这样做。 我要留在这里。盖伦会希望我这么做的。 但你，你必须找到国王。”

"But—" Eric started. Julie grabbed Eric's arm. "Keeah has powers. She's got to fight Sparr. And we've got to do this!" Neal grabbed Eric's other arm. "Let's go!" As the wolves leaped for Sparr and his Ninns, the three friends scrambled through the halls. They shivered as they dashed down the steps. Their hearts raced as they entered a world of ice.

“可是——”埃里克说。朱莉抓住埃里克的胳膊。 “姬亚有超能力。她得和斯帕尔决斗。 我们必须这么做！”尼尔抓住埃里克的另一只胳膊。 “我们走吧!”当狼群扑向斯帕和他的Ninns时，三个朋友爬过大厅。 他们冲下台阶时瑟瑟发抖。 当他们进入一个冰的世界时，他们的心跳加速。