Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT Dancer plunged like a falling stone and landed with a bone-jolting thud. In a daze, Layla stared around. They were on the lower slopes of Mount Fury. High above them, the mouth of the volcano was belching out clouds of thick smoke. Something was tickling her neck. Layla swatted at it. Her fingers touched cold glass and marble. Caught in her hair was a tiny model of Unicorn Academy. Layla tucked the tiny building in her pocket. She knew from her previous adventures that she and Dancer would need it to return to the school.

"Phaaaarrw!" coughed Dancer. "It smells terrible!" Layla looked up to the top of the mountain again, shielding her eyes. Fiery-red dollops of lava were spurting over the edge of the crater and a pungent smell of rotten eggs drifted towards her. "It looks like it might be about to erupt," said Layla anxiously. "We'd better get moving and find some fire beetles before it does. They live at the very top by the crater." She scrambled on to Dancer's back. "Hold tight!" Dancer set off up the side of the mountain, his hooves scattering lumps of rock, sending them tumbling behind in a stony river. Layla's heart thudded painfully against her chest as his hooves slipped and slid on the steep, uneven surface. She gripped hold of his mane until her knuckles whitened. She really didn't want to climb the volcano but no matter how scared she was, she wouldn't give up. If

there were fire beetles on the volcano, she and Dancer would find them! "Keep going, Dancer!" she urged. He launched into a canter. "We'll soon be at the top," he panted. "We'll soon find those—" He broke off with an alarmed whinny as the ground began to shake. Layla squeaked in horror as a crack zigzagged across the rocky landscape, widening into a deep crevasse. She

clung to Dancer's mane, hardly daring to breathe as they teetered on the edge. Slowly Dancer crept back from the sheer drop, stones rattling under his hooves. "That was close!" he gasped when they were safe. "If we'd fallen in, we would have died!" Layla stared at the gaping drop in front of them. It was at least two metres wide and she couldn't even see the bottom. "How will we get to the top now?" "We'll have to jump it," said Dancer. "Trust me, Layla, I know I can clear it. I've easily jumped that far before." But not taking off on steep, uneven ground, Layla wanted to say. What if there was another earthquake when he took off? What if the crack widened further as he jumped? Would they plummet into the crevasse? Dancer sensed her anxiety and nuzzled her leg. "Layla, I can do this."

Layla's heart pounded but they didn't have another option. "I trust you," she said finally. She gripped Dancer's sides with her knees and wrapped her fingers in his mane. Dancer took a few paces back then cantered forward. Layla shut her eyes and felt him leap into the air. There was a moment when they were hanging suspended over the crevasse, and then she felt his hooves thud into the ground as he landed on the other side. The breath rushed out of her. "You did it!" she cried, hugging him. Dancer whinnied triumphantly. "I did! Now, let's get to the top as fast as we can!" The nearer they cantered to the summit, the hotter it was. Dancer's sides soon grew slippery with sweat and Layla felt a trickle run down her nose. It was hard to breathe. "Almost there," wheezed Dancer. "What's that?" Layla pointed to some tiny

red spots on the rocks in front of them. "Are they fire beetles?" "I don't know," said Dancer. He went closer and snorted in shock. "No! That's drops of lava!" Despite the intense heat, Layla felt a chill seep through her. "The lava must be rising through the rocks. I read that happens just before a volcano erupts!" "Maybe we should go back?" said Dancer anxiously. "But we're almost there! We have to go on," Layla insisted, looking up to the summit. "What if the volcano erupts?" asked Dancer. "We'll have to risk it!" said Layla. Thick smoke billowed towards them as they scrambled up the final steep slope to approach the crater. Layla scanned the ground, searching desperately for fire beetles. "There aren't any fire beetles here," said Dancer, reaching the crater's edge.