9 Ch9-Hot and Cold

CHAPTER 9 HOT AND COLD Opeli pressed her hand against the rock, over the heart of the dragon. "I knew there was a Lava Dragon in here," she whispered. "You were right, Opeli," Ana said. Drake stared in wonder at the pulsing heart.

Then he turned to Opeli. "We need to find the healers your mom talked about. We have to ask them to bring this dragon back to life!" Opeli shook her head. "We have healers in our village, but they will not help us. They believe that Lava Dragons are too dangerous to live side-by-side with humans." Then Drake heard Worm's voice in his head. I am making a connection now, Worm said. The Lava Dragon... he is showing me what happened. Close your eyes, Drake... Pictures popped into Drake's head. Three people in red robes stood in front of a dragon on the water's edge. The dragon had deep orange scales and his body seemed to be glowing from inside. His eyes burned yellow.

The healers raised their arms. A great wave rose up from the ocean, and the water sparkled with magical silver light. It washed over the dragon. Drake could hear the dragon roar in his head.

The wave knocked the dragon to the ground. The dragon's orange glow began to fade. His body slowly turned black and became still.

"The healers put a spell on the water," Drake said out loud. "The Lava Dragon was glowing, but when the wave hit, he turned into this rock." The Lava Dragon says heat will help him break the healers' spell, Worm said. But he doesn't have enough heat on his own. "The Lava Dragon needs heat to break the spell," Drake announced. "Stand back, everybody, and shade your eyes," Ana said. "Kepri, blast that rock with your sunlight!" Drake shaded his eyes as a wide band of bright sunlight streamed from Kepri's mouth. The orange glow of the dragon's heart began to spread down to the dragon's tail, and up to the dragon's head.

Orange scales rippled across the dragon's body. His front legs rose up from the ground, and his long neck stretched up toward the sky. "The Lava Dragon is alive!" Drake cried.