The Dragon in the Volcano by Kate Klimo Read Free Book Online Page A

trust anyone with horns like that.”
    Daisy didn’t respond. She was too busy taking in the sights. Up close, the sleighlike vehicles were enormous, with tiers of seats rising up like bleachers. They were pulled by teams of hulking pink lizards. The passengers looked like rows of flickering flames. Down the sidewalk, more flamesrushed toward them. As the flames drew nearer, Daisy made out jagged humanoid shapes within them, with long legs and long arms, not unlike the shelf elves but with fierce-looking faces framed by flaming tresses.
    “What
are
they?” Daisy asked.
    “Fire fairies,” said Emmy. “They inhabit this realm, along with the dragons and other fire creatures, both wild and tame.”
    “But I thought fairies had wings,” said Jesse.
    “Not here,” said Emmy. “Fire fairies don’t fly. They flit … and skip and jump, but they don’t fly.”
    There were dragons, too, sharing the wide promenade, some alone, some accompanied by other dragons, others walking with fire fairies. Like Jasper, all the dragons had prominent horns, quite a few having more than two. Some seemed in a hurry; others took their time, stopping to look in the shop windows that displayed an array of elegant goods: necklaces and bracelets and tiaras, vases and bowls and goblets, shoes and hats and beautiful sparkling gowns. Daisy wanted to linger and browse, but Emmy and Jasper hustled them along until they came to a giant gate hewn from rose quartz.
    Two towering fire fairies holding gold lances stood guard on either side of a grand arched entrywaycarved from ruby. Daisy looked up. Ruby arches soared and disappeared into the pink clouds. This was the palace with the spire she had seen from up on the ledge.
    “The Great Hall of the Grand Beacons,” Emmy said in a hushed tone.
    One of the guards came down the ruby steps to have a word with Jasper. The guard nodded and stood back. The next moment, the gates swung open and Jasper herded them in. They walked up the wide stairs and passed through an arched doorway into a long ruby-red gallery that reminded Daisy of how she imagined the inside of the throat of a long-necked monster might look. It was flanked by more armed guards with lances, who seemed to crackle and sputter as the procession passed.
    The gallery opened up into a massive chamber housing what appeared to be a great stone fireplace at the far end. As they came nearer, Daisy realized it was a giant throne that looked like a nest of rubies. Seated upon the throne-nest were a fire fairy and a large dragon with pewter-gray scales and three horns splayed across his huge head.
    “Jesse and Daisy, may I present to you the Grand Beacons of the Fiery Realm, Lady Flamina and Lord Feldspar,” Emmy said, her voice swellingwith pride. “Lord and Lady, these are my Keepers, Jesse Tiger and Daisy Flower. They followed me here from the Earthly Realm.”
    “The Earthly Realm, is it? Nice to know where we come from,” Jesse muttered to Daisy.
    “Shhhh!” Daisy said. “Listen.”
    “Welcome to the Fiery Realm,” said Lady Flamina. When she spoke, her face and hair flickered vivid blue. Her voice sounded like fire spitting on damp wood.
    The dragon at her side nodded his huge horned head and sighed, wisps of black smoke trailing from his nostrils.
    “I was right, was I not?” Lady Flamina said to her dragon companion. “I said I heard them coming and here they are.”
    “You are correct as usual, Your Ladyship,” Lord Feldspar growled.
    “That was probably me,” Jesse said. “I screamed my head off when Daisy dragged me over the ledge into the Lake of Fire.”
    The fire fairy flared up bright orange. “No one in the Ruby City missed that. But I heard you coming long before you passed through the membrane. I heard you as you rode across the earthly terrain toward us on your iron-shod steed. You see, we inthe Fiery Realm can see anything in the Earthly Realm that is in flames.”
    Jesse nodded politely.
    The fire fairy went on: