Free Journey to the Volcano Palace by Tony Abbott

One

Dreams
     
    Eric Hinkle couldn’t breathe.
    The air around him was dark and smoky and hot. The evil sorcerer Lord Sparr was after him, chasing him down a long, dark tunnel.
    “Now that you know my secret,” Sparr shouted, “you will never be able to leave!”
    “I don’t know any secret!” Eric pleaded. “Let me go! Let me out of Droon!”
    “NEVER!” was Sparr’s only word.
    The sorcerer’s eyes were filled with anger. The weird fins behind his ears were purple and shiny. He was getting closer. Closer!
    The tunnel ahead of Eric split in two.
    Go right! said a voice in his head.
    “Oh, man!” Eric swallowed hard. He had always had a problem with right and left. He looked at his hands. Which was right? It took him a second to decide. “This way!” he said.
    He charged ahead into one of the tunnels.
    No! said the voice in his head. The right one!
    “Ha! Now I have you!” Sparr shrieked as Eric ran up against a solid wall. “My secret is safe!”
    “Help!” Eric cried. “I’m trapped!”
    Sparr lunged.
    Eric leaped out of the way.
    Thud!
    “Ouch!” Eric groaned.
    He opened his eyes. He was in his room. He was half on the floor, half still in bed, wound up tight in his bedsheet. He looked like a mummy.
    “Whoa!” he said. “What a nightmare.”
    The door opened. His mother stood in the doorway. “Eric, what was that noise?”
    “Uh, I guess I fell out of bed,” Eric said, unwinding himself from his sheet. “But I’m okay.”
    Mrs. Hinkle helped him up. “By the way, Eric. Where is Droon?”
    Eric nearly fell to the floor again. “Huh?”
    “You were talking in your sleep,” his mother said. “Something about a place called Droon.”
    Eric gulped. He blinked. His mouth opened to answer, but nothing came out.
    Droon was a secret. No one was supposed to know about the incredible world he and his friends had found under his basement stairs.
    Galen the wizard had made them promise not to tell anyone.
    The problem was, ever since his first time in Droon, Eric couldn’t think of anything else.
    Now he was even dreaming about it.
    And Princess Keeah had told them that when you dreamed about Droon, it meant you would go back.
    “Uh, Droon is a place we, uh…made up,” Eric said. “Neal and Julie and I.”
    He hated to lie. But until he and his friends found out more about Droon – and about the evil Sparr – it wasn’t safe for people to know.
    “Sounds secret,” his mother said. “By the way, your friends called. They’re coming over.”
    Eric dressed quickly. He had to tell Neal and Julie about his dream right away.
    He got to the backyard in time to see a small, scruffy dog chasing Neal across the lawn.
    Grrr! The dog kept biting Neal’s feet.
    “Stop it, Snorky!” Neal tossed a biscuit across the yard. The dog bounced after it. “Hey, Eric.”
    “I’m glad you’re here,” Eric said. “It happened. I had a weird dream about Droon –”
    “Not me.” Neal shook his head. “I was so tired teaching Snorky to fetch, I fell asleep before I hit the pillow. Actually, I fell asleep on my floor.”
    “I woke up on the floor!” Eric said. “It was weird. It felt like someone from Droon was sending the dream to me.”
    At that moment, Julie came into the yard.
    Eric ran over to her. “Julie, something strange is going on –”
    “First, let me tell you about my dream,” Julie said. “I was in Droon –”
    “Me, too!” Eric gasped. “Sparr was chasing me because I knew his big secret. But I forgot what the secret was.”
    “Hmm.” Julie bit her lip. She always did that when she was trying to figure something out. “I was at a pool of water. I was really thirsty and I wanted to take a drink, but something creeped me out. I forget what it was, but it was very yucky.”
    Grrr! Snorky ran back across the lawn. He fastened his teeth on the toe of Neal’s right sneaker.

    “Let go of my shoe!” Neal cried. “Wait a second….I remember now. I had a scary dream, too! I