Free The Dragon in the Volcano by Kate Klimo Page B

to land on you and squish you flat, Jesse Tiger. Bombs away!”
    Jesse kicked clear just as Emmy rode the falls over the brink and tumbled, head over heels, into the pool. Then Jesse and Emmy and the fire fairies took turn after turn, riding the fire falls with tireless enthusiasm. Daisy sat and watched them, waiting for the right words to start a conversation with Jasper.
    At length, Jasper said, “Emmy’s a brilliant boon.”
    “She seems very fond of you,” Daisy said carefully.
    Emmy was waving to Jasper from the top of the lava falls.
    “Come out and runch!” Jasper called up to her.
    “Just one more ride!” she called back.
    Jasper sighed, as if greatly put upon. “I fear she is far too taken with me,” he said. “But it will pass.”
    “How can you be so sure?” Daisy said.
    Jasper avoided meeting Daisy’s eyes.
    “Look at her,” Jasper said, “playing with the young ones. In some ways she’s worldly, but inother ways, she is still a small child. She’s not ready for the rigors of motehood.”
    Daisy saw her opportunity. “But your real fiery mote is?”
    Jasper nodded and sighed as if that relationship offered very little joy.
    “When were you planning to tell Emmy about you and … her?”
    “She’ll find out about Malachite soon enough,” he said. “She-dragons compete constantly for my favors. The trouncings are frequent and furious, I’m afraid.”
    So the big galoot is stuck-up, too!
Daisy thought, anger prickling her scalp.
    “It’s not what you think,” said Jasper, reading her expression. “It’s just that there are four she-dragons for every he-dragon in the realm. I am used to them trouncing each other to win my favors.”
    “I see,” said Daisy, not sure how to feel. She wondered if Emmy would see and whether it would make losing Jasper any easier when the time came. Daisy doubted it. And what if Emmy got trounced? It didn’t sound like being trounced was any fun at all. It might even be dangerous.
    After everyone had ridden the lava falls until they were dizzy and spent, they sprawled on the bank and had a picnic runch.
    Daisy noticed Emmy wasn’t runching. “Aren’t you hungry?” she asked.
    “I’ll just make do with pure air,” Emmy said merrily. She was busy collecting the amethyst pebbles that lined the streambed.
    “What are you making?” Jesse asked. He had inhaled his oxygen BLT. Riding the lava stream had made him ravenous.
    “A little something … for the dance tonight!” she said with a wink at Jasper.
    “We had better start back,” Jasper said, “if we don’t want to be late for the Fire Ball.”
    The dragons helped Jesse and Daisy back onto their fire salamanders, the fairies flitted onto Emmy’s tail, and together they set off for the Ruby City. Overhead, the sky had deepened to the color of ripe eggplant. The jungle writhed and twisted around them, darker and more sinister than it had seemed earlier. Jesse heard menacing hissing and thumping in the undergrowth, followed by an ear-piercing shriek. Speedy wallowed and whipped his head around. Two giant beasts reared up behind them. They looked like lions, only five times bigger and raging red, ringed with manes of fire.
    The lions put up their backs and spat at Speedy. Speedy screamed and lashed his tail asthe fire lions pounced. Emmy smacked Speedy’s haunch to get him going, but Speedy had frozen with fear. Then Jesse saw why. The lions had flamed him. His long red and white tail was now a smoldering stump.
    “These things spit fire!” Daisy said, her eyes wide.
    “Loogies of fire!” Jesse said ominously.
    “Jesse Tiger, kick Speedy and make him giddyup and get away from the fire loogies!” Emmy cried.
    Jesse booted Speedy’s flanks with all his might and felt the beast come to life beneath him, felt the heat of the lions’ fiery breath lessen. Jesse looked back and saw Jasper drawing the lions away from the salamanders. He roared and a gout of flame shot out of his mouth.
    Jesse