The Serpent's Ring (Relics of Mysticus) Read Online Free Page A

that, the car fell back down, producing a startling jolt.
    “Ouch!” Claire yelped and swatted at her brother. “Why did you drop us?”
    “Am I the only one here who finds it the tiniest bit odd that we were flying in a Model T?” shouted Evan.
    Claire placed her hand gently on his shoulder. “Evan, yes, it is strange. But if we don’t get over it, then according to Dunkle, everything we care about will soon be covered in water. I’m not any happier than you are, but I’m trying to deal with it and so should you.”
    Evan took another second to collect himself before sitting upright and taking hold of the front seat. “I think this will work better if I’m behind the wheel,” he said, jumping over. He looked at Dunkle, who nodded slightly.
    “Ready?” Dunkle asked.
    “As I’ll ever be,” said Evan, his bare white knuckles clutching the wheel.
    Again, he filled his lungs with air and concentrated. To his surprise, the car lifted and hovered in place.
    “Now, forward,” instructed Dunkle.
    “Wicked,” said Evan as air blew through his hair and whispered into his ears.
    “Be very careful; you must continue to concentrate and don’t look down,” said Dunkle.
    Evan hadn’t considered looking down. But now that Dunkle mentioned it, he just couldn’t resist. Evan peeked over the car door, and the Model T fell!
    “Concentrate! Don’t lose your focus!” shouted Claire.
    The car froze in place. Evan tried not to peek over the side, as they were floating really high. The wind kicked up, and Dunkle clamped together his tiny brown vest, shielding his reptilianlike skin.
    “Um, Dunkle, this is sort of intense. I’m trying to keep calm. Which direction should I steer the car?” Evan inquired, guiding the car between interwoven glass tunnels.
    Dunkle stretched his mangled-looking arm eastward. “Fly this car in a straight line, that way.” Evan did as the imp instructed and carefully rotated their flying automobile. “You might want to go a little faster.”
    “Hold on, this might get dicey,” Evan said and pushed their levitating car toward the Great Lake.
    Evan felt as if he had stepped inside a brilliantly colored kaleidoscope. He shivered as he passed a few mist-laden gateways. Up ahead, a tropical-looking island rested on billowing clouds. Crystal columns stretched high above the fog. Enormous palm trees swayed back and forth, and a waterfall rushed down a high, glass rock formation and over the side of the cloud. Water droplets trickled down.
    The imp shoved his arm in front of Evan’s nose and said, “Aim north-east—that way.”
    “Do you mind moving your arm? Actually, if you could scoot far away—that’s it, a little farther.” Evan realized, however, that Dunkle didn’t smell quite so bad now. He leaned toward the imp and sniffed. Odd, Dunkle smelled like a tree, a nicely scented pine.
    “Don’t look so surprised,” began Dunkle. “I smell bad only when I am angry or upset or nervous. Normally, I smell like this. All imps take on the odor from the tree under which they were born.” The imp must have been really happy, because the entire area smelled like a Christmas-tree lot.
    “There, there! Put the car down on the sand,” Dunkle said and closed his eyes. He then made a high piercing sound, forcing Evan and Claire to grab their ears. The imp swayed from side to side, continuing to screech for at least a minute. It was difficult to concentrate with that ear-perforating noise, but Evan managed to land safely.
    “Please, don’t ever do that again,” Evan barked, sticking his finger in his ear, but he still couldn’t stop the ringing.
    “Evan, the sand looks like tiny pearls!” Claire shouted. “Dunkle, is it safe to touch?”
    “Of course it’s safe,” said Dunkle, leaping over the car door.
    Dunkle became a swift blur, his speed undeterminable. With a stick in hand, he tumbled over and across the shimmering sand, making scratches and pushing sand piles around here and