Zepha the Monster Squid (2 page)

“C
AN YOU TELL US WHAT HAPPENED?”
A
DURO
asked, kneeling beside the injured man.

The master of arms drew in a shaky breath. “Bats!” he whispered. “The whole room was full of bats. They took the armor.” He covered his face with his hands. “I have failed the king.”

Aduro touched the old man’s shoulder. “No, my friend. Evil has been at work here.” Standing up again, he thumped on the floor three times with his staff.

A moment later, Tom heard running footsteps in the passage, and two servants appeared in the
doorway. Their eyes grew wide with shock as they looked inside.

“Carry the master to his room,” Wizard Aduro ordered. “Send for King Hugo’s healer. And say nothing of what you’ve seen to anyone.”

The two servants lifted the elderly man carefully. Elenna scooped up the ferret and gave it to him as he was carried out into the passage.

As soon as the master of arms and the servants were gone, Tom turned to the wizard. “This was Malvel’s work! It must have been. He is still alive after all.”

Aduro nodded gravely. “I fear that you are right.”

“What armor was he talking about?” Elenna asked. “Why is it so important?”

“Tom, the armor was to have been your reward for completing the Quest,” Aduro explained. “Once it belonged to the Master of the Beasts. It brings magical strengths to its rightful owner.”

“But …” Tom was puzzled. “You couldn’t give me the armor if it belongs to the Master of the Beasts. I remember you told me that Malvel had imprisoned him long before my Quest began, but why isn’t he still wearing it?”

Aduro let out a long sigh. “Many years ago, the Master of the Beasts should have returned to the palace for the New Year feast. Instead, the empty suit of armor appeared in the Great Hall as the nobles were taking their places.” The wizard paused, then went on. “Malvel had captured him, then sent the armor to mock King Hugo — and me.”

Tom felt as if an icy hand had clutched his heart. He hoped the Master of the Beasts had not suffered too greatly in the hands of the Dark Wizard.

“However, I felt that all was not lost,” Aduro said. “The powers of the armor would still work if
the suit was worn by the right person — a true Quester with brave blood running through his veins. I think you are that person, Tom.”

For a moment Tom could not speak. He wasn’t sure he was worthy to wear the golden armor. But he would give everything to protect Avantia.

The wizard began to pace impatiently back and forth in the small room, his staff clicking on the stone floor. “Malvel must have realized that your successful Quest has made you a danger to him. He would never have imagined that anyone — much less a boy — could lift the spells on all six Beasts. He has stolen the armor to stop
you
from wearing it and gaining its magical powers.”

“But it would never fit me.” Tom measured himself against the wooden stand that had held the armor. “It must have been made for a tall man.”

“This armor will always fit he who serves the Beasts,” Aduro explained. “Its magic can sense it.”

“Then we have to do something!” Elenna’s eyes sparkled with indignation. “We can’t let Malvel get away with this.”

More cautiously, Tom added, “But what has Malvel done with it? Can he use it for himself?”

Aduro halted in his pacing. “No, he cannot. But perhaps we can see something of where it has gone.” He raised his staff and swept it in a wide arc. The air glittered in its wake and a picture gradually formed, hovering in the air.

Tom and Elenna let out gasps of wonder and fear.

They could see a multitude of flying bats, carrying pieces of the golden armor hooked in their claws. Then the swarm split up. Groups of bats flew off in six different directions, each carrying a piece of the armor. The sound of Malvel’s mocking laughter grew until it filled the room.

Then the vision faded. When it had gone, Aduro let out a weary sigh. “This is worse than I feared.
Malvel’s bats have scattered the armor around the kingdom.” He looked gravely at Tom. “Are you ready for another Quest, so soon after your first? Will you seek out the pieces of armor and bring them back together?”

Tom drew himself up. “Of course I will.”

“And what about me?” Elenna asked with a fierce look. “Where Tom goes, I go!”

A relieved smile spread over Aduro’s face. “Thank you, Elenna. I know that you, too, have the courage to succeed. The magic map will once again show you where to go. Fetch it and change into your traveling clothes. Meet me in the stables as soon as you can.”

Tom hurried back to his room and changed into a woolen tunic and thick cloak. He fastened on his scabbard, sheathed his sword, and picked up his shield. It bore the six magical tokens from the Beasts he had already freed: Ferno’s dragon scale protected him from heat, Sepron’s tooth from
rushing water, Cypher’s eagle feather from great heights, and Tartok’s claw from extreme cold. Tagus’s horseshoe fragment gave him extra speed and Epos’s golden feather healed wounds.

Surely their combined power would strengthen him now?

Then Tom went down to the stables. As he crossed the courtyard Elenna caught up with him, Silver at her heels.

“I took some leftover food from the feast,” she said, showing Tom a large bundle wrapped in a white cloth.

“Good thinking,” Tom said, smiling. It wouldn’t hurt to have a few days’ supplies on-hand.

Aduro was waiting in the stables. A groom had already saddled Storm. Elenna stroked the stallion’s nose and fed him one last apple.

Tom carefully placed the map in one of Storm’s saddlebags. The wizard glanced at the familiar
parchment scroll. “Guard the map well. And take care. This time, Malvel knows you are a threat to him. His magic is clearly as strong as ever, and now he is angry.”

“I’m not afraid of Malvel,” Tom said bravely, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Storm snorted, rapping one hoof against the stable floor, and Silver let out a howl of agreement, but Aduro’s face was creased with concern.

Tom climbed into Storm’s saddle and Elenna scrambled up behind him.

“Farewell,” said Aduro. “And may good luck go with you.”

He ordered the guards to open the gates of the palace.

Tom urged Storm into a trot. As they passed through the gates, with Silver bounding alongside, Tom could still hear music and sounds of celebration ringing out from the palace walls. The
rest of Avantia had no idea that Malvel was alive and plotting once more.

Tom was determined that the Dark Wizard would not succeed. He and Elenna would follow this new Quest to the end.

“I
’
M GLAD
I’
M NOT ALONE ON THIS
Q
UEST,”
Tom told Elenna as they rode away from the palace. “I know we can do this together.”

“Silver and Storm will help us, too,” Elenna said. “And don’t forget the Beasts. They’re friendly now, and it’s their job to protect Avantia. Maybe we can call on them to help us fight Malvel.”

“That’s true,” said Tom, feeling a swell of determination. With Elenna, their animal friends, and the Beasts of Avantia on his side, he knew that it was his destiny to defeat Malvel.

The road they were following led through fields where cattle grazed peacefully. A few trees grew
here and there in the lush grass; the afternoon sun cast long shadows.

Soon they came to a crossroads. Tom brought Storm to a halt and pulled out Wizard Aduro’s enchanted map. As he unrolled it a red path began to glow, leading to the coast.

“That’s the road we took when we met Sepron the Sea Serpent.” Elenna pointed out, peering over Tom’s shoulder.

“Then at least we know the way.” Tom rolled up the map, put it back in the saddlebag, and urged Storm on.

They passed through a narrow belt of trees and began to climb a hill. Tom noticed that the sunlight was growing hazy, as though night was falling. A chill wind whispered over him. But the sun still stood well above the horizon, and the sky was blue except for a few puffs of white clouds. Tom glanced around, uneasy. He couldn’t see anything except trees and fields.

Then he looked up. High above in the blue sky, black dots were flitting back and forth. Tom remembered the vision Aduro had shown them. “Bats!” he exclaimed.

He felt Elenna lock her arms tightly around his waist. “I thought bats only flew at night,” she said.

“Malvel bent the great Beasts to his will. It must be easy to get bats to do his bidding,” Tom replied grimly.

He reined Storm in and gripped the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it. The black stallion threw his head up and his harness jingled. Beside the horse, Silver stood stiff-legged, barking angrily at the sky.

The bats flew lower and lower, until they were swooping around Tom and Elenna. Storm snorted nervously; Tom patted his neck to reassure him. Silver leaped into the air, his jaws snapping vainly at the leathery wings.

Tom and Elenna had to duck to avoid the
creatures’ talons. Tom didn’t dare try to outrun them on Storm; the path was steep and rough, and the stallion could easily be injured. In a desperate move, he drew his sword and slashed at the whirling pack of bats. They fluttered upward out of range and then clustered together in a rolling ball.

Elenna gasped in astonishment. “What are they doing?”

Slowly, the ball took on a different shape. Icy fear rushed through Tom as he recognized the hooded being that had laughed at him so cruelly on that mountainside. It stretched across half the sky, from above Tom’s head to the distant horizon.

“Malvel!” he exclaimed.

The Dark Wizard was using the bats to give form to his evil face. Tom could see the gleam of his sunken eyes and the twisted line of his cruel mouth. Mocking laughter poured out and Malvel’s voice boomed around them.

“I hope you enjoyed my surprise. You are fools if you think you can defeat me!”

Tom raised his sword. “I
know
we can defeat you. We’ll track down every piece of the armor that you have stolen. Nothing is going to stop us!”

Malvel’s laughter echoed again. “Nothing? Not even
new
Beasts with evil hearts? Beasts that I have created?”

For a moment Tom was shocked into silence.

Silver let out a miserable whine, and hurled himself into the air again, snapping at Malvel’s shape.

“New Beasts!” Elenna exclaimed. “What do you mean?”

Malvel replied. “You’ll find out soon enough, when you meet Zepha. Maybe then you’ll change your minds.”

“Never!” Tom cried defiantly. “You can conjure up whatever Beasts you like, but they won’t stop me. I’ll never fail Avantia!”

But who — or what — was Zepha? Tom felt a lurch of fear in the pit of his stomach as he thought of the six new Beasts he would have to face.

Then the bats began to scatter. Malvel’s face broke up and disappeared, but his jeering laughter echoed around the hills until every last bat had vanished.

Tom sheathed his sword. His stomach was still churning. Elenna looked white and shaken, Storm was sweating and trembling, and Silver’s tail was dragging in the dust of the road.

“I think we should make camp,” Tom said, trying to keep his voice firm. “The sun’s going down and it’ll be dark soon.”

Elenna nodded in agreement. They dismounted, and Tom led the way to a small clump of trees not far from the road. There was a pool in the middle of the trees, at the bottom of a rocky hollow. Tom unsaddled Storm while Elenna collected wood and made a fire. They were both glad of the bright
flames as the sun sank lower and darkness began to creep around them.

Elenna unpacked the food she had saved from the feast and handed Tom some bread and cold chicken. “I wonder why Aduro didn’t warn us about the new Beasts,” she said.

“Perhaps he didn’t know,” Tom replied. “This is a different Quest. This time we’re on our own.”

Elenna’s eyes shone with steely resolve. “We’ll manage,” she said. “We’ve got to.”

When they had finished eating, Tom wrapped himself in his cloak and lay down beside the remains of the fire. He gazed up, searching. The moon shone brightly behind wisps of cloud; no black specks dotted the sky and the wind carried no sound of leathery wings.

But now Tom knew that something else was out there. Something even more dangerous than Malvel’s vicious bats.

A new set of evil Beasts.

Maybe they were already circling around him, hidden by the night. Tom peered into the shadows, but he couldn’t see anything.

It took a long time for sleep to come.