by Adam Blade
THE DARK REALM
BOOK EIGHTEEN
STING
THE SCORPION MAN
ADAM BLADE
ILLUSTRATED BY EZRA TUCKER
With special thanks to Lucy Courtenay
To Anna McCullough
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
DEAR READER
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE: DESTINY IN THE WEST
CHAPTER TWO: DARK SURPRISE
CHAPTER THREE: THE BATTLE BY THE LAKE
CHAPTER FOUR: THE VOICE IN THE WELL
CHAPTER FIVE: THE GATEKEEPER
CHAPTER SIX: DANGER IN THE WESTERN CITY
CHAPTER SEVEN: MALVEL’s CASTLE
CHAPTER EIGHT: THE TOMBS
CHAPTER NINE: TRAPPED!
CHAPTER TEN: PURPLE MIST
Copyright
Welcome. You stand on the edge of darkness, at the gates of an awful land. This place is Gorgonia, the Dark Realm, where the sky is red, the water black, and Malvel rules. Tom and Elenna — your hero and his companion — must travel here to complete the next Beast Quest.
Gorgonia is home to six most deadly Beasts — Minotaur, Winged Stallion, Sea Monster, Gorgonian Hound, Mighty Mammoth, and Scorpion Man. Nothing can prepare Tom and Elenna for what they are about to face. Their past victories mean little. Only strong hearts and determination will save them now.
Dare you follow Tom’s path once more? I advise you to turn back. Heroes can be stubborn and adventures may beckon, but if you decide to stay with Tom, you must be brave and fearless. Anything less will mean certain doom.
Watch your step….
Kerlo the Gatekeeper
PROLOGUE
THE GORGONIAN MEDICINE WOMAN TWITCHED and muttered in her sleep. Her dreams were strange tonight.
A boy stood alone in a dark tunnel, his face bloody and streaked with sweat. In his hand was a battered wooden shield with six tokens embedded in its surface. Torches flickered along the passageway, throwing the boy’s shadow onto the wall, where it stood huge and alone.
The boy was suddenly dwarfed by a second silhouette — a Beast with a sweeping tail and monstrous pincers that snipped and slashed at the air.
A giant scorpion!
The medicine woman moaned in her sleep as the silhouette grew clearer. The creature was more than a scorpion. It was half man!
The boy whirled around, raising his sword, as the Beast attacked with his razor-sharp pincers. “Tom!”
A girl’s voice screamed. It was Elenna, the girl the medicine woman had helped to heal. She stood with a wolf by her side, and held a bow with an arrow in the bowstring. She let the arrow fly at the scorpion, but it bounced harmlessly off the creature’s body. The boy stumbled and the Beast reared up, his pincers snapping viciously and slicing ever closer to the boy’s head.
The medicine woman woke from her dream with a gasp. She sat upright, clutching her blankets, her heart hammering. A tiny scorpion lay at the bottom of her bed. She stepped out of the bed, her eyes never leaving the creature’s glossy black body. The nightmare had just saved her life. Many Gorgonians had been found dead in their beds because a poisonous scorpion had found its way under the covers.
She pushed her way out of her tent. The boy’s face was still clear in her mind. Tom. She had heard that name recently. Elenna had mentioned it. Tom was her friend.
Shivering, the old woman tried to shake off the feeling of dread that had crept over her. The dream felt like a sign of things to come. She’d had premonitions before. She hoped this one was wrong.
“Stay safe, Elenna and Tom,” she muttered, gazing up at the swirling red sky of Gorgonia.
Scorpions were bad enough. A giant scorpion would be unstoppable.
CHAPTER ONE
DESTINY IN THE WEST
THE BLOODRED LIGHT FROM THE GORGONIAN sunrise peeped through the trees as Tom and Elenna made their way out of the forest, their faithful companions, Storm and Silver, ambling beside them. Vulturelike birds croaked on the branches overhead, and a thick mist lay on the ground.
Tom led the way, holding Storm’s bridle. He noticed that Elenna kept her hand protectively on one of Silver’s shaggy shoulders. The wolf had been badly wounded two Quests previously, and had only just returned to Elenna’s side. Tom and his friends had already freed five of Avantia’s Beasts from Malvel’s kingdom. Cypher the Mountain Giant was the last of the six Beasts being kept here against his will by the evil wizard. If they could free Cypher, their Quest would be complete.
Tom pulled his shield from his shoulder and studied the talismans set into its scarred wooden surface. The tokens from the good Beasts usually glowed and vibrated when a Beast was in danger. But Cypher’s tear remained dark, and the shield had been still now for far too long. Where was Malvel keeping the mountain giant?
“Still nothing?” Elenna asked.
Tom shook his head. “It’s as if Cypher is somewhere so far away that the shield can’t sense him.” He pushed his shield over his shoulder again, refusing to meet Elenna’s eyes. He didn’t want to reveal his worst fear: that he was already too late to save Cypher. “Perhaps the map will give us some clues,” he said instead.
He took the smelly, worn parchment from Storm’s saddlebag. Malvel had given them the map when they had entered Gorgonia for the first time. Each time they began searching for a good Beast, the map would give Tom a sign that he could use, or a green line would snake across its surface for Tom and Elenna to follow. Usually these signs and pathways would lead to trouble, but it was the only map that Tom and Elenna had.
“Nothing,” Tom said, looking down at the map in disappointment.
“We can’t trust it anyway,” Elenna pointed out as Tom put the map away.
“You’re right,” Tom said. “I’ll use my compass instead. It won’t let us down.”
Tom’s uncle had given him the silver compass for his birthday. Instead of north and south, the words “Destiny” and “Danger” were inscribed upon its face. The compass had belonged to his father, Taladon, who was once the Master of the Beasts for Avantia and had disappeared when Tom was a baby.
Tom held the compass and walked in a complete circle. As he pointed it to the west, the arrow whirled several times and came to rest on Destiny.
Tom felt his heart lift. He put the compass away. “The compass is telling us to go west,” he told Elenna. “I’m sure that’s where Cypher is. While there’s blood in my veins, I will find him and get him home to Avantia!”
Storm neighed and tossed his black mane as if he were agreeing. Silver sprang ahead down the path, eager to get going, and Tom and Elenna pressed on after him.
In the far distance, they saw something lying on the ground.
“What’s that?” Elenna asked, shading her eyes in the red light.
Tom used the power of the magical golden helmet to bring the object into focus. Although the precious golden armor had been returned to Avantia at the end of the last Quest, he still possessed its gifts, and the helmet gave him extrakeen vision.
It was a boy, sprawled on the ground and riddled with arrows. His body was twitching. Tom felt his skin turn cold.
“It’s Seth,” he said to Elenna. “He’s hurt.”
Seth was one of Malvel’s servants. Tom and Elenna had fought him before, and each time, the boy had been intent on killing them.
“Do we help?” Elenna asked.
Tom hesitated.
Seth was his sworn enemy. What should he do?
CHAPTER TWO
DARK SURPRISE
SETH SUDDENLY LET OUT A GROAN OF AGONY that echoed through the trees.
Tom knew what he had to do. He couldn’t ignore anoth
er person in pain, even if that person was his enemy. To do such a thing would make him as bad as Malvel.
Tom tugged Storm’s bridle, leading the black stallion toward the figure. Elenna walked beside him, with Silver pressed close to her side.
The path broadened and the trees thinned out to reveal a black, mirrorlike lake. Seth lay close to the water’s edge. He was still breathing, but only just. His rib cage rose and fell in shallow gasps. Six arrows were embedded in his chest, and his blood had seeped onto the ground. It seemed impossible that he was still alive.
Tom was now close enough to see the beads of sweat on Seth’s forehead. Storm dug his hooves into the path, then stepped backward. His nostrils flared.
“Hush, Storm,” Tom said, soothing his horse.
“Silver doesn’t like this, either, Tom.” Elenna gazed down at her wolf. Silver’s growls were deepening, and the hair was standing up on his back.
“Seth can’t do anything to us,” Tom reasoned. “Look at him. He needs our help.”
He gave Storm’s bridle to Elenna. Then he took hold of Epos the Winged Flame’s feather and grabbed it from the front of his shield before kneeling down next to Seth. As gently as he could, he pulled three arrows out of the boy’s body, and held the phoenix’s feather to each wound. Seth’s skin instantly began to knit together, and one by one the wounds began to heal.
Seth’s groaning eased. His eyes fluttered open. Seeing Tom, he cried out in panic, “No! Leave me alone!”
Ignoring Seth, Tom pulled the fourth arrow from the boy’s chest and healed the gaping hole.
Seth’s eyes filled with terror. He began pushing Tom away, as his strength started to return. “You don’t know what you’re doing!” he gasped. “You should have left me to die!”
Tom ignored him. He took hold of the fifth arrow and pulled.
With surprising quickness, Seth grabbed Tom’s wrist and pushed the arrow back into himself with a scream of pain. Tom heard Elenna gasp with horror. Storm whinnied and tried to pull away from Elenna’s grasp, while Silver stood still, his tail between his legs.
Tom could understand why his friends were so spooked. It was almost as if Seth wanted to die.
Tom steadied his hands and swiftly pried Seth’s fingers away from the arrow, drawing the dripping shaft out of the boy’s flesh.
“No,” Seth moaned, as Tom took hold of the sixth and final arrow. “Don’t do it.”
“Something is wrong here, Tom,” Elenna said, shaking her head. “I think we should respect Seth’s wishes and leave him.”
“He’s mad with pain,” Tom reassured his friend. “There is just one more arrow….”
Tom pulled the sixth arrow loose. Seth lashed out with his fists as Tom held the phoenix feather to the fifth and sixth wounds, but he was too weak to knock Tom’s hands away. In an instant, his injuries had healed.
Seth let out an unearthly screech and writhed on the ground, making Tom jump back in alarm. Elenna worked desperately to soothe Storm and Silver as they tried to turn tail and run.
Something was happening to Seth. Something awful …
They watched in horror as the boy’s legs fused together, forming a single limb that lengthened and tore through his clothes. It grew darker and harder until it turned into a bulbous, beaded tail. The tail swiped out powerfully at Tom and Elenna, knocking them both to the ground.
Seth screamed again. His voice sounded deeper and rougher. Four legs forced their way out of both sides of his torso, tearing through his tunic.
“Get back!” Tom shouted to Elenna as they both got to their feet.
Seth sprang onto his new legs and let out a horrifying roar as two pincers burst from his stomach and began clicking and snapping in Tom and Elenna’s direction. Tom could hardly believe what was in front of him. The bottom part of Seth’s body looked just like a scorpion, but his chest, arms, and head were still human. Seth pointed at Tom and Elenna, his face a mask of anger and despair.
“You!” he screamed, his voice terrifyingly deep. “This is your fault! This is Malvel’s punishment for my failure. If you’d let me die as I wished, this wouldn’t have happened. I wouldn’t be a monster!”
With a roar of fury, Seth picked up his sword, which had been lying by the side of the path. Its wickedly serrated edge glinted in the bloodred light. With his giant scorpion pincers snapping, he advanced on Tom and Elenna.
CHAPTER THREE
THE BATTLE BY THE LAKE
“DON’T COME ANY CLOSER,” TOM ORDERED, pointing his blade at the creature in front of him.
Seth gave a ghastly chuckle. His long tail reared high in the air, ready to strike.
“Tom,” Elenna gasped, staring up. “Look!”
Tom followed her gaze. Something was gleaming at the tip of Seth’s tail — a purple jewel. An amethyst. Instinctively, Tom touched the belt he wore around his waist — a belt already decorated with five jewels, each of which he had taken from the Beasts of Gorgonia…. If Seth had a jewel, it could mean only one thing.
“Seth’s an evil Beast now,” Tom whispered to Elenna. “The last one we must defeat.”
“Enough talking!” Seth roared, lunging at them.
Elenna dove away, while Tom dodged to one side. He found himself next to the black lake that lay beside the path, and heard a rush of air as Elenna released her arrow. But the arrow bounced harmlessly off Seth’s scaly tail.
Seth swung his sword above his head and sprang toward Tom. The Beast moved so fast that Tom had to use the magical power of the golden boots to leap into the air and avoid the vicious blade. The tip of Seth’s sword missed Tom’s stomach by a hair.
The momentum of the attack carried Seth to the edge of the lake, where he teetered for a moment on the bank, desperately struggling to stay upright. Then he looked down at his reflection in the black water, and Tom saw his enemy’s face sag in horror.
“I’m hideous!” Seth screamed in despair, falling to the ground, away from his reflection.
Tom felt a surge of pity for the vile creature in front of him, but there were no words that could possibly comfort him. Tom turned and joined Elenna, who was standing with Storm and Silver. As he did so, a swirling red cloud dropped out of the sky and surrounded them. A tall wizard in bloodred robes stepped out of the scarlet mist. “Malvel!” Tom gasped.
The Dark Wizard inclined his head. “The young hero,” he said, a thin smile spreading across his face. “I knew your good heart would get you into trouble one day.”
Tom realized now that this was all part of Malvel’s plan. The wizard knew he would try to help the injured Seth. Angrily, Tom leveled his sword at him, ready to do battle. But with a wave of one thin hand, Malvel placed a shimmering, magical barrier in front of himself and Seth. Growling furiously, Silver hurled himself at the barrier but he bounced off the magical shield with a yelp, almost as if he had been burned by fire.
“I beg you, Malvel,” Seth sobbed, collapsing before the wizard. “Turn me back to how I was!”
Tom saw the wizard look coldly at his servant. “Stop sniveling,” Malvel commanded. “This is your punishment for failing me so many times. You are no longer to be called Seth, but Sting the Scorpion Man. And I command you, Beast, to go to the Western City of Gorgonia and guard Cypher the Mountain Giant.”
Sting bowed his head in defeat. Malvel conjured a shining red orb from the air, which pulsed and grew in his hand. Then he threw it at Sting, imprisoning the new Beast in his bloodred heart.
Muttering in a language that Tom didn’t understand, Malvel clapped his hands together three times. The giant red orb rose into the air, and, with a flick of his long, bony finger, Malvel sent it west toward the mountains. In an instant, the orb was out of sight.
The Western City. Tom gazed at the mountains on the horizon, committing them to his magical super-memory, a power he had won when he had defeated Narga the Sea Monster. The orb may have flown too fast for him to follow its exact path, but Tom felt sure that the Western City lay somewh
ere in those mountains.
He was torn from his thoughts by Malvel’s cruel and cackling laughter.
“I know what you are planning,” laughed the evil wizard. “But don’t bother to follow Sting. There is no way that you will ever find Cypher.”
With a final screech of laughter, Malvel wrapped himself in red mist and disappeared.
“He’s wrong,” Tom told Elenna fiercely, pulling himself into Storm’s saddle. “We will find Cypher and we will get him home.”
Elenna nodded, looking as determined as Tom felt. Silver nosed around her feet as she picked up the arrow she had fired at Sting. She then slung her bow over her shoulder and climbed into the saddle.
Tom gazed to the west, where two Beasts — one good and one bad — awaited them. “We’re coming, Cypher,” he whispered. “And we will never stop looking for you. Not while there’s blood in our veins.”
CHAPTER FOUR
THE VOICE IN THE WELL
THE FOREST PATH WOUND ALONG THE SHORE of the black lake, emerging onto a wide-open plain that ended at the line of black mountains where the red orb had disappeared. Grabbing Malvel’s map, Tom found the Western City. But the map was playing a new trick, one that Tom had never seen before. The image of the Western City floated across the ragged parchment, shifting mischievously from one place to the next.
“The map is no good to us,” Tom said. “All we can do is head through the mountains and hope to find the Western City for ourselves.”
Elenna nodded, and they pushed forward.
Gradually the terrain grew rougher and the track narrowed as they approached the mountains. Tom rode Storm carefully, avoiding any sharp stones that might lame the stallion. Soon, the path disappeared completely, and they had to weave through stunted black shrubs and trees, whose twigs and branches caught at their clothes and whipped cruelly across their skin. The bloodred sun climbed higher, and the air was searing hot.