by Adam Blade
Tom felt Elenna tense at the mention of Cypher.
“He’ll not be bothering us for much longer,” said a fourth voice. “Come on — we need to find out what that noise was. Let’s check the outer walls of the castle; maybe something has collapsed there.”
Tom listened to the retreating footsteps as the guards left the courtyard.
“What did they mean about Cypher?” Elenna asked once everything was silent.
“I don’t know, but time is running out,” said Tom. “We need to move.”
He looked around at the tunnel. There appeared to be only one path leading away from the trapdoor and it was lit by flaming torches. The walls were rough, and pools of water lay in puddles on the ground.
Tom, Elenna, and their animal companions raced through the twisting passageway, which sank deeper into the ground with every turn. The sides of the tunnel grew smoother as they ran on, and Tom noticed with a chill the tombs that had been set into the tunnel walls. He remembered Kerlo’s words. These were the catacombs: the place where the Gorgonians of the Western City buried their dead.
As he ran along, he couldn’t help but read the names on the tombs by the flickering torchlight: Memnon, Arantis, Crestar, Xeropes …
Taladon.
Tom stopped dead at the smooth black tomb bearing his father’s name. His breath caught in his throat. Taladon wasn’t dead. He was Malvel’s prisoner. Wasn’t he?
“Tom?” Elenna turned and came back up the tunnel to where he was staring at the black tomb. She held Storm’s bridle tightly in one hand and Silver loped behind her, his eyes gleaming in the torchlight. “What’s wrong?”
“I have to open this tomb, Elenna,” Tom said fiercely, drawing his sword.
“There’s no time, Tom,” Elenna said. She seized his sleeve. “We have to save Cypher.”
Tom shook off Elenna’s hand. His father might be lying here, right in front of him! He took a step back and smashed the butt of his sword into the face of the tomb. The stone cracked. Tom slammed his sword into the stone several more times until it buckled, revealing a gaping black hole. But there was nothing inside. The tomb had never been used.
Elenna grabbed Tom’s arm. “We have to hurry!”
Tom was about to reply when the ruby on his belt began to glow and his head was suddenly filled with Cypher’s voice. The good Beast was telling him once more that he was finding it hard to breathe. Tom whirled around and stared down the tunnel. He suddenly understood. Cypher had been buried alive in one of these tombs!
Tom was filled with remorse. Why had he stopped to open Taladon’s tomb? It had been a selfish thing to do, and now Cypher’s life was truly in danger. Tom knew that he would never forgive himself if they were too late!
“Cypher is in real trouble,” he said to Elenna. “I’ve got to go.”
“Hurry, then. We’ll catch up,” Elenna replied.
Tom raced down the tunnel using the speed given to him by the golden leg armor, and left his friends far behind. The walls blurred around him — and the tunnel suddenly opened up. Tom skidded to a halt. He was in an underground chamber with a low ceiling. A massive tomb like a great stone mountain stood in the center of the room. A name had been carved in huge letters on the tomb’s side.
Cypher.
Tom’s head pounded. He could sense that Cypher was weakening. There wasn’t a moment to lose. He pulled his sword from its sheath and smashed it repeatedly into the side of the tomb. The echo of steel against stone boomed around the chamber. But the stone of this tomb was much thicker than that of Taladon’s, and even with his huge strength, Tom couldn’t break the tomb open.
Then he spotted a ledge, just above the tomb. If he could just get onto it, he could then try to lever the tomb open with his sword. Tom thought rapidly. The golden boots gave him the power to leap great heights. He bent his legs beneath him, and jumped into the air, kicking off the giant tomb for an extra surge of height. With a thump, he landed on the stone ledge above the tomb. He then drew his sword and desperately started to lever up the lid.
Very slowly, it began to give. Tom worked hard, sweat pouring from his brow as he focused every drop of his magical strength on opening the tomb. At last, there was a gap wide enough for him to see into the tomb.
Cypher lay very still, as if unconscious. His one great eye was closed. He was breathing in short, shallow gasps. Tom could see that he was bound by two huge silver chains that crossed over and around his vast, shaggy body.
With one more massive push, Tom shifted the lid off of the tomb and stood on the side of the casket. He raised his sword above his head and brought it down on one of the chains that held Cypher. But the blade bounced harmlessly away, the impact sending fierce vibrations up Tom’s arms. He tried again and again, but he soon realized the chains were enchanted and would not break. Tom could feel despair threatening to overwhelm him. How was he going to free Cypher?
The sound of cantering hooves echoed down the tunnel, and Storm, Elenna, and Silver raced into the chamber.
“I can’t do it, Elenna!” Tom panted, shaking his head. “My sword isn’t strong enough to break the chains!”
“Don’t lose hope, Tom!” Elenna shouted up to him. “Remember the gift of the golden chain mail? Strength of heart! You must believe in yourself. You must believe that you can do it!”
Tom lifted his sword shakily above his head. Closing his eyes, he concentrated with all his might. He could feel the magic of the golden armor pulsing in him. Bringing the sword down with a yell, Tom cut clean through one of the chains, which slithered away from Cypher’s body like a silver snake. The mountain giant’s eye fluttered open.
“One more blow, and you’ll be free,” he promised, and raised his sword for the second time.
But before Tom could bring his blade down, a hideous, jet-black tail came crashing through the chamber’s wall….
Sting!
CHAPTER NINE
TRAPPED!
TOM GRIPPED HIS SWORD TIGHTLY, READY TO fight, as the rest of the scorpion man’s body smashed through the wall. How could he have forgotten? Malvel had sent Sting to guard Cypher. There was no way that he would let Tom free the mountain giant without a fight.
Fixing his gaze on Tom, Sting scuttled across the chamber toward him. He raised his pincers and clashed them together, the ghastly sound echoing around the rough stone walls.
“At last,” Sting said in a voice that no longer held any trace of the boy Seth. “I will have revenge for all that you have cost me.”
Tom knew he had to find some extra strength to fight Malvel’s last Beast. Everything depended on it.
He sprang from the edge of the tomb and tumbled through the air, landing squarely on Sting’s back. With a roar, the Beast thrashed his tail and the amethyst at the end of it just missed Tom’s eye.
With lightning speed, Sting spun around. Caught off balance, Tom fell to the ground. He pulled his shield from his back and flung it over his head as a giant pincer sliced toward him. The pincer bit into the edge of the sturdy shield as if the wood was made of butter.
“Over here, Sting!” Elenna yelled, distracting the Beast as she drew back her bow and aimed an arrow.
“Leave us, girl,” Sting said roughly. “This is not your battle.”
“If your battle is with Tom, then it’s with me, too,” Elenna retorted, releasing her arrow. It hit the Beast’s stomach, but his skin was like armor there, and the arrow bounced off, falling to the ground. Sting roared in annoyance and turned to Elenna.
Tom staggered to his feet, eager to protect his friend, but Silver got there first, racing in to bite at Sting’s scaly legs. Storm also cantered forward and reared up, lashing out at the Beast with his hooves. Sting snapped his pincers like scissors, slicing at Storm’s mane.
Tom felt a surge of pride as he saw his friends bravely fight the Beast. At the same moment, he heard a rattling sound from the tomb. Cypher was struggling against the second silver chain. His strength was returning! Tom
gripped his sword tightly; he knew he needed to deal with Sting before he could free the good Beast.
Tom called Storm and Silver away from the scorpion man, while Elenna let loose another arrow. This time, it embedded itself in Sting’s neck, which was still soft and human. With a screech of pain, Sting flung his hand to the arrow and tried to pull it out. It gave Tom the chance he had been looking for. He raised his sword and charged forward, ready to strike at Sting’s heart.
But Tom wasn’t prepared for the Beast’s powerful tail. It flew toward him like lightning. Tom just managed to avoid being crushed by its weight, but the amethyst at the tail’s tip cut deep into his cheek.
Tom could feel the warm blood trickling down his face. He looked up to see Sting’s tail coming toward him again. With a surge of anger, he whirled his sword and swung it upward, slicing the tip of the tail clean off.
Sting screamed, the sound shaking the walls. The tip of his tail flew across the chamber and hit the floor in a spurt of black blood. The amethyst came loose from its setting, rolling across the chamber floor toward Elenna. She bent down and snatched it up, sharing a triumphant glance with Tom. They had the final jewel!
Tom could hear Cypher still struggling to free himself from the second silver chain as Sting turned on Elenna, mad with pain. Tom tried to get past the Beast’s injured tail, but even without its tip, the tail was still powerful and knocked him to his knees every time.
Suddenly, there was a crash from the tomb. Tom whirled around.
“Cypher!” he shouted joyfully. “You’re free!” The mountain giant had managed to pull himself away from the second chain. With a roof-shaking roar, he climbed to his feet and pounded on his chest.
The chamber walls trembled and fragments of rock cascaded from the ceiling as Cypher’s head brushed the roof. The giant roared again, kicking away one side of his tomb, which fell to the floor with a mighty crash. The foundations of the chamber shuddered, and part of a wall crumbled into a heap. The movement of Cypher’s huge bulk was putting massive strain on the catacombs. The whole place looked and sounded as if it were about to crash down on top of them!
Sting backed away from Elenna with a snarl, his eyes flickering around the disintegrating chamber before he turned and scuttled down the tunnel toward the trapdoor.
Cypher bellowed loudly, raising his arms. Tom could feel the good Beast’s wild delight at being free. More rock began to fall to the ground.
“There’s no time to lose,” Tom called to Elenna. “We have to follow Sting, and get out of these tunnels before everything collapses!”
Narrowly avoiding a shard of rock that speared into the ground beside him, Tom grasped a handful of Storm’s mane and pulled himself into the saddle. Elenna jumped up behind him.
They began to gallop up the tunnel after Sting. Cypher lumbered after them, with Silver running alongside him.
Straining every muscle, Tom guided Storm between the crashing boulders that fell like giant black hailstones. Tombs smashed to the ground, spilling their bones into Storm’s path. Grimly, Tom pushed on up the steep passageway. In the flickering light, he could see pools of sticky black scorpion blood on the ground. Tom knew that they had to catch Sting before he got to the trapdoor. He had no doubt that the Beast planned to leave them trapped in the collapsing chamber. Tom reminded himself that Sting had lost a lot of blood and would be getting weaker. There was still time to stop him.
The tunnel began leveling out, and ahead Tom could see Sting scuttling up the great stone steps toward the trapdoor. With what little strength he had left, the Beast heaved open the hatch and pulled himself out of the hole.
Tom leaped off Storm and sprung forward.
But he was too late. With a resounding thud, the scorpion man slammed the trapdoor shut. The torches that lit the catacombs sputtered in the draft, and went out.
Cypher, Tom, Elenna, Storm, and Silver were plunged into shaking, rumbling darkness.
CHAPTER TEN
PURPLE MIST
OVERHEAD, TOM COULD HEAR STING ORDERING guards to place Malvel’s enchanted bolts into the trapdoor. The sound of hammering started up immediately.
“I’m going to try to push the door open,” Tom said, feeling his way up the stairs.
“Good luck,” Elenna replied anxiously. Tom tried with all his might to heave open the trapdoor. But it would not budge.
Then Cypher gave a roar and lumbered up the stairs to help. Together, Tom and the mountain giant pushed at the trapdoor with all their strength.
“Be quick, Tom,” Elenna said. “This chamber sounds as if it is going to collapse at any moment.”
“It’s no good,” Tom panted, disappointment flooding through him. “Whatever enchantment Malvel has put on the bolts, it is too strong.”
Tom felt Cypher’s frustration rush over him like a wave.
“What are we going to do?” Elenna’s voice trembled in the darkness. “There must be another way out.”
The ground shook beneath their feet. The shuddering tunnel walls threatened to cave. In that instant, Tom wished more than anything that he could be home in Avantia.
Kerlo’s words suddenly echoed in his mind. “Home is like a jewel,” the gatekeeper had said. “But it is only once it has gone that you realize how precious it is.” Had the gatekeeper been trying to give him some kind of clue?
“Do you still have Sting’s jewel, Elenna?” Tom asked, leaving the stairs and feeling his way along the tunnel toward his friend.
There was a bloom of purple light as Elenna pulled the amethyst from her pocket. Tom took it carefully and held it up in front of him. The light began to pulse. Then Tom felt his hand move through the air, drawing a doorway in the darkness with the edge of the jewel. With a rush of delight, Tom realized that the jewel was cutting a magical gateway that would get them out of the catacombs.
Far above them, Tom could hear Malvel’s castle groaning and crumbling. The collapsing catacombs must have damaged the very foundations of the castle.
“Stand close to me,” Tom commanded, as more rocks fell around them.
His hand was still moving, the jewel drawing the last part of the new gateway. The darkness peeled away in a sharp, clear line. Beyond the freshly cut door, a purple mist swirled and beckoned.
“Tom,” Elenna gasped, her eyes shining as she clasped Tom’s hand. “Do you think this will take us back home to Avantia?”
“I hope so.” Tom hardly dared to believe that they were just a step away from their beloved homeland. In his mind he called to Cypher, telling the good Beast to follow them through the gateway. Then he seized Storm’s bridle, while Elenna grasped Silver’s scruff, and together they dove into the cool purple mist.
The air stretched. Tom felt himself spinning. Bright lights glowed all around him.
“Good-bye, Tom and Elenna….” Kerlo’s voice echoed all around them.
Tom started to say thank you to the gatekeeper but an awful scream, full of fury, interrupted him. It was Malvel.
“You have not seen the last of me, Tom,” Malvel screeched. “I will be victorious!”
But just as the words left Malvel’s mouth, the wizard suddenly gave a shriek of fear. Tom could hear the sound of tumbling, crashing rock, and then nothing more.
Tom sensed the massive bulk of Cypher spinning beside him. Then the giant seemed to disappear, and Tom, Elenna, Storm, and Silver landed on the familiar floor of King Hugo’s throne room, where the King and Wizard Aduro were waiting for them.
“Welcome home,” Aduro said, smiling and holding out his hands in greeting. “I knew you would prevail, Tom. You have defeated Malvel once again and, although I could not see as clearly as I would have liked, I believe that the Dark Wizard was crushed beneath the rubble of his own castle.”
Tom felt a wave of relief surge through him as he embraced Aduro, but this was quickly replaced with panic. Where was Cypher? Had the giant somehow been pulled back into Gorgonia?
“The giant has returned to his righ
tful place — in the mountains,” said King Hugo, sensing Tom’s worry. He rose from his throne. “Well done, Tom. You are truly Avantia’s greatest champion.”
Tom bowed his head. While the King thanked Elenna for all her help, Tom looked out of one of the throne-room windows. The sky was sapphire blue, and the sun shone gently down on the green land that surrounded the castle. Brightly colored flags and pennants fluttered from the houses in the distance. They had escaped the swirling red fog of evil Gorgonia forever.
“We are holding a feast in your honor in the Great Hall today,” King Hugo announced, as he stroked Storm and Silver in turn. “Avantia is impatient to welcome home her heroes.”
A servant walked in and draped a soft woolen blanket over Storm’s back, before leading the stallion away for food and a warm stable full of fresh straw. Tom looked down at the amethyst that still lay in his hand. He slipped it into his belt. The row of six jewels glowed fiercely, filling the throne room with a rainbow of light and power.
King Hugo clapped an arm around Tom’s shoulder, and Aduro walked between Elenna and Silver. Together, they all moved toward the palace stairway and down to the bustle of the Great Hall below, where the feast was being laid out. Brightly suited servants carried groaning trays of food, and musicians tuned their instruments in the minstrels’ gallery. The citizens of Avantia were already streaming through the palace doors in their finest clothes, and the air was buzzing with chatter and laughter.
As Tom took his place at the top table between King Hugo and Elenna, his thoughts strayed to Malvel and Seth, the boy who had turned into a Beast. Had they really perished in the ruins of the castle? Then he thought of Odora and the Gorgonian rebels he had helped to escape into Avantia on his Quest to rescue Tusk the Mighty Mammoth. Where were they now?
Shaking the thoughts from his head, he turned to Elenna and raised his glass. “Here’s to the completion of another Quest,” Tom said. “I couldn’t have done it without you, Elenna.”