by Adam Blade
Elenna cautiously touched the stone statue. “What should we do?”
Tom looked beyond the statue, to the empty sky that stretched up from the mountain. “Maybe the Beast should take a little trip….”
Using the power of his golden breastplate, Tom rolled Rashouk along the ground as easily as if he were an empty barrel. Elenna helped, and soon they had the Beast on the edge of the mountainside.
“Push!” Tom shouted, and they did.
Tom and Elenna watched the statue of Rashouk fall, plunging through the thick clouds and quickly disappearing from sight. They heard the crash and splinter of stone as the statue smashed to the ground below.
Tom suddenly heard the sound of bleating. He looked over to where the mountain goat stood. He was no longer frozen — in fact, he was trotting along the mountain path as if he owned it.
Tom turned to Elenna. “Everything is as it should be.”
“Don’t get too happy,” his friend warned. “We still have to find the missing piece of the amulet.”
“Of course,” Tom said. “Let’s start in the cave —”
Enthusiastic yelping cut him off. He and Elenna turned to see Silver emerge from the cave, a shining piece of metal in his mouth. The excited wolf raced over to them.
“The amulet piece!” cried Tom.
“I didn’t even see Silver go inside!” said Elenna, laughing and ruffling the wolf’s fur as Tom took the fragment from his mouth.
“I don’t think he needs us for instructions anymore,” said Tom. He attached the new piece to the two fragments already on the leather thong around his neck. The amulet was half-complete now. The shining blue enamel in the center looked more impressive, and the odd lines and grooves etched on the back of the amulet pieces somehow looked more detailed and connected. For the first time, Tom could make out what they were.
“Roads,” he breathed. “It’s a map!”
Elenna joined him and looked at the etchings. She frowned. “Doesn’t look like anywhere in Avantia, though,” she said.
“Maybe it’s not Avantia,” Tom replied. “Maybe there are more secrets to this amulet than either Aduro or my father has told us.”
“Another Beast defeated.”
Tom and Elenna both jumped at the sound of a familiar voice beside them. Tom’s father had appeared in his ghostly form.
“Thank you,” Taladon said, with a slight bow. Tom felt his heart leap as he saw the proud smile on his father’s face. “You have restored another part of my strength. I am closer to being real again.”
Tom squared his shoulders. “I promised I would not fail you,” he said.
“And you are keeping your word,” Taladon replied. “I could not have wished for a nobler son.”
“Father,” said Tom, holding up the half-complete amulet. “The backs of the fragments … do they show a map?”
Taladon sighed. “I’m afraid the secrets of the amulet are not mine to reveal,” he said.
Tom almost pushed the point but bit his tongue. The secrets could wait. For now, the most important thing was bringing back Avantia’s great hero.
“You must head to the Dark Wood,” said Taladon. “You no longer have the power to run incredibly fast, but you must still make haste. There lies your next challenge. The swift and cunning Moon Wolf named Luna.”
Tom felt his face harden. “I don’t care what Malvel puts in my path,” he said. “I’ll defeat all of his Beasts!”
“The very words I hoped to hear,” said Taladon, nodding in approval. “I must depart — but stay brave, and stay loyal to each other. You will prevail.”
With a shimmer, Taladon’s ghostly form evaporated. The sun had come out and was chasing away the rain clouds.
“Of course we’ll prevail!” said Elenna.
Tom smiled at her as he reached out to grasp Storm’s reins. “Come on,” he said. “I can’t wait to get off this mountain!”
The two friends walked Storm slowly back down the winding path, Silver racing ahead. Tom felt tired after his battle with Rashouk, but elated that he was closer to bringing his father back.
Malvel was still wreaking evil across the kingdom. And while that remained true, Tom would never give up fighting.
There were many more adventures waiting for him. And Tom was ready.
Preview
A LONG WAY DOWN
A COLD WIND MOANED AS TOM LED THE WAY down the steep, winding mountain path. Silver padded along at his heels, tongue lolling. Behind them, Elenna led Storm over the stony track, taking care to keep away from the edge.
On either side of the path a sheer cliff of rock fell away. Tom glanced down.
“Be careful,” he said. “Take it slowly.”
Silver whined and licked Tom’s hand.
“Don’t worry!” said Elenna. “We don’t want to break our necks, do we, Storm?” She patted the horse’s side. “How will we recognize Luna? Your father didn’t have time to tell us what sort of Beast she is.”
Taladon had visited them after their victory over Rashouk the Cave Troll, to advise them about their next Quest. Tom was always filled with pride when he saw his father. There was just one problem — the Dark Wizard, Malvel, had used his evil magic to turn Taladon into a ghost. If Tom and Elenna were successful in their Quest to recover the pieces of the Amulet of Avantia and break Malvel’s evil spell, they would return Taladon to the land of the living. And while there’s blood in my veins, Tom thought to himself, I won’t give up. No matter how dangerous it gets.
“He warned us we should try to meet Luna only in daylight, didn’t he?” Tom said. “Maybe that’s a clue.”
They rounded a bend in the path and a view of the Forbidden Land opened before them. It was gray, bare, and featureless. Tom shuddered. There was nothing but dusty rocks, dry fields, and dead trees as far as he could see.
Silver whimpered.
“Nice, isn’t it?” said Tom. “No wonder King Hugo forbids his subjects to come here!”
Elenna laughed. “He needn’t bother! No one would come here unless they really had to.”
“Let’s stop a minute and see if we can get our bearings,” said Tom. They had been walking all morning and needed to rest anyway. He took his flask from Storm’s saddlebag and gave it to Elenna. She took a swig; then Tom took a long drink. He poured some of the water into a hollowed-out rock for Silver and Storm, who lapped it up gratefully.
Tom held out both his hands. “Map!” he called in a loud, commanding voice.
BEAST QUEST®
CHARACTER
GUIDE
HEROES AND VILLAINS
TOM
PREFERRED WEAPONS: Sword and magic shield
ALSO CARRIES: Destiny compass, jewel belt, and ghost map
SPECIAL SKILLS: Over the course of his Quest, Tom has gained many special items for his shield, giving him protection from fire, water, cold, and falling from heights, extra speed in battle, and magic healing ability. He also has the powers he gained from the golden armor, giving him incredible sight, courage, strength, endurance, sword skills, and energy.
ELENNA
PREFERRED WEAPON: Bow & arrow
ALSO CARRIES: Nothing. Between her bow and her wolf, Silver, Elenna doesn’t need anything else!
SPECIAL SKILLS: Not only is Elenna an expert hunter, she is also knowledgeable about boats and water. But most important, she can think quickly in tight spots, which has helped Tom more than once!
STORM
Tom’s horse, a gift from King Hugo. Storm’s good instincts and speed have helped Tom and Elenna from the very beginning.
SILVER
Elenna’s tame wolf and constant companion. Not only is Silver good to have on their side in a fight, but the wolf can also help Tom and Elenna find food when they’re hungry.
ADURO
The good wizard of Avantia and one of Tom’s closest allies. Aduro has helped Tom many times, but when Aduro was captured by Malvel, Tom was able to repay the wizard by rescuing him.
MALVE
L
Tom’s enemy, determined to enslave the Beasts of Avantia and defeat Tom. This evil wizard rules over Gorgonia, the Dark Realm. If he is near, danger is sure to follow.
BEAST QUEST
AMULET OF AVANTIA
#19: NIXA THE DEATH BRINGER
#20: EQUINUS THE SPIRIT HORSE
#21: RASHOUK THE CAVE TROLL
#22: LUNA THE MOON WOLF
#23: BLAZE THE ICE DRAGON
#24: STEALTH THE GHOST PANTHER
Copyright
No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Working Partners Ltd., Stanley House, St Chad’s Place, London WC1X 9HH, United Kingdom.
Beast Quest series created by Beast Quest Ltd., London. BEAST QUEST is a trademark of Beast Quest Ltd.
Text © 2009 by Beast Quest Ltd., London.
Cover illustration © 2009 by Steve Sims
Cover design by Tim Hall
Interior illustrations © 2011 by Scholastic Inc.
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012, by arrangement with Working Partners Ltd. SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
First printing, October 2011
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eISBN: 978-0-545-38839-9