by Adam Blade
As soon as they were all on the steps, the two birds took to the air and soared past them. Moments later, their caws of joy drifted back down.
“It’s safe,” Tom said.
Suddenly, he felt a shove in the back and he tripped on the steps. Sethrina darted past him and up the steps. When she stood on the final curve of the staircase, she looked back with a grin.
“Farewell, fools!” she shouted. “We’ll meet again!”
Elenna started to set off after her, but Tom held her back.
“Leave her,” he said. “We promised her freedom, anyway.”
Sethrina raced up the last few steps and was gone.
At the top of the staircase, a green glow filled the tunnel, and soon Tom could see why. Chinks of daylight shone through a curtain of leaves. Tom pushed them aside and stepped out among trees. He found himself standing on a ledge beneath an outcrop of rock. Below, a river flowed like a silver ribbon through a lush green valley. Far off, the blue sea twinkled in the sunlight. He could see Sethrina, a distant speck, running down the mountainside toward the valley.
“We must be in the northern mountains,” said Tom. “We’re safe again.” He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Uncle Henry looking down at him with pride in his eyes.
“What you did was very brave,” he said.
Tom’s aunt nodded in agreement. “Without you, we would have died,” she said.
“It’s time for you to go home to Errinel,” Tom responded.
“How?” asked Aunt Maria. “It must be several days’ walk from here. We’re not as young as we used to be, you know!”
Tom laughed. “Epos will give you a ride.”
The great Beast squawked as though she understood.
Uncle Henry climbed onto Epos’s back, then helped Aunt Maria to scramble up. “What about you and your friend? Aren’t you coming with us?” he asked.
Tom looked at Elenna and Spiros. “No. While Malvel is still free to wreak havoc, our job isn’t done. We have to go back to Storm and Silver. There’ll be more Beast Quests to come.”
Tom’s uncle nodded in understanding. “Be careful, both of you. And good luck!”
Epos took a few steps to the edge of the ledge. She opened her massive wings and leaped off, soaring over the valley below. Tom watched the majestic Beast disappear into the distance. Uncle Henry and Aunt Maria would be back in Errinel by nightfall.
Tom turned to Spiros. “Time for you to go home, too,” he said, patting the phoenix’s wing.
Spiros dipped her golden beak in a bow of thanks, then ruffled her ruby feathers. She unfolded her wings, which gleamed in the sun and cast a shadow over Tom’s head. He held his breath. Then the phoenix sprang into the air, giving out a huge squawk that carried across the empty sky.
“Oh, Tom, she’s amazing!” gasped Elenna.
“And now she’s back where she belongs,” said Tom. “Guarding the skies of Avantia. We’ve rescued my aunt and uncle — but we’ve helped Spiros, too. This has turned out to be a bigger Quest than I’d ever imagined.”
Spiros swooped past them a final time, then glided toward the horizon.
“Tom! Look!” cried Elenna, twisting around.
Tom turned and gasped in surprise. There, silhouetted on the slope above them, were four huge shapes: Ferno the Fire Dragon, his mouth glowing with flame; Cypher the Mountain Giant grinning broadly and revealing his brown teeth; Tagus the Night Horse, stamping the ground with his enormous hooves; and Tartok the Ice Beast, hammering her white-furred chest with her palms. Tom glanced back toward the sea and saw a flash of rainbow colors as Sepron the Sea Serpent broke the waves. He felt his shield vibrate on his arm. His friends had gathered to congratulate him on the completion of his latest Quest.
“These are the best friends I could have,” he said, laughing and waving at the Beasts. “After you, Elenna!”
“You’ll never be alone on your Quests,” said Elenna.
Tom stared out across Avantia, his home. It was safe again — for now.
“Let’s go and find Storm and Silver,” he said, setting off down a slope. There would be more difficult Quests to come, but whatever lay ahead of him, Tom knew he would do his best — for his friends and for Avantia.
Preview
DON’T MISS TOM’S
FIRST QUEST …
FERNO
THE FIRE DRAGON
READ THE FIRST
CHAPTER NOW!
CHAPTER ONE
THE MYSTERIOUS FIRE
Tom stared hard at his enemy. “Surrender, villain!” he cried, waving his sword above his head. “Surrender, or taste my blade!”
The sword was only a poker, and his enemy was a sack of hay hanging from a tree in the heart of the wood. But then, Tom was not a knight. He was training to be a blacksmith. The closest he came to thrilling quests was when he ran errands for his uncle Henry, who worked the village forge.
Today, Tom was taking a sack of newly mended tools to Farmer Gretlin. Along the way, he had stopped in the forest to practice his sword-fighting moves on the dummy he had made a few weeks ago. He trained whenever he could. If he ever had the chance to have a real sword fight, he’d be ready!
Tom gave the target a firm blow with the poker. “One day I’ll be the finest swordsman in all of the kingdom of Avantia,” he announced. “Even better than my father, Taladon the Swift!”
Tom had heard many people in the village praise Taladon’s swordsmanship. But he had never seen it for himself. Tom’s mother had died of a fever when he was just a baby. That same day, his father had left on a mysterious quest and never returned. As Head of Errinel village and Tom’s closest relative, Uncle Henry had announced that he and his wife, Maria, would raise him as their own son.
Tom was grateful to his uncle and trained hard as a blacksmith’s apprentice. But he often dreamed of leaving Errinel, just as his father had. He wanted to taste adventure for real — dreams just weren’t enough anymore. But most of all, he wanted to find his father and ask him why he had left.
Tom shoved the poker back into the sack of tools. “One day I’ll know the truth,” he swore.
Summer was giving way to autumn, and Tom shivered as he walked beneath the shadows cast by the trees’ heavy branches. It was hard going along the overgrown forest path. Branches tore at Tom’s clothes and scratched his face. Stumbling over tree roots, Tom struggled on. As he neared the edge of the woods, he smelled something strange.
Smoke! he thought as the sharp smell caught at the back of his throat.
He stopped and looked around. Through the trees to his left he could hear a faint crackling as a wave of warm air hit him.
Fire!
Tom began to push his way through the trees. Heart pounding, he forced his way through a thicket and burst into the field. The golden wheat had been burned to black stubble. A thin veil of smoke hung in the air, small flames still licked at the edges of the field. Tom stared in horror. What had happened?
A shadow fell over him. Tom looked up and blinked. For a second he thought he saw a dark, fleeting shape disappear behind a hill in the distance. Had his eyes been playing tricks on him?
“Who’s there?”
Through the smoke, Tom saw a man stamping across the field. Forgetting the shadow, he hurried forward to meet him.
“Did you come through the woods?” Gretlin demanded. “Did you see anyone who could have done this?”
Tom shook his head. “No one! I didn’t see a soul in the woods.”
“There’s evil at work here,” said Gretlin, his eyes flashing angrily. “Only ten minutes ago, this wheat was as tall as your shoulders. I was working in the barn when I heard a strange noise, like a fierce wind. I rushed outside to find … this.” Gretlin stared at the blackened field. “Mark my words — no ordinary fire did this. Just like no ordinary fire took John Blake’s horses.”
A shiver of fear went through Tom. John Blake lived at the edge of Errinel, and two weeks ago he had lost three of h
is horses during the night. Their bones were found the next day, in a smoking pit at the foot of the valley — roasted and picked clean. “The old ones are talking in the village,” said Gretlin, shaking his head. “They say dark forces are gathering….”
Tom looked around at the burned field and felt a wave of anger. Someone needed to stop this. If only he was older! I’d do it, he thought. I’d stop things like this happening in our kingdom.
“Go back to the forge, Tom,” Gretlin said. “Tell your uncle what’s happened here! I’m worried that Errinel is cursed — and maybe all of us along with it!”
Character Guide
HEROES AND VILLAINS
TOM
PREFERRED WEAPON: Sword
ALSO CARRIES: Magical Shield, Destiny Compass
SPECIAL SKILLS: Tom’s uncle is a blacksmith, so he knows all about metals and material strength. Plus, every journey gains him new abilities, so he also has incredible vision, speed, strength, and bravery.
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 importantly, 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 help the good wizard by rescuing him.
MALVEL
Tom’s enemy, determined
to enslave the Beasts of
Avantia and defeat Tom.
This evil wizard rarely
shows himself, but if he
does, Tom can be sure
that danger is near.
THE BEASTS OF AVANTIA
FERNO
THE FIRE DRAGON
SEPRON
THE SEA SERPENT
CYPHER
THE MOUNTAIN GIANT
TAGUS
THE NIGHT HORSE
TARTOK
THE ICE BEAST
EPOS
THE WINGED FLAME
SPIROS
THE GHOST PHOENIX
NAWDREN
THE BLACK PHOENIX
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.
Text copyright © 2009 by Beast Quest Ltd.
Interior illustrations 2009 by Scholastic Inc.
Cover art © by David Wyatt
Cover design by Tim Hall
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, July 2009
Beast Quest series created by Beast Quest Ltd., London.
BEAST QUEST is a trademark of Beast Quest Ltd.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
eISBN: 978-0-545-29432-4