by Adam Blade
As they drew nearer, Tom saw a group of people gathered around three or four stone cottages. Some were sitting on the ground, their heads buried in their hands. Others just stared out toward the sea. Children were clinging to their mothers and somewhere a baby was wailing.
Lower down the slope, there were more cottages, all partly covered by water. The sea was washing in and out through the windows. Beyond them, Tom could see only thatched roofs, then nothing but unbroken sea.
Elenna halted, her eyes wide with shock. “It’s a village!” she exclaimed. “The water has covered most of it.”
“I hope no one was hurt,” said Tom. Anger and anxiety flooded over him as he thought of the destruction Sepron had caused, all because of Malvel’s evil spell.
Tom and Elenna hurried toward the water. As they drew closer they had to wade through the wreckage: shattered pieces of wood, fallen trees, and strands of seaweed. In the mud, Elenna spotted something glimmering in the sunlight — unharmed and beautiful. It was a long, slender knife with a pearl handle. “Come on!” Tom called out. Elenna stooped to pick up the knife. “All right, I’m coming.”
At the sound of their voices, a boy standing at the water’s edge turned and saw them. He was tall and red-haired with a freckled face.
“My knife!” he called out. “I can’t believe you found it!”
“It’s beautiful,” Elenna said, handing it back to him. “You’re lucky it survived. I’m Elenna,” she added, “and this is Tom.”
“I’m Calum. And I’m lucky I survived,” said the boy. “I never thought I’d see this again. It’s been in our family for ages. We’re fisherfolk here, but—”
He broke off as an older man, with gray hair and beard, came trudging toward them. His shoulders drooped and his face was lined with wrinkles.
“This is my father, Matt,” said Calum.
Matt looked from Tom to Elenna and back again. “We’d do more to welcome you if we had anything to give you,” he said. “But you see how it is.”
“Everyone’s safe, thank goodness,” Calum said. “But look at our village!” He pointed toward the submerged cottages. “What are we going to do now?”
“We’ll stay and help,” Elenna said.
Calum clenched his fists in anger. “Thanks, but what good can anyone do? We can’t live here anymore. We’ll have to move away, and it’s all the fault of the sea serpent.”
“The sea serpent!” Tom exclaimed, exchanging a startled look with Elenna.
“You must think we’re talking rubbish,” Matt said. “I thought that myself once. But now I’ve seen the creature. It’s out there.”
Tom’s stomach churned with anticipation. They were in the right place, alright. With a bit of luck, he would soon be able to face Sepron and set him free.
“We were out at sea when we saw it,” Calum explained. “It burst out of the water and smashed our boat to pieces. I thought we would drown for sure. But then it vanished as quickly as it had appeared.”
“What did you do?” Elenna asked.
“We hung onto scraps of the wreckage and swam ashore,” Calum replied. “The whole time I thought the sea serpent would come back any minute and swallow us.”
“We’re lucky to be alive,” Matt finished. “And that wasn’t the first bit of trouble, either. For weeks, we’ve caught next to nothing. Our nets were torn to bits. And now this.” He heaved a sigh. “It’s no use. We’ll have to pack up, all of us, and move farther inland.”
“But what will you do? You’re fishermen,” Tom said. If every fisherman thought like this, how would the Kingdom survive?
Matt snorted. “We were fishermen. But there’s nothing left to catch, and now all our boats have been washed away. Now we’re just beggars.”
Tom felt anger growing inside him, but he tried not to let it show. Even though the villagers had survived, their lives had been ruined. He had to free Sepron—and soon.
“There’s a boat over there.” Elenna pointed to where a small fishing boat lay on its side, not far from the edge of the water.
“It’s the only one left,” said Calum despairingly. “And it’s got a hole in it.”
“I’ll help you mend it if you like,” Elenna offered. “My father is a fisherman. He taught me how to do it.”
Matt and Calum looked at each other. Matt shook his head doubtfully, but a spark of hope appeared in Calum’s eyes.
“We’ll mend it, father,” Calum said. “At least it’s something to do. We shouldn’t give up hope yet.”
“All right,” agreed Matt reluctantly. He trudged down to the water’s edge and stood scanning the sea, looking for the serpent.
Tom wished he could reassure Matt, but he couldn’t tell anyone about his quest. And he certainly couldn’t tell anyone that the Beast was under an evil spell! The most important task at the moment was to mend the boat. Then he and Elenna could borrow it to row out and find Sepron.
“Let’s get started,” Elenna said. “We need wood for a fire, and rope and tar to mend the hole.”
Calum glanced around. “There’s wood scattered all over by the flood,” he said, “but it’s all wet.”
“We’ll have to go to higher ground for dry wood,” said Tom.
“Okay,” agreed Calum. “And I know where to get some tar.” He went off and disappeared into one of the cottages.
While Elenna gathered all the dry twigs and leaves she could find, Tom led Storm up to the trees where there was long grass for him to eat. While Storm grazed, Tom collected fallen branches.
Once he had several large pieces of wood, he lashed them together with rope and tied one end to Storm’s saddle. Then he led his horse back to the village.
When he returned, Elenna was already heaping small scraps of wood together to start the fire. Calum came back from the cottage carrying a pot of tar. Over one shoulder, he had a coil of thick rope. Silver followed behind him with another length of rope trailing from his mouth.
Calum set the tar down near Elenna’s pile of wood and handed the rope to Tom. “That’s the last of the tar,” he said quietly, before going to look for more wood.
Tom crouched down. This isn’t fair! he thought as he started to unravel the rope. The coarse strands tore at his fingertips but it felt good to be doing something.
Elenna knelt down next to a small pile of leaves, twigs, and frayed bits of rope. She wrapped the string of her bow around a small stick and bent over the tinder. She drew the bow back and forth with practiced strokes, and the little pile began to burn. When the fire was ready, Calum brought an armful of bigger branches and laid them on top. They crackled in the flames. Matt looked on approvingly.
When Tom had finished unravelling the rope, he and Calum turned the boat over so that they could reach the jagged hole in its side. Tom noticed that the oars were lashed together under the seat. At least they were lucky enough to have those. A boat without oars wouldn’t be much use.
Under Matt’s watchful gaze, Elenna packed the strands of rope into the hole while Tom put the pot on the fire and found a stick to stir the tar. When the tar was bubbling, Tom used a long ladle to scoop some out and carry it over to the boat. Quickly, Elenna used a scrap of driftwood to plaster the hot tar over the rope strands, inside and out.
Suddenly, Tom heard the fire roaring louder and felt a fierce heat on his back. He spun around to see flames shooting up around the pot. Some of the tar must have spilled and fuelled the fire.
“No!” shouted Calum. “That’s the last of the tar. If it burns we won’t be able to fix the boat!”
But it was too late. Smoke billowed out of the fire and the branches hurled out bubbles of hot resin. Sparks shot into the air, almost landing in the pot of tar. One landed on the ground just beside the boat. Matt stomped on it to put it out.
Everyone flinched back from the fire as it burned fiercely. Tom had to get the flames under control — but how?
CHAPTER FOUR
FIRE AND WATER
TOM GLANCED
AROUND DESPERATELY. THEY needed a water bucket—something to put out the fire. Then, he spotted his shield leaning against a stone cottage. He ran and grabbed it as the flames continued to rage and threaten the last of the tar.
Using his shield as protection, Tom creeped toward the fire. The heat was incredible. Hot resin spat angrily as flames licked the shield. It was all Tom could do to keep the shield in place. The fire was out of control. As Tom got closer, he had to turn his face away from the unbearable heat.
“Quick!” yelled Matt. “Get him some water!”
Calum rushed to the water’s edge, filled a bucket with seawater, and raced back toward Tom. The fire was still raging, but the shield protected them from the worst of the heat and flames.
Tom held the shield in place as Calum poured water on the base of the fire. A cloud of steam rose over them, but the fire barely died down.
“We need more water!” Tom yelled.
Calum nodded. He ran back to the sea and filled his bucket. But as he hurried to pour it on the fire, a flame jumped around the edge of Tom’s shield and scorched Calum’s hand.
“Owww!” He dropped the bucket and screamed in pain. It was a bad burn, but they still needed more water, and Calum was losing precious seconds. Wrapping his shirt around his hand, Calum dumped the rest of the water over the flames, and rushed to get more.
By the time Calum returned, the fire was finally showing signs of weakening. He poured the final bucket of water on the smouldering coals. It had taken three trips, but they had controlled the blaze.
Tom lowered his shield and surveyed the damage. The tar was still bubbling and boiling from the heat, and most of it was still there.
“We were lucky,” Tom said. “It could’ve been much worse. How’s your hand?”
Calum winced, but tried to hide it. “I think it will be okay,” he said. “It hurts, but it’s not too bad.”
Tom looked around. The earth was scorched and steaming all around him. He realized how lucky they were — if the fire had raged for even a few moments longer, the tar would’ve been destroyed and then … it wasn’t worth thinking about.
Tom examined his shield. It had been pressed right up against the heat and flames, and there wasn’t even a scorch mark on its rough surface. Aduro was right. The dragon scale really was protection against fire!
Looking over his shoulder, Tom saw Calum staring thoughtfully at the shield. Tom’s stomach tightened. What would he say if the fisherman’s son questioned him? Calum looked back at him. Tom met his gaze steadily, but didn’t try to explain.
“Let’s get this pot down,” Calum said, giving Tom a knowing look. “Then Elenna can finish the repairs.”
Tom helped Calum carry the pot of tar over to the boat. As Elenna finished sealing the leak, Tom wondered if Matt would be willing to lend it to them. After all, it was the village’s only boat. But Elenna was right; there was no other way to reach Sepron.
He walked over to where Matt was examining Elenna’s repairs. “Matt …” he began.
The fisherman looked up. “Yes, what is it?”
“May we borrow your boat for a while? We’ll take good care of it.”
Matt straightened up. “This is the only seaworthy vessel we have left. We need it if we’re going to catch anything to eat.”
“We’d have to leave Silver and Storm here with you,” Elenna said, coming to stand beside Tom. “And you can be sure we’d never do that if we weren’t coming back.”
Matt shook his head. “I’m not calling you thieves. But anything could happen. There could be an accident or a storm. And the sea serpent is still out there. You could be drowned, and we’d never see you or our boat again.”
“But —” Tom protested.
“I’m sorry. The answer is no.”
He turned away to help Calum bandage his burned hand. Tom stared after him in frustration.
Elenna tugged at his arm and pretended to draw in the sand as she whispered, “If they won’t lend us the boat, we’ll just have to borrow it without their permission.”
Tom stared at her. “What? We can’t do that!”
“But we’ll bring it back. Tom, you know that there’ll be more floods and destruction if we don’t do something about Sepron. These people will starve. We’ll be taking the boat for their own good.”
Tom nodded slowly, looking out across the sea. “All right.” Out there — somewhere — was Sepron. Tom knew he didn’t have a choice. Risk angering Matt and his family? Or risk watching the whole western kingdom be devastated by Malvel’s evil spell? Tom’s chest heaved as he thought about his aunt and uncle back home, the hope they had placed in him. This was his destiny. The evening sun was going down, setting the water aglow in shades of red and orange.
“We’ll take the boat and row out at dawn,” Tom said.
CHAPTER FIVE
ON WITH THE QUEST
TOM AND ELENNA SLEPT ROLLED UP IN BLANKETS on the floor of one of the cottages that had escaped the flood. Some of the villagers were crowded in there with them. Tom was careful to choose a spot near the door, so he and Elenna could sneak out without waking anyone.
Tom woke to feel Elenna shaking him by the shoulder.
“Come on!” she whispered. “It’s time.”
Faint gray light was leaking through the shuttered windows of the cottage. Tom rose to his feet, careful not to break the early morning quiet, and edged open the door. He and Elenna crept outside.
The sky was growing light above the trees on the ridge. Tom could make out the dark shape of Storm grazing farther up the hill. Silver came bounding out of the trees and sniffed at Elenna’s hand. “Shh, boy,” she whispered. Looking around, Tom saw that the water had gone down a little bit in the night. More of the village was visible now, and Tom and Elenna could see the terrible damage Sepron had caused.
Many of the cottages were reduced to heaps of stone. Others were caked with mud from the floodwaters. The boat was where they had left it, but now they would have to carry it to the water’s edge.
They both stooped down and gripped the upturned boat at its bow and stern.
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” Tom and Elenna froze as a shout came from the cottage they had just left.
Tom let go of the boat and straightened up. Calum was racing toward them with a confused look on his face.
Tom ran to meet him. “Calum, please don’t wake the village. We can explain.”
Calum’s face grew dark with anger. “I saw you whispering yesterday and didn’t say anything. I thought you wanted to help us. Now you’re trying to steal our boat.”
“We only want to borrow it,” Elenna protested.
“It’s not called borrowing if you don’t have permission,” Calum said coldly.
Tom hesitated. To his relief, none of the other villagers had been awakened by Calum’s shout. If only he could persuade the boy. But he knew that he couldn’t tell anyone about the Beast Quest without causing a panic.
“I need the boat for something really important,” he began.
Calum no longer looked angry as he gave Tom a thoughtful look. Then he glanced out to sea. “I think I can guess,” he said.
“Guess what?” asked Tom.
“You seem like someone with a mission,” said Calum. “I had the same feeling about a man who passed through our village about a year ago.”
Tom’s heartbeat quickened. Could Calum have seen his father? “Was his name Taladon?” he asked, gripping the boy’s shoulders.
Calum shook his head. “He didn’t say. He just told us he was on a quest.” He paused and went on, “I think you might be on a quest, too.”
Tom was sure that the stranger must have been his father, Taladon. Tom ached to know more. He wanted to ask about every detail of his stay in the village, but there was no time. The sky was growing brighter and soon the villagers would be getting up. He held the boy’s gaze steadily. Elenna didn’t say a word, though Silver whined softly.
After a
moment, Calum gave a brisk nod. “All right. I’ll help you move the boat.”
The three of them lifted the boat and carried it down the hill. They waded across a pebbly beach until the sea was deep enough to launch the boat. Tom and Elenna scrambled aboard. Silver whined and tried to follow.
“No, boy,” Elenna said, ruffling the thick fur around his neck. “You can’t come this time.”
“I’ll look after him,” Calum promised. “And your horse, too.”
He rested his hand on Silver’s head. The wolf looked up at him and let out a yelp good-bye.
“We’ll be back soon,” Tom said reassuringly.
“Wait! I want you to have this,” Calum said, presenting his pearl-handled knife. “You found it, after all,” Calum replied.
“We can’t take this,” Elenna said. “It belongs to your family.”
“Then borrow it,” Calum said, smiling.
“Thanks,” Tom said, passing it to Elenna for safekeeping. We’ll take good care of it.”
Elenna gave Silver a last pat. Then she unlashed the oars and gave one to Tom. They began rowing out to sea. Back on the beach, Tom could still see Calum standing knee-deep in water, with Silver at his side.
Calum raised a hand to wave. “Good luck!” he called.
Tom waved back. Then, looking at Elenna, he muttered, “We’re going to need it.”
CHAPTER SIX
DISCOVERY ON THE ISLAND
ROWING WAS HARD WORK. SWEAT PLASTERED Tom’s tunic to his body. His hands ached from gripping the oar. Elenna’s hair clung to her face and she snatched a moment to wipe her forehead with her sleeve.
An eerie silence hung around them. The only sounds were the creaking of the boat and their oars dipping into the water. As they rowed toward the island, the sea became choppy and a current seized the boat. It grew harder to make progress.
Tom’s muscles strained as he dug the oars deeper into the restless sea. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to concentrate on the task of rowing. He could hear Elenna huffing with effort, too.