Stealth the Ghost Panther (2 page)

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.

M
ALVEL

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.

L
UKE PEERED CAUTIOUSLY AROUND THE STREET
corner. Nothing moved, except for a cat that shot across the cobbles and vanished between two buildings on the opposite side. All the dwellers in Avantia's capital city had gone to their beds long ago.

The moon shed a pale light over the street, though dark shadows lurked in corners. Beyond the rooftops of the shops and houses, Luke could see the purple spires of King Hugo's palace. He shivered as he wondered if Wizard Aduro was looking out, keeping watch on everything that went on in the city.

A hand shoved Luke roughly in the back. He glanced over his shoulder to see his master, Bill.

“What are you waiting for?” Bill demanded. “Get a move on!”

“Just checking,” Luke mumbled resentfully.

Luke looked up at the inn's creaking sign above his head: It showed a scarlet dragon with fire spurting from its jaws. Bill pointed to a pile of barrels stacked against the inn wall. “Go on. Climb,” he ordered.

Luke hung back. The climb was easy enough: Above the pile of barrels, a drainpipe led up to an open latticed window. But he was scared at the thought of what would happen if anyone found him once he was inside.

“I said
climb
!” Bill gave Luke a harder shove that sent him stumbling to his knees. “You're a young lad — it's easy for you to scramble up there. Get inside, and come down to let me in.” He chuckled and rubbed his grimy hands together. “There'll be rich pickings tonight, and you'll get your share.”

Luke hauled himself to his feet and limped toward the pile of barrels. He didn't dare disobey Bill. His master was a huge man, tall and broad-shouldered, and he could scare Luke just by glaring at him.

How did I ever end up like this?
Luke thought miserably as he started to clamber up the drainpipe.
I never wanted to be a thief.

As Luke climbed, he thought he could hear soft footfalls in the street, and a sound like a whip cracking in the air. Then he heard the scuffle of Bill's boots on the cobbles, and his master's voice raised in a shout that died away at once in a choking rattle.

Luke peered over his shoulder. Bill was lying facedown in the street. A pool of blood spread slowly from his temple, glistening ink-black in the light of the moon.

Is he dead?
Terror froze Luke to the drainpipe.

A moment later Bill stirred, hauling himself to his knees and then to his feet.

“What happened?” Luke called down softly. “Are you all right?”

Bill didn't reply. Staggering forward, he pointed a trembling finger at Luke. “Thief!” he spat, his eyes narrowed. “I'm going to tell your parents what you've been up to!”

Luke gasped in horror. His mother and father would never live down the shame of knowing that he creeped out of bed at night to go thieving with Bill. And Bill might have been rough with him before, but never cruel. What had happened to him?

“You can't —” Luke began.

His protest was cut off by a bloodcurdling howl that echoed through the streets of the city. It sounded like the yowl of a hunting cat, but a thousand times louder and more menacing. Bill cringed at the sound, then turned and raced away.

Luke could see nothing in the empty street except a pair of glittering green dots, dancing in the distance.

“What's that?” he muttered to himself. “They look like eyes.”

Cautiously, he began to climb down, only to freeze as the green dots suddenly leaped forward. Out of the night, a coal-black panther appeared, his gleaming fangs bared and his jaws gaping as if he might swallow Luke whole.

With a choking cry, Luke scrambled back up the drainpipe.
Is that what attacked Bill?
he asked himself as he tried to grip the slippery surface.

The panther leaped and snarled beneath him. Swordlike claws slashed at Luke's feet. His teeth were veined like marble, and three tails whipped through the air behind him. Around his neck was a thick leather collar from which dangled an odd-shaped piece of silver.

As Luke watched, a rat scurried out from behind
the pile of barrels. Luke gasped in amazement as the Beast lashed out with one of his tails: He lassoed the squealing rat around the neck and tossed the vermin into his open mouth.

Swallowing the creature in one gulp, the Beast turned back to gaze up at Luke. His emerald eyes burned through the darkness. Luke told his body to move, to keep on clambering up the drainpipe, but he couldn't make his arms and legs obey. His gaze was locked with the Beast's as the panther began to circle one of his three tails. The tail moved faster and faster until it snaked out through the air and snatched Luke's ankle.

Luke kicked out, but he couldn't break the grip of the Beast's tail. His hands scrabbled uselessly at the wall of the inn as he felt himself being dragged down.

He's going to eat me
, Luke thought frantically, letting out a shriek of terror.
He'll swallow me up, just like he did that rat….

T
OM STOOD BESIDE
E
LENNA ON THE EDGE
of the volcano at Stonewin and looked down at the piece of amulet that he held in the palm of his hand. The silver shone in the sunlight and the piece of enamel glowed and winked like a blue eye.

“That's five pieces,” he said. “Only one more to go.”

Pulling on the leather thong around his neck, he fished the rest of the amulet out from under his tunic and fitted the new piece into place. Silver light flared briefly. When it died away, the new piece had joined with the rest as if it had never
been broken off. A jagged gap showed where the final piece was still missing.

“It won't be long now,” Elenna said. “Then your father will be fully returned to his old self.”

Tom nodded slowly. “But I've lost another of my special powers,” he reminded his friend. “I haven't got the strength of heart from the golden chain mail anymore. And that helped me through so many of our Quests.”

“You don't need it!” Elenna assured him. “You've got enough courage of your own.”

Storm, Tom's black stallion, blew out a noisy breath as if he was agreeing, and Elenna's gray wolf, Silver, gave a long howl.

“See?” Elenna added. “They know you're brave enough for anything! And so does your father.”

Tom smiled at her, feeling a wave of determination fill his chest. His father, Taladon, had been captured by the evil wizard, Malvel. Although he had escaped when Tom had completed his third Beast Quest,
he was trapped as a ghost between the real world and the spirit world. Taladon could return to life only when the six pieces of the Amulet of Avantia had been joined together again. But Malvel had given the pieces to six Ghost Beasts. Tom had already defeated five of the powerful monsters, but he still had to face the sixth. And he knew that this last Beast would be the deadliest of all.

“So where do we go next?” Elenna asked.

Tom stretched out one hand. “Map!” he commanded.

The ghostly map given to them by Wizard Aduro took shape in front of him, bobbing gently in the air. A shimmering path appeared, leading from the volcano to Avantia's capital city.

“That's where King Hugo's palace is!” Elenna exclaimed. “Surely the Ghost Beast wouldn't dare go there?”

“I don't know.” A cold sense of approaching evil creeped through Tom. “Maybe that's what my
father meant when he said the next Beast would be ‘closer to home.'”

“And more evil than we can possibly know,” Elenna added. “He must be really cunning, to hide himself in the very heart of Avantia.”

Tom felt his hands ball into fists. “I don't care how cunning he is. We'll defeat him!”

Beside the picture of the city, a small black shape came into view: a panther with a coat the color of night. He snarled and slid out gleaming claws.

At the same moment, a chilly wind blew past Tom, bringing the foul stench of something rotten. The voice of the evil Wizard Malvel whispered in Tom's ear. “Stealth …”

“Stealth!” Elenna exclaimed. Clearly she had heard the whisper, too. She exchanged a startled glance with Tom. “Is that the name of the Ghost Beast?”

“It must be,” Tom declared. “And we were right. The Beast
is
in the city.”

“And that means it's not just our own safety we have to worry about,” Elenna said. “The King and everyone else are in danger, too.”

Tom's stomach churned with a mixture of fear and excitement. “We'd better get moving,” he said. “This Beast could destroy all of Avantia.”

Digging into his pocket, Tom drew out the silver compass that his father had given to him. There were two points on it:
Destiny
and
Danger
. He held it out toward the city and watched as the needle swung around to
Destiny
.

“That proves it. There's no time to waste,” he said, closing up the compass and stowing it away again. “What's the quickest way of getting to the city?”

“The piece of Tagus's horseshoe will give us extra speed,” Elenna said, pointing to the Night Horse's gift, which was fixed onto Tom's shield.

“Yes, but we need to choose the quickest route.”

Tom studied the map again, but it showed only
the main road that wound through the hills and fields of Avantia, taking in many towns and villages on its way. He banished the map with a flick of his fingers, and looked around thoughtfully. Then his gaze fell on the mouth of one of the tunnels at the base of the volcano.

“Look!” he cried excitedly, gesturing toward it. “Remember how we rescued the people of Stonewin from the fires of Epos, back on our first Quest?”

“We led them through the tunnels,” Elenna replied, her eyes shining as she understood Tom's plan. “They go all the way to the city.”

“Yes.” A wide grin split Tom's face. “And we can use those tunnels again!”