Stealth the Ghost Panther (4 page)

T
OM NOTICED A BIG IRON HOOK FIXED TO THE
central roof beam of the store. He guessed it was meant for hauling heavy items up onto high shelves. He pictured a rope slung over it, raising a load….

“Yes!” he exclaimed. “That's it!”

He scrabbled among the scattered supplies until he found a coil of thick rope. Unrolling it, he flung one end over the hook, and handed the other to Elenna. “Hold that taut, and brace yourself,” he instructed her.

With Elenna gripping the rope, Tom swarmed up it. But as he gazed upward, he spotted the
strands fraying where they were looped over the metal hook.

“I'm coming down!” he called to Elenna. “The rope's going to break.”

He began climbing rapidly down, but before his feet touched the floor, the rope gave way. With a cry of alarm, Tom plummeted, bruising his shoulder as he hit the ground.

Elenna dropped the rope and knelt beside Tom. “Are you hurt?” she asked anxiously.

Tom sat up, wincing with pain as he massaged his shoulder. “It's nothing much,” he said, removing the emerald from his jeweled belt, which he had won from Skor the Winged Stallion.

He pressed it to his shoulder. At once, the pain died away and a cool sensation spread over it. Letting out a sigh of relief, Tom moved his arm up and down to check that the damage was really healed.

“It's fine now,” he told Elenna, who was looking on anxiously. “The emerald works really well!”

Tom slotted the token carefully back into his belt and sprang to his feet. He may not be hurt anymore, but they were no nearer to getting out of their prison. “Now what do we do?” he murmured, half to himself. “I'm not trusting that rope again.”

“I know!” Elenna exclaimed. She swooped down on one of the rolls of linen Tom had tossed aside while he was searching, and began to tear strips off it. Then she knotted them together to make a rope. As soon as he realized what Elenna was doing, Tom knelt beside her and tested the knots, pulling them as tight as he could.

“It's not perfect,” Elenna said, “but it's better than nothing.”

“Better than the rope, anyway,” Tom agreed.

As soon as the knotted linen was long enough, Tom tossed it over the hook. With Elenna holding
the other end, he leaped into the air and swung himself in an arc toward the door. He held his feet braced in front of him, ready for the impact.

As Tom hit the door it started to give way, but the strong wooden planks remained in place.

“Try again!” Elenna cried excitedly.

Tom leaped up and swung himself at the door once more. This time, when his feet slammed into it, the door burst open. Tom smashed through, into the open, scattering splinters of wood everywhere. Triumph surging through him, he landed with a thud, staggered, and regained his balance.

“Come on!” he urged, glancing back at Elenna. “The whole village must have heard that.”

Elenna grabbed Tom's shield and thrust it into his hands as she darted out to join him. At the same moment, Tom heard an angry shout from farther down the street. A crowd of men surged out of the inn.

Raymond was in the lead. He spotted Tom and Elenna. “They're escaping!” he shouted.

The whole crowd pounded down the street toward the store hut. Determination surged through Tom. He
wouldn't
let these evil villagers put him and his friend in prison again.

“Let's go!” he yelled.

“W
HAT ABOUT THE CANDLES?”
E
LENNA GASPED
as they began running as fast as they could down the street.

“In my pockets,” Tom replied. “Come on!”

The villagers were hard on their heels. Tom cast a rapid glance over his shoulder. Raymond was at the head of the crowd, waving his fists. His flapping shirtsleeves showed the marks of Stealth's claws on his arms.

“Faster!” Tom panted. “They're gaining!”

As he and Elenna turned off the village street and pelted down the path that led to the tunnels, Tom heard the beat of a horse's hooves and
the drawn-out howl of a wolf. Storm came cantering out of the trees, with Silver bounding along beside him.

“I knew they wouldn't leave us!” Tom cried out in relief.

As Storm galloped up, Tom grabbed his mane and leaped into the saddle without breaking his stride. Elenna still ran alongside them. Tom reached down to pull her up behind him. They outpaced the villagers as they headed for the tunnels, Silver barking excitedly in the rear.

Outside the largest tunnel entrance, Tom tugged on the reins and brought Storm to a halt. He and Elenna slid to the ground.

“Well done, boy.” Tom gave the black stallion a pat on the nose. “You came just in time!”

The sun was going down. The trees cast long shadows and the mouth of the tunnel looked darker than ever. Tom strode up to it. “I hope we're right, and this leads us to the Beast,” he said.

“We really need those candles now,” Elenna said, peering into the blackness.

Tom pulled a couple of candles out of his pocket. Elenna unfastened the base of her quiver and took out a flint. She struck a flame from it with an arrowhead. The candle flames burned steadily, casting a circle of yellow light as Tom and Elenna stepped into the tunnel.

Tom heard the sound of pounding footsteps outside, and glanced back to see Raymond and the other villagers appearing around a bend in the path.

“Let's go — fast!” he urged Elenna.

With a candle in one hand and Storm's bridle in the other, Tom led the way into the gloomy passage. Elenna followed him, with Silver at her heels. The wolf kept glancing back and letting out threatening howls at the sounds of the pursuing villagers. The noise filled the tunnel with echoes.

The candle flames dipped and wavered as Tom and the others hurried along. They cast moving
shadows on the tunnel walls. Storm picked his way among the loose rocks on the tunnel floor, the clatter of his hooves sounding loud in the narrow passage.

Tom paused for a moment to listen. “I can't hear the villagers anymore.”

“Good.” Elenna patted her wolf friend on the head. “I think Silver must have frightened them off.”

Even though they were now safe from the evil villagers, Tom set a brisk pace as they carried on. There was no time to waste as long as Stealth prowled the streets of his beloved kingdom's capital city.

“Which is the right way?” Elenna asked as they came to a place where the passage forked into two.

Tom hesitated, then chose the right-hand tunnel. “I think I remember this from last time,” he said.

He led the way up and down rocky slopes, through vast caves, and along passages with roofs so low that Storm could only just fit through. The candles burned down, so Tom and Elenna had to stop and light two more.

Soon afterward, the sound of falling water came from up ahead, and the candle flames lit up a stream that gushed out of the rock above them and fell into a pool below.

“I remember this,” Elenna said. She set her candle down on a shelf in the rock so she could cup her hands under the stream and take a drink. “That's good. It's so cold!”

Tom drank, too, and splashed his face, while Storm and Silver lapped from the pool.

As they continued, the tunnel started to slope upward. Tom realized they were drawing close to the caves that opened in the hills just above the city. Excitement fluttered in his stomach. He drew
his sword and held it at the ready, alert for any signs that Stealth was nearby.

Eventually, Tom and Elenna climbed up a flight of shallow stone steps.

“We're here!” Elenna exclaimed with a grin of satisfaction.

The steps led into another cave. Tom could see its jagged exit outlined against a starlit sky.

As he stepped onto the hillside, he was about to blow out the candle, when he spotted markings on the ground in front of him. He squatted, holding the flame so its golden light poured down on them. Elenna came to peer over his shoulder.

“Paw prints,” Tom whispered, a shiver of horror running through him. “Huge paw prints, just like in the village. Stealth must be waiting for us.”

T
OM PAUSED OUTSIDE THE CITY WALLS
. T
HE
gates stood open, and beyond them the street was dark and quiet.

“Where are the guards?” Elenna asked, her eyes wide as she gazed around.

“I don't know.” Tom felt his heart thumping hard as he led the way through the gates. “And where are all the people?”

Even at this time of day, the city streets were usually full of market stalls, their lamps shining brightly on fruit and cheese or freshly baked bread and biscuits. The citizens would shop and gossip, while children darted to and fro among the stalls.
But there were no lights, no sounds of voices or laughter. All the doors and windows were tightly shut.

Storm's hooves sounded loud on the cobbles as Tom led him through the streets. Silver padded close to Elenna's side, his muzzle raised to sniff the air. The hairs on his neck were bristling as if he could sense an enemy, though there was nothing to be seen.

“It's like a ghost town,” Elenna whispered.

“Or a town ruled by a Ghost Beast,” Tom added grimly.

As they turned a corner, Tom caught a glimpse of two flashes of emerald green. Silver growled deep in his throat. Tom grabbed the hilt of his sword, but as he drew it, the two emerald flashes darted away into the night.

Tom shivered. “I think we just spotted Stealth.”

Elenna nodded, looking around apprehensively. “Where did he go?”

“I don't know. But we had better keep our eyes open.”

As Tom finished speaking, a threatening snarl curled through the air from behind. Tom whipped around. How could the Beast have gotten there so quickly? He glanced rapidly around them, his sword at the ready, but nothing moved in the darkness.

“This Beast is very good at
hiding
,” Elenna remarked.

Tom nodded. “Stealth is no coward,” he said. “He'll show himself when he's ready.”

The thought of a Ghost Beast stalking them made every hair on Tom's head prickle with tension, but he strode on determinedly toward the palace. “We've got to make sure King Hugo and Wizard Aduro are safe,” he said.

At last, the street they were following led into the square in front of the palace. The gates to the palace grounds stood open, just like the gates to the city.

“There are no guards here, either,” Elenna murmured.

They could see no lights on in the palace as they passed through the gates, but as they approached the building, lamplight suddenly flickered through a window just above the main door. Tom looked up to see King Hugo gazing out. His face looked ghostly pale.

“Greetings, sire!” Tom called out, relieved that the King was still alive.

King Hugo did not reply. He stared down at Tom and Elenna as if he was afraid of them.

Feeling even more uneasy, Tom tried to push open the palace door, but it didn't budge. He rattled the handle, but the door still didn't move. It was locked!

“Please let us in, sire,” he called up to the King. “We've brought news.”

For a moment, King Hugo didn't reply. Tom exchanged a mystified glance with Elenna. He
didn't understand this. He had never been denied entry to the palace before.

Another figure moved up beside King Hugo to look out the window.

“Father!” Tom cried out as he recognized Taladon.

Taladon didn't speak, either. After a moment, he shook his head sadly and moved away from the window again.

“Father, what's the matter?” Tom called. He felt as if the ground had just opened up beneath his feet. For his father to turn away from him like that, something must be really wrong. Tom thought he would burst with frustration if he didn't find out what it was.

Taladon didn't reappear, but King Hugo pushed the window open and leaned out. “I'm sorry, Tom,” he said. “We can't let you in. Stealth has been rampaging through the city. Every time he scratches someone, they turn to evil. No one can
be trusted.” The King hesitated, his face filled with grief. “I'm not even sure I can trust you and Elenna,” he went on at last. “Pull up your sleeves, and let me see if you carry any panther claw marks.”

As Tom hesitated, he felt Elenna's hand on his arm. “King Hugo is right,” she whispered. “We trusted the people of Stonewin, and remember how easily they tricked us! The King is doing the only thing he can — protecting the last sanctuary in Avantia. If the evil Beast got into the palace, then everything would be lost.”

Tom let out a long breath. Elenna was right. If Avantia came to be ruled by an evil king, there would be no hope left. But it still hurt him to see mistrust in the eyes of the King he loved and served.

There was no point in pulling up his sleeves; he and Elenna could be carrying the marks of Stealth anywhere on their bodies.

“I understand, sire,” Tom replied. “Just tell me one thing — is Wizard Aduro safe?” His stomach lurched to think of Stealth scratching the good wizard and turning him into another Malvel.

King Hugo nodded. “He is safe,” he replied. “But his magic cannot undo the work of the Beast.”

Tom bowed to the King and turned away. He paced through the gates again, followed by Elenna and their animal friends, and halted as another ghostly snarl swept across the empty square. Somewhere out there, a Beast was stalking the streets of the city. And Tom knew that it was his job to defeat him.

“While there's blood in my veins,” he vowed, “I'll save Avantia!”