Narga the Sea Monster Read online

  THE DARK REALM

  BOOK FIFTEEN

  NARGA

  THE SEA MONSTER

  ADAM BLADE

  ILLUSTRATED BY EZRA TUCKER

  With special thanks to Cherith Baldry

  To Adam Dawkins

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  DEAR READER

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE: DECEIVED BY MALVEL

  CHAPTER TWO: QUICKSAND!

  CHAPTER THREE: THE LAST STEP

  CHAPTER FOUR: WANTED ALIVE

  CHAPTER FIVE: ON THE TRAIL

  CHAPTER SIX: SILVER TO THE RESCUE

  CHAPTER SEVEN: NEWS OF NARGA

  CHAPTER EIGHT: THE BLACK OCEAN

  CHAPTER NINE: THE RAGE OF NARGA

  CHAPTER TEN: THE WHIRLPOOL

  Copyright

  Welcome. You stand on the edge of darkness, at the gates of an awful land. This place is Gorgonia, the Dark Realm, where the sky is red, the water black, and Malvel rules. Tom and Elenna — your hero and his companion — must travel here to complete the next Beast Quest.

  Gorgonia is home to six most deadly Beasts — Minotaur, Winged Stallion, Sea Monster, Gorgonian Hound, Mighty Mammoth, and Scorpion Man. Nothing can prepare Tom and Elenna for what they are about to face. Their past victories mean little. Only strong hearts and determination will save them now.

  Dare you follow Tom’s path once more? I advise you to turn back. Heroes can be stubborn and adventures may beckon, but if you decide to stay with Tom, you must be brave and fearless. Anything less will mean certain doom.

  Watch your step….

  Kerlo the Gatekeeper

  PROLOGUE

  ODORA STOOD AT THE STERN OF THE SHIP AND peered out across the Black Ocean of Gorgonia. The only light came from the purple moon, half-hidden by clouds. She and her brother Dako were trying to stay close to the coast, but the dark night and the thickening mist hid any land. There was no sign of Malvel’s guards. But Odora knew that the evil wizard’s men could be prowling the sea and shore.

  She glanced down at the huge chest of weapons near her feet. A surge of grim satisfaction shot through her as she thought about how these arms would help the Gorgonian rebels in their fight against Malvel. But the stakes were high. If the evil wizard caught them with the smuggled weapons, he would show no mercy.

  Suddenly the ship lurched. Odora staggered forward and saved herself from falling by grabbing the ship’s rail. Her heart pounding, she hurried toward the bow of the ship, where she spotted the crouching figure of Dako.

  “What’s happening?” she whispered.

  “I haven’t seen anything,” Dako replied in a low voice. “But we’re not alone. There’s something out there.”

  Odora clenched her hands to stop them from shaking with fear. “We can’t get caught. If Malvel’s guards find the weapons we’re carrying, they’ll kill us!”

  Dako shot her a warning look. “Keep your voice down. We’ve got to get through with these weapons. They’re our only chance against Malvel.” He peered cautiously over the rail.

  “Can you see anything?” Odora asked, crouching low.

  Before Dako could reply, a wave flooded over the deck, soaking them both. Then, out of the wave rose a long, slender neck and a hideous, snakelike head. Terrified, the brother and sister stood rooted to the spot.

  The Beast swooped down toward them, jaws agape. Odora leaped out of the way, catching a glimpse of rotting fangs and a flickering, forked tongue.

  The vicious jaws grabbed her brother’s whole head and lifted him clear of the ship. Dako kicked out and pounded his fists against the Beast’s scaly neck, but he couldn’t free himself.

  “Dako! Dako!” Odora screamed. She sprang up, reaching for her brother’s legs, but he was already out of reach. She saw his body go limp as the Beast vanished into the fog.

  Behind her, Odora heard a second wave swirl over the deck, and she spun around to see another head on a long neck rearing up out of the water. Two Beasts! she thought despairingly.

  The second Beast stretched out toward her, jaws snapping. Odora dove away, sliding along the soaking deck until she reached the weapon chest. Throwing it open, she pulled out a sword and swung at the sea monster with all her might. The Beast’s head reared away from her gleaming blade.

  But five more heads were appearing out of the mist, joining the other Beast. They surrounded the ship, looming over it and snapping at Odora, their fangs long and sharp. She struck out with her sword again, but the six heads were too fast for her. They weaved to and fro, darting between her sword strokes. Odora felt her arms grow weaker and the sword get heavier.

  Trying to dodge one of the heads, Odora slipped on the wet floorboards. As she struggled to recover her balance, the ship was raised out of the water. The deck tilted. Swords, spears, and crossbows skidded across the wet planks and fell into the sea.

  The heads reared up as one, and Odora gasped with terror as she saw that all the necks extended out of one huge, lumpy body. There weren’t six separate Beasts, just one enormous Beast with six heads. “No!” she screamed as the creature wrapped its necks around the ship and hurled it aside as easily as if it were a pebble.

  Odora was flung through the air. I’m going to die, she thought in the last seconds before she plunged into the black waves. And we’ve failed. Without the weapons, the rebels have no chance of defeating Malvel. The Dark Wizard will win.

  CHAPTER ONE

  DECEIVED BY MALVEL

  TOM TOOK A SHORT RUN, PUSHED OFF FROM the ground, and soared into the air. Even though he wasn’t wearing the golden armor, he had not lost its special powers.

  But as Tom landed, pain stabbed through his leg. He looked down and saw that a sharp rock jutting up from the ground had torn through his trouser leg and cut his calf. He could swear that a moment ago there hadn’t been any rocks ahead. But then, things were never quite as they seemed in Malvel’s kingdom.

  “What’s the matter?” Elenna asked, riding up on Storm, with Silver, her wolf, loping alongside.

  “I cut myself on a rock,” Tom explained. “I’d better heal it before we go any farther.”

  Tom removed his shield, which he carried over one shoulder. It held the six tokens that he had won from each of the good Beasts of Avantia. Tom took out the feather of Epos the Winged Flame; it felt warm in his hand as he passed it across his bleeding calf. At once the blood stopped flowing and Tom’s skin drew together until there was no sign of a wound.

  “Impressive.” Elenna smiled.

  As Tom replaced the feather, he felt a tingling in his shield. Sepron the Sea Serpent’s tooth was vibrating again. The good Beast was being held captive by one of Malvel’s evil Beasts, and Tom couldn’t help but wonder what shape his enemy would take this time.

  “Let’s get moving,” Tom urged, clenching his fists. “Sepron is still in trouble, and while there is blood in my veins I won’t let him die!”

  Malvel had dragged the good Beasts into Gorgonia, leaving Avantia defenseless without its guardians. Tom knew the Dark Wizard planned to send his own evil Beasts to conquer the peaceful kingdom.

  “Let’s have another look at the map,” Elenna suggested, “and make sure that we’re heading in the right direction.”

  Tom took the map out of Storm’s saddlebag, shuddering as he unrolled it. Malvel had sent the map to Tom and Elenna when they first arrived in Gorgonia. Made from the skin of a dead animal, it smelled disgusting, as if it were rotting.

  Elenna looked over his shoulder as Tom traced a glowing green line that appeared on the map. It showed a route through gentle-looking fields ending at the Black Ocean, where a tiny picture of Sepron was now etched.

  “We have a long way to go,” Elenna said. “But at least the route ahead looks easier. Fields all the way to the sea.”

  “Maybe things aren’t all bad in this place,” Tom said, shaking away thoughts of the next Beast he would have to conquer. “Let’s go!” He stowed the map in the saddlebag again and strode out confidently along the path. Elenna urged Storm into motion and Silver bounded alongside.

  As the day wore on, Tom found that the trail didn’t take them across fields but wound upward into craggy hills that grew steeper and rockier with every step. Storm picked his way carefully among the boulders, letting out whinnies of protest when sharp stones stabbed his hooves. Silver whined softly as he tried to find a flat spot to set down his paws.

  “I don’t understand this,” Tom said, gazing around. “Have we come the wrong way?”

  “This is the only way we could have come,” Elenna replied. “The road didn’t fork anywhere.”

  Shaking his head in confusion, Tom pulled out the map again. “Look,” he said. “We should be on flat ground now. The map shows green fields.”

  Elenna looked bemused. “Why does it show fields if there aren’t any?”

  “Think about it for a second,” Tom said, rage flooding through him as he realized what had happened. “Who gave us this map?”

  “Malvel.” Elenna’s voice was tight with anger.

  “Right,” said Tom. “We must have been stupid to think we could ever trust it.”

  Elenna brought Storm to a halt. “We should stop,” she suggested. “The map could be leading us in circles.”

  “There’s one thing I do trust.” Tom dug deep into his pocket and pulled out the compass left to him by his father, Taladon. He held it in front of him, pointing it up the path.

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; Elenna leaned over Storm’s head to look, and Silver darted around Tom’s feet excitedly.

  The compass needle was swirling backward and forward between Destiny and Danger.

  “Does that mean we’ll face both if we go this way?” Elenna asked.

  “Yes, it must.” Tom stowed the compass away again and straightened up, squaring his shoulders determinedly. “We’ll keep going. We have to save Sepron — and ignore Malvel’s tricks.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  QUICKSAND!

  THE STONY TRAIL GREW STEEPER STILL. Eventually it led between two sheer cliffs. Tom steered Storm through the narrow gap and found himself looking out across a wide plain. He used his power of sharp sight, which he had gained from the magical golden helmet, and spotted on the distant horizon a glistening black line.

  “I see the Black Ocean!” he exclaimed, feeling renewed determination as he set eyes on the end of their journey. “We came the right way after all.”

  Elenna smiled with relief. “Then let’s hurry. We need to get to Sepron as soon as we can.”

  The path wound down a rocky slope toward the plain. When they reached level ground, Elenna urged Storm to a trot and then to a canter. Tom ran ahead using the power of his magical leg armor, which gave him great speed. He felt certain that they would soon find Sepron and save him from Malvel’s evil Beast.

  Gradually, clumps of grass began to appear, poking up through the thin soil that covered the plain. Tom noticed copses of twisted trees, their branches thick with drooping black leaves. He veered away from them, remembering the evil trees that had tried to capture them on their Quest to find Tagus the horse-man.

  The ground under Tom’s feet was growing softer, and soon he could see clumps of reeds and pools of water that reflected the scarlet sky. He bounded forward but gave a cry of alarm as he felt his feet sink into the ground.

  Fear hit him like a punch in the stomach. “Stop!” he yelled to Elenna, who was cantering behind him on Storm. “Quicksand!”

  Elenna pulled on the reins, but the warning had come too late. Storm’s speed carried him into the mire. The horse tossed his head and let out a neigh of terror as he began to sink. Silver skidded to a halt at the edge of the marsh, whining anxiously.

  Tom used the force of the golden boots and sprang upward, dragging his feet clear of the quicksand. While in midair, he grabbed Elenna and yanked her out of the saddle. They landed heavily on solid ground. Winded by the fall, Tom sat up, hoping to see Storm pull himself free of the quicksand, now that the weight of his passenger had been removed. Unfortunately, the brave stallion was still trapped and sinking quickly.

  “I’m sorry, Tom!” Elenna gasped. “I couldn’t stop him.”

  “We’ll get him out,” Tom reassured her. “Stay here with Silver and keep him safe.”

  Tom sprang up and ran to the edge of the swamp. Storm had sunk as far as his knees and was neighing in panic, trying to heave himself out.

  “Don’t struggle, boy!” Tom yelled. “Keep still! I’m coming to get you.”

  Tom thought fast and looked around. He had to find a way to get Storm out of the quicksand without falling in himself. Suddenly, he spotted a familiar figure near a copse of trees. It was Kerlo, the Gorgonian gatekeeper.

  “Kerlo!” Tom shouted. “Help us! Storm …”

  He broke off as the gatekeeper raised one hand toward the branches of the tree before vanishing into thin air.

  “Kerlo!” Tom yelled again. Couldn’t the gatekeeper see that Storm would die if they didn’t help him? “He’s useless!” he added bitterly.

  “No, I get it!” Elenna yelled, running over to him. “Take your sword and cut down some branches from the trees. Then we can set them down in front of Storm, like stepping stones.”

  “Yes!” Tom exclaimed. “I see now.” He drew his sword and dashed over to the trees. Quickly he hacked down some branches.

  By the time Tom raced back with the branches, Elenna had taken out her bow and was tying a piece of long rope to one of her arrows.

  “What’s that for?” Tom asked.

  “Watch.”

  Elenna fitted the arrow to her bow and fired it into the trunk of a tree on the other side of the mire. She picked up the end of trailing rope and tied it around a dead tree trunk nearby, creating a tightrope across the quicksand. She repeated the process with a second arrow but this time placed her shot higher, so that there were now two tightropes, one on top of the other.

  “There,” she said, giving both lengths of rope a quick tug to make sure they were secure. “Now you can walk along the bottom rope and drop the branches in front of Storm. If he doesn’t stand on them for too long, he should be able to get back over here. And if you need more support, you can grab the top rope.”

  “That’s brilliant!” Tom said with a smile. “I’m so lucky to have you with me on this Quest.”

  “Just hurry,” Elenna said, her cheeks reddening.

  Tom climbed onto the bottom rope and Elenna handed him the branches. He took his first step along the rope and almost lost his balance. He couldn’t grab the top rope without letting go of the branches. His heart thumped as he stopped himself wobbling.

  “Come on, you have to do this,” he muttered to himself. He kept his eyes fixed on Storm as he pushed forward along the rope. The brave stallion was floundering desperately and Tom could see him sinking deeper and deeper into the quicksand. Time was running out.

  CHAPTER THREE

  THE LAST STEP

  TOM USED THE ARMFUL OF BRANCHES FOR balance as he slowly walked across the quicksand. He concentrated on putting each foot down on the tightrope, and soon he was moving at a good pace. Eventually he reached Storm. The horse craned his neck up toward him.

  “It’ll be all right,” Tom told Storm, dropping the first two branches in front of his friend. “Climb onto these and we’ll soon have you out.”

  The sound of Tom’s voice seemed to calm the stallion, but he didn’t move toward the branches.

  Tom stooped down as far as he dared without losing his balance on the rope. “Come on, boy.” He forced his voice to sound soothing, even though his fear for Storm was rising. Soon his friend would be shoulder-deep in the thick black ooze, and if he sank that far, he would never get out. “Come on. The branches will hold you up.”

  Storm simply let out a frightened whinny.

  I’ll have to show him, Tom realized.

  Carefully he lowered himself from the rope until he was standing with feet apart on the branch nearest to Storm. The surface of the quicksand quivered, but the branch bore his weight. Then he took a step forward onto the second branch.

  Storm’s head went up and he blew a huge breath out through his nostrils. With a massive effort he pulled his forelegs out of the mud and stepped onto the first branch.

  “Yes!” Tom cried out. “Come on! You can do it.”

  He dropped another two branches onto the quicksand, then edged along the rope. Storm had now gotten his hindquarters free and stood fully on the branches. Almost immediately, the makeshift stepping-stones started to sink, but Storm swiftly took a step onto the next ones.

  “It’s working!” Tom called out to Elenna, keeping his eyes on the stallion’s progress. She didn’t reply, but he heard a loud bark from Silver and could imagine the gray wolf racing back and forth excitedly along the edge of the mud.

  As Tom dropped the last branch, he realized that the path he had made was too short. I need more branches, he thought. But if I go to cut more, Storm will sink again.

  Tom drew his sword and slashed through the top rope. He grabbed one end and swung toward the bank, dropping his shield just in time for Storm to make his last step forward.

  Tom let go of the rope and landed neatly on solid ground, just as Storm heaved himself up the bank and stood panting, his head down.

  “Well done, boy!” Tom gave Storm a hug, not caring about the mud that plastered the stallion’s coat. “Never scare me like that again.”

  Tom looked around to share his triumph with Elenna, but his friend and Silver were nowhere to be seen. “Elenna!” he called, darting forward to rescue his shield from the quicksand before it was swallowed up. He scraped the shield clean on a clump of grass, gazing around as he did so.