Demon Thief (td-2) by Darren Shan

Author:Darren Shan [Shan, Darren]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: sf_horror

THE RELUCTANT DISCIPLE

I come out on top of a fluffy cloud. Through a break to my left I see land far below. My stomach drops as I picture myself falling through the mist, then the sky, hitting the ground hard and splattering. But the cloud holds, supporting me like the water in the first world I visited.

Shark steps through after me, Dervish just behind him. They yell with shock when they see what we’re standing on. Turn to dive back through the window. “It’s OK!” I shout. “We won’t fall.”

They pause, glance at me uncertainly, then realise I’m telling the truth—otherwise we’d have already dropped.

The now two-headed demon is on another bank of cloud ahead of us. When it spots us, it squeals with fear and bounds away. Shark starts after it, but Dervish calls him back. “We’re here to find Beranabus, not kill a stray demon.”

Shark pulls a face, loath to let the demon escape. Then he sighs. “OK, kid. Tell us how you plan to find him.”

“I’ll open a window,” I say, as the one we stepped through comes apart. “Just give me a few minutes to find the patches.”

“ ‘Patches’?” Dervish echoes, but I don’t answer. Looking around, I’m pleased to note that there are loads of patches of light in the air, despite the fact that we’re standing on top of a cloud. I start thinking about Beranabus, muttering his name softly, hoping he’s still alive and that I have the power to make the lights pulse.

For a few seconds—nothing. But before panic has a chance to set in, a pink square by my left foot blinks. Then a brown octagon. Soon, dozens of the patches are pulsing and I merrily set to work.

I’m aware of Dervish and Shark talking while I build the window. Dervish is complaining about the cold. His leather jacket is too small to button up properly—it’s for style, not warmth—and his bare chest is freezing in these icy heights.

“Use magic,” I tell him, recalling the way I instinctively repaired my broken arm. “You can warm up if you think yourself warm.”

Dervish is sceptical, but gives it a go, and moments later he’s beaming, even taking his jacket off and tying it around his waist.

“You must have been here a long time to know so much,” Shark says.

“Actually, I don’t think it’s been more than half a day,” I reply. “Though it feels longer. I’ll tell you about it later, if we have time.”

The window comes together smoothly under my guidance. I don’t hurry. Pleased to note I’m no longer hungry or tired. Marvelling at the way this universe works. I start wondering if we could float down to the ground from here, but then the assembled patches pulse as one and a brownish window opens. “Here we go,” I say smugly.

“I didn’t think windows could be opened that quickly or simply,” Shark says.

“It’s easy-peasy when you know how.”

Shark steps up beside me and looks back at Dervish. “Ready for the next leg of the tour?”

“Hurm,” Dervish says uncertainly.

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