Peter Polo and the Snow Beast of Hunza by Craig Bradley

Author:Craig Bradley [Bradley, Craig]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781947860988
Publisher: Belle Isle Books
Published: 2020-04-17T04:00:00+00:00

“Peter!” Tariq screamed from above. “Hold on!”

8

On the Trail of the Snow Beast

We didn’t sleep much the rest of that night. When the sun finally peeked over the mountains, we pulled back our blankets and huddled around a small fire as one of the soldiers boiled tea.

“Are we really going into that hole in the ground?” Tariq asked, a quaver in his voice. I was scared too, but I knew we had to follow the tracks to see what made them. In the back of my mind, I knew that was what Marco would have done. And as he always reminded me, fear was a natural reaction to dangerous situations. It made you more aware of your surroundings and it provided the adrenaline you needed to act when the time came.

“Just don’t let fear paralyze you,” he would say.

Well, that was easy for Marco to say since he never seemed to be scared. He never sounded afraid when he returned from one of his missions for the Great Khan and told of his perilous encounters with pirates, bandits, and other cutthroats. Sometimes, as I listened to his tales, I wished I had a more normal brother, one who wasn’t so brave and adventurous. Then I wouldn’t feel so much pressure to be just like him.

But, I had to remind myself, that’s also what makes being a Polo so much fun.

I sat up straight and looked at Tariq. “Yes, we’re going down there. But I’ll go first.” I hoped I sounded confident, because I sure didn’t feel that way. But that seemed to relieve Tariq a little bit.

After we finished our bread and tea, we prepared for our descent into the ravine. The head guard made clear that he and his men would not go with us. “We are here to protect you from the Qara’unas and any other bad people who might be around,” he explained. “We will make sure no one disturbs you while you explore the ravine.”

I didn’t exactly believe him, thinking of what Shamshad said about Ahmad’s disappearance. Here we were about to go into a ravine with the mir’s troops supposedly guarding us from danger. They might even be the same ones who were with Ahmad when he disappeared! I could hear Marco now, warning me to stay away from that dark ravine, not to let my heart run away with my head. But the chance to find the Snow Beast was tempting. What if we were able to prove that it existed and maybe even capture it? That would be a feat even Marco would have a hard time topping!

Besides, I was pretty sure Tariq, Shamshad, and I would be able to take care of ourselves. For one thing, we all carried swords, and Tariq was very handy with his curved Mongol sabre. He had trained with the sabre ever since he came to live at the khan’s palace, and I knew he could cut through even the strongest armor with its steel blade.

But I was hoping our swords would not be needed.

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