The Beast Awakens by Joseph Delaney

Author:Joseph Delaney
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780241321034
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2018-02-07T16:00:00+00:00

Crafty made his way to Viper’s room, the book in his hand, his stomach churning with anxiety. But what could he do – refuse to go? Run away? If he did so, the Chief Mancer would surely send him straight back into the Shole. If that happened, he might never find his father. And without the help of his father, there was no way he’d survive out there.

Crafty’s mind whirred as he tried to think what to do next. If Viper tried to push him through the gate, he wouldn’t be able to stop him. Viper was bigger than Crafty – he’d most likely win in a struggle. And even if Crafty successfully resisted him, it didn’t take much imagination to predict what the Chief Mancer’s reaction would be. He would always believe Viper’s version of events over Crafty’s, and no doubt Viper would try to make out that Crafty had attacked him. So it seemed Crafty had no choice but to accept his fate.

The moment he saw Viper, he realized that he was right to be scared. The mancer had four deep scratches on his right cheek, and his white shirt was ripped and streaked with blood. This puzzled Crafty. Viper was usually very fussy about his appearance, so why hadn’t he changed? But his thoughts were interrupted by a barked command.

‘Sit!’

Crafty slowly made his way to the chair facing the silver gate, and sat down, reluctantly staring into the dark swirling cloud.

‘This is a field operation, Benson. We are going to a fixed location, but not the one in the bog. Miss Leticia Crompton-Smythe was far better at seeking than you, poor girl. She found the creature I asked you to locate in a wood near the western edge of the marsh. Unfortunately, it launched a ferocious attack and, after injuring me, carried her off. So we are going to the scene of the attack. The creature will have left tracks. I want you to follow them.’

Crafty looked at him defiantly, knowing that he was lying. ‘I don’t need to follow her tracks. I can use this book to find her and save precious time,’ he said. ‘That’s why the Chief Mancer gave it to me.’

But Viper snatched the book away, his face livid with anger.

‘We’ll do it my way, Benson!’ His voice was dripping with poison. He stared at Crafty and pointed to the gate. ‘Look!’ he shouted.

For a moment Crafty hesitated. Then Viper’s gaze shifted to the gate, as if it had already cleared – and, on instinct, Crafty glanced over to see what had happened. But the moment he turned away he felt a terrible blow to his left temple, and doubled over.

Tricked! he thought through the haze of pain. I need to get out of here …

But as he tried to stand, Viper hit him again in exactly the same place. Crafty’s mind whirled; he felt numb and sick to his stomach.

He must have lost consciousness for a few seconds, as the next thing he knew he was being dragged out of the chair.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.