by Loraine Mer
Will Denthan be saved? Can Mendel regain his true form? But more importantly, will James ever find his father?
Enjoy the following excerpt:
"Ssslathat?"
The strange call came from the trees on the opposite bank.
James took a step back. “Get that spear out of the water. Quick!” Hackles rose on Bero's neck as the boys edged away from the riverbank a step at a time. Not once taking their eyes off the shuddering trees opposite, James whispered, “What have you done?"
Craig gave James a withering glance. “What do you mean, ‘what have I done?’ You're the one who told me to put the spear in the blinking water."
They felt the whole bank vibrate beneath their feet.
"That's not Mendel,” said Craig, stating the obvious once again. They watched the trees across the river bend and snap under the weight of something heavy.
"Ssslathat?” The strange cry echoed across the river again.
A large moss-covered tree snapped on the far bank. It splashed down into the water exposing a huge round face that blinked a set of big, purple eyes. The monstrous creature sniffed the air.
James couldn't believe what he was seeing. Its skin looked like gnarled bark, almost black with small patches of orange. It cocked its huge, bald head and it pushed another tree down into the water in order to get a better look at the boys.
"Not Ssslathat! Manimals!” The monstrous beast was now in full view but still seemed to blend in with the forest. It jerked its head back, sniffing the air. James remembered the Swamp Troll doing something similar before it leapt off his mother's roof. With each jerk of its giant head, it issued a strange cry.
"Kak. Kak!” The beast snapped off a sizable limb from the straining tree and put a bark-covered foot into the river.
Having edged a good ten yards back from the riverbank by now, the boys slipped and stumbled over clumps of ferns.
"Griffin!” James glanced down at the red mark on his right palm as he said his word, but the sword was already there in his hand, flicking and jerking towards the Troll creature.
"Do we sit tight or run?” asked James. “Bero!"
Bero had rushed back down the beach to face the creature, barking and growling for all he was worth.
"You stupid dog!” James could hardly control his anger and fear as he spat the words out between clenched teeth. He glanced at Craig. “What is he doing?"
Craig stared at his dog in disbelief and whispered, “He thinks it's some kind of big stick!"
"What?” James edged forward but his legs shook. The Troll was easily thirty feet high and only took three steps to cross the river. It looked down at Bero and seemed to laugh through its splintered, wooden teeth.
"Not Ssslathat. Dinner!” It unfolded a tangled arm and whipped it out towards Bero. Its long nails, like sharpened stakes, were only inches from the old dog when a green spear flew past Bero's brown, floppy ear and sunk deep into the Troll's right eye.
"Aaaaaarghh!"
In the confusion, James lunged forward and grabbed hold of Bero's collar. “Come on boy!” He tried to pull Bero back up the beach but Bero dug in, barking and growling even more viciously than before. James looked up in horror it as the Troll clawed at its eye in an effort to retrieve the spear.
Craig hesitated. “My spear!” he moaned.
"Never mind your ruddy spear, just move!"
The Troll screamed out in anger and began to run towards them again. It thumped its huge club down on the shore sending sand and stones flying into the bushes behind them. Amazingly, James found himself running up the makeshift club until he reached the point where the half blind Troll gripped the huge branch. His log-like fingers were woven tight round the end of the club. “James? James, what are you doing?"
James's sword lashed this way and that, hacking through the Troll's fingers. After a few moments, the club, along with several sliced off fingers, splashed into the river. James twisted away from the Troll as it grasped his stump with his remaining hand.
"Sssslathat! Ssslathat, my brother. They've blinded me!” The sheer volume of the Troll's voice shook the forest, sending flocks of birds and bats into the air.
Craig pulled him from the water and yanked him back up the beach. “There's another one."
"What?” James felt dizzy.
Craig continued, now pulling Bero and James away from the beach for the second time. “There's another one behind it and it's coming our way, fast!"
* * *
Visit www.stardustpress.com for information on additional titles by this and other authors.
