The Chronicles of Avantia #1: First Hero
Page 9
Tanner looked out hopelessly over the forest and fields. Pink dawn was pushing back the black curtain of night, and pale clouds streaked the sky. Geffen could be anywhere.
“Well, whatever has happened,” said Tanner, “we need to find him. And fast.”
“Why?” Gwen spat. “Because you’re concerned for his welfare, or because you want your precious piece of mask back?”
“It’s not my precious mask,” Tanner argued. “I’m doing all this for the sake of Avantia. Or had you forgotten?”
Gwen shook her head in disgust. “And why does Avantia need you, in particular? Geffen and I were happy before you arrived in our town. Now he’s disappeared.”
“Happy? Your town was being attacked!” He couldn’t believe that Gwen was being so stubborn. Why wouldn’t she accept that her brother had betrayed them? I didn’t ask for any of this, either, Tanner thought. He’d seen death, been torn from his home and forced into a fight against evil. He’d done exactly what had been asked of him — and more.
Gwen sheathed her rapier, and went back into the cave. She snatched up the blanket, and held it under Gulkien’s snout. “You’ll help me, won’t you?” she said. The wolf sniffed, his pale eyes widening as he took in the scent. Gwen put a hand on his neck and he lowered himself so she could climb onto his back, nestling in his thick fur.
“You take to the air,” she said coldly to Tanner, still not looking at him. “We’ll find his trail on the ground.”
Tanner nodded, and hoisted himself into the space between Firepos’s wings. The flame bird ruffled her tawny feathers. With a nudge from Tanner’s feet, she spread her mighty wings and sprung from the ledge, falling for a heartbeat before climbing into the dawn sky on thrusting wings.
Gulkien, with the thin membranes of his wings pressed tight against his body, leaped into the gorse below, scattering loose rocks. With perfect balance, he half slid, half clambered down the steep slope, and Gwen clung tightly to his fur. At the bottom, he paused at the tree line, nose tight to the ground. Taut muscles shifted along the wolf’s broad back. As Gulkien smelled the trees, he snorted, and Tanner saw the curls of huge fangs in his mouth. His yellow eyes glittered like molten gold. He plunged into the trees, with a spray of leaves and pine needles.
Tanner steered Firepos in pursuit, the wind blasting his face. The forest below was a dense, dark green. They soared higher, cutting through strands of pure, wet cloud. Beyond the forest, fields of yellowing wheat crisscrossed with dirt roads and animal paths. Avantia glowed in the morning sunlight, grass rippling like waves. But nowhere was there a sign of the boy.
Below them, Gulkien streaked across a forest clearing, leaping over a clump of boulders, then into the trees again. Even if Tanner couldn’t see Geffen from up here, the scent down below must have been strong. Tanner’s anger burned. We’ve been through so much to find the mask. And now Gwen’s brother had run off with the prize. Why?
Beneath them, the trees ended. Gulkien paused, panting for breath. From Firepos’s back, Tanner squinted into the sun. There was a shape on the far horizon — the tiny figure of someone running. Tanner felt in his tunic and pulled out his Looking Crystal. The oblong of opaque stone, inherited from his father, allowed him to see far into the distance. Lifting it to his eye, the swirling white faded away and a boy snapped into view. Geffen. Gwen’s brother clutched the leathery fragment of Derthsin’s mask in one hand. As Tanner watched, Geffen disappeared over the crest of a hill.
Tanner swooped down, calling out to Gwen over the rush of wind: “I see him! Just ahead. Follow me!”
Gwen pulled Gulkien’s head around, and the Beast set off once more, racing with strides twenty paces long. They were approaching the low hill. Tanner squeezed Firepos’s flanks and the flame bird beat her wings faster. He could sense the Beast’s excitement. We’ve almost got you!
They broke over the crest of the hill. The sight made Tanner lurch back: hundreds of soldiers, formed into neat ranks, their arrows trained into the sky. They were led by the familiar silhouette of General Gor.
THE CHRONICLES OF
AVANTIA
#1: FIRST HERO
#2: CHASING EVIL
#3: CALL TO WAR
#4: FIRE AND FURY
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Blade, Adam.
The chronicles of Avantia: first hero / by Adam Blade.
p. cm.
Summary: Fifteen-year-old Tanner, with the good Beast Firepos the Flame Bird, is waiting to avenge his father’s death by warlord Derthsin when Avantia is menaced by an evil army seeking the pieces of the Mask of Death, which allows its wearer to control all Beasts, and Tanner, aided by twins Gwen and Geffen, sets out to find the pieces first.
ISBN 978-0-545-36160-6
[1. Fantasy. 2. Human-animal relationships — Fiction. 3. Brothers and sisters — Fiction. 4. Twins — Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.B5347Chr 2012
[Fic] — dc23
2011024872
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e-ISBN 978-0-545-45525-1
Chronicles of Avantia is a registered trademark of Beast Quest Limited.
Series created by Beast Quest Limited, London.
Text copyright © 2010 by Beast Quest Limited.
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.,
Publishers since 1920, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012, by arrangement with Working Partners Ltd.
SCHOLASTIC, SCHOLASTIC PRESS, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
First printing, February 2012
Table of Contents
PROLOGUE: FIREPOS
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
EPILOGUE
TEASER
OTHER BOOKS
COPYRIGHT