Pete McGee and the Master of Darkness (10 page)

Tahnee laughed.

‘Ha ha, you don't get it, do you?'

‘Get what?'

‘They both want to be your best friend. They are trying to top each other. They want you to choose between them.'

‘Well it's a pretty stupid way to go about it.'

‘They're boys, Pete, they're stupid … well, you know, you aren't, but most boys are.'

Pete blushed again and looked away. Why did his heart have to start pounding every time Tahnee said something like that?

‘Well, I hope they sort themselves out soon. We need to be a team to take on Syra Tanooth and his blobby blob. We can't be fighting each other if we want to save Mum and Marloynne.'

‘Well,' Tahnee said, flashing one of her killer smiles, ‘I think it's going to be up to you to make them see sense, Sir Pete McGee.'

With that she bowed low, laughing, before running off to walk with Ashlyn, leaving Pete watching her go with a dazed look on his face. A picture flashed into his mind of Marloynne and Ashlyn's wedding, only it was him and Tahnee taking their place. Pete shook his head clear. Wedding fantasies? They were not the thoughts of a knight! He needed to focus, and he needed to focus now.

He shook his head again and laughed. He was pretty sure not many fifteen-year-old trainee knights had wedding fantasies!

Syra Tanooth woke from a deep sleep. He was pretty groggy. He stumbled to the breakfast table. His newly sewed-on leg felt a little strange, but seemed to work okay. He sat down. It felt like someone was kicking him in the butt. He quickly stood up again and looked down.

The leg was on alright, but it was upside down!

‘BOB!' Syra screamed, hearing a little giggle from Bob's room in response. Syra sighed. Oh well, he thought, at least he was going to have a truly evil sidekick. Now he just needed to focus that evil on Pete McGee. He would give Bob the chance to set the next test. That would do it. He put a sock on his foot, which was sticking out of his butt, and sat down to breakfast. The re-sewing of his leg could wait. It was time to see what Pete McGee was really made of.

Okay then. Welcome back to me, folks. The story is kicking along, and Pete and his friends are about to face another test. Who knows what it could be, especially after that last test was very possibly the worst test ever set in the history of tests. There have been spelling tests more evil than that. But Bob is getting his evil mojo back, so the next one could be anything. Evil creatures? A trap of some sort? 
A toilet that won't flush? Now that would be evil, especially if certain people I know went to that toilet after eating a curry.

But I'm getting off track. Here's where things stand, as I see them.

Pete McGee and his friends are on their way to save Marloynne and Mrs McGee.

Syra Tanooth wants to battle and defeat Pete, but at the same time he is setting tests for Pete to pass along the way. He is also kicking his own butt with his upside-down leg.

Molloy and Smithers are jealous of each other, and are fighting constantly.

Ashlyn is consumed with thoughts of Marloynne, and also thoughts of her wedding and what happened … at least that's what I'm guessing. 
Getting words out of her is like getting blood out of a stone. Speak up girl!

Pete has a monster crush on Tahnee.

Tahnee, although she also has feelings for Pete, is focused on the battle ahead.

I'm hungry and I'm going to go and get a sandwich.

See you soon for the next chapter.

Test number two … hehe ‘number two'

'A
lright, Blobby Bob,' Syra Tanooth said. ‘Now that my leg is back to normal, it is time for you to show me how evil you have become. The second test is yours.'

Bob smiled. It was his time to shine.

‘Syra,' he said, ‘I do believe our young travellers are nearing the cave where I spent some wonderfully awful years.'

‘You are correct, in a confusing sort of way.'

‘Well, by Jove, I know that area rather well. In fact, I happen to know that the cave is right next to … THE FOREST OF DEATH!'

‘Gasp!' gasped Syra Tanooth.

‘It's okay,' Bob said, laughing. ‘That's just what I call it. It's nothing too serious, just a forest that comes alive and kills anything that enters it; paths confuse and confound; giant, bloodthirsty spiders roam about; straight lines become circles; tree limbs become real limbs; tree roots entrap and entangle and entwine … actually, to think about it, FOREST OF DEATH seems a pretty appropriate name!'

‘But how will we make them go into the forest, terribly evil Bob?' asked Syra, impressed with his sidekick.

‘That,' Bob answered, ‘I do not know. Although I asked a helpful little sprite to place a sign in the cave saying:

Go into the FOREST OF DEATH for the answer.

So that may help. I hope it does. Do you think it will?'

‘Let us see,' Syra replied, tuning in his crystal ball. ‘Let us see indeed! Mwahahahahaha.'

Bob had been practising his evil laugh too, and now seemed like a great time to let it rip.

‘MWWAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!' he boomed.

‘That was nice, Bob, really. A great evil laugh.'

‘You liked it? Oh I am so wonderfully delighted. I have been practising it for some time now. It wasn't forced?'

‘Oh no. No, no, no, no, not at all, totally natural.

Well done.'

Bob smiled from ear cavity to ear cavity then turned his focus to the crystal ball. Pete McGee and the rest of the group were walking by the FOREST OF DEATH and were approaching the entrance to his old cave. This was going to be fun.

‘So, Sweet, what's our next groove?' Molloy asked.

‘Don't you ever speak normally?' asked Smithers.

‘Don't you ever look normally?' Molloy replied.

Smithers scoffed and Pete ignored them both, although he thought it was a pretty good comeback from Molloy. He walked towards an opening in the massive rock wall in front of him. He could see it opened up into a tunnel. This had to be the cave. This had to be where they would find some answers, some clues. It had to be.

Pete walked in through the entrance and started down the tunnel. Tahnee was close behind. Ashlyn followed her, and Molloy and Smithers brought up the rear, jostling each other on the way down, bouncing off the walls. They continued for a short distance before the tunnel opened into a cave.

Back at the evil lair, a tear dripped down Bob's blobbiness and onto the crystal ball as he saw the place that had been his cell for so long.

Back in the cave, a tear dripped down Pete's cheek as he stubbed his toe really hard on a rock, and had to jump around doing the gritting-your-teeth-not-swearing thing.

Once he settled down, the others looked to Pete for instruction. He shrugged and wandered around, looking for clues. He quickly found the note left by the sprite.

‘“Go into the FOREST OF DEATH for the answer,”' he read out loud. ‘FOREST OF DEATH? The answer? The answer to what?' Pete turned the piece of paper over and read on. ‘“To anything you want.”'

He looked at the others. ‘Great. Molloy?'

‘It's obviously a trap, Sweet, but planks for asking me first.'

Smithers rolled his eyes and spoke.

‘It
is
obviously a trap, Pete, but it's all we have. Whatever is in there we can overcome it, and we may actually find something worthwhile.'

Pete nodded and looked to Ashlyn and Tahnee. Ashlyn said nothing.

‘I think we should go into the forest, Pete,' Tahnee said. ‘Smithers is right. We can handle whatever lies in store, and it may lead us to something. There's nothing in here.'

Pete nodded again. Although in many ways he liked doing things alone, and despite his fears for his friends' safety, he was starting to feel okay about having a group with him. Ashlyn started walking out of the cave. She was ready for action, and she was ready to find her Marloynne. Pete and the others ran after her. Although they didn't know it, the second test was about to begin.

As soon as they entered the forest, the light disappeared. It was as though they were back at Ashlyn and Marloynne's wedding, and Syra Tanooth had taken the light away. The group stayed close, each person keeping some form of contact with the person next to them. Pete walked with his hand on the pack in front of him, which belonged to Molloy. Tahnee walked beside Pete, and she had a hand on his shoulder, a source of both comfort and confusion for Pete. But he made sure he focused on where he was going; although where that actually was he had no idea. He hoped the answer would be revealed to him soon.

The group moved deeper into the forest. The path seemed to go straight ahead. They moved cautiously, yet they made good time. Every now and again something would brush past one of them and the whole group would stop, searching, staring into darkness for a foe they couldn't see.

Suddenly, Molloy yelled out that he had seen a spark of light and he headed for it. Pete lost his touch on Molloy's pack, but was glad that he could still feel Tahnee's hand on his shoulder.