Read Vipero the Snake Man Online
Authors: Adam Blade
Vipero the Snake Man
EAST
Q
UEST
B
OOK
T
EN
IPERO
T
HE
S
NAKE
M
AN
DAM
B
LADE
ILLUSTRATED BY
S
COTT
D
AWSON
To Adam
With special thanks to Cherith Baldry
C
HAPTER
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: F
AREWELL TO
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RRINEL
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HAPTER
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IX
: T
HE
T
RACK OF THE
B
EAST
Did you think it was over?
Did you think I would accept defeat and disappear?
No! That can never be. I am Malvel, the Dark Wizard, who strikes fear into the hearts of the people of Avantia. I still have much more to show this kingdom, and one boy in particular — Tom.
The young hero liberated the six Beasts of Avantia from my curse. But his fight is far from over. Let us see how he fares with a new Quest, one that will surely crush him and his companion, Elenna.
Avantia’s Beasts had good hearts that I corrupted for my own wicked purpose. Now, thanks to Tom, they are free to protect the kingdom once more. But I have created new supreme Beasts whose hearts are evil and so cannot be set free. Each one guards a piece of the most precious relic of Avantia, which I have stolen: the suit of golden armor that gives magical strength to its rightful owner. I will stop at nothing to prevent Tom from collecting the complete suit and defeating me again. This time he will not win!
Malvel
ROLOGUE
T
HE SUN BLAZED DOWN OVER THE DESERT.
Sand dunes stretched in all directions as far as the eye could see. There was no shelter from the merciless heat.
A nomad, wearing long robes the same color as the sand, was stumbling among the dunes. His thin face was burned by the sun and he screwed up his eyes against the glare. His throat was parched and his lips were cracked. “Water,” he muttered. “I must find water.”
At the foot of a dune he spotted a small plant with dark, thick leaves. Falling to his knees beside it, he tore it up by the roots and crushed the leaves against his mouth, hoping to extract precious drops of water.
But, with an exclamation of disgust, he tossed the plant aside. The leaves scarcely held enough water to wet his lips.
He almost wished he had never agreed to take part in this deadly challenge. But if he could succeed in crossing the desert, alone and with no food or water, he would win great honor for his tribe. Yet if he couldn’t find water soon, he would die here, his bones scoured by the sand.
He rose to his feet and brushed the sand from his robes, determined to set one foot in front of the other. He clambered painfully up to the crest of the next dune.
When he reached the top, shock and relief made him stagger. In front of him at the bottom of the slope lay a shimmering blue lake. Trees shaded it, their broad leaves swaying gently.
“I’m saved! I’m saved!” The nomad staggered down the side of the dune, his feet sinking into
the loose sand. “My tribe will be the greatest of all….”
But as he drew closer to the foot of the dune, the shimmering water began to fade and the trees vanished into the glare of the sun. The nomad fell desperately to the ground, grabbing handfuls of sand, which trickled between his fingers. The beautiful lake had been a mirage. There was no water. Shattered by the sudden loss of hope, he buried his face in his hands and began to sob.
After a while he realized that his sobs were echoing. He looked up and noticed what he had missed before. Rocks emerged from the sand just behind him, and between them was a dark gap, leading back into the dune. A cave!
The nomad’s hopes revived, he stumbled into the cave, muttering a prayer of thanks for shelter from the burning rays of the sun. He took deep
breaths of the cool air, and felt eddies of it swirling around his ankles.
Then the grasp of the icy breeze tightened and the nomad realized that something was wrapping itself around him. Terror struck like a sudden blow. He tried to run, but the grip on his ankles tightened further and he fell flat on his face. He kicked out frantically, reaching down to wrench at whatever was gripping him, then froze.
Around his legs were the coils of a snake! But this was no ordinary snake. The tail itself was grotesquely huge, each of its scales bigger than the nomad’s hand, and above it was a human torso, patterned with a raw, angry red and a sickly green. Unlike an ordinary, cold-blooded snake, its body sent out a huge wave of heat.
The nomad choked in terror as his gaze traveled upward and he saw that the snake had two heads.
Its four eyes stared at him, narrowing in sinister hatred, then the heads reared back.
“No!” the nomad yelled.
But the two heads swooped down on him and two sets of fangs buried themselves in his neck. He saw nothing more.
HAPTER
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AREWELL TO
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OM DREW STORM TO A HALT A FEW MILES
beyond the village of Errinel. Turning in his saddle, he looked back.
“I wish we didn’t have to leave,” he said to Elenna, who sat behind him on the magnificent stallion. “It’s the first time I’ve been able to visit my home since I set out on the Beast Quest.”
“It’s hard,” Elenna agreed sympathetically. “I miss my parents, too.”
“I don’t know when I’ll see my uncle and aunt again.” Tom knew that until Avantia was safe from the Dark Wizard Malvel, his Quest must come first — even before his family. It was his destiny to defeat the evil Beasts and collect every piece of the magical golden armor, which Malvel had stolen and scattered across the kingdom. He already had three pieces: the helmet, which gave him extra-keen sight; the chain mail, which bestowed strength of heart; and the breastplate, which made him physically strong. They were tucked safely in one of Storm’s saddlebags, ready for when he next needed them.
It’s a good thing they’re magical,
he thought now.
They hardly weigh anything at all!
Fear churned in his stomach as he remembered how, after the defeat of Soltra the Stone Charmer, Malvel had appeared in a vision, warning him there would be a heavy price to pay if he completed this next stage of the Quest. Even so, he was determined to carry on. Malvel had kidnapped their friend and protector, Wizard Aduro, and only by seeing the Quest through to the end could
he and Elenna hope to set him free. Aduro himself had told them so.
“Tom.” Elenna shook his shoulder gently. “We have to go. Another evil Beast is waiting for us.”
“I know.” Energy flooded through Tom as he pledged himself once more to his Quest. He leaned forward to pat Storm on the neck. “Let’s go, boy.”
Standing beside the stallion, his ears pricked and his plumy tail waving, Silver the wolf let out an approving howl.
As Storm began to trot along the road, Tom could smell the pungent scent of herbs Aunt Maria had given him as a parting gift, which were stowed away in his pocket. “I wonder what the herbs are for,” he said to Elenna now.
“Your aunt told us they cure all sorts of illnesses,” Elenna reminded him. “Let’s hope we don’t need them.”
“I’m sure they’ll come in useful somehow,” Tom said cheerfully.
The road led into the hills. Trees covered the slopes and a narrow stream followed the winding of the road. The sun told them they had been traveling for about an hour when they came to a crossroads.
“Which way?” Tom asked.
Elenna reached forward to take Wizard Aduro’s enchanted map out of Storm’s saddlebag. Unfolding it, she studied it for a moment. “It’s telling us to go south,” she said. “That road will take us to the desert.”
Tom urged Storm on, while Silver bounded eagerly ahead. “Traveling in the desert will be tough,” he said. “Worse than the jungle, even. The heat might finish us off before we get near the Beast.”
“That’s true,” Elenna agreed. “Silver!” she called out to the wolf. “Come back here.”
Silver raced back to her, his tongue lolling.
“You’re tiring yourself out,” Elenna scolded him. “Just slow down. You need to save your strength if you’re going to cope with the desert.”
Silver waved his tail as if he understood and loped alongside Storm as they continued south.
“Does the map show which part of the armor we’re looking for this time?” Tom asked Elenna.
Elenna held out the map so that Tom could see. Twisting around in the saddle, he saw the glowing red path leading down to the vast expanse of desert in the southernmost part of the kingdom. In the middle of it, two pieces of golden leg armor lay glittering on top of a sand dune.
There was no sign of Malvel’s Beast, but Tom couldn’t suppress a shiver, thinking of it lurking behind a dune, ready to strike. What hideous shape would this new Beast take?
“It’s a long way,” Elenna said.
“The horseshoe fragment from Tagus will help.” Tom glanced down at his shield to see the magical token he had won when he released Tagus the Night Horse from Malvel’s evil spell. It gave them extra speed. With its help, they traveled quickly, and it wasn’t yet midday when the road led down through the hills and out onto a plain. There were no streams or pools here, and the grass was parched and brown.
Tom felt the heat of the sun beating on his shoulders. His mouth was dry. Storm’s head was drooping and Silver’s tail trailed on the dusty ground.
“We shouldn’t take Storm and Silver into the desert with us,” Tom said to Elenna. “The heat will be worse there.”
Elenna hesitated. “That’s true; they’ll find it hard to cope. But we can’t just leave them!”
“I know. We’ll have to find someone to look after them.”
Storm shook his head and let out a whinny of protest while Silver raised his muzzle to the sky in a loud howl.
Tom had to smile in spite of his worry. “They don’t want to stay behind.”
“No, but you’re right, Tom.” Elenna sounded sad but determined. “We’ll look for a safe place for them before we get to the desert.”
Dust stung Tom’s eyes as he peered ahead. They were drawing near to the edge of the desert; on the horizon the sky shimmered with heat. Then he spotted something rising up out of the plain. At first he thought it was an outcrop of rocks. Then he realized that its edges were too straight to be natural. He drew the golden helmet out of the saddlebag and put it on. As he did so, everything became clearer and he realized he was looking at a huddle of houses.
“Look! There’s a town,” he said to Elenna, pointing.
Elenna let out a sigh. “Shelter at last! I’ve never been so hot in my whole life.”
Tom closed his eyes briefly, dreaming of shade and a long drink of cool water. “Let’s head for it. Maybe the people there can help us.” Carefully he took off the helmet and put it back in the saddlebag.
“They might even look after Storm and Silver,” Elenna suggested.
“And maybe they can tell us something about the Beast,” Tom added quietly as he turned Storm’s head toward the distant buildings.