Stealth the Ghost Panther by Adam Blade Page A

three tails whipped through the air behind him. Around his neck was a thick leather collar from which dangled an odd-shaped piece of silver.
    As Luke watched, a rat scurried out from behindthe pile of barrels. Luke gasped in amazement as the Beast lashed out with one of his tails: He lassoed the squealing rat around the neck and tossed the vermin into his open mouth.
    Swallowing the creature in one gulp, the Beast turned back to gaze up at Luke. His emerald eyes burned through the darkness. Luke told his body to move, to keep on clambering up the drainpipe, but he couldn’t make his arms and legs obey. His gaze was locked with the Beast’s as the panther began to circle one of his three tails. The tail moved faster and faster until it snaked out through the air and snatched Luke’s ankle.
    Luke kicked out, but he couldn’t break the grip of the Beast’s tail. His hands scrabbled uselessly at the wall of the inn as he felt himself being dragged down.
    He’s going to eat me , Luke thought frantically, letting out a shriek of terror. He’ll swallow me up, just like he did that rat….

T OM STOOD BESIDE E LENNA ON THE EDGE of the volcano at Stonewin and looked down at the piece of amulet that he held in the palm of his hand. The silver shone in the sunlight and the piece of enamel glowed and winked like a blue eye.
    â€œThat’s five pieces,” he said. “Only one more to go.”
    Pulling on the leather thong around his neck, he fished the rest of the amulet out from under his tunic and fitted the new piece into place. Silver light flared briefly. When it died away, the new piece had joined with the rest as if it had neverbeen broken off. A jagged gap showed where the final piece was still missing.
    â€œIt won’t be long now,” Elenna said. “Then your father will be fully returned to his old self.”
    Tom nodded slowly. “But I’ve lost another of my special powers,” he reminded his friend. “I haven’t got the strength of heart from the golden chain mail anymore. And that helped me through so many of our Quests.”
    â€œYou don’t need it!” Elenna assured him. “You’ve got enough courage of your own.”
    Storm, Tom’s black stallion, blew out a noisy breath as if he was agreeing, and Elenna’s gray wolf, Silver, gave a long howl.
    â€œSee?” Elenna added. “They know you’re brave enough for anything! And so does your father.”
    Tom smiled at her, feeling a wave of determination fill his chest. His father, Taladon, had been captured by the evil wizard, Malvel. Although he had escaped when Tom had completed his third Beast Quest,he was trapped as a ghost between the real world and the spirit world. Taladon could return to life only when the six pieces of the Amulet of Avantia had been joined together again. But Malvel had given the pieces to six Ghost Beasts. Tom had already defeated five of the powerful monsters, but he still had to face the sixth. And he knew that this last Beast would be the deadliest of all.
    â€œSo where do we go next?” Elenna asked.
    Tom stretched out one hand. “Map!” he commanded.
    The ghostly map given to them by Wizard Aduro took shape in front of him, bobbing gently in the air. A shimmering path appeared, leading from the volcano to Avantia’s capital city.
    â€œThat’s where King Hugo’s palace is!” Elenna exclaimed. “Surely the Ghost Beast wouldn’t dare go there?”
    â€œI don’t know.” A cold sense of approaching evil creeped through Tom. “Maybe that’s what myfather meant when he said the next Beast would be ‘closer to home.’”
    â€œAnd more evil than we can possibly know,” Elenna added. “He must be really cunning, to hide himself in the very heart of Avantia.”
    Tom felt his hands ball into fists. “I don’t care how cunning he is. We’ll defeat