Pete McGee and the Master of Darkness (15 page)

Pete McGee rode Lightning hard, urging him on, determination on his face, in the way he moved, and in his heart. It felt like this truly was going to be his biggest test, and he knew that he would pass it. He would not let his mother down.

‘Jeez,' Molloy said as he walked ahead of the others. ‘I know he's somehow riding a horse, but it's like following an elephant that's been jumping up and down, then taking a step, then jumping up and down. Sweet is the worst ever at covering up his tracks. This is too easy.'

No one else spoke. They just kept walking, hoping they would catch up to their friend before too long.

Syra Tanooth looked at Bob's handiwork.

‘You truly are a master craftsman, Bob. I would actually like to nominate myself for President of the We Love Bob Admiration Society. Look at the way those spikes angle. Look at the way those points glisten. Look at those real killer sharks and deadly snakes and flesh eating viruses all living in harmony in the tank of poisonous acid that somehow does not dissolve them. Oh. Well, they are all in harmony except for that flesh-eating virus over there. It seems to be eating one of the sharks. Oh, that looks disgusting.'

‘Yes,' Bob said, smiling. ‘That is Jeeves. He jolly well is my favourite. Look at him devour that flesh.'

‘You're scaring me a little and that is good,' Syra said. ‘I don't scare easily, so anyone else would have been peeing their little pants right now.'

He checked his crystal ball, which showed Pete McGee getting closer by the second. He would be there soon. Syra smiled.

‘Let us hook up the prisoners!'

It was showdown time.

It's showdown time

P
ete McGee and Lightning reached the house around the middle of the day. The sun was high in the sky, but it seemed to bounce off something in mid-air, leaving the house and surrounding trees in darkness. As Syra Tanooth had said, bats flew in circles around the house, screeching and flapping in the darkness. If they happened to find the warmth and brightness of the sun they would turn around sharply, as if repelled by its glow.

Unlike the bats, Pete McGee didn't want to leave the sun. It was warm. It was comforting. It was safe. But, it was also where his mum and Marloynne weren't, and so he knew he must enter the darkness and face whatever lay inside.

He slid his hand into his jacket pocket and held his tiger eye crystal tight. Then he pulled out his note, the one his mother had written him when he was seven and, although he knew it word for word, he read it one more time.

You are Sir Peter McGee, a brave and noble man, slayer of monsters and righter of wrongs. You are strong in many, many ways. If you believe in yourself, the world will see just how great a man with one arm can be.

A bolt of light blasted out of the darkness, striking the note, turning it to ash in Pete's hands. Syra shrieked with glee from inside the house, but Pete cried out in anger and shock, falling to his knees. Desperately, he tried to piece the paper back together but it was no use.

The note was gone.

The note Pete had used to gain courage and heart when he needed it most, his connection to his past, had been destroyed, and a flicker of doubt rushed through the young man's body. He knew that note word for word, and yet not having it as a physical piece of paper seemed to make it less than it had been. How could he do it now? How could he go on without it?

Pete looked at the house. He pictured his mum inside, captured, a prisoner, waiting for him, relying on him. He pictured Marloynne too, family now, an older brother in everything but blood.

His eyes became fierce. The note was gone, but everything it meant to him lived on. It was a symbol … a beautiful, powerful symbol and reminder of the faith his mother had in him, but he didn't need a symbol to know that. It would always be with him.

Pete thought next of Sir Loinsteak, the amazing magic knight who helped bring out strength and skills Pete had doubted he possessed.

He thought of Sir Mountable, who lay down his life so that Pete could survive; who taught Pete that a knight is not a knight by title alone, that actions will always be more important; who thought of Pete as a son; who had been a man Pete would have been proud to have called his father.

Sir Pete McGee, the brave and noble knight, slowly rose to his feet. The sun felt warm on his back, but it was nothing compared to the warmth he felt inside.

‘Stay here, boy,' he said to Lightning. ‘I need you to stay safe. I need you to be ready to get the others.

Okay?'

Lightning whinnied and shook his mane, wanting to go with Pete, but knowing he would have to run and find help if anything happened. Pete nodded, and then strode out of the light and into the darkness, knowing he would not be defeated.

‘Not far now,' Molloy said, his voice full of excitement. They had made excellent time, and he knew that Pete wasn't far away. The only problem was he had reached the end of the trail. There was no Pete McGee. No more tracks. The trail had been false.

‘Well now, how did he do that?' Molloy wondered out loud.

‘Oh, great tracker,' Smithers laughed, bowing low. ‘Where to now?'

Molloy didn't answer and Smithers stopped his teasing. Something was wrong. Seriously wrong. They figured out what it was when the sky darkened and a voice boomed down.

‘Oh, great friends of McGee, it seems you have lost your way. What a sad shame that is.'

‘Myra!' Molloy cried angrily. ‘How did you do it? What have you done with Pete?'

‘Well what I did was—hey, my name is not Myra! It is Syra! Syra Tanooth,
Master of Darkness
. I am not a lady. I only wore a dress once, and that was because I was dared to. I am not a Myra!'

The friends all laughed in spite of the terrible situation they were in.

‘Do not mock me! I am a man, believe me!'

Molloy put on his best girly voice.

‘Oooh la la. I am Myra, Master of Dresses and Lipstick.'

‘NO! I do not wear lipstick, little boy! I wear strong shoes with steel caps and I also wear a long black cape. It is all very manly and tough.'

‘I love to dance around the house. I love to put a tiara in my hair,' Molloy continued.

‘I'll tell you one thing; you are so lucky you are not here at 12 Evil Lane in Evilville after taking a left at the mountains, following the river, and finding the house that is surrounded by—oh dear.'

Molloy, Smithers, Tahnee and Ashlyn were sprinting towards what they now knew was their destination. They had finally seen the light.

Pete McGee took a tentative step into the darkness. It was like going into the FOREST OF DEATH again, so he took out the rock Santora had given him and shook it. It glowed brightly, showing Pete the way.

A bat screeched past his ear, making the young knight jump, but he continued on. Another bat flew by, this one brushing his shoulder.

‘Holy flying bats,' Pete said, walking faster, the house only fifty or so paces away. Suddenly though, the bats were everywhere, their piercing screeches disorientating Pete. He moved through the black cloud, waving the light at them. They weren't hurting him yet, but he wanted to get through and into the house. At least there he would know how to fight.

A bat squealed and latched onto Pete's shoulder, digging in its claws. Pete cried out and swung his arm to brush it off, but it held on tight. Swinging his shoulder left and right did no good either, so Pete squished the bat against the tree.

‘Yeah,' he said when the bat grunted and let go. ‘That's right, little bat thing, you let go. And don't come back. I am The Man now.'

As soon as he finished the sentence fifty bats descended and swamped him, knocking him to the ground, screeching in his ear, tearing at his clothes. It looked as though Pete wouldn't make it to the house … but then, with a defiant yell and his magic dagger drawn, Sir Pete McGee stood tall, arm swinging, dagger flashing in the darkness, little bat-bits flying everywhere.

‘I said,' Pete grunted between breaths, ‘that I am The Man now! Back off, bats! I will not get rabies today!'

The dagger did its job, and the bats moved back, hovering and screeching swear words at Pete in bat language. Pete began walking backwards, his arm throbbing from where the bat claws had dug in. He faced the bats, his back to the house, swinging around every now and again to prevent an attack from behind.

Eventually he backed up against the wall of the house. The bats, sensing their job was done, flew off into the trees and disappeared into the blackness. A giraffe wandered by, giving Pete a mighty shock. He held his breath and moved tight up against the wall. The giraffe glanced at Pete as it went past then moved on. Pete let out his breath and leant against the wall.

Once he had recovered his composure, Pete reached for the doorknob. As soon as he touched it he was shocked by a shocking electric shock. He jerked his hand back and cried out. His arm, still throbbing from the bats, now had a dull tingle running through it.

Pete knew he had to get through the door and inside. He just didn't know how to do it. He didn't want to risk touching the knob again as his arm was already weakened. Suddenly a voice called out from inside.

‘It is okay, Pete McGee. You can open the door now. The handle is designed to give off one shock and one shock only. Come in. I am getting bored of waiting now. I give you my word that it will not shock you again.'

Pete didn't believe Syra Tanooth, and yet at the same time he knew that evil was impatient, and that Syra was probably itching for the showdown.

So he reached out to open the door. As soon as he touched the knob he received another shock, this one even bigger than the first. Pete was thrown off his feet, landing with a grunt on the ground. From outside the darkness, Lightning cried out and stomped the ground, but didn't move forward; he was following Pete's orders. Pete slowly got to his feet, the pain in his arm moving to his chest now. He could hear Syra Tanooth's mocking laughter.

‘Oh, did I say one shock? I meant two. Or was it three? Either way, it doesn't matter, the door is unlocked now, simply push it open, hee hee hee.'