Beast Quest #3: Cypher the Mountain Giant Read Free Page B

their faces. Thanks to Malvel and the chaos he was causing, good people had to steal just to survive.
    Randall bunched his fists and turned to look at Tom. “Get out of our way, boy,” he said. “Or you’ll live to regret it!”

B URIED A LIVE
     
    T OM JUMPED DOWN FROM THE HORSE, TENSING himself for a fight. Elenna stood beside him, readying her bow.
    A sudden growling made Tom turn. It was Silver! The wolf bared his teeth as he stalked toward Randall and the others, his fur bristling. Even Tom felt a moment of awe when he saw Silver’s glistening fangs.
    “A wolf!” cried Belco. “It must have come down from the mountains.”
    Silver crept toward the men, narrowing his eyes and growling deep in his throat. Randall’s eyes grewwide with fear, then he fled with the others, the stolen belongings scattering behind them as they ran.
    Belco leaned against a broken wall.
    “Good, erm, dog,” he whispered to Silver. But Tom could hear the tremble in the man’s voice.
    “The wolf won’t hurt you,” Tom told Belco. “He’s with us. Are you all right?”
    “I’ll be okay in a minute,” gasped Belco, getting his breath back. “I am the Mayor of Colton. Welcome to my town,” he said. A loud crashing echoed through the back alley. There were screams in the distance.
    “Another rockslide!” Belco cried out wearily.
    Elenna jumped down from Storm. “Hurry!” she said. “I’ll catch up with you.”
    “Come on!” Tom called out to Belco. He helped the old man onto Storm, then jumped up in front of him. There was no time to lose! Tom kicked hisheels into Storm’s side and they cantered down the alley.
    As they turned onto a larger road, Tom brought Storm to a stop. A group of townspeople stood before a crushed home. From inside, they could hear muffled cries for help.
    “What happened?” Belco asked someone in the crowd.
    “The house collapsed!” said the villager. “Randall, Michael, and Edward are trapped inside.”
    “Serves them right,” said another. “I hear they’ve been stealing food from the houses.”
    “Aye, they ought to be left in there to die!” called out a man in the crowd. Others murmured in agreement.
    Tom listened as the angry crowd drowned out the cries for help from the trapped men. He had to do something.
    “No!” he yelled. The crowd quieted down andeveryone turned to look at him. “We must save these men. It is our duty as citizens of Avantia to help those in need.” Tom walked over to the crushed house.
    There was a huge pile of stones. Tom could see the rafters of the house poking out at sharp angles between some of the rocks. There was a loud groan as the frame of the house buckled under the weight. They would have to hurry and free the men before the house collapsed further.
    “Help me!” came a muffled voice from inside.
    “Don’t worry!” Tom shouted. “We’re going to get you out!”
    A sudden screech of anger echoed down from the mountains like a gust of icy wind.
    “What was that?” gasped Belco. Tom could guess.
    Cypher!
he said to himself.
    Belco looked away, his face deathly white as another fearful howl tore through the stormy sky.

D ANGER ON THE M OUNTAIN
     
    T OM’S HEART JUMPED AT THE SOUND OF HEAVY footsteps clattering on the cobbles. Eight men stepped toward him. Tom gripped his sword.
    “My name is Griffin. We’re here to help,” the biggest one said. Relief swept over Tom. Then, turning toward the house, he began to think of how to free Randall and his friends.
    “We need to know where the door is so we can remove the rocks from in front of it!” Tom yelled to Randall and the others trapped inside. “Can you bang on it for us?”
    A faint thumping started up.
    The men wasted no time. They braced theirshoulders against the rocks and started to heave them out of the way, but some of the rocks were huge. Even when they used wooden poles as levers, some of the stones were impossible to shift.
    Griffin looked up grimly, his hair wet with