Michael Belmont and the Tomb of Anubis (The Adventures of Michael Belmont) Read Free Page B

father wasn't there to quiz him about it.
    Speaking to the man in the portrait he added, "The funny thing is, that jackal has a much kinder looking face than you do."
    Then something else caught his eye.
    The door next to the painting had a very impressive engraving carved into its surface.   It was a full moon with clouds drifting in front of it on both sides.
    Michael reached down and tried to turn the door's handle, but it was locked.   He then noticed that the handle didn't appear to have a keyhole in it.
    "That's strange," he said out loud, and bent down to take a closer look.   He couldn't find a keyhole anywhere on the handle or any other part of the door.   "Maybe it's just stuck."
    Putting his weight into it, he grasped the handle tightly and turned with all his might, but it wouldn't budge.
    He turned around, rested his back against the door, and took a deep breath.   His eyes fell upon a curious looking tapestry, which hung on the wall directly across from him.
    The scene showed a drab and dense looking forest, bathed in the gray light of a full moon.   Black clouds swirled menacingly through the sky.   In the middle of the forest was a clearing, in which a hideous wolf was attacking a young blonde haired woman.   The creature was definitely a wolf, or at least nearly a wolf, but it also resembled a human in certain ways.   The expression on its face was human, not what one would expect to see from an animal, but the thing was altogether covered in brown fur, and walked on its hind feet in an upright position.
    The woman was screaming, as the beast had latched onto her arm with his jaws.   Blood ran down the side of her long blue dress.
    Michael winced.
    Gathered in a circle around the girl, a dozen more of the wolf men attentively watched the attack, eagerly waiting to join in.   Diabolical, hungry looks were painted across their twisted faces.
      Michael found the scene very unsettling.   "Werewolves? Why would anyone want something like this hanging in his home, even if it is a damp old castle?" he said to himself angrily.
    His eyes returned to the portrait of the man who looked so much like a wolf.   "I don't like your friends over here any more than I like you, ugly."
    He had never seen artwork that he found more detestable, and wondered why Mr. MacDonald would be interested in having such a morbid display hanging in his castle.
    He decided to continue on with his search down the corridor, and after a short time came to the base of a winding staircase.   He stopped and listened again, but still couldn't hear the bagpipes.   He did however, notice a slight draft that flowed coldly up the stairs.   It gave him the chills.
    By this time, Michael was wide awake and did not have the desire to return back to bed, but the idea of getting lost in a creepy, unknown section of the castle in the middle of the night didn't appeal to him either.
    As he was deciding whether or not to continue on and go up the stairs, he heard a woman shriek off in the distance.   It was faint, like the piping had been, but there was something about it that chilled the blood in his veins.   The scream hadn't sounded like a woman being attacked; it was more of a drawn out, agonizing, crazy scream.   Michael guessed that it came from something that hoped to terrify others.   There it was again.   He stood still and listened for a few moments, and was relieved when the shrieking finally stopped.
    He looked again toward the ascending stairs.   They now looked even less inviting than they had just a few moments before.   He decided that it might be better to explore during daylight, when Liam could keep him company.   Shining his light all around once more, he cautiously preceded back toward his bedroom.
    Upon reaching the end of the corridor where he'd first begun, he turned once again to look down into its mysterious depths.
    He thought for a moment about going and waking Liam, so that they could go find the sound's