Stealth the Ghost Panther Read Free Page A

“Stealth is in the city. What if he has already turned King Hugo and Wizard Aduro evil?”
    The lock wouldn’t give way to his desperate tugging. Elenna took an arrow out of her quiver and pulled the head off the shaft.
    â€œMaybe I can force the lock,” she said as she poked the arrow’s point into the keyhole.
    Tom watched her for a moment, but she wasn’t having any success. The arrowhead was too big to get far enough inside the lock, and the point kept slipping out.
    Forcing back panic, Tom began grabbing things from the shelves, tossing aside rolls of linen, jars of nails, and bags of wheat as he searched for something that would help him open the door. Looking at all the useless supplies, his frustration boiled over.
    â€œThere’s nothing here that will help!”
    Elenna straightened up, brushing a lock of hair out of her eyes. “It’s no good,” she announced.
    Tom glanced around frantically. Panic tingled in his belly. He forced himself to take a deep breath. He had to stay calm. There must be some way out of here , he told himself. And I’m going to find it!

T OM NOTICED A BIG IRON HOOK FIXED TO THE central roof beam of the store. He guessed it was meant for hauling heavy items up onto high shelves. He pictured a rope slung over it, raising a load….
    â€œYes!” he exclaimed. “That’s it!”
    He scrabbled among the scattered supplies until he found a coil of thick rope. Unrolling it, he flung one end over the hook, and handed the other to Elenna. “Hold that taut, and brace yourself,” he instructed her.
    With Elenna gripping the rope, Tom swarmed up it. But as he gazed upward, he spotted thestrands fraying where they were looped over the metal hook.
    â€œI’m coming down!” he called to Elenna. “The rope’s going to break.”
    He began climbing rapidly down, but before his feet touched the floor, the rope gave way. With a cry of alarm, Tom plummeted, bruising his shoulder as he hit the ground.
    Elenna dropped the rope and knelt beside Tom. “Are you hurt?” she asked anxiously.
    Tom sat up, wincing with pain as he massaged his shoulder. “It’s nothing much,” he said, removing the emerald from his jeweled belt, which he had won from Skor the Winged Stallion.
    He pressed it to his shoulder. At once, the pain died away and a cool sensation spread over it. Letting out a sigh of relief, Tom moved his arm up and down to check that the damage was really healed.
    â€œIt’s fine now,” he told Elenna, who was looking on anxiously. “The emerald works really well!”
    Tom slotted the token carefully back into his belt and sprang to his feet. He may not be hurt anymore, but they were no nearer to getting out of their prison. “Now what do we do?” he murmured, half to himself. “I’m not trusting that rope again.”
    â€œI know!” Elenna exclaimed. She swooped down on one of the rolls of linen Tom had tossed aside while he was searching, and began to tear strips off it. Then she knotted them together to make a rope. As soon as he realized what Elenna was doing, Tom knelt beside her and tested the knots, pulling them as tight as he could.
    â€œIt’s not perfect,” Elenna said, “but it’s better than nothing.”
    â€œBetter than the rope, anyway,” Tom agreed.
    As soon as the knotted linen was long enough, Tom tossed it over the hook. With Elenna holdingthe other end, he leaped into the air and swung himself in an arc toward the door. He held his feet braced in front of him, ready for the impact.
    As Tom hit the door it started to give way, but the strong wooden planks remained in place.
    â€œTry again!” Elenna cried excitedly.
    Tom leaped up and swung himself at the door once more. This time, when his feet slammed into it, the door burst open. Tom smashed through, into the open, scattering splinters of wood everywhere. Triumph