Tartok the Ice Beast (5 page)

T
OM RAN OVER TO
S
TORM, AND SWUNG HIMSELF
onto the horse’s back. “Go, boy!” Tom shouted, pressing his heels against Storm’s sides.

They raced across the frozen inlet after Elenna. They came to another crack in the ice, but Storm didn’t hesitate — he gathered himself and leaped forward. Tom felt the air whistle past him. It was as if they were flying! Storm’s front legs reached out and landed safely on solid ice at the other side.

“Faster, boy,” Tom urged — they were gaining, but not quickly enough. Elenna disappeared out of sight behind one of the snow dunes.

Her scream cut through the crisp arctic air like a knife.

“Elenna!” Tom yelled. “Hold on, I’m coming!” Storm’s hooves thundered across the tundra. What had happened to Elenna to make her cry out like that?

A terrifying roar sounded from close by, together with the sound of shattering ice.

Tartok
, thought Tom, fear and panic rising up from his stomach.

As Storm galloped around the side of the snow dune, Tom saw the Beast standing ahead of him in a narrow valley. The huge, shaggy monster was facing away from him — and standing over Elenna. Tartok’s legs were thick with bulky muscles.

Storm skidded to a halt just a few strides from the monster. Elenna lay on her back, a trickle of blood seeping from her forehead.
Was she …
could she be … dead?
“No,” he breathed. “No, she can’t be —”

Tartok swung around to face him.

Even sitting high on Storm’s back, Tom felt like an ant in the Beast’s hulking presence. With one step, she could squash the life out of him. Her fur was dark. Her eyes were redder than a blacksmith’s fire and her claws looked sharper than daggers. Her hideous face was scrunched up with anger and hate, and around her raw, welted neck was Malvel’s golden collar. It glowed with an evil energy.

Tom remained still, assessing the situation.

Tartok growled and stamped a paw down on the ground. Sparks seemed to jump up from the thick ice, leaving hairline cracks etched in its surface. Clearly, she was going nowhere.

Tom climbed down from Storm’s back. He wanted to make sure Elenna was okay, but first
he had to free Tartok. There was no time to waste.

As if sensing the danger, Elenna regained consciousness. “What happened?” she asked groggily, opening her eyes. “Shah threw me and then —” Elenna gasped as she saw Tartok. The Beast roared, thumping her chest. The collar around her neck glowed brighter. Tartok pulled at it as if she were trying to get rid of it.

“Elenna, quick,” said Tom, while the Beast was turned away from him. He pulled the wooden shield from his back, took careful aim, and slid it across the smooth ice toward her. The shield whizzed past Tartok’s legs, and Elenna struggled to catch it.

Tartok roared again and brought her yellow claws swiping down — just as Elenna pulled the shield up over her head for protection. The claws wedged deep into the wood and wrenched the
shield away. Tom watched in horror as Elenna stared up wide-eyed at the Beast.

Before Tom could do anything, Tartok turned and threw the shield back at him. He ducked and it whistled past, slicing into the snow. Running over the ice to reach it, he tried to pull it free, tugging on the wood with all his might. At last it came loose, but Tom couldn’t stop himself from tumbling backward with it onto the snow.

An ear-splitting roar made him turn in terror. The shaggy bulk of Tartok lunged toward him, claws reaching for his throat.

T
OM GASPED AS
T
ARTOK CLOSED IN.
H
E DOVE
aside as the Beast’s claws ripped through the air. Sliding on the ice across the narrow valley, he crashed into the steep snow bank on the far side.

“Tom, look out!” Elenna yelled. Tom turned to find Tartok lunging toward him for a second time. He swung his shield up to protect himself. Tartok’s huge paw smashed into it with enough force to knock Tom halfway through the snow dune. He heard Storm whinny with fear. His shield arm ached with pain. With a pang of terror, Tom knew Tartok was only just getting started.

“Elenna, take Storm and get out of here!” Tom
shouted quickly. The Beast stamped a huge paw down on the ice and snapped her jaws.

Then with a deep, splintering crack, the ice gave way! In an instant, she had vanished through a narrow, jagged hole into the freezing depths. Tom leaped back, almost falling in himself.

Dazed, he watched the water churn and bubble in front of him.

“Tom,” cried Elenna. Storm had come to her side and she was leaning on the horse for support. “Draw your sword. Now’s our chance to end this.”

But as she spoke, the water exploded upward in a freezing fountain. With a roar, Tartok’s head broke the surface.

Elenna ran over, trying to get the Beast’s attention.

The snow monster was bobbing with her head and shoulders above the surface of the water.

Tartok turned on instinct to snap at Elenna — giving Tom a clear view of the locked collar around the creature’s neck.

“Do it, Tom!” cried Elenna, jumping back out of the Beast’s reach.

Tom pulled the key given to him by the King from around his neck, and slipped it into the lock. Tom tried to turn the key, but it wouldn’t budge. As Tartok swam away from him, roaring with anger, Tom gripped the key with all his strength.

He threw all his weight backward, bracing his feet on the ice and snow. His shoulder burned with pain as Tartok dragged him toward the edge of the ice. Tom knew he was losing his grip. He needed to act quickly, before he plunged into the freezing water. He summoned all his strength, and twisted the key one last time.

The lock unclasped and the collar broke apart in a haze of golden light!

“Yes!” he shouted, tumbling backward. He placed the key back around his neck — and Tartok sank into the water without another sound.

Tom waited tensely for her to resurface, but the water that had swallowed her remained still. The warm sun disappeared behind gray clouds, and the temperature started to plummet once again.

Then Storm reared up in fright as the ice was smashed open beneath Elenna’s feet — and as Tartok pulled herself out, Elenna fell into the shimmering deep.

“No!” cried Tom in horror.

But Tartok dove straight back into the water, and a few moments later she returned — holding a spluttering and shivering Elenna in her arms.

“Put her down!” Tom shouted.

Tartok placed Elenna gently on the ice at Storm’s hooves. Then she swung around to face Tom. Her eyes were no longer red, but a glittering, icy blue.
For a long moment, Tom and the Beast looked at each other. Tom drew in his breath. Even though he knew she was free of Malvel’s spell, her sheer size and power terrified him.

Tartok stared at the boy who had freed her, and then abruptly turned on her heel. With a powerful and yet graceful stride, she disappeared into the distance.

Tom gazed after Tartok and felt flush with pride. Another Beast had been freed from Malvel’s evil spell. Tom knew how lucky he was to survive this Quest. He’d come face-to-face with the kingdom’s most powerful creatures and lived to tell about it — so far, at least.

Tom shook himself free of his thoughts. Elenna was shivering violently on the bank, teeth chattering so hard she couldn’t speak, her skin blue with cold. The cut on her forehead looked black, surrounded by a purple bruise. Tom pulled off his coat of furs and wrapped it around her.

“C-c-cold,” she said faintly. “I know,” he said. “We need to get you warmed up.”

Elenna clutched his arm. “You set Tartok free?” “Yes. Now try to rest.”

“I hope Shah finds her way back home,” Elenna whispered. “I — I promised I’d take her back.”

“You will,” he said. “We’ll find her and everything will be all right, you’ll see.”

Tom tried to smile, but inside he was starting to panic. He had given the blankets on his sleigh to Albin, and there was nothing else there of use. Soon night would fall — and without shelter or protection, soaked wet like this in the deathly cold — could Elenna survive the night?

A
LOUD WHINNY MADE
T
OM LOOK UP.
S
TORM
was standing at the top of the snowy rise, staring out toward the east.

“Storm!” Tom exclaimed.

Storm whinnied again, tossed his mane, and stamped one of his front hooves on the ground. Tom had a feeling that the stallion was trying to draw his attention to something.

“I’ll be back in a moment,” Tom told the shivering Elenna, and quickly climbed up the dune.

From there, Tom could see down onto an ice field. There were figures on horseback towing
sleighs, moving over the plains. They must have blankets and shelter. “Well done, Storm,” Tom said. These people were his only hope of saving Elenna.

“Hey!” he yelled. “We need help! Please, can you help us?” But even as he shouted, he knew that he was too far away. The people would never hear him. Tom looked down the slope and knew it was too steep for Storm. “Stay with Elenna, boy. I’m going to get help!”

When he’d set Tagus the Night Horse free, Tom had placed a sliver of the Beast’s horseshoe in his shield. That had given him the power of speed and swiftness — and he needed it now.

Tom jumped onto the shield and rode it down the steep side of the snow dune. But once he’d reached the bottom, he found he wasn’t slowing down. In fact, he was picking up speed! The shield’s powers were working! Soon he was
racing across the frozen ground on his shield toward the people crossing the ice. The wind was bitingly cold, especially in just his woolen tunic, but he was too intent on reaching the strangers to really notice.

“Please, somebody help!” he yelled when he was finally close enough for them to hear.

The people stopped. They looked at Tom in surprise as the shield slowed down and he jumped off it.