Free The Lake of Souls by Darren Shan Page A

frogs?” I asked, referring to a group of frogs that guarded the witch’s home. They had sacs of poison along the sides of their tongues — it was deadly if it got into your bloodstream. “I know this is a toad, not a frog, but we’d be fools to take it for granted.”
    “OK,” Harkat said. “We’ll go in when the moon’s up. If we don’t like the … look of it, we can return tomorrow.”
    We crouched on the edge of the island while the moon rose and illuminated the night sky. Then, drawing our weapons — a knife for me, a spear for Harkat — we pushed through the damp overhanging fronds and crept slowly past the various trees and plants. After several minutes we came to a clearing at the center of the island, where we paused under cover of a bush and gaped at the spectacular sight ahead.
    A wide moat ran around a curved mound of mud and reeds. To the left and right of the moat, alligators lay in wait, four or five on each side. On the mound in the middle lay the toad — and it was a
monster
! Six feet long, with a huge, knobbly body, an immense head with bulging eyes, and an enormous mouth. Its skin was a dark, crinkled, greeny brown color. It was pockmarked all over, and out of the holes oozed some sort of slimy yellow pus. Thick black leeches slowly slid up and down its hide, like mobile beauty spots, feeding on the pus.
    As we stared incredulously at the giant toad, a crow-like bird flew by overhead. The toad’s head lifted slightly, then its mouth snapped open and its tongue shot out, impossibly long and thick. It snatched the bird from the air. There was a squawk and a flurried flapping of wings. Then the crow disappeared and the toad’s jaw moved up and down as it swallowed the hapless bird.
    I was so taken aback by the toad’s appearance that I didn’t notice the small clear balls surrounding it. It was only when Harkat tapped my arm and pointed that I realized the toad was sitting on what must be the “gelatinous globes!” We’d have to cross the moat and sneak the globes out from underneath it!
    Withdrawing, we huddled in the shadows of the bushes and trees to discuss our next move. “Know what we need?” I whispered to Harkat.
    “What?”
    “The world’s biggest jam jar.”
    Harkat groaned. “Be serious,” he chastised me. “How are we going to get the … globes without that thing taking our heads off?”
    “We’ll have to sneak up from behind and hope it doesn’t notice,” I said. “I was watching its tongue when it struck the crow. I didn’t spot any poison sacs along the sides.”
    “What about the alligators?” Harkat asked. “Are they waiting to attack the toad?”
    “No,” I said. “I think they’re protecting it or living in harmony with it, like the leeches.”
    “I never heard of alligators doing that,” Harkat noted skeptically.
    “And
I
never heard of a toad bigger than a cow,” I retorted. “Who knows how this crazy world functions? Maybe all the toads are that size.”
    The best we could do would be to create a distraction, nip in, grab the globes, and get out again — fast! Retreating to the edge of the island, we waded through the swamp in search of something we could use to distract the alligators. We killed a couple of large water rats, and captured three live creatures unlike anything we’d seen before. They were shaped like turtles, except with see-through soft shells and nine powerful fins. They were harmless — speed was their single natural defense. We only caught them when they became entangled in weeds on a mud bank as we were chasing them.
    Returning to the island, we crept up on the monstrous toad at the center and paused in the bushes. “I’ve been thinking,” Harkat whispered. “It makes more sense for only … one of us to move on the toad. The other should hold on to the … rats and turtles, and throw them to … the alligators to provide cover.”
    “That sounds sensible,” I agreed. “Any thoughts on who should go in?”
    I