Free The Incredible Journey of Pete McGee by Adam Wallace

within your sights, so as to keep them under control. You will not be able to free your friend whilst I am around. The magic I wield is more than you can overcome, and I shall not be leaving his side while you are with us.’
    â€˜How do I know you won’t just try to kill me while I sleep?’
    Faydon laughed. It was a hissy sound, his two front teeth jutting out over his bottom lip.
    â€˜Boy, I would not bother wasting my time. There are creatures enough for us to worry about. If I simply wanted you dead I would let you cross the plains on your own.’
    Pete turned away, thinking hard. He had no reason to trust anything this little rat-man said, but he also knew that sometimes safety in numbers was a good option. Whatever plans Faydon had for him, it seemed he should take the risk and trust his instincts to get him by. If nothing else, it would be a chance to try to make contact with the sooky la-la he now knew was Marloynne. He turned back to Faydon and nodded.
    â€˜Okay. I will join you. But if I suspect anything, I will leave you, and then you will be on your own.’
    Faydon smiled at the young man’s bravado. He almost laughed out loud, but controlled himself and simply smiled.
    â€˜Very good. Wait here boy, I will tell our King you will be joining us.’
    He spun around on his heel and walked back towards the royal party. Pete lay his pack on the ground then sat on it, watching Faydon move away from him. He couldn’t help but feel he may have made a deal with the wrong man.
    Faydon smiled to himself as he walked away from Pete. He hadn’t noticed it earlier, due to his frustration, but the presence of magic had radiated from the boy when he walked past them onto the plains. As soon as Faydon saw the dagger the boy owned, the presence had a source. The dagger was powerful and Faydon wanted it. His power was weakening, and had been for some time. While he could still practise basic spells, such as the brainwashing of Marloynne, any stronger forms of magic seemed beyond him. It was a natural consequence of previous magic used, his power draining with each spell. Still, about to cross the Plains of Obon and face the greatest danger of the journey so far, Faydon was confident he had the power to survive. The boy and his dagger would be good insurance however. He approached King Cyril the Bored-and-Ready-to-Move-On and explained that the journey would continue immediately, and that the boy would be travelling with them. King Cyril the Trusting-to-the-Point-of-Stupidity nodded and called his men into action.

usk spread over the Plains of Obon. The sun was setting over the horizon, a blazing red that even in the half-light of dusk made the dusty earth glow. The small group had travelled far, but to travel far by day through the plains was to travel closer to danger.
    For it was at night that danger woke, in the form of the Mantrils. Borne of a magic long forgotten, the Mantrils were predators of the worst kind. It wasn’t necessary for Mantrils to kill to survive, for they needed to eat but once a year. Yet still they would kill. They would do so because they were evil, because it brought them an unsurpassed pleasure.
    There was a time when Mantrils ran free in the towns, creating havoc, murdering as they pleased. After a warlock’s family had been destroyed by the Mantrils, he exacted revenge by banishing them to the Plains of Obon. Although there were no physical boundaries, if a Mantril were to set foot outside the plains they would, well, explode. Being quite intelligent creatures, it didn’t take more than three or four exploding Mantrils for the rest to realise that the Plains were to be their home. It also became obvious soon enough that travellers crossing the plains were either:
    (a) extremely brave
    (b) extremely lost
    (c) extremely impatient and needing to take the quickest route even at the risk of their lives
    (d) extremely stupid, or
    (e) at least two of the