Free Knight Quest (Time Hunters, Book 2) by Chris Blake Page B

won’t help you find the next amulet. And then you’ll never get into the Afterlife.”
    Isis sat down at an empty desk with a deep sigh. She folded her arms and managed to keep still for the rest of the lesson.
    Finally, the bell for morning break went. Tom pushed Cleo and Isis into the playground as quickly as possible.
    â€œAren’t you coming to play footy?” Tom’s friends Rav and Danny asked.
    â€œNot today, guys,” Tom said, herding Isis and Cleo towards a quiet spot behind the art block. When they reached the secluded triangle of trees, he breathed a sigh of relief and sat down on the grass.
    â€œAt last! A break from your nonsense!” he said to Isis.
    But Isis had already begun to climb one of the trees. She pulled herself onto a thick bough and sat with her legs dangling just above Tom’s head.
    â€œOh, come on,” she laughed, wiggling her mouldy toes. “I was just having fun. Don’t be such a spoilsport.”
    Tom tugged at some clover in the grass. “I wonder where we’ll go next time. Do you think Anubis will come back soon?”
    â€œHe’d better get a move on,” Isis said. “Princesses don’t like being kept waiting.”
    â€œHe’s a god. You shouldn’t be so impatient,” Tom said.
    But he had scarcely finished speaking when the playground beneath them started to tremble.
    Tom scrambled to his feet. “Oh, you’re kidding!” he cried. “Not here!”
    Tom looked round to find the source of the rumbling. Sure enough, a huge doggy snout pushed through the leaves just above Isis’s head.
    Isis yelped as she was shoved off the bough by the giant, jackal-headed god. She landed with a thump on the ground next to Tom.
    â€œAre you ready for your next quest?” Anubis boomed down at them.
    His pointed ears poked through the leaves of the tree. Tom looked at Anubis’s giant teeth, which were yellowing and sharp. Then he gazed into the god’s angry red eyes and felt terror tingle along his spine.
    In their first mission Tom had nearly met his death at the hands of Ancient Rome’s fiercest gladiator. What deadly challenge would they face
this
time? Would he get out alive?
    â€œCat got your tongue?” Anubis asked, growling slightly.
    â€œMore like
dog
got your tongue,” Isis whispered at Tom’s side.
    Tom heard shouts from the playground.

    He remembered that it was double Maths next. Snore-tastic! Even though the next challenge was bound to be dangerous, a trip through time sounded much better than fractions with Mr Braintree.
    â€œYou bet we’re ready,” Tom said.
    He took Isis’s hand, and they each held one of Cleo’s paws, making a circle. The wind started to whip up around them and Tom felt himself being pulled through the tunnels of space and time…

“Aargh!” Tom shouted, flailing his arms and legs as he plummeted to the ground.
    Thump, thump, flump!
    Tom, Isis and Cleo landed heavily in some long grass.
    â€œWhere are we?” Isis asked.
    Tom peered at the towering trees that surrounded them. He could hear the sound of flowing water in the distance. “I’ve no idea,” he said. He pointed to Isis and Cleo. “Look! You’ve got your normal bodies back again!”
    Cleo mewed, sat in the grass and started to lick the stripy fur on her outstretched hind leg.
    Isis prodded her tummy through the rough woollen tunic she was now wearing. She beamed at Tom. “That’s more like it!” she said. She stroked her plaits and fluttered the lashes of her kohled eyes.
    Tom watched Isis’s fingers play over the folds of the heavy grey cloak that hung from her shoulders. Her smile had vanished.
    â€œWhat is this
ghastly
scratchy thing?” she cried. She sniffed it cautiously. “It smells like a wet dog. Eeuw.”
    Examining the brooch that fastened his own cloak, Tom said, “See this?” He pointed