Free Pete McGee and the Master of Darkness by Adam Wallace Page B

let it rip.
    â€˜MWWAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!’ he boomed.
    â€˜That was nice, Bob, really. A great evil laugh.’
    â€˜You liked it? Oh I am so wonderfully delighted. I have been practising it for some time now. It wasn’t forced?’
    â€˜Oh no. No, no, no, no, not at all, totally natural.
    Well done.’
    Bob smiled from ear cavity to ear cavity then turned his focus to the crystal ball. Pete McGee and the rest of the group were walking by the FOREST OF DEATH and were approaching the entrance to his old cave. This was going to be fun.

    â€˜So, Sweet, what’s our next groove?’ Molloy asked.
    â€˜Don’t you ever speak normally?’ asked Smithers.
    â€˜Don’t you ever look normally?’ Molloy replied.
    Smithers scoffed and Pete ignored them both, although he thought it was a pretty good comeback from Molloy. He walked towards an opening in the massive rock wall in front of him. He could see it opened up into a tunnel. This had to be the cave. This had to be where they would find some answers, some clues. It had to be.
    Pete walked in through the entrance and started down the tunnel. Tahnee was close behind. Ashlyn followed her, and Molloy and Smithers brought up the rear, jostling each other on the way down, bouncing off the walls. They continued for a short distance before the tunnel opened into a cave.

    Back at the evil lair, a tear dripped down Bob’s blobbiness and onto the crystal ball as he saw the place that had been his cell for so long.

    Back in the cave, a tear dripped down Pete’s cheek as he stubbed his toe really hard on a rock, and had to jump around doing the gritting-your-teeth-not-swearing thing.
    Once he settled down, the others looked to Pete for instruction. He shrugged and wandered around, looking for clues. He quickly found the note left by the sprite.
    â€˜â€œGo into the FOREST OF DEATH for the answer,”’ he read out loud. ‘FOREST OF DEATH? The answer? The answer to what?’ Pete turned the piece of paper over and read on. ‘“To anything you want.”’
    He looked at the others. ‘Great. Molloy?’
    â€˜It’s obviously a trap, Sweet, but planks for asking me first.’
    Smithers rolled his eyes and spoke.
    â€˜It is obviously a trap, Pete, but it’s all we have. Whatever is in there we can overcome it, and we may actually find something worthwhile.’
    Pete nodded and looked to Ashlyn and Tahnee. Ashlyn said nothing.
    â€˜I think we should go into the forest, Pete,’ Tahnee said. ‘Smithers is right. We can handle whatever lies in store, and it may lead us to something. There’s nothing in here.’
    Pete nodded again. Although in many ways he liked doing things alone, and despite his fears for his friends’ safety, he was starting to feel okay about having a group with him. Ashlyn started walking out of the cave. She was ready for action, and she was ready to find her Marloynne. Pete and the others ran after her. Although they didn’t know it, the second test was about to begin.
    As soon as they entered the forest, the light disappeared. It was as though they were back at Ashlyn and Marloynne’s wedding, and Syra Tanooth had taken the light away. The group stayed close, each person keeping some form of contact with the person next to them. Pete walked with his hand on the pack in front of him, which belonged to Molloy. Tahnee walked beside Pete, and she had a hand on his shoulder, a source of both comfort and confusion for Pete. But he made sure he focused on where he was going; although where that actually was he had no idea. He hoped the answer would be revealed to him soon.
    The group moved deeper into the forest. The path seemed to go straight ahead. They moved cautiously, yet they made good time. Every now and again something would brush past one of them and the whole group would stop, searching, staring into darkness for a foe they