Curse of the Spider King Read online

  Curse

  of the

  Spider King

  Other Books by . . .

  WAYNE THOMAS BATSON

  The Door Within Trilogy

  The Door Within

  The Rise of the Wyrm Lord

  The Final Storm

  Pirate Adventures

  Isle of Swords

  Isle of Fire

  CHRISTOPHER HOPPER

  The White Lion Chronicles (series)

  Rise of the Dibor

  The Lion Vrie

  Curse

  of the

  Spider King

  By WAYNE THOMAS BATSON

  and CHRISTOPHER HOPPER

  To those in hiding, lost far from the Light

  Swift wings are summoned to bear you safely home.

  © 2009 by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper

  All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning or other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

  Scripture references are from The King James Version of the Holy Bible.

  Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fundraising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail SpecialMarkets@ ThomasNelson.com.

  Characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Page design by Mandi Cofer.

  Library of Congress Control number: 2009026149.

  Full cataloging-in-publication Data available online at the Library of Congress Web site: www.loc.gov.

  ISBN 978-1-4003-1505-5

  Printed in the United States of America

  09 10 11 12 13 QUE 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  contents

  Principal Cast

  Principal Locations

  1 Eight-Hundred-Year Echoes

  2 A Surprise Gift

  3 Blue Girl

  4 Manifest Destiny

  5 Red Dusk

  6 The Fall of Berinfell

  7 Curious Customers

  8 Geographical Anomaly

  9 Lighting the Blue Beacons

  10 Leaving the Sunlight

  11 Lifeflight

  12 Mr. Miracle

  13 The Cave

  14 Battle at the Tree Gate

  15 Eency Weency Spider

  16 The Tartan and Tiger

  17 Stolen Thoughts

  18 Elfkind

  19 Off Target

  20 Falcon Day

  21 Unstoppable Force

  22 Foresight

  23 Cast into the Night

  24 A Dark Cascade

  25 Fire of the Dead

  26 Ringing of the Bells

  27 A Dangerous Read

  28 Taken

  29 Rumor of Evil

  30 Identity Crisis

  31 Gravity

  32 In the Shadow of Madness

  33 No Exit

  34 When the Music Calls

  35 Rags to Royalty

  36 Dalhousie Castle

  37 Deadly Proof

  38 Convergence

  39 When Darkness Falls

  40 Nowhere to Hide

  41 Kinship

  42 Crescendo

  43 Help from Above

  44 The Ruins

  45 A Poison Splinter

  Acknowledgments

  Excerpt from The Berinfell Prophecies Book Two

  About the Authors

  Principal Cast

  Allyran Elves: All Elves who live in Allyra.

  Tommy Bowman: Curly-haired seventh grader at Thurgood Marshall Middle School in Seabrook, Maryland.

  Autumn Briarman: Petite, blond seventh grader who lives outside Depauville in upstate New York. Sister of Johnny Briarman.

  Johnny Briarman: Burly seventh-grade student who lives outside Depauville in upstate New York. Brother of Autumn Briarman.

  Annelle “Nelly” Brookeheart: Gift-giving owner of A Likely Story Book Shoppe in Depauville, New York.

  Flet Marshall Brynn: Second-highest-ranking Elf military officer.

  Mr. Charlie: The custodian at Thurgood Marshall Middle School.

  Children of the Light: The ancient name of Allyran Elves.

  Cragons: The monstrous black trees of Vesper Crag.

  Dreadnaughts: Elite warrior Elves who practice Vexbane, a profoundly effective form of combat.

  Drefids: The Spider King’s ghoulish assassins; Drefids have four deadly claws that extend from the knuckles of each hand.

  Elves: One of the ancient races of Allyra; Elves are known for their books of prophecy and their woodcraft.

  Anna Rosario Delarosa Espinosa: The Simonson family’s new housekeeper, who picks up Kat from school.

  Miss Finney: Lochgilphead school’s new reading teacher and part-time librarian.

  Sarron Froth: One of the brutal and bloodthirsty Drefid assassins for the Spider King.

  Eldera “Elle” Galdarro: The mysterious librarian at Thurgood Marshall Middle School.

  Jett Green: Seventh grader in Greenville, North Carolina. Rides motocross bikes and plays football.

  James “Jimmy” Lewis Gresham: Redheaded seventh grader who lives in Ardfern, Scotland. Lived in an orphanage until he was adopted at six years old.

  Guardmaster Olin Grimwarden: Commander of the military forces of the Elves and their allies.

  Gwars: One of the ancient races of Allyra; Gwar are known for their brutish strength and their affinity for spiders.

  Cathar Indrook: Gwar field commander.

  Varuin Khelgast (Vair-ooh-in Kell-ghast): The Gwar overlord.

  Lyrian Elves: A very strong race of Elves. They are dark skinned and have violet-colored eyes.

  Regis McAuliffe: Gresham family friend, who works at a local ul.

  Mobius: The Spider King’s most decorated Drefid assassin.

  Mr. Ogelvie: Jimmy Gresham’s new neighbor.

  Mr. Phitzsinger: Physical education teacher at Thurgood Marshall Middle School in Seabrook, Maryland.

  Edward Rengfellow: A tour guide for Dalhousie Castle.

  Sentinels: They are very wise, very traditional Elves who are rumored to still follow the “Old Ways.”

  Mrs. Sherman: Kiri Lee’s chaperone in Scotland.

  Kat Simonson: A seventh grader in North Hollywood, California; she has polycythemia vera, a condition that gives her skin a bluish color.

  Sophie: Kiri Lee’s friend; she is an art prodigy.

  Mr. James Spero: English teacher at Jett Green’s school in Greenville, North Carolina.

  The Spider King: The ruler of all Gwar, who harbor an ancient grudge against the Elves. Lives in Vesper Crag.

  Vendar Stonebreaker: Berinfell’s third flet marshall, superior to all in command except the Guardmaster and Flet Marshall Brynn.

  Sir Travin: Clever warrior for the Elves.

  Tyrith (Tier-ith): The Drefid’s high commander.

  Mr. Charles Wallace: Kat’s American history teacher.

  Warspiders: Spiders that are so large they can be ridden like horses; red Warspiders have lethal venom.

  Wisps: Enemies of old. Vapor-beings, shape shifters.

  Aaron Rothchild Worthington: Wealthy seventh grader in Tommy’s school. Lives in Tommy’s neighborhood.

  Kiri Lee Yuen: Seventh grader in Paris, France. Musical prodigy.

  Principal Locations

  ALLYRA

  The
world where the Elves, Gwar, and Spider King reside.

  Locations on Allyra include:

  Berinfell

  The capital of the Elves, who once resided across

  the many continents of Allyra

  The Forest Gate

  The western gate to enter Berinfell

  The Gap Gate

  The eastern gate to enter Berinfell

  The Garden Gate

  The southern gate to enter Berinfell

  The Tree gate

  The northern gate to enter Berinfell

  The Great Hall

  The throne room and master chamber

  of the Seven Elven Lords of Berinfell

  Moonlit Crown

  A secret place known only to the Elves, where the Sentinels

  and other Elves who follow the “old ways” meet

  Nightwish Caverns

  A vast network of caverns beneath the Thousand-League Forest,

  used as an emergency home by the Elves of Berinfell

  Red Coast

  Allyra’s tempestuous coast

  Vesper Crag

  Volcanic home of the Spider King and his minions

  Whitehall Castle

  Ancient training facility for the Elves,

  far to the northwest of Berinfell

  EARTH

  The world where the humans reside.

  Locations on Earth include:

  Ardfern, Scotland

  Dalhousie Castle, Scotland

  Depauville, New York, USA

  Edinburg, Scotland

  Greenville, North Carolina, USA

  Lochgilphead, Scotland

  North Hollywood, California, USA

  Paris, France

  Seabrook, Maryland, USA

  1

  Eight-Hundred-Year Echoes

  CONCEALED IN a grove of alder trees, two cloaked figures waited; their whispered voices lost in the soft rustle of wind-stirred leaves.

  “Commander, I had forgotten how brilliant the moon is.”

  “I know, Brynn,” the burly warrior replied, absently rubbing a whitish furrow on his cheek, one of many scars on his face and neck. “Since we are allowed only rare views . . . I, too, drink it in.” He sighed.

  “How many hundreds of years since we could gaze our fill?”

  “Too many,” he said, more than a hint of bitterness in his tone.

  They waited, not ten paces away from the flat side of a massive boulder. Beyond that, the silver moonlight shone down on a clearing framed by trees. It was a haunting view of their once glorious city, now in ruins.

  Suddenly, the sheer face of stone radiated a dazzling blue light. The two crouched lower beneath the trees. Brynn raised her bow and drew the bowstring back to the feathery red sideburn near her right ear.

  “Hold,” whispered the leader. “If it is the enemy, we are done.” The wall of stone rippled like a vertical film of water. It began to pulse and bulge as if the stone had turned to some elastic fabric or web. Something was struggling to break out.

  Neither warrior breathed as a hand broke through, then forearms and a torso. But the light intensified, making it impossible to see beyond the form’s black silhouette.

  The portal snapped shut, just a boulder once more. They couldn’t see much of anything as their eyes readjusted to the moonlight.

  “Sir . . . should I—?”

  “Brynn, stay your bow,” the commander said, relieved to give that order. He strode forward from the cover of the alders toward a female draped in a heavy cloak. His archer followed close behind.

  “Elle, what have you learned?” he asked.

  “They are on Earth,” she replied.

  “Can you be certain?” he asked.

  She removed her hood, shook out long blond hair—silver in the moonlight—and nodded. “There can be no doubt. I felt the tremors among the humans.”

  “I cannot believe it. . . . Froth told us the truth,” said the commander. “I will gather the others still here for the mission. At last, some hope—”

  “It will not be easy,” Elle interrupted. “They have been scattered.”

  “Among how many?” he asked.

  “Billions,” she replied. She stared at her feet.

  The commander was thunderstruck.

  “Billions?” Brynn gasped. “But that would be like—”

  “Looking for a green coin in a sea of clover.” The commander rubbed his temples.

  “And that is not the worst of it,” Elle said. “The enemy is there.”

  “Then he knows,” said the commander. “Froth thought as much. Elle, you and the others already on Earth must prepare for battle. You must not let the enemy get to them first. Do whatever is necessary.”

  “I understand,” she replied. “The humans have swords there and other weapons.”

  “Good,” he said. “Their weapons won’t match the quality you’re used to. Do what you can. But no matter what, you must continue to blend in.”

  Elle replaced the hood of her cloak and turned toward the portal. “If our race has become skilled at anything these bitter, long years, it’s hiding.”

  “Elle?” She heard the urgent questioning in her commander’s voice and turned. “We must not fail.”

  Elle crossed her wrists and bowed. “We will not. Endurance and Victory.”

  “Endurance and Victory.”

  2

  A Surprise Gift

  HUH? TOMMY Bowman didn’t know why his parents said yes. They usually said no—unless, of course, it was to chores. To chores, they said yes, each and every time. But to come back to school, at night, on short notice, and drop him off without going through their usual checklist. Unbelievable. Just the other day, he’d wanted to ride his bike up to the regional park only two miles away. His parents had made him wear a watch, a helmet, a walkie-talkie, and a cell phone in case the walkie-talkie’s battery died. Almost a teenager and they treat me like I’m seven.

  As his parents drove away, Tommy glanced back over his shoulder at the looming menace of the school. Thurgood Marshall Middle was all columns, statues, white stone, and red brick. Stained and weathered over many years, the façade looked more like a police station from Gotham City than a middle school.

  An engine growled, tires squealed, and Tommy whipped back around. He watched as a sleek black sports car pulled into the parking lot and stopped directly under the streetlight by the curb just thirty feet away. Like most twelve-year-olds, he loved sports cars—and he couldn’t wait to see which one of his classmates got out of that car. One of the rich kids probably, Tommy thought. Coming to the meeting to steal the show. Give all the answers. Tommy stared at the car and waited . . . and waited. No one got out. All Tommy could see was the blazing orb of the streetlight’s reflection in a sea of dark-tinted glass. The longer Tommy waited, the more uncomfortable he felt. A chill slithering up his back, Tommy rushed inside the school building.

  There was no one in the main hallway or in the front office. His sneakers squeaked on the newly waxed floor as he looked around. Tommy glanced at his watch. He wasn’t really early, so where was everybody? He rocked back and forth on his feet, wondering if the meeting had been cancelled and no one had told him. That would figure, he thought. But he hoped he was wrong. Mrs. Galdarro, the librarian, had selected Tommy personally to be a part of the group. He still didn’t know why, but it felt good to be asked.

  Tommy had always thought of himself as a rather unremarkable boy. Few teachers ever seemed to take notice of him. He just floated through their classes with straight Bs and an occasional A. Tommy wasn’t a bad kid, the sort who would leave a handful of centipedes in the teacher’s desk drawer. Nor was he an exceptionally good kid, prim and proper, whose precocious nature drew all sorts of attention from his teachers. In fact, the only meaningful thing Tommy could ever remember a teacher saying to him directly was, “Oh my, what a wonderful head of curly hair you have.”

  Yep, that’s me, Tommy thought. Curly hair and unremarkable.


  And yet Mrs. Galdarro had still noticed him. “Tommy Bowman, please see me after the bell,” she had said.

  Tommy had wondered what he had done wrong, so he was more than a little surprised when Mrs. Galdarro said, “You have talent, Mr. Bowman. Extraordinary talent, yes. One of the reasons I came here to Thurgood Marshall Middle School is to spot talent. And I see that you have it.”

  That had made Tommy wonder if the years had finally caught up with Mrs. Galdarro. Though, honestly, Tommy wasn’t sure why he thought she was old. Her hair was not gray. Her skin was not wrinkled. But there was something about the depth of her green eyes and the richness of her voice that spoke of many years and a long history.

  “I’d like to invite you to a meeting here in the library,” Mrs. Galdarro had continued. “Tonight at eight. This is an important meeting, Tommy. Only for those with talents like yours. And there will be cookies, delicious cookies. But better still . . . everyone who comes will receive a gift. Don’t be late.”

  Well, Tommy thought, even if she is a bit cracked in the head, it still felt good to be noticed by someone. And everyone liked gifts, especially Tommy. With that in mind, he decided he’d better at least check the library to make sure the meeting was indeed cancelled. He certainly wasn’t in any hurry to go back outside.

  Not that being in the school after dark was all that pleasant, either. Half the school’s lights were off or dimmed. The halls became shadowy corridors. The empty classrooms . . . pitch-black caves. And the windows . . . dark eyes whose stare Tommy could not escape. No cookies, no gift could be worth this.

  Then Tommy heard a squeaking sound, and Mr. Charlie, one of the school’s custodians, appeared wheeling a cart out from the eighth-grade hallway. But Mr. Charlie didn’t say a word. He just grinned at Tommy and stared. Even in the shadowy hall, Tommy could see Mr. Charlie’s eyes. He had dark skin but very unusual dark blue eyes. They almost looked purple.

  Mr. Charlie winked and rolled his cart toward the cafeteria. Soon, his cheery whistle floated back from the hall, that and the squeak of his cart. Everyone knew that Mr. Charlie had a few screws loose, but he was very nice and he smiled a lot. As a matter of fact, he always said good morning to Tommy.