Beast Quest #3: Cypher the Mountain Giant Read Online Free PDF Page B

Tom felt the rope around his waist tighten. Someone was pulling him to safety.
    With a final jolt, Tom found himself on the ledge at the feet of the giant. Looking up, he saw a kind expression on the Beast’s face. Tom wanted to thank him, but there was no time. He had to rescue Elenna. And, Tom realized, Cypher could help.
    Scrambling to his feet, Tom called out to Cypher. “I need your help!”
    The Beast let out a booming snort.
    “I need to rescue my friend!” Tom cried. “She’s stuck in the cave where you first saw me.”
    Cypher didn’t waste a moment. The Beast scooped Tom up in his hand and began moving across the ledge. At its edge was a steep slope that led back down to the cave.
    Tom shut his eyes tight as the giant trudged down the mountainside. Cypher’s enormous strides brought them down the slope and back to the caves with amazing speed.
    “In there!” Tom called out, pointing to the blocked cave. “She’s in there.” Storm was standing next to the pile of boulders in front of the cave. He had been keeping watch while Tom was gone.
    Cypher set Tom down, and with one swift movement of his massive arms, he cleared the debris from the front of the cave. Tom tried to peer in, but couldn’t see through the heavy dust that hung in the air.
    Then, in a leaping bound, Silver burst from the entrance.

    “Silver!” Tom called excitedly. “Where’s Elenna?”
    Silence hung in the air.
    “Here. Over here.” Elenna’s voice was quiet and scratchy. Tom rushed into the cave. Elenna was slumped in a corner. She looked pale and very tired, but she was still breathing. She had survived.
    Tom helped her out of the cave and into the fresh air and mountain sunlight.
    “You did it, Tom. You really did it,” Elenna gasped as she looked up at the towering giant. “Colton and all the other mountain towns will be safe again.”
    The color returned quickly to Elenna’s face. She sat up to get a better look at Cypher.
    “He doesn’t look so bad, after all,” Elenna said. Tom thought about the chase through the forest, the terrible fall from the cliff, and nearly dropping into a chasm.
    “No, not so bad at all,” he said with a satisfiedsmile. He had survived another chapter of the Beast Quest.
    As Tom was thinking about all the adventures he had survived in the last couple of days, he looked up toward Cypher. The giant’s single eye welled up with a tear. Tom quickly raised his shield — and the tear splashed upon it. The scorched wood burned bright yellow for a few magical moments. Tom ran his fingers over the surface. It was smooth, as if nothing had happened. With a smile and snort, the giant grunted a farewell and lumbered back into the mountains.
    Suddenly, five little wolf cubs came bounding out of the cave! Their coats were white with little smudges of gray around their pricked-up ears and tiny feet. Elenna straightened up and looked at Tom. “This was why Silver ran off in the first place,” she said.
    “He must have sensed they were in danger,” Tom agreed.
    “Not anymore,” said Elenna, pointing back down the path to where a pure white wolf was hovering. “Look — that must be their mother!”
    The cubs jumped about excitedly and bounded off toward her. Silver watched as the mother cuffed and licked them, nudging them together into a group.
    “She must have lost them in one of the rockslides,” said Elenna, stroking Silver behind the ear. He howled at the mother, who yapped twice, as if in reply. Silver turned and trotted off back down the mountain path.
    Tom turned to Elenna. “Come on. Let’s follow him.”
    Tom and Elenna made their way back down the path to Colton. Tom led Storm, who followed quietly.
    They made the journey back as quickly as their aching muscles allowed. To their surprise, a group of townspeople were waiting near the town hall.
    “We heard another rockslide and worried you two were caught in it,” Belco said, sighing with relief.
    Tom and Elenna just grinned in