Gabriel Stone and the Divinity of Valta Read Online Free PDF Page B

poisonous berries, and a creature with a gazillion eyes. Great. The day was worse than one of Gabriel’s worst nightmares, and he couldn’t help but blame himself.
    Somehow, he’d have to find a way home. He wasn’t sure how he’d do it, but he had to try.
    “Finley,” he started, “where do you sleep at night?”
    “At home,” Finley answered with an expression that said, ‘Where else?’
    “Yes, Finley, but where is home?”
    “Me live in ky hut with Fegan.” Finley pointed to the sky. “Fegan my family.”
    Gabriel nodded. “Well, I was wondering—I mean, since my friends and I are so far from home and everything. If, well—”
    “It good, Gabrul. You human come with Finley. But be very quiet and hurry. Gruock come in dark.”
    Piper stood slowly, the color slowly returning to her cheeks. “What’s a gruock?”
    “Is it one of those things with googly eyes that screams like my mother when she sees my room?” Brent managed a weak laugh. Gabriel laughed, too. He was relieved Brent was starting to feel better.
    “No,” Finley said. “Me no like eeker, but not eeker me fraid of.” He motioned for them to follow. “We leave now.”
    “Wait,” Piper whispered to Gabriel as she held her stomach and walked along.
    Gabriel looped his arm through Piper’s. “You gonna be okay?”
    “Yeah, I think so. I’m just tired. But where is he taking us?”
    Gabriel pulled her forward through the tall grass keeping close behind Finley. “I guess to his family or whatever—but hey, it’s better than being stuck out here at night, I guess. Lean on me if you need to, k?” He chewed his lip. “Finley’s our best hope right now.” They followed the talking monkey toward the sunset.
    “Me know good trail!” Finley bounced along, leading them down a path through the tall grass, which offered some cover from whatever might be lurking beyond it.
    “Keep head down,” Finley said. “Be quiet.”
    Eventually, the path widened. Ahead of them, a grove of at least fifty trees with small, wooden houses sat perched among the leafy branches. “A whole tribe of talking monkeys,” Piper mused, sounding better.
    Finley approached a tree in the middle and tapped a rhythmic beat upon its knobby trunk. A few moments later, a rope ladder dropped from the branches above them. “Hurry,” he urged, scrambling up the ladder.
    Piper started up next, but slipped as the ladder swayed. Piper’s not feeling much better after all. Gabriel frowned and reached forward, grasping Piper by the elbow to help steady her.
    Brent jumped, his eyes bulging as he spun around. “Did you hear that? It was like a wolf howl or something.” He darted a glance over his shoulder. “Get up the ladder, Piper. Fast!”
    Zigzag growled and perked up her ears. Her fur stood high on the back of her neck. A loud, spine-tingling roar rang out. Zigzag barked back.
    Piper shouted from the top of the ladder. “Something’s moving through the grass! I’m totally not kidding. Hurry up!”
    “Gruock!” Finley screamed. Rustling and squeaking noises burst from the trees, and one after another, more monkeys hopped around from branch to branch. Gabriel figured they were the Fegans that Finley talked about.
    Brent pushed Gabriel toward the ladder. “Hurry, Gabe, before it gets here.”
    Gabriel wiggled the ladder. “You first.”
    But Brent pulled Gabriel’s arm, twisting him around to face the ladder. “Dude, just go,” he insisted.
    “What about Ziggy?”
    “I’m stronger. I’ll carry her up. Just be ready to take her from me.”
    Gabriel knew only Brent was strong enough to carry Zigzag up, so he grabbed hold of the nearest rung and climbed. In the distance, the growls grew louder and louder. Halfway up, he glanced back to see Brent climbing with Zigzag under one arm. The ladder groaned under the extra weight.
    “Finley!” he shouted. “The ladder!” But Finley was making strange monkey sounds like all the others, and didn’t hear