The Skull Warrior by Yajat Sharma (popular books to read txt) 📕

that, the blue dome and the guardian disappeared.

“That was easy,” James said, opening the scroll. He gasped. “But… it’s blank, nothing’s written in it!”

The Scavenger raced towards the pyramid, the Plague Warriors right on his tail. He didn’t know how much time the children would take.

Just as he neared the entrance, the children burst out of it. They collided and went spiralling to the ground.

The Scavenger quickly stood up and helped the children. He examined the scroll and appeared satisfied.

“But it’s empty,” Matt said, panting from the long run.

The Scavenger nodded. “Yes. I will explain later. Right now, we don’t have time. Let’s g -”

The Scavenger ducked mid-sentence and dodged his sword into a Plague Warrior who had reached them. He ran at once, the children right beside him. “Run fast! Don’t allow them to touch you!” shouted the Scavenger.

They raced away, weaving between huts and cottages, dodging obstacles, their legs screaming in pain. The Plague Warriors were following them.

The Scavenger shouted, “We can’t fight so many of them. If any of them touch us, we are doomed. Speed up!”

The children tried to run as fast as they could. They couldn’t look back, or else they would trip and fall. The Plague Warriors were fast closing in on them.

As they reached the spot, the Scavenger slammed to a stop and parted the air wide apart. The Plague Warriors were almost upon them. But, before any of the Plague Warriors could touch them, the Scavenger and the children jumped into the portal, closing the air gap behind them.

They emerged back at the place from where they had entered the portal.

“Uff! That was close. But all that for nothing. The scroll’s empty,” Matt said. “It’s useless.”

The Scavenger shook his head. “No. It was all very worthwhile. The scroll’s knowledge is hidden. Otherwise, anyone could look upon its secrets.”

“So how do we look upon its secrets?” Archer asked.

“Let me show you,” the Scavenger said, examining the scroll.

The Scavenger slowly turned the scroll at an angle. Suddenly, the scroll started to move. It first rotated all around, before stopping, and then moved forward into the air.

The Scavenger said, grinning, “The scroll will lead us to the Warhead’s lair. Let’s go.”

“You are not as dumbo as we think you are,” remarked James. The others snickered.

“What? Did you say something?” asked the Scavenger.

“Nothing. I was just murmuring to myself,” James said. The Scavenger was amused and the children had a good laugh. They continued following the scroll.

The scroll led them into a lush green valley. The sky was bright blue and birds flew around.

When they were about to enter a village, James stopped suddenly with a look of realization on his face.

“What is it?” the Scavenger asked him.

James pointed around. “Look... it’s the Isle of the Beast, where our Elemental Powers were awakened!”

The others looked around and suddenly realized that James was right and they were in the Isle, where the leader of the village, Aronicle, had awakened their powers. The Isle of the Beast had been one of their first destinations when they had come to the Dark World before.

The Scavenger started up a light jog. “Yes, guys! Welcome again to the Isle of Beast.”

They entered the village. The Scavenger located the scroll, which was still moving forward in the air. He caught the scroll and quickly pocketed it.

Surprisingly, the cottages were empty and the streets were deserted. A dusty wind blew through the streets as the children stopped to catch their breath.

“Where are all of them?” the Scavenger said, perplexed. It was unlikely for such a busy village to be quiet at this time of the afternoon.

“Let’s check the village square.” James offered suddenly. “They must be having a meeting or something.”

They set off towards the square. But it was empty too; there were no signs of anyone.

The children were now directly facing the raised stage where their Elemental Powers had been awakened. They walked to it and explored around.

“Don’t go too far.” The Scavenger began. “It could be -”

Dangerous. A cold and evil voice spoke up behind the Scavenger. Then the hilt of a sword struck hard against the Scavenger’s skull, and he was unconscious even before he hit the ground.

The children were still exploring when they heard a thud from behind and turned to see the Scavenger falling to the ground. They thought they saw a white figure behind him, but it was hard to be sure because even as they blinked, it had disappeared.

The children rushed towards the Scavenger and shook him. However, he didn’t wake up. He was knocked out cold.

Daniel looked at the others. “Who did that?”

Your friend. The voice resonated all around, sending shivers of fear up the children’s spines.

“Who are you?” James said in a shaky voice.

You know me. You have met me before.

Suddenly, a swish of air alerted Matt. He instinctively ducked and heard a swishing sound as something flew through the air where, a second ago, Matt’s head was.

That was fast. Wasn’t it? You just saved your head, my dear.

Matt stood up. “Reveal yourself, coward.”

A figure appeared about twenty feet in front of the children.

It was dressed in white robes, which reflected light from the suns, making it difficult to see him. The figure wore a hood, and he slowly pulled it off.

The face that was there sent the children reeling back in shock. It had changed – the white beard, monstrous expression and elongated chin weren’t there before – but the children could easily recognize him as the wise man who had awakened their Elemental Powers.

Aronicle.

Aronicle walked forward calmly, his hands held in front of him. His eyes were red. Don’t run. Let me do my job...

“What’s your job?” James asked. He summoned water into his hands and felt its coolness. He raised his hands and pointed his fingers at Aronicle. Sharp and deadly bursts of water shot out from them, but Aronicle appeared to feel nothing.

You cannot hurt me. I was after all the one who