Read Online Monster War by Dean Lorey - Free Book Online

you reached the very middle of the fathomless black lake that the creature called home. There, you stated your destiny. If you spoke true, you were left unharmed. But if you lied, the Trout of Truth exploded up from the water and swallowed you whole before spitting you back out, covered in slime, on the far, grassy shore.
    Glancing around, Charlie thought it was entirely possible that something might shoot up from the dark, airy depths beneath him and swallow him whole, just like the Trout of Truth - but he seriously doubted that it would have the generosity to spit him back out, unharmed. He stopped in the centre of the bridge and waited, his right hand resting on the hilt of his rapier.
    It began to glow blue. Something was coming.
    Charlie looked down into the chasm, straining to see movement in the darkness, trying his best not to be frightened by the nauseating thinness of the ribbon of rock on which he stood. Accidentally, his right foot knocked off a pebble. It fell into the inky well and Charlie waited for the sound of it hitting the bottom to echo back up at him. The sound never came.
    But something else did.
    Floating up from the darkness, Charlie saw one of the most beautiful sights he had ever witnessed. It looked like a giant butterfly, with a wingspan as wide as a cathedral ceiling. And the colours! Candyfloss pinks side by side with the brilliant green of a peacock’s feather; swirls of sunset red next to the haunting purple of a twilight sky. The wings were a rainbow of hues, shimmering and shining against the blackness like a stained-glass window. As the creature rose, Charlie began to see the fine details of its pixie-ish body - wide, round eyes and an elfin nose. The creature smiled at him and the smile warmed him from the inside, filling him with its rosy glow.
    This couldn’t be the monster he was supposed to fight. Could it?
    Greetings, traveller , the creature said, although its lips didn’t move. Charlie wasn’t sure if it actually spoke the words or if it somehow just transmitted them into his brain. You look weary. You have been through many trials. You deserve rest…and comfort .
    The creature’s voice was kind and soothing and Charlie was surprised to discover that he was a little bit weary and that he did need rest and comfort. Luckily, it looked like those were two things a marvellous being like this could provide.
    “You’re right,” Charlie said finally. “I guess I am a littletired. Really tired, actually. People are expecting a lot of me - saving the world and all. Sometimes I just want to say ‘forget it’ and lie down and take a nice, long nap.”
    Back on the ledge, Theodore watched his friend with growing agitation. “What’s he doing? Why is he having a heart-to-heart conversation with that monster? Why doesn’t he just kill it?”
    “I don’t know,” Violet replied, clearly concerned as well. “That thing is hideous.”
    Even though, to Charlie, it looked like a beautiful butterfly, his friends saw it for what it really was - a Chasm Wyrm. A flying red dragon with lidless green eyes and rows of razor-sharp teeth that stuck out of its black gums at crazy angles, like headstones in an ancient cemetery. Its tail was long and clubbed at the end and its wings were coated in hard scales that gleamed dully in the weak light of the Nether.
    “Uh-oh,” Brooke said.
    Violet turned to her. “Uh-oh? Elaborate, please.”
    “I just remembered what the deal was about Chasm Wyrms. They take over your mind. They can make you think things that aren’t real and do things you wouldn’t ever want to do if they weren’t in your head, controlling you.”
    “Information we could have used sooner!” Theodoresaid. “Great. Now we’ve got a killer dragon getting ready to use Charlie like a meat puppet. Fun times!”
    Back on the bridge, Charlie gazed at the giant butterfly in something like wonder. “Do you think it’s safe for me to take a little nap right here?”
    Charlie