Read Online Monster War by Dean Lorey - Free Book Online Page B

Charlie could hear the lanky boy yelling, but it was all just white noise - a TVtuned to a dead station. He waded in with fresh fury, landing blow after crushing blow, and he could tell that the girl - Violet, was that her name? - was beginning to lose hope. She knew she was outmatched and he could see the terrible realisation descending upon her like a storm cloud.
    And why not? he thought coldly. She can’t possibly beat me. No one can. I’m a Double-Threat…
    “Listen to me, Charlie!” Theodore shouted. “That thing is messing with your mind! We’ve been friends for, like, for ever! Remember the first time we met on the pirate ship at the top of the Nightmare Academy, when the Headmaster kept dropping me into the Nether? Remember how insane that was?”
    Theodore’s voice buzzed in Charlie’s ear like a mosquito. It was annoying in its insistence to be heard, but somehow, he did hear it. Way in the back of his mind, he vaguely recalled standing on the pirate ship many months ago as the Headmaster opened portal after portal under the squawking boy, sending him plummeting into the Nether. At the time it had seemed…
    Funny?
    Maybe. He wasn’t sure. The only thing that was clear to him now was the threat he was currently facing fromthis girl - this Violet - who was almost, but not quite, as powerful a fighter as he was.
    “You do remember!” Theodore yelled. “I can see it in your eyes.” Charlie tried to push the yapping boy from his brain, but Theodore just wouldn’t stop. “Do you remember what I said to you the first time I met you? I said we were going to be best friends. And do you know why? Because I knew it instantly. Never a doubt. And it was true! That’s what we are. Best friends .”
    Was it true? Charlie wasn’t so sure.
    The girl tried to force him backwards with a sword strike, but Charlie dodged it nimbly, then kicked her in the stomach, knocking the breath out of her. She dropped to her knees, the back of her neck exposed to his fiery blue blade. He raised it.
    “The Trout of Truth!” Theodore screeched. “You remember how it kept swallowing me because I insisted I was a Banisher just like my dad? Man, that fish sucked!”
    To Charlie’s surprise, he did remember something about it. Seven times Theodore had claimed he was a Banisher - even though he was truly a Nethermancer - and seven times the giant trout had swallowed him whole and then spat him back up on shore, covered in goop. At the time, Charlie thought that anyone who was so determined to get their way was someone you definitelywanted on your side, someone who could potentially make a great friend.
    He’s not your friend , the magnificent butterfly spoke into Charlie’s mind, its voice as soft and light as a cloud. He’s your enemy. He’s the betrayer. He must die, just like the girl at your feet. All of them must die…
    Right , Charlie thought, thankful to be able to regain focus and return to the task at hand. His friends had to die. Well, not his ‘friends’ obviously - I mean, after all, you don’t hurt your friends…Do you?
    “Charlie?”
    He turned to see a tall, blonde girl smiling at him. “Do I know you?”
    “Yes,” Brooke said, tentatively stepping forward. “You saved me in Barakkas and Verminion’s lair, remember? It was a long time ago. We went there to rescue your parents.”
    Barakkas and Verminion’s lair…saving his parents…that sounded familiar.
    Charlie lowered his weapon. “That’s right. But we did something else too, didn’t we? What was it?”
    Brooke smiled and blushed a little. “You mean this?” She leaned forward and gave him a kiss. It was startling…and quite nice. “We did that once before, on the beach. Do you remember?”
    Charlie did. Her lips were soft and…
    He nodded. “I do. You’re…you’re beautiful.”
    Don’t be seduced , the floating butterfly said. The girl uses her beauty to distract you. The boy pretends to be your best friend to confuse you. And the