A COLD WIND MOANED AS TOM LED THE WAY down the steep, winding mountain path. Silver padded along at his heels, tongue lolling. Behind them, Elenna led Storm over the stony track, taking care to keep away from the edge.

On either side of the path a sheer cliff of rock fell away. Tom glanced down.

“Be careful,” he said. “Take it slowly.”

Silver whined and licked Tom’s hand.

“Don’t worry!” said Elenna. “We don’t want to break our necks, do we, Storm?” She patted the horse’s side. “How will we recognize Luna? Your father didn’t have time to tell us what sort of Beast she is.”

Taladon had visited them after their victory over Rashouk the Cave Troll, to advise them about their next Quest. Tom was always filled with pride when he saw his father. There was just one problem — the Dark Wizard, Malvel, had used his evil magic to turn Taladon into a ghost. If Tom and Elenna were successful in their Quest to recover the pieces of the Amulet of Avantia and break Malvel’s evil spell, they would return Taladon to the land of the living. And while there’s blood in my veins, Tom thought to himself, I won’t give up. No matter how dangerous it gets.

“He warned us we should try to meet Luna only in daylight, didn’t he?” Tom said. “Maybe that’s a clue.”

They rounded a bend in the path and a view of the Forbidden Land opened before them. It was gray, bare, and featureless. Tom shuddered. There was nothing but dusty rocks, dry fields, and dead trees as far as he could see.

Silver whimpered.

“Nice, isn’t it?” said Tom. “No wonder King Hugo forbids his subjects to come here!”

Elenna laughed. “He needn’t bother! No one would come here unless they really had to.”

“Let’s stop a minute and see if we can get our bearings,” said Tom. They had been walking all morning and needed to rest anyway. He took his flask from Storm’s saddlebag and gave it to Elenna. She took a swig; then Tom took a long drink. He poured some of the water into a hollowed-out rock for Silver and Storm, who lapped it up gratefully.

Tom held out both his hands. “Map!” he called in a loud, commanding voice.

A shimmering silver square appeared in the air in front of Tom. As he watched, lines began to form on its glimmering surface. Tom saw the Dead Peaks, the mountain path they were climbing down, and the great plain of the Forbidden Land beneath. At the foot of the plain was a dense forest named the Dark Wood.

And gleaming amid the Dark Wood was a tiny piece of silver amulet! Finding it would bring Tom one step closer to completing the amulet — and one step closer to restoring his father to full life and power. But he knew there would be a price to pay. He would lose one of the powers given to him by the golden armor. So be it, thought Tom. That’s a price I’ll gladly pay.

“Look!” he said excitedly, pointing at the Dark Wood on the map. “There’s the next piece of amulet! See?”

Elenna peered over his shoulder. Storm sensed the excitement and whinnied. Silver gave a short, sharp bark.

Tom gazed out over the landscape, shading his eyes with his hand. In the distance he could just make out a dark mass of trees. He pointed.

“That looks like the Dark Wood!” he said. “Let’s check.”

From his pocket he pulled out the magic compass his uncle had given him. It showed two possible destinations — Destiny or Danger. He held the compass in front of them. At once the needle swung around and pointed.

Destiny.

“No doubt about it,” said Tom. “That’s where we must go.”

“It’s a long way,” said Elenna. “We won’t get there before tomorrow. It’ll take us the rest of the day to get down this mountain.”

Tom put the compass back in his pocket.

“We don’t have that long,” he said. “My father’s life depends on us. We’ve got to find a faster way to get down the mountain!”

“And break our necks?” Elenna asked. She was right. Tom would be safe if he fell, protected by the tear in his shield given to him by Cypher the Mountain Giant, many Quests ago. But the others would be in grave danger.

Tom peered down the sheer slope of the mountain, thinking hard. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers as an idea flashed into his mind.

“I know just what we need to do,” he said, turning to his friend.