Neopets: Ghoul Catchers: The Creeping Danger - Softcover

LaRue, Vivian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0061432156 ISBN 13: 9780061432156

Publisher: HarperFestival, 2008

Synopsis

Something is awry in the land of Neopia!

The Creeping Danger, the first book in the Ghoul Catchers trilogy, chronicles the journey of two young heroes who set out to save their village.

With the help of their new friend, a ghost named Kyrok, will they be able to restore life to the drained and barren lands of Neopia?

About this title

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Neopets: Ghoul Catchers: The Creeping Danger

By Vivian LaRue

HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Copyright © 2008 Vivian LaRue
All right reserved.
ISBN: 9780061432156

Chapter One

"Come on, Sarn. Jump!" shouted a young Wocky to her best friend.

"I don't know, Liva," the nervous Kacheek replied from the cliff that hung above the Old Swimming Hole, his blue and white tail twitching.

"You promised!" Liva called up from the water below. She floated just above the surface, her pointy ears raised and alert, her soft brown eyes looking up at her friend.

Sarn looked down at the beautiful crystal-clear pool formed by the high rock wall of the quarry. He and Liva had been swimming at the quarry pool many times.

Being a Wocky, Liva lived for adventure. She never hesitated to jump into the deep, sparkling water from the outcropping, which everyone in their village called the "jumping-off point."

"I know I promised, Liva," Sarn said, taking a step back. "But that was yesterday."

"Promises don't come with expiration dates, silly," Liva replied patiently. She knew he would do it eventually. He just needed a little encouragement. "Just step off and join me in the water. It's really nice in here. And I think I saw a Rainbow Primella fish swim by. You know they're your favorite!"

Reluctantly, Sarn took off his glasses and placed them on the ground.

"Okay, here I go!" he shouted.

Splash!

Sarn plunged into the cool water. Even before he had surfaced, a huge smile spread across his face. Breaking the surface, Sarn shook his head, flinging water from his thick fur and spraying it in all directions.

"Told you!" Liva said when Sarn swam up next to her. "Nothing to it!"

"Yeah," Sarn agreed, looking up at the shimmering silver leaves quaking in the towering trees that surrounded the pool. "Nothing to it."

Sarn felt something brush up against his leg. "What was that?" he cried, pulling his legs up and wrapping his tail around them, scrunching his small body into a tight ball. "Was it an Arkmite?!"

"No, silly, I told you," Liva replied, rolling her eyes. "It's a Rainbow Primella fish. You like them. Remember?"

"Cool!" exclaimed Sarn. Then the Rainbow Primella darted away, vanishing from view.

"Come on, I have to get back to the glen. Grandfather is expecting me," Liva said as she stepped from the pool. She shook the water from her matted orange fur, then stood up tall.

Sarn retrieved his glasses, and he and Liva made their way up out of the quarry and into a lush meadow. Soft grass swayed in the breeze and a rainbow of flowers seemed to spread out forever. As they crossed the meadow, Sarn and Liva gathered flowers of all sizes and colors.

"You know how Grandfather likes his fresh flowers," Liva said, plucking a long yellow iris from its stem.

"It's just not a day without fresh flowers, young ones!" Sarn said in a deep, gruff voice.

"Don't let him hear you do that!" Liva warned. "I'd never hear the end of it."

"You'd never hear the end of it!" Sarn exclaimed. "What about me? I'm not sure he even likes me."

"Oh, he likes you," Liva said, snatching up a huge sunflower to complete her bouquet. "He just likes to give you a hard time because you're a little shy."

"He doesn't think I'm a little shy," Sarn said, as they reached the point where the meadow ended and the Haunted Woods began. "He thinks I'm not brave enough." Sarn caught sight of the dark woods and stopped.

"You're a lot braver than when I first met you, Sarn," Liva said, smiling. "Remember? You wouldn't even cross the meadow because it ended here at the Haunted Woods."

"But you were always brave, Liva."

"Hey, I'm a Wocky! Brave is what we do!"

"I'm not afraid to come this close to the Haunted Woods now," Sarn said proudly.

"Then I bet you're not afraid to . . . climb that tree! Last one up has to comb Grandfather's beard!"

Liva dashed to the base of an enormous oak tree that stood like a sentry at the edge of the woods. Launching herself into the air, she leaped up to the first branch, grabbed it with her front paws, then pulled herself up onto the next branch.

"Oh, no! I'm not combing your grand-father's beard!" Sarn shouted. "He's always got jumbleberry pie crumbs in there. Yuck!" Before he had time to remember that he was terrified of heights—or to realize that he was about to climb a tree that was technically in the Haunted Woods—Sarn raced after Liva and jumped up into the old enormous tree.

Sarn was an excellent climber. He caught the first branch with his back legs then wrapped his tail around a higher branch and swung himself up, shooting right past Liva. In seconds he had reached the top of the towering tree.

"Yeah!" Sarn said boldly. "I climbed a tree in the . . . in the . . ." Then it dawned on him what he had actually just done. "In the Haunted Woods. . . ." His voice trailed away.

From his perch atop the great oak Sarn gazed out at the thick, dark expanse of the Haunted Woods, the scariest place in all of Neopia. Ancient trees filled the woods, their leaves rustling ominously with just the slightest breeze. On the mossy forest floor below, something skittered among the dead leaves and twisted fallen branches, and Sarn suddenly got very cold.

"Time to climb down!" he announced. "Wouldn't want to keep Grandfather waiting!" He scrambled down the tree even faster than he had climbed up. A few seconds later, Liva joined him on the ground.

"Come on, you brave Kacheek, you," Liva said. The two friends followed the nearby narrow trail as it veered away from the Haunted Woods and led right to the village of Berkshire Glen.

Soon they approached a weathered brown hut built from blocks of dried clay dug from the surrounding hills. The hut was covered by a thatched roof woven together from dried water reeds and rushes from the nearby Demonica River. The familiar column of smoke rose from the chimney and a large pile of firewood sat stacked neatly beside the front door.

Continues...

Excerpted from Neopets: Ghoul Catchers: The Creeping Dangerby Vivian LaRue Copyright © 2008 by Vivian LaRue. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperFestival
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0061432156
• ISBN 13: 9780061432156
• Binding: Paperback
• Illustrator: Neopets Art Team The
• Number of pages: 128