Read Pete McGee and the Master of Darkness for Free Online

children, the female one. Syra’s ears perked up. No, surely not. He suddenly had a thought, one he should have had much earlier. He waved his hands over the crystal ball and muttered a few magic words. The image in the crystal ball faded and swirled, to be replaced by an image of Pete McGee facing Dazene at the Great Oak. Syra Tanooth watched in amazement as the boy defeated the beast and retrieved the flower. Seriously? A boy? Where were the muscles on the muscles? Where was the mighty sword no man could lift? This was a little one-armed boy. He would be no challenge at all.
    Syra sighed. Still, maybe the boy would be a good starting point. He would be good practise for when they took on a real warrior, a real hero. They could get rid of this boy and his friends while working on their evil teamwork and evil techniques and evil sayings, and then they could move onto the real stuff.
    Yes, that’s what they would do.
    He flicked a finger at the crystal ball and the present day Pete came back into view. Syra watched him for a while and then flicked another finger. It was time for an introduction.

Chapter Seven
    A meet and greet
    P ete laughed at Molloy, who was running alongside his horse, pretending he was exhausted and that the horse wouldn’t let him on. Tahnee watched Pete laughing and smiled. Smithers rolled his eyes.
    â€˜Don’t you ever act serious?’ he asked Molloy.
    Molloy was about to answer when a voice, speaking in a strange accent, stopped them all in their tracks.
    â€˜Pete McGee,’ said the voice. ‘How do you do?’
    Pete looked at the others, who obviously had no idea what was going on. Pete shrugged.
    â€˜Pretty good, thanks,’ he replied. ‘Yourself?’
    â€˜Well, actually I am good, thanks for asking …
    I mean, how dare you speak to me, the Master of Darkness ?! I do the talking and you do the non-talking.’
    â€˜Also known as listening,’ cut in a rather posh English voice.
    â€˜I know it’s listening,’ said the first voice. ‘I was being dramatic.’
    â€˜And a tad over-wordy.’
    â€˜Perhaps, but that’s what we do when we are evil. We talk too much and by the time we’re finished it’s always too late.’
    â€˜Like now? When those jolly old children have already moved on?’
    â€˜Yes, like now when those—WHAT?’
    Syra looked in the crystal ball, which now showed an empty field. He groaned and re-tuned the vision so it focused on the group again. They would only be able to hear him if they were visible in the ball.
    â€˜Hello? I am back now.’
    â€˜This is really weird,’ Pete said to the others. ‘But let’s hear him out. Could be fun.’
    â€˜It could be fun,’ cut in the voice. ‘Or it could be no fun at all! A complete lack of fun. Funless. No fun for you, little boy with the one arm.’
    Pete was stung by the one-arm and the little-boy name-calling, but he had been hearing it for so long he moved on pretty quickly.
    â€˜Yeah, yeah, heard it all before, voice in the sky,’ he said. ‘Who are you anyway?’
    â€˜Pete,’ said the voice, deeper than it had been before. ‘I am your father.’
    â€˜Really? My dad? That’s … hang on a minute!  No you’re not. My father never had a weird accent. Who are you really?’
    The voice hesitated for a second, then spoke in a whisper.
    â€˜I’m Batman.’
    â€˜Who?’
    The voice tried again.
    â€˜I am your worst nightmare.’
    This caught Pete out a bit. How did the voice know about his dreams?
    â€˜Really? The one where I turn up at knight training in a pink tutu and have a pink ribbon in my hair and do a hula dance?’
    Smithers and Molloy laughed, and Pete realised he had said too much. It didn’t matter to the voice.
    â€˜What? No, that is just weird. Hula dance? What is that anyway?’
    â€˜Never mind,’