A Perilous Quest, An Archer Adventure, Book 2, Second Edition

By Katharine Giles

An empty white stone city, called Balycon, on the sea floor calls Archer to explore. He wants to live in the beautiful city but permission is denied because a crystal ball releases a deadly aura that traps its victims in a happy place and makes them oblivious to the dangers around them. After Archer is told he can live in the city if he makes it safe, he immediately plans to find a way. How difficult can it be to move a crystal ball away from the city? Certain he can eliminate a danger that’s existed for centuries, Archer rapidly discovers he needs all the help he can get to survive the obstacles that lie ahead.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Katharine Giles
• Release date: Jun 2, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370053148

Katharine Giles

Her many adventures gave Katharine an advantage when she wrote The Archer Adventure Series. Born in Wyoming, her family moved to the West Coast so early in her life that she barely remembered days on the dude ranch where her grandfather worked as foreman and her cowboy father sang Western songs to the dudes around evening campfires.Katharine's parents loved to travel America's highways and always explored side roads when an interesting sign coaxed them off the Interstate. This is how she discovered getting lost could be an adventure. She learned to fly and toured the Western states with her pilot husband to attend small airport Fly-Ins that hosted everything from Barbecues to Pancake Breakfasts.She's been salmon fishing over the Columbia River Bar in Oregon, deep sea fishing at San Pedro, California, and Mazatlan, Mexico. She's traveled East to West across Mexico on the famous Copper Canyon train, visited the dolphins in Topolobampo Bay and toured Santa Catalina Island (the Channel Islands West of Los Angeles) by boat, seaplane and twin-engine plane that landed at the airport in the sky.She later took scuba lessons and became a PADI Certified Diver. A passion for cooking prompted her to write three cookbooks and compete in a Pace Picante Sauce cooking contest where she won $1,000 First Place prize with a creative soup recipe. After obtaining a Diamond Certificate from The Gemological Institute of America and completing their Colored Stone Course, she became a silver smith so she could design and create custom jewelry for family and friends. Along the way, Katharine added roller skating, bowling, sailing, ballroom dancing, and competition shooting to her list of interests.A few memorable adventures as a solo long-haul driver across America include picking up a load of Christmas trees on a mountain top, dropping a load of tires in a cow pasture where the cattle surrounded her truck before she made it through the gate because they were expecting a hay delivery, and frantically searching for a police escort when she got her big truck lost in the middle of New York City. Getting lost in the big city turned out to be more traumatic than the time she drove her 18-wheeler, with its 53-foot trailer, to the end of a dead-end road.Katharine's many travels by air, land and sea took her down America's Interstates from Victoria, B.C., to Key West, Florida, and from Montreal, Canada, to Tijuana, Mexico, and she's visited every state except Alaska. While she continues her passion for writing, she enjoys painting acrylics on canvas and daily walks with her dog, Jasper.

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A Perilous Quest

An Archer Adventure

Book II

Second Edition

Katharine Giles

Book II, A Perilous Quest, An Archer Adventure, Second Edition

Copyright © 2017, 2020 Katharine Giles

All rights reserved.

Distributed by Smashwords

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Cover Design & Image: Copyright © 2020 Derek Murphy

Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Glossary & Phonic Pronunciation Guide

Chapter One: Dragon Attack

Chapter Two: Deadly Aura

Chapter Three: A Second Crystal Ball

Chapter Four: The Crystal's Promise

Chapter Five: A Third Crystal Ball

Chapter Six: Ancient Secrets

Chapter Seven: A Fourth Crystal Ball

Chapter Eight: Chion, The Tyrant King

Chapter Nine: Tsunami!

Chapter Ten: A Space Ship?

Chapter Eleven: Chaos!

Preview of Book III: The Princess of Skye,

An Archer Adventure, Second Edition

Other Books By This Author

About The Author

Glossary & Phonic Pronunciation Guide

Arctran (Ark-tran): New Settlement Leader

Archer (Are-cher): Fourteen-Year Old Runaway

Arcos (Ark-kohs): Ichonaut, Animal Communications

Baccio (Botch-ee-oh): Crystal Master of Lemandia

Balycon (B-owl-ee-con): White Stone City Beneath The Sea

Banto (Ban-toh): Ichonaut, Force Field Expert

Boja (Bow-juh): Red Feather Snake

Carpin (Car-pin): Half Fish, Half Horse Steed

Chion (Ch-eye-on): Ruler of Palori

Darcion (Dar-see-own): Crystal Master of Palori

Ichonaut (Eye-koh-not): Follower of King Ichos

Ichtar (Ick-tar): Chion’s Big, Fat Fish

Koros (Core-ohs): Ruler of Large Fish

Lemandia (Lem-and-ee-uh): City Above The Sea

Lita (Lee-tuh): Chion’s Mother

Manio (Man-ee-oh): Force Field Sculptor

Manto (Man-toh): White Carpin Steed

Mintar (Min-tar): Ichonaut, Guide

Myra (My-ruh): Mermaid

Orcan (Or-can): Ichonaut, Captain of Balycon’s Sea Guard

Pacion (Pass-ee-own): Keeper of Balycon's Crystal Ball

Palori (Puh-lor-ee): Kingdom in the Frozen Sea

Zondo (Zahn-doh): Black Moray Eel

Chapter One

Dragon Attack

Archer opened his eyes to a squint, decided he didn’t want to get up, closed them and rolled on his side. He snuggled in the kelp and tried to go back to sleep. A fish nibbled his nose and he swatted at it.

Leave me alone!

Something hard pressed against his cheek. His eyes flew open and he nearly panicked at the sight of two black button eyes a few inches from his face. The snake's red scales quickly identified the owner of those eyes and Archer let out his breath.

Boja! You scared me to death!

Boja wiggled his long body across Archer's kelp blanket and placed his head on Archer’s cheek. Archer shook his head and gave him a pat on the nose.

You’re heavy when you plop on top of me like that. Are you hungry? What time is it anyway?

Archer raised his arm, looked at his watch and pressed the button beside the dial. Before the window lit up, Boja moved his head to Archer's shoulder.

Okay. Okay. I’m getting up. Just give me a minute. I want to see what day it is.

Archer pressed the button again.

It’s April 19. I’ve been here six days and it seems like forever.

Archer removed the watch from his wrist and turned it over. Tears welled up in his eyes when he read, Happy Birthday, Archer, on your 14th birthday, Love Mom and Dad.

Boja nudged Archer's arm and an image of a pearl fish appeared in Archer's mind's eye.

Okay. Okay. I know you’re hungry. I’m hungry too. Let’s get something to eat and find something exciting to do. Maybe we can go exploring.

Archer cocked his head and asked, How did you get here anyway? Zondo isn’t supposed to let anyone in the grotto. That big black eel looks mean but he's not much of a guardian.

Archer pushed the kelp aside and headed for the surface with Boja beside him. After he harvested several pearl fish, Boja shoved his nose against Archer's arm and almost made Archer drop them. Startled at the snake's impatience, Archer shoved a pearl fish in Boja’s face. Boja grabbed it and Archer headed for the surface with Boja swimming at his side.

You’re funny, Archer said when his head popped out of the water. Sometimes you act like a puppy.

With his hands full of pearl fish and Boja beside him, Archer kick stroked his way to the flat rock in the middle of the pool.

This isn't enough for both of us, he told the snake. I’ll put these on the rock and get more.

Archer raised himself out of the water and gave the pearl fish a toss. Before they clattered to a stop, Boja poked his pearl fish at Archer. He took it and put it with the others. Archer headed back to the rocks to harvest more pearl fish, missed Boja and glanced back. Instead of following him, Boja had slid onto the rock and coiled around the shells.

Are you afraid someone will take your food? Archer asked, with a shake of his head. Well you stay and guard breakfast. I'll be right back.

Archer made two more trips before he had enough for the two of them and joined Boja on the rock.

This should be enough. They’d sure taste good wrapped in pona leaves but you don’t like pona leaves and I can eat pearl fish without them.

Archer almost changed his mind when he remembered the sugary sweetness that flowed over his tongue the first time he ate a pona leaf. Orcan and Myra taught him to wrap the pearl fish in the honey-sweet leaves to help him forget he was eating raw food and make them taste better. After he got used to the raw food, he discovered pearl fish had a sweetness all their own and he liked them right out of the shell.

He grabbed a pearl fish, pulled his knife from the scabbard on his forearm and cut through the hinge muscle. Before he could open it, Boja nudged the shell with his nose.

Not yet, Boja, Archer said and jerked it away. Just wait a minute. I have to remove the pearl and take the meat out of the shell so you don't choke on something.

Archer popped the shell open, removed the pearl and tossed it in the pool where it joined hundreds of others on the grotto floor. Boja nudged the shell with his nose. Archer shook his head at Boja's persistence, pulled the meat from the shell, cut it in half and held a piece in front of the snake.

This is yours.

Boja took it from his fingers and gulped it down. Archer raised the other half toward his mouth and Boja raised up to grab it.

This is mine, Archer told him. You have to wait.

Boja backed off and Archer shook his head in wonder. He'd never seen the red feather snake out of the water before and the patterns in Boja's scales sparkled like rubies in the morning sun. The frilly dorsal fin that ran the length of his back shone like red silk every time he moved.

Boy are you red! Archer exclaimed. I've never seen a red snake before and you have the weirdest eyes! Those little black buttons make you look like a stuffed toy.

Archer shook his head when he remembered his first day in Balycon. Boja had followed him everywhere like a stray kitten. The snake's unwanted attention frightened him so that he'd asked Orcan why Boja wouldn't leave him alone. Orcan told him it was because his blonde hair reminded Boja of Atra, the council member who'd trained him.

Archer patted Boja on the head and told him, You're a nuisance but I like you. I like the fact that you like to visit me in the Pearl Grotto and keep me company. I can't decide whether to stay in Balycon or go home because of the friends I've made here and that includes you and Manto.

Archer stroked Boja's head and fought back a tear.

It hurts to think about everyone I left in California, Archer told him. I miss Nick and Nate and wish I'd told them goodbye before I ran away. Aunt Lily and Uncle Jim are super nice but I don’t want to move away from the ocean and live on the Mojave Desert. I don't even know where that is.

Memories of his friendship with the Johnson twins made him miss the games they played on the beach after school. With their blonde hair and slim builds, they easily passed for triplets from a distance. They loved adventuring and pretended to be The Three Musketeers one day and pirates searching for buried treasure the next.

Boja poked Archer's arm with his nose.

You're smart for a snake and you act like you understand everything I say. A few of the kids at school had snakes for pets. I didn't want one because they scared Mom half to death and they scared me too.

Archer opened the remaining shells, shared the meat with Boja and tossed the pearls in the water. The shimmering carpet of pearls on the grotto floor reminded him of the buildings in the white stone city on the other side of the tableland. The more he thought about the empty city, the more he wanted to move out of the Pearl Grotto and live there.

Why can’t I forget that place? I’ve been there once and can’t wait to go back. If Nick and Nate were here, we could explore the buildings and look for treasure. It's been a long time since I've been on a treasure hunt. Maybe that's what I'll do today.

Archer absentmindedly gave Boja a pat, looked at him and said, The Pearl Grotto’s okay but I’d rather live in a house. Pacion told me no one lives in the white stone city because of a dangerous crystal ball. How can a crystal ball be dangerous?

Archer closed his eyes. An image of the white stone city moved forward in the blackness beneath his lids. Tiled pathways formed its streets and life-size statues in long robes lined the walks. The empty city sprawled across the sea floor like a mirage, void of life except for fish that scavenged for food.

Archer opened his eyes and told Boja, The council told me I can live in the white stone city if I can make it safe. I want all of Balycon's air breathers to live there too. They should live in their ancestral home instead of caves beneath coral gardens like the mermaids and Ichonauts.

Should he go home or try to remove the danger in the white stone city? Maybe he should stay long enough to find out what he had to do to make the city safe. If all he had to do was get rid of a crystal ball, maybe he could take it out of the city and lose it somewhere. That would take care of the problem.

Boja cocked his head like he'd heard Archer's thoughts. Archer looked at Boja and shook his head when he realized he’d spent his morning talking to a snake.

I've never met a trained snake before, he said. That makes you special. Now that I think about it, training a snake must be easier than training a dragon like the one Koros swims around with.

Boja nudged his arm when Archer reached up to touch the collar Myra had placed around his neck after a killer wave took him and his boat to the sea floor and she pulled him out of a coral garden.

I love this collar. It lets me talk to you with images and I know you're hungry when you send me images of pearl fish. You must be full because you quit sending me pictures.

Boja cocked his head and Archer patted him on the nose.

The Ichonauts taught me how the collar lets me create things by picturing them in my mind. If I went home I couldn't do that anymore. That's one of the reasons \I don't want to leave. How can I give up a skill that lets me do that? Which reminds me, why am I sitting here with you eating pearl fish when I can conjure up hamburgers and French fries and milkshakes and anything else I might want to eat?

Archer looked at the jagged rocks that surrounded the salt-water pool and wondered how many air breathers had lived here through the years and harvested their meals from the rocks? Now that he thought about it, he'd rather live in the Pearl Grotto than in a cave somewhere. There must have been a volcano near Lemandia that blew its top and dropped its cone into the sea. Am I living in a landmark in a kingdom that has no land?

Archer wiped his knife on his trunks and returned it to its scabbard. He tossed the empty shells in the water and rinsed off the rock. Before he got to his feet, he leaned over, looked into the pool and found several crabs fighting over the remains of a dead fish. But when he looked at the water's surface and the image of a young man with tousled blonde hair and violet eyes stared back at him, he blinked in surprise. The white fabric of his two-piece swim costume shone beneath the sun and created a vivid contrast against his bronzed skin and toned body.

Archer leaned back, flexed his muscles and told Boja, "I don't look like a kid any more. I look old, like I'm at least 20 and when did I get muscles? This is ridiculous! No one can change this much in six days and 14-year old kids don't have muscles! Maybe I'm turning into an immortal like the other air breathers that live here. Next time I see Pacion, I'll ask what's happening to me. Maybe I've waited too long to tell him what I want to do. Maybe it's too late to go home. I'm not going to worry about this now. I'm going to call Manto and go exploring before I see Pacion."

Archer rose to his feet, closed his eyes and filled the blackness beneath his lids with Manto's image. In the silent language of the sea, he called, Manto. Come to the Pearl Grotto.

Before Archer could launch himself into the pool, Boja uncoiled and slid into the water. Archer dove and followed the feather snake to the tunnel that led to the open sea. The last time he'd come this way Zondo had charged out of his den, pinned him against the rocks and shoved a mouthful of teeth in his face. How did Boja get past him when a he’s not supposed to let anyone in the grotto but Myra and the Ichonauts.

Nothing moved in the narrow space and Archer hurried after Boja. He reached the open sea, exited the tunnel, caught a flash of white over his left shoulder and watched Manto bound toward him. The carpin's white skin glistened in the sun and his mane flowed around his head while he raced through the sea. With the head of a horse, webbed front feet and tail of a dolphin, Manto looked like a creature