The Sword of Davalon Read online

  The Sword of

  Davalon

  By

  Tom Jolleys

  Illustrations by J.J.

  The Kids Press

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously.

  First published as a paperback book in 2008 by The Kids Press, PO Box 315, Hull, HU10 7WF

  First published as an ebook in 2012

  Copyright © Text 2008 Tom Jolleys

  Copyright © Cover design and illustrations 2008 J.J. (Jessica Jolleys)

  The right of Tom Jolleys to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patterns Act 1988

  ISBN – 978-0-9557605-2-5

  This ebook is dedicated with love to three very special girls:

  My mother, Irene,

  My wife, Rowena,

  And my daughter, Jessica.

  Contents

  1: Night Of The Tiger

  2: JODADI 81112, Master Of Time And Space

  3: Johnny In Danger!

  4: In Search Of Robin Hood

  5: The Campsite

  6: The Archery Contest

  7: Ambushed!

  8: Release Or Capture!

  9: The Portrait Of Lara

  10: The Secret Passage

  11: The Feast

  12: The Sorceress Zena

  13: The Magic Tyros Ring Of Green

  14: The Rescue Attempt!

  15: Future Battles!

  16: The Grass Is Always Greener

  17: Sad Farewells

  Chapter 1:

  Night Of The Tiger

  ‘Look out, look out,’ cried Johnny, ‘it’s going to jump!’

  ‘Run,’ shouted Diana to her younger brother, ‘make for that tree over there.’

  The children ran as fast as their young legs would carry them, but it was difficult running through the long, tufty grass that seemed to stick to their legs. Suddenly a branch sprang out at Johnny, ripping his T-shirt and brushing his forehead, but it didn’t stop him from running towards the tree, and hopefully to safety. Yet no matter how fast they ran, the sound of pounding footsteps behind them grew louder and louder, closer and ever closer, until they could feel the creature’s hot breath on their necks like a whisper in the warm breeze.

  ‘Aaagh,’ screamed Diana, as she fell heavily to the ground.

  ‘Quick, get up,’ shouted Johnny. ‘Come on, Diana. Can you still run?’

  ‘Oh leave me, Johnny. I think I’ve twisted my ankle. Just hurry up and save yourself.’

  ‘I’m not going without you. Here, grab hold of my hand.’

  But it was too late, much too late. As Johnny bent down to help his sister, he looked up and saw the huge figure of a tiger just waiting to pounce. It was a mass of colour: white, orange and black, with enormous, white teeth, which sparkled ferociously in the midday sun. As Johnny stared into the eyes of this savage beast, it crouched down low, arching its long back as if preparing to jump. Then the tiger sniffed the warm air and licked all around its gaping mouth, before leaping onto them both, blocking out the light of the sun like a total eclipse.

  ‘No, no,’ bawled Johnny. ‘No, no.’

  ‘Wake up, come on now Johnny, wake up,’ said his mother. ‘It’s only a nightmare. What have you been dreaming about this time?’

  Johnny sat up and peered through half-open eyes at the black figure in front of him, but as he rubbed the sleep from his tired eyes, he realised that it was his mother, and not that terrifying tiger. ‘Oh mum, it was a yucky nightmare. Me and Diana were being chased by this huge tiger.’

  ‘It was only a bad dream, so come on and get ready for school. You’ll feel better when you’ve washed and dressed. Anyway don’t you know what day it is?’

  ‘Yeah, it’s Friday.’

  ‘But it’s the last day of term. Your holidays start tomorrow.’

  ‘Oh YES,’ he grinned, ‘yippee!’

  ‘Come on, David, wake up, it’s time for school,’ said his mother.

  David was Johnny’s older brother, who was sharing Johnny’s bedroom while his own room was being decorated. Amazingly he was still asleep despite all the noise. ‘Oh, err, right, I’ll get up,’ he said as his mother left the room and closed the door.

  Johnny could hear his mother‘s distant voice. ‘No you can’t have another ten minutes, Diana, you’ll be late for school. CHILDREN!’ she shouted as she stormed down the stairs.

  Johnny leapt out of bed, dressed in his favourite Spiderman pyjamas, and ran into the bathroom. The children didn’t like getting up so early in the morning, but there was always a rush for the bathroom. While Johnny was brushing his teeth, there was a knock on the bathroom door.

  ‘Who’s in there?’ snapped Diana.

  ‘It’s, huh, only me,’ replied Johnny, his mouth full of toothpaste.

  ‘Well hurry up, you’re not the only one in this house.’

  ‘Keep your hair on, I’ll only be a minute.’

  Just then, David appeared on the landing.

  ‘I’m next,’ snarled Diana, before David had even opened his mouth. But just as he was about to say something, Johnny opened the bathroom door, dressed ready for school.

  ‘If you got up a little earlier, then there wouldn’t be this queue for the bathroom,’ he said, smiling smugly to himself.

  ‘Oh shut up,’ growled Diana, as she brushed past him.

  Within ten minutes the three children were sat round the breakfast bar in the kitchen. Johnny, who was only eight years of age, sat quietly, thinking about the tiger in his nightmare, while he chomped his way through a bowl of Frosties. He had gingery, almost red hair, brown eyes and a face full of freckles. David was talking to Diana about what they would be doing during the school holidays. He was named after his father, who was a biologist at some secret scientific installation. As David was now eleven years old, this was not just his last day of term, but it was his last day at St William’s Junior School. He had darker, indeed, longer hair, which spilled down over his shoulders. He loved watching and playing football, and listening to his favourite heavy rock music. Diana, aged twelve, had sparkling, blue eyes and long, curly, fair hair, which went right down her back. She was just finishing her last strawberry when her mother asked if anyone wanted any toast.

  ‘Two rounds for me please,’ said David.

  ‘Just one for me thanks,’ added Diana.

  Johnny was silent. ‘Don’t you want any toast, Johnny?’ inquired his mother.

  ‘No thanks – I don’t feel that hungry.’ He was just finishing his cereals, when right out of the blue he shouted, ‘Anyway it was your fault,’ pointing at Diana, who sat back in astonishment.

  ‘What’s my fault?’

  ‘Well if you hadn’t fallen over, we could have made it to that tree, and the tiger wouldn’t have caught us.’

  ‘What tiger and what tree?’ said Diana, rather nonplussed.

  Johnny was just about to continue his verbal assault on his sister, when his mother quickly intervened. ‘Now stop arguing, after all it was only a bad dream. Johnny dreamt that you were being chased by a tiger.’

  But just to have the last word, Diana added, ‘Anyway Johnny, don’t you know that tigers can climb trees?’

  ‘No they can’t,’ he snapped, while staring at her with wild, open eyes.

  ‘I think they can,’ said David. ‘And anyway, where was I when all this was happening?’

>   ‘Oh I don’t know.’

  ‘Well tell us what happened when the tiger attacked you,’ urged David.

  ‘Oh I woke up. When Diana fell over, I went back to help her.’

  ‘Aren’t you the gallant one,’ she said sarcastically. ‘I didn’t know you cared.’

  ‘You wouldn’t – Ratface!’ mumbled Johnny through his hands, which were cupping his face.

  ‘Don’t call me, Ratface, you little squirt.’

  ‘I told you both to stop arguing, and anyway Diana, you should be proud of your younger brother trying to save your life, even if it was only in a dream.’

  ‘Yes I suppose so. I’m sorry, Johnny.’

  ‘That’s all right,’ he replied, now calming down.

  ‘Oh look at the time – it’s nearly half-past eight. Hurry up, here’s your bag, Johnny.’

  ‘Thanks mum.’

  As the three children walked down the garden path, they said goodbye to their mother, who was standing at the front door. ‘Try not to be late home,’ she said, as Diana turned right in the direction of the grammar school.

  ‘See you later,’ she shouted as she ran over to one of her friends.

  The two boys were heading in the opposite direction towards St William‘s Junior School, which was only a five-minute walk from their house. As they walked past some hedgerows, a tabby cat suddenly leapt out and nearly landed on Johnny’s shoulder, but it fell onto the grass verge as he ducked to one side.

  ‘I suppose that was the tiger in your nightmare,’ chuckled David.

  But Johnny didn’t laugh and he didn’t say anything, in fact he was pretty upset about the whole thing.

  ‘Oh I didn’t mean it,’ said David, now trying to cheer up his younger brother. ‘Come on, give us a big smile.’

  But Johnny was no longer listening, he was again thinking of that bad dream and that menacing tiger, little aware that he would soon be involved in adventures that were not just nightmares, but would actually happen, in the past and even in the future!

  Chapter 2:

  JODADI 81112, Master Of Time And Space

  The day passed quickly for the two boys, as no real schoolwork was done on the last day of term. So apart from tidying their desks, they just watched films, played games and took part in various quizzes. However it wasn’t such an easy day for Diana. Lessons were as normal in the morning, lunch came and went, but then they were ushered into the hall, where they were treated to a musical: “The Legend of Robin Hood”, performed by a local group of drama students. As Diana sat down, she suddenly felt a sharp pain, similar to a headache, but as the curtains opened, this feeling went away and she felt fine again. This was a real treat for Diana, who wanted to be a pop singer or an actress, and she leant back in her chair and enjoyed every single moment until the curtains finally closed. After the applause had died down, Diana chatted with her friends for a few minutes before making her way home.

  Meanwhile, the two boys were just opening the garden gate.

  ‘Hey Johnny, seven weeks on holiday.’

  ‘Yep, no more stupid school and no more stupid homework – fantastico!’

  ‘Do you fancy a game on the computer?’

  ‘Only if you give me a chance,’ replied Johnny, as their mother opened the door. He followed her straight into the kitchen where she was preparing the evening meal. Valerie Dalton had trained as a nuclear physicist, and was an astronomer of some repute, but she had decided to put her career on hold, so that she could spend more time with her children.

  ‘Did you have a good day at school?’

  ‘Yea, it was really good,’ breezed Johnny, who went on to describe in great detail the film he had seen.

  David had gone straight into the living room where he switched on the computer. He was just about to start a game when Johnny walked in.

  ‘You could have told me you were ready. Can I go first?’

  ‘Go on then,’ nodded David, who knew that it wouldn’t be long before it was his turn. After only thirty seconds, and having scored just 600 points, the aliens found a way through his defences.

  ‘This is stupid,’ he moaned, ‘I’m sure I hit it first.’

  ‘Just watch me,’ said David, confidently. Within only five minutes he had scored over 12000 points and looked invincible, but just then Diana came in, she was loaded up with books. ‘Hello Johnny, hello David.’

  David turned round. ‘I see you’ve got lots of homework.’

  ‘Yes,’ she sighed, ‘I’m afraid so.’

  This interruption had disturbed his concentration, and Johnny jumped up, as David was defeated much earlier than usual.

  ‘My turn. Now I’ll show you aliens who’s the boss.’

  He took over the joystick as Diana went upstairs to change out of her school uniform. She quickly undressed and put on a pair of faded, blue jeans and a blue and yellow T-shirt. Diana was in a really good mood, mainly because she could just relax on her bed, read her weekly pop magazine and listen to her favourite music, without having to worry about homework.

  Meanwhile, Johnny was putting together a very high score, much to the surprise of both himself and the onlooking David. While Johnny was still battling against these Martians, the doorbell rang, and David sprang to his feet to answer it.

  ‘Do you fancy a game of football?’ said Darren, one of his schoolmates.

  ‘Yea, OK, I’ll just be a minute.’ He rushed upstairs to change into a pair of jeans, a football shirt and a pair of snazzy trainers. He was back downstairs in a flash. ‘Right then, I’ll see you later. Be careful with that computer.’

  ‘All right, see you.’

  ‘Don’t be late for tea,’ shouted his mother as he walked into the kitchen, ‘and I’ve just washed and ironed those jeans, and I thought those trainers were for your holidays.’

  ‘I’ll be careful and I won’t be late,’ he said, picking up a drink and joining Darren. They chatted about the recent football transfers as they walked down the street.

  In the lounge, Johnny was still playing on the computer, but without his previous success. ‘Stupid machine,’ he muttered out loud. He was just about to turn off the computer when out of the corner of his eye he noticed a flashing icon. It was called, ALF. Somewhere he had seen it before. ‘Now where was it? That’s it – it’s on mum’s desktop. I’ll just have a quick look.’ He clicked on the icon and the title flashed up on the screen: “Alien Life Forms”. Then the computer started to speak.

  ‘Tracking, tracking, tracking.’ Unbeknown to Johnny, a telescope at the bottom of the garden, surrounded by thick bushes, had slowly risen up above ground level and was tracking something in outer space. This laser powered plasma telescope was one of the most advanced telescopes in the whole wide world! The screen showed maps of constellations and planetary systems, but then it zoomed in on a small, yellow dot. ‘Locked on, locked on, locked on.’ Johnny instinctively clicked on the yellow dot. Suddenly a blazing, yellow light flashed up on the screen, and a red square appeared in the centre. Then a semi-circle formed on top of the square, followed by a couple of red features that gave the semi-circle the appearance of a face. Finally a diagonal line split the red square. Johnny couldn’t believe it – he thought he had devised a new computer graphic, but then a pair of small, red eyes opened on the semi-circular head, and at the same time a red horizontal mouth opened and spoke in a slow, deep voice.

  ‘I am JODADI 81112, Master of Time and Space. Where do you, Johnny Dalton, wish to go in time and space?’

  ‘JODADI 81112, Master of Time and Space, I would like to go to the moon,’ said Johnny, quickly, without really thinking.

  JODADI 81112 replied instantly. ‘I can take you to the moon, but the atmosphere is such that you would die within minutes of landing without oxygen. Therefore as you pass through the Time Zone Corridor, you will inhale a very special gas that
will enable you to breathe normally for one hour. As you pass through the corridor, you will see a small, grey box – it is a miniaturised computer control. Keep the controls with you at all times. When you only have one minute of oxygen left, it will emit a high-pitched frequency bleep, every second for one minute. Before the hour is up, press JODADI 81112, and I will take you wherever you wish. You will need no other special protection, as there is no life on the moon, well at least no life that can harm you, Johnny Dalton. Now look into the red square and concentrate on the moon.’

  Johnny had listened intently to Jodadi’s instructions, and by focusing on his journey to the moon, he felt himself drifting into the red square on the computer screen. Then he felt himself walking along a brilliantly-white, long, rectangular corridor. As he was walking, he noticed a small, grey box on the ultra-white floor. It was about the size of a mobile phone, and he bent down and picked it up. Then he was sprayed with a yellowish gas that had a sweet, sickly smell and taste, but he was expecting it so he wasn’t at all worried. As he carried on walking, his surroundings changed dramatically until he realised that he was actually walking on the surface of the moon!

  Chapter 3:

  Johnny In Danger!

  Johnny, only eight years of age, suddenly found himself alone on this vast and empty land. He felt really frightened at first, but then he remembered that Jodadi had said nothing could harm him, so this at least eased his mind. If Jodadi had said so, then there couldn’t be any moon monsters waiting to jump out at him. Having gathered his thoughts together, he started walking over to some hills that lay to his left. As he walked along he looked around at the grey landscape and then down at the ground. The terrain was fairly flat, mainly grey dust, small rocks and larger boulders. Then he noticed that he was walking rather strangely, in a slow-motion fashion, although he didn’t realise that this was because of the moon’s gravity.

  About ten metres in front of him lay a low ridge, roughly one metre in height, so he put the controls in his pocket and decided to run and jump over it. He ran a few paces and noticed that his strides were really long, and as he took off he fairly flew over the small ridge, landing some two metres past it. ‘Whizzo!’ he screamed. ‘That must have been close to the world record.’ So he shouted out, ‘Johnny Dalton, the greatest long-jumper in the world.’ And then more quietly, ‘Well at least on the moon.’ Then he bent down, picked up a stone, about the size of a large orange, and threw it towards the hills. Not only did the stone feel light, but it flew like a missile over the hills and out of sight. Johnny thought that Jodadi must have given him special powers, but these amazing feats were all due to gravity and the moon’s atmosphere.