The beam trapped inside the boy’s diamond-tipped staff flashed excitedly. The staff began to shake in the boy’s hand. He brought it to his face and looked closely at the beam. It seemed to speak to him. He instinctively raised the staff to the sky. The moonbeams around him then focused on the diamond. In fevered bursts of light, they appeared to celebrate the finding of their lost comrade. Messages were apparently being sent and received, then the staff pulled the boy toward the passing clouds. As a brilliant glow filled the air, the boy stepped right off the edge of the mountain peak. But he did not fall! As his foot reached the open air, it landed upon one of the clouds that was soaring by.

The spectral boy took one step, then another. He looked down around himself. He was standing on a cloud! The next instant, he was running, bounding from cloud to cloud, faster than seemed possible. He was smiling, as no boy, spectral or otherwise, has ever smiled before.

Nicholas Saint North and the Battle of the Nightmare King Chapter 7

As he grew, the young tsar came to look upon the children of Earth as his friends, and he began to send them dreams, using machines that had been developed during the height of the Golden Age and were still aboard the Moon Clipper. And the Earth began to flourish as never before.

Nicholas Saint North and the Battle of the Nightmare King Chapter 5

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Even Ombric was rendered momentarily speechless. But the wizard now understood what they were all about to face.

“I suggest, given current events, that the safest place for the children to sleep this night is Big Root,” he said finally. “An ancient evil has awakened—and I must tell you more. Come.”

And before anyone could agree or not, the wizard threw open his cloak and transported them all to the tree

After several hours at a hard gallop, they came to a river that was too swift to cross. Before the bandits could even slow down, they saw a streaking figure— Was it a boy? Made of light? There followed a dazzling flash that illuminated the water in a strange, otherworldly way. North peered at the river, his instincts kicking in. He was a betting lad, after all, and he sensed that these moonbeams were coaxing him to trust in the impossible. With a nudge, he urged Petrov forward, and they strode right onto the river. They did not sink but rode atop the water! North’s men dashed after them. It was like that again and again. Lakes, streams, fjords—any body of water that blocked their path would light up and magically support them.

And then, as they climbed high into the mountains, something even more astounding occurred. At the edge of a steep escarpment, the mountain sheared off into nothingness. North pulled on Petrov’s reins; the horse reared back just in time to avoid a plummeting drop. North surveyed the edge—below them was nothing but clouds. If they pressed ahead, they’d fall. There was no telling how far, but it was certain death. Then there it was again—that glowing boy, the burst of light coursing through the clouds! And yet again North laughed out loud. He cracked Petrov’s reins and they raced forward. Before his men could shout for him to stop, he’d hurtled off the edge. North and Petrov fell a few feet, then landed on a cloud. They rode on, North now laughing with a reckless joy.

Stunned, his men soared after him, and they, too, began to laugh at the wild, fantastic folly of what they knew was impossible, and yet there it was happening. On and on they rode through these new cloud mountains and valleys, across the white glistening landscape of the air.

The terror gone, the children scrambled out of the remains of Big Root. They looked about wildly, and there, running toward them, flooding around them, enveloping them in their arms, were their parents.

“You’re safe, you’re safe!” one mother called out, tears falling onto the head of the small boy she clutched.

“I’m so sorry,” cried a father. “He trapped us in our sleep!”

FOR SUCH AN OTHERWORLDLY fellow, Ombric was a very thoughtful host. Not only had he brought everyone in the village to his tree, but with a quiet command, he asked Big Root to form sleeping quarters for all the children, and the tree complied, as it always did, with his wishes. Bunk beds materialized from its hollow center, fanning out like the spokes of a giant wheel. Each row was stacked five beds high. And twisting down the center was a spiral staircase.

Cookies, chocolates, and warm cocoa hovered in the air by each bed. The fear ebbed from the children as they reached for the sweets. The adults were more wary. They knew these treats were meant to comfort. So they were braced. . . .What was Ombric going to tell them?

Nicholas Saint North and the Battle of the Nightmare King Chapter 5

It only takes a single weak moment to let evil in . . . or out. And one day Pitch opened the door. Just to let in some air.

That was all it took.

The evil shadows rushed out and engulfed Pitch. They poured into him, possessing him utterly until they darkened his soul forever. From that moment on, he was a madman —his strength and abilities increased tenfold, and his heart, once noble, was now cold and cruel. His mind was twisted with the shadows’ thoughts of vengeance. He would destroy the House of Lunanoff. He would end the Golden Age he had once loved and defended.

The bandit chief awoke, but his laughter did not stop. It only grew louder. Still laughing, he leaped to his feet, grabbed two pistols from his sashed belt, and fired them into the air. Then, with a single jump, he landed in Petrov’s saddle, grabbed the reins, and rode off into the darkness without saying a word.

Nicholas Saint North and the Battle of the Nightmare King Chapter 6

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