High Risk Page 3

  Feeling dizzy and numb, Zac knew he needed a helping hand.

  My Glookifruit energy chews! he thought vaguely, as he tried to grab them from his backpack. Too numb . . . so tired . . . must . . . stay . . . awake . . .

  But before Zac could find his energy chews, he fell to the snow, unconscious.

  CHAPTER

  EIGHT

  Zac dreamt he was being carried by a big white bear. It was all warm and fluffy.

  Some time later Zac woke up with a start. He looked around and saw he was inside an ice cave. He was lying next to a crackling campfire.

  Where am I? Zac wondered. And was that bear a dream? Who rescued me?

  He was alone, but an enormous stone bowl of soup sat steaming on the cave floor nearby. It smelt good!

  Zac drank the hot, salty soup gratefully. He didn’t want to know what was in it. Yak- hoof soup? he wondered, pulling a face.

  For dessert, Zac gobbled some high-energy Glookifruit chews.

  With his strength returning, Zac jumped up to explore the ice cave.

  He noticed some huge footprints in the snow leading out of the cave. They looked like human footprints, but each one was about 45 centimetres long!

  A yeti? The abominable snowman? Zac puzzled. He shook his head and laughed at himself. Nah, they’re not real!

  He took a moment to look at his grandpa’s watch and gasped. He only had three hours before Kah would be crowned as king!

  SPY CHRONOMETER

  TIME: 4:01 PM & 49 SECONDS

  MISSION TIME LEFT:

  2 HOURS,

  58 MINUTES

  AND 11 SECONDS

  Zac walked quickly to the edge of the cave towards the patch of sky, and then stopped suddenly. The cave opened out onto a vertical cliff! One more step and he would have fallen thousands of metres!

  He edged away from the cliff. Walking back into the cave, Zac found an icy tunnel leading into the mountain.

  I guess this is the only way to go, thought Zac, as he set off down the tunnel. He was still thinking about those huge footprints.

  As he got further into the mountain, it became too dark to see. Zac reached into his backpack and opened his Solarite lantern. The tunnel’s walls glowed blue. Are these the Blue Caves? wondered Zac.

  Up ahead, Zac could see that the tunnel split into two. Should he go left, or right?

  Zac stepped into the left tunnel. The air was still, and smelled stale. He tried the right tunnel instead. Zac felt a tiny breeze, and the air was fresher.

  Zac decided to leave a trail of Glookifruit chews to mark his route – just in case he got lost and had to return along the tunnel. He headed off down the right tunnel, dropping a Glookifruit every few minutes.

  Hansel and Gretel style! smiled Zac to himself.

  Twenty minutes – and many Glookifruits – later, Zac saw a faint light ahead. He tip-toed towards it.

  The light was coming from a crack in the tunnel wall.

  Through the gap, Zac could see down into a huge ice cavern. A fat man surrounded by white ninjas was laughing at a dark-haired boy.

  Zac recognised the big guy – it was Kah! Zac peered at the boy. That must be the Prince! he thought.

  Zac wondered how he was going to rescue the Prince. There were loads of white ninjas standing guard.

  How would Zac get past them all?

  He heard a low growl behind him, and turned to see a white fox-like creature with sharp teeth standing there. It had a bushy, black-tipped tail, and was chewing one of Zac’s Glookifruits!

  An Snow Fox! thought Zac, as the information sprang into his mind. Thanks again, Sleep Learning!

  The white fox snarled at him, as if demanding more Glookifruits.

  ‘How far will you go for a Glookifruit?’ Zac whispered to the fox.

  He checked his pocket. He only had two left! Zac squeezed slowly through the crack, and onto a thin ledge above the cavern. The white fox watched keenly.

  Zac showed the fox the pink Glookifruit. Its pale eyes locked onto the lolly.

  Zac took a deep breath and threw the Glookifruit into the cavern, towards Kah. It sailed down and dropped right into Kah’s broad leather boot! Bull’s eye!

  The fox took off like a furry torpedo after the lolly. It attacked Kah’s boots, sharp teeth bared. Chaos erupted as Kah bellowed and kicked out at the fox! Ninjas rushed to help him.

  Fox attack – the perfect distraction!

  CHAPTER

  NINE

  While no-one was looking, Zac quickly slid down the icy wall into the cavern.

  He felt around in his backpack and pulled out what looked like a salt-shaker. Zac held it above his head and shook it. A fine black dust floated down, and Zac saw the light dim around him.

  A second later, two ninjas marched right past Zac.They couldn’t see him! There was just a patch of shadow where Zac stood.

  Shadow Dust really works! Zac thought, making a mental note to thank Leon next time he saw him.

  Zac’s shadowy shape moved slowly towards the Prince.

  Now that Zac was close, the Prince could just see him. The Prince winked. Cool guy, thought Zac. Now to rescue him . . .

  Kah was still struggling with the fox, which had its nose down the wrong boot. The guards finally pulled the fox away.

  Kah suddenly looked up and pointed at the Prince. He barked a command.

  Zac froze. Had he been seen? He moved back slowly.Two ninjas hurried towards him . . . and bent to lift the Prince.

  They still haven’t seen me!

  The ninjas dragged the Prince off down a tunnel. Kah stuck close to them, still looking nervous about fox attacks. Zac followed at a distance down the tunnel.

  Zac heard a noise up ahead and quickly flattened himself against the tunnel wall. Kah and his ninjas hurried back past without the Prince.

  Once they were out of sight, Zac ran down the tunnel to find the Prince.

  BOOOOM! BOOM CRASH!

  Loud booms echoed through the walls. Looking around, Zac saw that the ninjas were smashing down the timber supports at the tunnel’s entrance! Massive chunks of ice crashed to the ground. And suddenly Zac was in total darkness.

  They had deliberately collapsed the entrance! Zac and the Prince were trapped in the freezing dark. Zac dug out his Solarite lantern again, and opened it.

  ‘Who’s there?’ called the Prince.

  Zac hurried down the tunnel and found the Prince tied up on the floor.

  ‘Zac Power, your majesty,’ said Zac politely, cutting the Prince’s ropes with his Ice Claws. ‘GIB secret agent. I’m here to get you to the ceremony!’

  ‘Thank you, Zac Power!’ the Prince said, rubbing his wrists.

  Don’t thank me yet, Zac thought to himself, we still have to get out of here.

  ‘Kah has been planning this for years,’ the Prince explained. ‘He flies in and out of the Hidden Kingdom in an illegal helicopter. He promised the white ninjas riches and power if they help him.’

  Zac looked at his grandpa’s watch.

  SPY CHRONOMETER

  TIME: 6:00 PM & 2 SECONDS

  MISSION TIME LEFT:

  0 HOURS,

  59 MINUTES

  AND 58 SECONDS

  There was just one hour until the ceremony! Kah was going to become King!

  Zac noticed a white shape further down the tunnel. It’s that greedy fox!

  ‘Let’s follow the fox, your majesty,’ said Zac, helping the Prince to stand up.

  The two boys hurried after the fox. It darted along the icy maze, stopping to sniff the floor before choosing a direction.

  At last the fox led them into the sunlight, out on a high rocky ledge. They stood on a thin, snow-covered shelf, on the side of the mountain.

  The fox was staring hungrily at Zac’s pockets. Zac reached in and found his last Glookifruit. He threw it to the fox. The fox snapped up the lolly and darted back into the tunnel. Looking down from the cliff, Zac could see the Golden Palace, sparkling in the setting sun.
But they were still 2000 metres above it, and the crowning ceremony was starting in just ten minutes!

  Zac squatted down to look through his backpack. No more ParaGum left. Only one set of skis . . . Zac was out of ideas. How on earth was he going to get the Prince down the mountain in just a few minutes?

  FLAP . . . FLAP FLAP FLAP . . .

  And what is that annoying noise? Zac wondered, looking around.

  CHAPTER

  TEN

  Zac jumped up and edged carefully along the narrow ledge, trying not to look down. High up on the rock face, Zac saw a rope flapping in the wind.

  Zac laughed in surprise. It was Ringo’s hot-air balloon! He freed the rope and tied a knot at its end.

  ‘Your majesty, this is our only chance,’ called Zac to the Prince. ‘Hold the rope between your knees, and keep your feet on the knot.’

  The Prince swallowed nervously before grabbing the rope. Zac grabbed the rope as well, and together they jumped off the cliff.The balloon began to sink steadily. The wind blew them away from the mountain.

  Zac watched as they got closer and closer to the palace. There was only four minutes to the ceremony. Will we make it?

  Zac and the Prince were just 200 metres above the Golden Palace when suddenly ice-discs started whizzing past.

  WHIZZ-SNAP!

  The white ninjas must have spotted them!

  A disc ripped a hole in the balloon, sending it rushing towards the ground.

  Zac tried to think through the options. The balloon still has some air in it. If its load was lighter, it might get the Prince down safely.

  ‘Hold on, your highness!’ yelled Zac, as he let go. He plummeted down towards the Golden Palace. Then, as Zac hit the curved roof, he clicked his Tele-Skis out, and skied down the steep tiles. The curved edges flipped him up into the night air, sending Zac flying towards the branches of a tree overlooking the palace courtyard.

  Zac could see Kah in the courtyard below, dressed in white robes and surrounded by ninjas. The royal crown rested on a pillow. The ceremony was about to start!

  Zac had to make a distraction. Quickly he called out, wanting to stop to the crowning until the Prince got there. ‘ECNIRP SI EREH!’ he yelled, in Hidden Kingdomese, meaning, The Prince is here.

  The crowd rushed forward, cheering, as the Prince’s deflating balloon landed safely in the palace courtyard. The Prince stood proudly, and pointed at the stunned Kah. ‘Arrest this kidnapper!’

  The royal guards moved quickly to seize Kah and his ninjas.

  Courtiers surrounded the Prince, so Zac couldn’t see him for a moment. When they moved away, Zac saw the Prince was wearing the royal robes. He looked up at Zac and winked.

  The crowd roared as the Prince entered the palace to be crowned.

  Zac climbed down from the tree as Kah and his ninjas were led away in chains.

  Zac told the royal guards about Agent Ringo. The guards then questioned the scowling Kah, who told them where Ringo was being held. Zac knew his fellow agent would be OK.

  Then the royal guards led Zac in to meet the new King.

  ‘Thank you, Zac Power. I owe you my life,’ said the newly crowned King. ‘You shall receive whatever reward you wish!’

  Zac’s mind raced. My own personal white ninja? A luxury hot-air balloon with butler?

  But Zac knew GIB spies couldn’t accept gifts. And he also knew his dad was waiting for him to get home so they could go and have dinner at his granny’s.

  ‘I only want to go home, your highness,’ Zac said, bowing politely.

  The King smiled and led Zac into his private rooms. The King pulled back a rug, revealing a hidden trap door.

  ‘The royal escape chute!’ said the King. ‘It’s normally for royal bottoms only,' he grinned.

  The King handed Zac some really ugly leather shorts. What do I need these for? Zac wondered as pulled them on over his climbing suit.

  ‘The escape chute ends at the Hidden Kingdom’s border. I think you will find that it is, as you would say . . . sick fun!’ smiled the King.

  They shook hands, and Zac jumped into the chute. It took a few seconds to speed up, but soon Zac was hurtling around corners and cork-screwing past rock fossils.

  So this is what the special pants are for! Zac thought, as smoke started pouring off the leather shorts. It was better than any theme-park ride, and it went for ages!

  Finally, Zac shot out of the tunnel into the sunshine. He landed with a splash in an icy river, putting out his smoking pants.

  Mission complete! And he had done it without any high-tech gadgets!

  But now that he was out of the Hidden Kingdom, it was tech time!

  Zac chuckled as he pulled his SpyPad out from his backpack. He sent off a message to GIB headquarters.

  CLASSIFIED

  Requesting immediate pick-up. Mission successful. Suffering extreme technology withdrawal and hat-hair (please send large tube of super-strength hair gel).

  -AGENT ROCK STAR

  Then Zac got out his iPod and settled back to one of Axe Grinder’s loudest hits.

  Hmmm, I wonder what granny is making for dinner . . .

  THE END

  Your mission: read all the books in the Zac Power series . . .