Destroy Troy Read online

  First published 2009 in Pan by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Limited

  1 Market Street, Sydney

  Text copyright © Charlie Carter 2009

  Illustration copyright © Russell Jeffery 2009

  The moral rights of the creators have been asserted.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity [including Google, Amazon or similar organisations], in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

  National Library of Australia

  Cataloguing-in-Publication data:

  Carter, Charlie.

  Destroy Troy / Charlie Carter.

  9780330425193 [pbk.]

  Carter, Charlie Battle boy; 3.

  For children.

  Trojan horse [Greek mythology]-Juvenile fiction.

  Trojan War-Juvenile fiction.

  A823.4

  Designed by Russell Jeffery, Emigraph

  Printed in Australia by McPherson’s Printing Group

  Papers used by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd are natural, recyclable products made from wood grown in sustainable forests. The manufacturing processes conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin.

  These electronic editions published in 2009 by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd

  1 Market Street, Sydney 2000

  The moral rights of the creators have been asserted.

  All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any form (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical) or by any means (photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.

  Battle Boy 3: Destroy Troy

  Charlie Carter

  Adobe eReader format: 978-1-74198-669-3

  EPUB format: 978-1-74198-781-2

  Online format: 978-1-74198-613-6

  Macmillan Digital Australia

  www.macmillandigital.com.au

  Visit www.panmacmillan.com.au to read more about all our books and to buy both print and ebooks online. You will also find features, author interviews and news of any author events.

  CHARLIE CARTER

  CONTENTS

  COVER

  AGENT PROFILE

  COPYRIGHT

  TITLE PAGE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  Napoleon was already outside the Special Reading Room when the professor sent through a follow-up message on his Battle Watch.

  Fantastic! he thought.

  A pre-op briefing usually meant the professor had some amazing new gadget to add to Skin, his body armour.

  He pressed his hand against the palm pad and the steel door hummed open.

  ‘Welcome, Battle Boy 005,’ the door said.

  Napoleon stepped into the room and the door shut behind him.

  As usual, Professor Perdu was waiting at the control panel. Her spiky blonde hair and white lab coat glowed in the strange blue light of the main chamber.

  ‘Let me guess,’ said Napoleon. ‘Is it a chocolate-coated spray gun that makes the baddies want to eat each other? Or maybe a turbo-charged smell sock that knocks them out?’

  ‘Hmmm,’ said the professor. ‘Not bad. I shall consider both ideas for future inventions.’

  She pressed a button, and a cubicle opened in the wall.

  Napoleon entered the change room, undressed, and pulled on SimulSkin.

  The body suit looked exactly like his own skin, but it was much much more.

  As he stretched Skin over his head, he heard a familiar buzz as hundreds of nano-computers switched themselves on, triggered by his body heat.

  ‘Good morning, BB005,’ said Skin. ‘Operation Mode active.’

  ‘Hi, Skin,’ Napoleon replied. ‘What’s up?’

  He rubbed his hands together and opened his palms.

  ‘You are going to the last big battle just before Troy is destroyed,’ Skin explained. ‘It is the night before the Greeks leave the Trojan Horse outside the city gates.’

  A panel slid open in the wall to reveal a pair of leather sandals, a loose-fitting top and a brown tunic.

  ‘I’m not wearing that!’ Napoleon moaned. ‘It’s a dress.’

  ‘That’s what young men and boys wore in ancient Troy,’ the professor said over the intercom.

  Just as well Monty and Caesar can’t see me, thought Napoleon. His brothers already reckoned he was just a big joke.

  He pulled on the outfit. ‘Who am I?’

  ‘Your name is Pelarcus,’ the professor said. ‘You are in Troy to collect the shield of your dead father. Your main task is to get proof that the Trojan Horse actually existed, and collect King Priam’s DNA. But also record everything you can.’

  The cubicle door slid open and Napoleon stepped out. Professor Perdu gave him a quick once over. ‘Language check,’ she said. ‘Say a few words.’

  ‘Look out, Troy!’ Napoleon yelled. But that wasn’t what came out. Skin immediately translated his words into ancient Trojan.

  ‘Good,’ the professor said nodding. ‘And now for your new gadget.’ She held up a skin-coloured glove.

  ‘That’s it?’ said Napoleon, unable to hide his disappointment. ‘But isn’t that the Helping Hand?’

  ‘Precisely,’ said Professor Perdu.

  ‘Then I’ve seen it before. You showed it to me on my first day.’

  ‘That was HH Version 1.2. This is 5.2. It has some notable improvements.’

  She handed the glove to Napoleon. ‘Slip it on and I’ll run through the main features. We don’t have much time; the Battle Book is almost at Delta Phase.’

  Napoleon pulled the glove over his left hand. It immediately blended to look like his own skin.

  ‘The thumb and small finger still make a Fingafone,’ Professor Perdu said. ‘You can contact either myself or Skin if the ear microphone malfunctions.’

  She pointed to the index finger. ‘This has a Force 9 laser, while the middle finger shoots a Taser-like beam up to fifty metres.’

  Handy, thought Napoleon.

  ‘There’s an eye in the third finger, which is perfect for spying around corners.’

  And seeing through doors, thought Napoleon. Cool.

  ‘The palm becomes an LCD screen that meshes with the one you have already,’ continued the professor, ‘but goes one step further. This screen can project holograms. Skin has several on file.’

  ‘Wow!’ Napoleon stared at his new hand. ‘All that at my fingertips.’

  ‘However, there’s a but,’ added the professor. ‘HH Version 5.2 needs lots of energy. Only use it when you have to, and only then in short bursts. Is that clear?’

  Napoleon nodded. Shame. He’d love to zap Monty and Caesar with his middle finger.

  The professor pressed a button and a hatch opened in the wall. ‘The Battle Book awaits.’

  As Napoleon walked towards the Tome Tower, she added one more thing. ‘And please, BB, just stick to the mission. No bright ideas this time!’

  Napoleon nodded but kept his fingers crossed behind his back. A promise wasn’t really a promise then.

  He stepped into the Tome Tower. ‘Troy ahoy!’ he shouted as the hatch slammed shut behind him.

  The Tome Tower buzzed like an engine room. Napoleo
n looked at the shelves lining the walls and the Battle Books.

  He reached up to the one that was shaking and rattling and whistling like a kettle.

  ‘Steady, BB.’

  Napoleon knew how unstable the Battle Books were in Delta Phase. One false move and they could explode. There would be no library left if that happened, just a hole in the ground.

  A very big hole.

  He lifted the book down carefully and placed it on the floor in the middle of the chamber. It was rumbling and getting hotter and hotter.

  Smoke leaked from a crack in the side.

  ‘Better open it,’ the professor said. ‘That crack looks dangerous.’

  Napoleon leaned down and undid the catch that held the casket shut. It burned his fingers.

  The cover burst open at once. A mighty roar filled the chamber and a column of white light shot into the air.

  Napoleon knew what he had to do next. He took a deep breath, ran forward and threw himself into the beam of light.

  He vanished in an instant.

  It always took his breath away, being sucked back through time and space. And the further he had to go, the faster he went.

  This time he was heading back more than three thousand years, so he was rocketing at an enormous speed.

  He shut his eyes tight against the noise and wind.

  And then, suddenly, it was all over.

  He was tumbling down a set of steep steps,

  At the bottom he rammed into a wall.

  He lay there for a while rubbing his head.

  ‘Aw, Skin,’ he said. ‘We really need to work on these landings.’

  ‘Affirmative, BB,’ said Skin. ‘Bruising to head and shoulders detected.’

  ‘You don’t need to tell me!’ said Napoleon. ‘I can feel them!’

  He looked up at the city wall.

  Trojan warriors lined the sides with their weapons drawn.

  Fireballs hung in mid-flight like shooting stars.

  He climbed some stairs for a better view. Greek soldiers were everywhere, hurling their spears, climbing up the walls or charging across the plain towards Troy.

  There were hundreds of ships in the bay.

  They must be Greek ships, thought Napoleon.

  This was the most enormous battle he had ever seen.

  But nobody was moving.

  Everything was still and silent.

  The Battle Book was in Epsilon Phase.

  ‘Duration of Epsilon Phase uncertain, BB,’ Skin reminded him.

  Napoleon sprang to his feet.

  Epsilon Phase was the best time for collecting data – a time of total stillness while the Battle Book adjusted to his presence.

  It felt odd moving through the battle scene. It was as if he was part of a movie but someone had hit the pause button.

  He ducked beneath drawn swords, and felt the tips of whizzing arrows.

  He eyeballed a particularly fierce-looking soldier.

  ‘Take that. And THAT!’ he said, karate-chopping the air.

  He looked out over everything, and slowly scanned the scene with Skin’s many eyes.

  ‘Excellent images,’ said Skin, who was storing the data as pictures and movies.

  Napoleon focused on several soldiers, and Skin zoomed in.

  He picked out a set of body armour and a couple of helmets with bright horse-hair plumes.

  Then a huge body shield caught his eye.

  ‘Ten seconds until Kappa Phase!’ warned Skin.

  ‘9

  8

  7 . . .

  Napoleon touched several warriors quickly to collect their DNA.

  Then he looked for somewhere to hide.

  5

  4

  But he was out in the open.

  There was nowhere to hide!

  3

  He crouched down and covered his head with his hands.

  If he couldn’t see anyone maybe they couldn’t see him either.

  2

  1’

  ‘Kappa Phase activated!’ announced Skin.

  Napoleon knew what was coming next.

  He pulled his head in even tighter.

  The angry roar of the battle raged around Napoleon.

  The air bristled with shouting, the clashing of swords and shields, the clanking of war hammers and battle axes.

  Swarms of arrows howled overhead like killer birds, and fireballs screamed across the sky.

  ‘Ready to record some action, BB?’ Skin said.

  ‘You bet,’ Napoleon replied, opening his eyes.

  Standing up in the middle of a battle was always dangerous. You could get your head knocked off. That’s why it was great having Skin – all those extra eyes watching out for danger.

  He scrambled to his feet.

  ‘Jump right!’ Skin said at once. A spear narrowly missed Napoleon.

  ‘Roll,’ Skin said, and an arrow cracked into the wall behind him.

  ‘Phew. That was close,’ yelled Napoleon.

  ‘Not bad, boy,’ said a Trojan soldier with a slingshot who had seen Napoleon’s quick reactions. ‘Have you come to help us win the war?’

  ‘I’m here to see the king,’ Napoleon said.

  ‘The king?’ The soldier laughed. ‘He’s got no time for a squirt like you!’

  The soldier hurled some stones over the rampart. ‘Take that, you bunch of camel bums!’ he shouted.

  Then he turned back to Napoleon. ‘King Priam’s got a war to win.’

  He nodded to a platform high above them. A grey-bearded warrior was firing arrows from a longbow and urging his soldiers on.

  ‘Fight to the end, men of Troy!’ the king called.

  ‘But I have to see him!’ said Napoleon as a mass of arrows whistled by.

  ‘Jump left,’ Skin shouted. A fireball zoomed over Napoleon’s head, so close that it singed his hair.

  ‘You’re quick on your feet,’ the soldier said. ‘Here, make yourself useful.’ The Trojan tossed Napoleon a slingshot.

  Napoleon had only hurled a few stones when a huge Greek warrior fought his way onto the rampart, knocking several Trojans over the edge.

  ‘Out of my way, scum!’ the man growled, rapping a silver broadsword against his shield.

  ‘Oh no!’ the soldier with the slingshot gulped. ‘It’s him. I’m off! And you’d better leave too if you know what’s good for you.’

  Napoleon stared at the giant warrior who was booming across the battlefield with a deadly howl.

  And, suddenly, all the fighting stopped.

  Soldiers on both sides stared up at the mighty figure standing on the city wall.

  ‘It is Ulysses,’ Skin said. ‘The greatest Greek hero of all time.’

  Ulysses’ armour glistened, his sword sparkled, and his shield shone like the sun itself.

  ‘Hey, Skin,’ Napoleon whispered. ‘I’ve just had a really great idea.’

  ‘Negative, BB,’ said Skin. ‘It is not a good time for great ideas.’

  ‘No, really,’ insisted Napoleon. ‘It’s a brilliant idea. We’ll kill two birds with one stone. And we get to see what HH5.2 can really do.’

  ‘Repeat, negative,’ said Skin.

  ‘One zap, that’s all it’ll take,’ Napoleon said. ‘Two megavolts and he’ll be on his knees!’

  ‘Misuse of vital energy, BB!’

  But Napoleon wasn’t listening.

  He was working out how to take on the great Greek warrior.

  ‘Priam!’ Ulysses shouted to the Trojan king. ‘Hear me out!’

  ‘Speak, Ulysses,’ Priam called from his tower.

  ‘Give up, old man, and we will spare the women and children.’

  Before the king could reply, his wife stepped forward.

  ‘Never!’ she shouted. ‘We women of Troy will fight to the end.’

  ‘There’s your answer,’ King Priam yelled back.

  ‘So be it,’ Ulysses snarled. ‘To the bitter end it shall be!’

  He raised his sword and was a
bout to give the battle cry when he heard a small voice.

  ‘Excuse me, Mr Ulysses,’ said Napoleon. ‘Can I please say something?’

  Ulysses gazed down at him. ‘And who might this worm be?’ he sneered.

  Napoleon cleared his throat. It had seemed like a really great idea a couple of minutes ago. Up close, though, Ulysses looked strong and dangerous.

  ‘I’ve heard so much about you,’ continued Napoleon. ‘My dead father often spoke of you. Enemy of Troy you may be, but a hero all the same.’

  Napoleon let the slingshot fall to the ground and showed his open palms.

  ‘I come with no weapon. Give me your hand, great one, so I may tell my friends that I touched the mighty Ulysses.’

  As Napoleon walked towards the warrior, he could hear Skin muttering. ‘This had better work, BB, or we are history.’

  Ulysses laughed as Napoleon walked up to him and held out his right hand.

  Soon everyone was laughing, Greek and Trojan alike.

  The warrior grasped the offered hand and crushed it in his – crunching Napoleon’s fingers like dried autumn leaves.

  Napoleon cringed with pain and then grabbed onto Ulysses with his left hand – the Helping Hand.

  ‘Good,’ Skin said. ‘Excellent DNA sample!’

  ‘Forget about the DNA, Skin!’ Napoleon said, wincing. ‘Zap him! Quick!’

  ‘Oh, yes,’ Skin said. ‘Taser activated. Maximum strength.’

  A blast of pure energy shot through Ulysses.

  He screamed and fell to his knees. ‘In the name of Zeus!’ he cried.

  Napoleon held on to the warrior’s hand for a few more seconds.

  Ulysses squirmed and wriggled like an insect.

  He dropped his sword and his shield. His eyes bulged as his mouth opened and closed, crying for help.

  ‘A demon has me! The boy is possessed!’

  And then Napoleon let go. Anyone close by might have seen a blue spark pass between them.

  Ulysses gasped and toppled sideways over the edge of the wall.