Okay. So Nickolai has saved the world. His arch enemy has been destroyed and sent back down to the Vortex. His ancestral home is restored and the world’s children are safe from Magda’s evil. Re-united with his mother, he is enjoying celebrity status, worshipped, adored by all and feted as a hero and saviour of the Kingdom. The Solstice Mission is scheduled to go ahead. Everything is in place - but there is one missing piece of the jigsaw – how is he going to cheat time and deliver his toys to all the world’s children in one night? It seems an impossible mission.
And no-one is listening to him. What’s more, he’s struggling with the pressures of fame, restricted by lack of privacy and freedom, trying to make sense of his new world, and to cap it all, there’s this bossy, stuck up princess, heir to the kingdom, who keeps interfering and trying to tell him what to do!
Little does he know that his problems are only just beginning. Terrible dangers await him and a dark force is trying to stop his mission and destroy him. Determined to keep his promise to the world’s children, Nick embarks on his search for the solution to his problem. He ventures into the forbidden Netherworld, where unspeakable creatures lurk and a terrifying monster is stalking him, programmed to search and destroy. His hair raising journey leads him back to the surface, and finally to the mysterious cave of the Crystal Chronicle, where he must confront his deepest fears.
This sequel explains not why, but how Saint Nicholai carries out his first mission – and makes it do-able for all time. It is full of thrills and spills, suspense, adventure, scary monsters and some magnificent mythical beasts. I hope you enjoy it as much as the first book!
Read an extract from Nickolai's Quest:
Far ahead of him, the faint red glow flickered in the gloom. Yes! She was waiting for him! He raced along, feet pounding on the hard ice floor, until he came to a junction. Again she had vanished. He took a chance on the right hand fork, dashed down more twists and turns, until he found himself in a quieter part of town. He must have reached the outer limits of the kingdom. The tunnels were dark and empty ; no houses or shops, no phosphor lamps glowing inside the ice walls. The fairy had vanished completely. He stumbled on, not quite knowing what to do next.
He was too exhausted and bewildered to notice the rumbling noise, or the tremor in the rock floor ahead of him. Shards of hardened ice were spitting out from some force pushing its way up. He was almost upon it when without warning, the giant, curved white object sliced up through the rock floor beneath his feet and nearly impaled him.
It missed him by a hair’s breadth. Curving up towards a dagger-sharp point at the top, the claw gleamed whitely in the gloom, towering over him. He gasped in shock and leapt backwards. A deep growling noise from below made the ground shake. Icicles of fear ran up and down his spine. He began to back away on unsteady feet. Maybe it was just a new rock formation, or a shard of ice that had pushed its way up through the layers. But then came another roar, deafening this time, filling the tunnel and crushing his eardrums.
Great Ursus! What on earth was down there? His knees buckled. Shaking all over with terror, he turned and ran back the way he’d come, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He gulped as he heard a sickening crunching noise behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
The huge white claw was chasing him, slicing through the surface like a shark’s fin through water, scoring a long deep gash in the ground as it savaged its way towards him.
About the Characters in Nickolai's Quest
The Red Light Fairy
Nick thinks she is his friend an first and he's missing his own light fairy Elvina, who is inside him. So he mistakenly trusts her and adopts her as his guide through the Netherworld, the dark and terrible place where his Quest leads him. Little does he know who she's really working for!
Her Extremely Royal Highness Crown Princess Krista
We don’t like her at all when we first meet her. She’s very pretty but very overdressed. And Nick think she’s a spoilt, bossy, stuck up, aristocratic madam. Her grandpa, King Vilmar, dotes on her of course and gives her anything she wants. To Nick’s disgust, she’s very girly too, obsessed with clothes and jewellery and handbags and her silly pet Mingle. But actually she’s really nice underneath and genuinely wants to help Nick. Here she is when Nick first meets her at his Homecoming Ball. It is not a good start to the relationship.
Moomsa
The strangest lady dinosaur you are likely to meet, Moomsa is ugly to look at but very kind, motherly and protective. Her favourite hobby is rescuing hapless travellers who have ventured into the uncharted regions of the NetherWorld. She is very proud of her dinosaur origins and dotes on her numerous baby dino offspring, who are like a litter of delinquent puppies. However she is also a strict mother. Moomsa has some magical powers that enable her to offer travellers safe passage through the NetherWorld. She also has the ancient wisdom of stored knowledge from her prehistoric ancestors which help Nick in his quest.
Fangle
I feel sorry for poor old Fangle. He doesn’t really know who he is or what he is. All the strange creatures down in the NetherWorld are a hotch potch of different life forms, brought alive by the Rogue Light Fairies from the fossil remains of ancient species that lie buried in the layers of rock. But he is the strangest of all. He is huge and lumpy and has these curly teeth which make him splutter when he talks, so you get soaked during a conversation with him. But he’s a gruff and gentle giant with a heart of gold. He can control the Rogue Light Fairies with his telepathic powers and they become a very important ally to Nick in the story.
Grimgorr
He is the huge, scary, roaring monster beastie of your nightmares. He is after Nickolai and wants to destroy him. He has amazing powers of tracking and surveillance – you can run but you can’t hide. He has been created out of all the worst features of the world’s fiercest prehistoric predators. He is not shown in full because I want you to meet him properly when you read the book.
Vilmar
The ancient patriarch of the Kingdom, reputed to be over a thousand years old, a descendant of the Very First Elf brought alive by the Light Fairies on the night of the Creation. He is very coy about his age and although he seems quite doddery and decrepit, he is a sharp as a tack. He is very kindly, rather like Merlin, full of wisdom and knowledge. But he can also be quite stern and strict. He is Nick’s main mentor in the story.
Jarkov
This is my mythical beast – a noble creature who holds the key to the mystery that Nick needs to solve before he can carry out his mission. A resurrected woolly mammoth who died an untimely death in a prehistoric ditch, he is gentle, silent, slow, determined and very charismatic. He has unparalleled navigational skills superior to even Nick’s and without him Nick could never have accomplished his great task. I adore him and would love to meet one of his kind. Unfortunately I was born a little late.
And no-one is listening to him. What’s more, he’s struggling with the pressures of fame, restricted by lack of privacy and freedom, trying to make sense of his new world, and to cap it all, there’s this bossy, stuck up princess, heir to the kingdom, who keeps interfering and trying to tell him what to do!
Little does he know that his problems are only just beginning. Terrible dangers await him and a dark force is trying to stop his mission and destroy him. Determined to keep his promise to the world’s children, Nick embarks on his search for the solution to his problem. He ventures into the forbidden Netherworld, where unspeakable creatures lurk and a terrifying monster is stalking him, programmed to search and destroy. His hair raising journey leads him back to the surface, and finally to the mysterious cave of the Crystal Chronicle, where he must confront his deepest fears.
This sequel explains not why, but how Saint Nicholai carries out his first mission – and makes it do-able for all time. It is full of thrills and spills, suspense, adventure, scary monsters and some magnificent mythical beasts. I hope you enjoy it as much as the first book!
Read an extract from Nickolai's Quest:
Far ahead of him, the faint red glow flickered in the gloom. Yes! She was waiting for him! He raced along, feet pounding on the hard ice floor, until he came to a junction. Again she had vanished. He took a chance on the right hand fork, dashed down more twists and turns, until he found himself in a quieter part of town. He must have reached the outer limits of the kingdom. The tunnels were dark and empty ; no houses or shops, no phosphor lamps glowing inside the ice walls. The fairy had vanished completely. He stumbled on, not quite knowing what to do next.
He was too exhausted and bewildered to notice the rumbling noise, or the tremor in the rock floor ahead of him. Shards of hardened ice were spitting out from some force pushing its way up. He was almost upon it when without warning, the giant, curved white object sliced up through the rock floor beneath his feet and nearly impaled him.
It missed him by a hair’s breadth. Curving up towards a dagger-sharp point at the top, the claw gleamed whitely in the gloom, towering over him. He gasped in shock and leapt backwards. A deep growling noise from below made the ground shake. Icicles of fear ran up and down his spine. He began to back away on unsteady feet. Maybe it was just a new rock formation, or a shard of ice that had pushed its way up through the layers. But then came another roar, deafening this time, filling the tunnel and crushing his eardrums.
Great Ursus! What on earth was down there? His knees buckled. Shaking all over with terror, he turned and ran back the way he’d come, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He gulped as he heard a sickening crunching noise behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
The huge white claw was chasing him, slicing through the surface like a shark’s fin through water, scoring a long deep gash in the ground as it savaged its way towards him.
About the Characters in Nickolai's Quest
The Red Light Fairy
Nick thinks she is his friend an first and he's missing his own light fairy Elvina, who is inside him. So he mistakenly trusts her and adopts her as his guide through the Netherworld, the dark and terrible place where his Quest leads him. Little does he know who she's really working for!
Her Extremely Royal Highness Crown Princess Krista
We don’t like her at all when we first meet her. She’s very pretty but very overdressed. And Nick think she’s a spoilt, bossy, stuck up, aristocratic madam. Her grandpa, King Vilmar, dotes on her of course and gives her anything she wants. To Nick’s disgust, she’s very girly too, obsessed with clothes and jewellery and handbags and her silly pet Mingle. But actually she’s really nice underneath and genuinely wants to help Nick. Here she is when Nick first meets her at his Homecoming Ball. It is not a good start to the relationship.
Moomsa
The strangest lady dinosaur you are likely to meet, Moomsa is ugly to look at but very kind, motherly and protective. Her favourite hobby is rescuing hapless travellers who have ventured into the uncharted regions of the NetherWorld. She is very proud of her dinosaur origins and dotes on her numerous baby dino offspring, who are like a litter of delinquent puppies. However she is also a strict mother. Moomsa has some magical powers that enable her to offer travellers safe passage through the NetherWorld. She also has the ancient wisdom of stored knowledge from her prehistoric ancestors which help Nick in his quest.
Fangle
I feel sorry for poor old Fangle. He doesn’t really know who he is or what he is. All the strange creatures down in the NetherWorld are a hotch potch of different life forms, brought alive by the Rogue Light Fairies from the fossil remains of ancient species that lie buried in the layers of rock. But he is the strangest of all. He is huge and lumpy and has these curly teeth which make him splutter when he talks, so you get soaked during a conversation with him. But he’s a gruff and gentle giant with a heart of gold. He can control the Rogue Light Fairies with his telepathic powers and they become a very important ally to Nick in the story.
Grimgorr
He is the huge, scary, roaring monster beastie of your nightmares. He is after Nickolai and wants to destroy him. He has amazing powers of tracking and surveillance – you can run but you can’t hide. He has been created out of all the worst features of the world’s fiercest prehistoric predators. He is not shown in full because I want you to meet him properly when you read the book.
Vilmar
The ancient patriarch of the Kingdom, reputed to be over a thousand years old, a descendant of the Very First Elf brought alive by the Light Fairies on the night of the Creation. He is very coy about his age and although he seems quite doddery and decrepit, he is a sharp as a tack. He is very kindly, rather like Merlin, full of wisdom and knowledge. But he can also be quite stern and strict. He is Nick’s main mentor in the story.
Jarkov
This is my mythical beast – a noble creature who holds the key to the mystery that Nick needs to solve before he can carry out his mission. A resurrected woolly mammoth who died an untimely death in a prehistoric ditch, he is gentle, silent, slow, determined and very charismatic. He has unparalleled navigational skills superior to even Nick’s and without him Nick could never have accomplished his great task. I adore him and would love to meet one of his kind. Unfortunately I was born a little late.
Nickolai and Anneka
Skank and Skism
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Nick escaping from the demons
Nick flying on a reindeer
Magda before her makeover
Magda after her makeover
Nick and Zak
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