Hunters Of The Dusk (tsods-7) by Darren Shan

Author:Darren Shan [Shan, Darren]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Horror, Paranormal, Action & Adventure, Vampires, Monsters, Young Adult Fiction, Freak Shows
ISBN: 9780316605960
Publisher: Hachette Digital, Inc.
Published: 2002-01-02T08:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

A FULL moon was shining when we arrived at Lady Evanna's. Even so, I'd have missed the clearing if Mr. Crepsley hadn't nudged me and said, "We are here." I later learnt that Evanna had cast a masking spell over the place, so unless you knew where to look, your eyes would skim over her home and not register it.

I stared straight ahead, but for a few seconds could see nothing but trees. Then the power of the spell faded, the imaginary trees 'vanished' and I found myself gazing down upon a crystal-clear pond, glowing a faint white colour from the light of the moon. There was a hill on the opposite side of the pond, and I could see the dark, arched entrance of a huge cave in it.

As we strolled down the gentle slope to the pond, the night air filled with the sound of croaking. I stopped, alarmed, but Vancha smiled and said, "Frogs. They're alerting Evanna. They'll stop once she tells them it's safe."

Moments later the frog chorus ceased and we walked in silence again. We skirted the edge of the pond, Mr. Crepsley and Vancha warning Harkat and me not to step on any frogs, thousands of which were at rest by or in the cool water.

"The frogs are creepy," Harkat whispered. "I feel like they're… watching us."

"They are," Vancha said. "They guard the pond and cave, protecting Evanna from intruders."

"What could a bunch of frogs do against intruders?" I laughed.

Vancha stooped and grabbed a frog. Holding it up to the moonlight, he gently squeezed its sides. Its mouth opened and a long tongue darted out. Vancha caught the tongue with the index finger and thumb of his right hand, careful not to touch the edges. "See the tiny sacs along the sides?" he asked.

"Those yellow-red bulges?" I said. "What about them?"

"Filled with poison. If this frog wrapped its tongue around your arm or the calf of your leg, the sacs would pop and the poison would seep in through your flesh." He shook his head grimly. "Death in thirty seconds."

Vancha laid the frog down on the damp grass and let go of its tongue. It hopped away about its business. Harkat and me walked with extreme care after that!

When we reached the mouth of the cave, we stopped. Mr. Crepsley and Vancha sat down and laid aside their packs. Vancha took out a bone he'd been chewing on for the last couple of nights and got to work on it, pausing only to spit at the occasional frog which wandered too close to us.

"Aren't we going in?" I asked.

"Not without being invited," Mr. Crepsley replied. "Evanna does not take kindly to intruders."

"Isn't there a bell we can ring?"

"Evanna has no need of bells," he said. "She knows we are here and will come to greet us in her own time."

"Evanna's not a lady to be rushed," Vancha agreed. "A friend of mine thought he'd enter the cave on the quiet once, to surprise her.

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