Keeper of Myths by Jasmine Richards

Author:Jasmine Richards
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2017-04-19T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The Trouble with Pigs

“Buzz, slow down a bit, would you?” Mary said. “Skip and Dora have been through a lot.”

“We can’t.” Buzz continued to look ahead. “The longer we take to find the wisdom path, the less likely we are to find the Keeper’s temple. Ratatosk warned us.”

“I know.” Mary’s voice was sharp. “But these horses are in our care. That means we look after them.”

Buzz didn’t reply, just urged them onward as the sun began to climb in the sky. The mountain pass sloped steeply and led them to the edge of a valley that curved inward like a basin. It was lush with grass, tall fruit trees, and flowers. On the other side of the valley, Buzz could see several black slabs standing tall and proud against a crisp blue sky. They adorned the mountainside like sculptures in an art gallery. “Look!” Buzz pointed ahead. “I think we’ve found the wisdom path. We just need to cut across the valley.”

“I wouldn’t go that way if I were you,” a voice said from somewhere overhead.

Buzz tipped his head back to see a small man sitting on a stone ledge above them. Next to him were several piglets, all trying to squash up against him for comfort.

The man clucked his tongue and brought out an old blanket that Buzz could smell even though he was several meters away.

“Here you go, lovelies,” the man cooed to the piglets, as he lay the blanket over their small, pink backs.

“Why not?” Buzz was doing his best not to breathe through his nose.

“Why not what?” The small man was still busy tucking the blanket around the squiggling, downy bodies of the piglets.

“Why shouldn’t we go across that valley?” Buzz could hear the impatience in his voice.

“Got two of my biggest pigs, Erym and Caly, down there, haven’t I?” the man explained. “And they don’t like strangers. Go around the rim of the crater.”

“Okay, thanks for the warning,” Mary said. “It won’t add that much time.” She clucked her tongue. “Come on, Skip, let’s go.”

But Buzz did not move. “We’re going into the crater,” he said. “Cutting across is the faster way to the wisdom path.”

The small man sighed deeply, got to his feet, and began to lower himself from the ledge. He landed on the path, and as he did so, Buzz noticed that instead of feet, the man had trotters. He was not wearing much—just a ragged cloth around his waist and quite a lot of mud. The small man lifted his chin as he came to stand in front of Buzz and Mary. His eyes were a piercing blue against the muck that was smeared all over his face. “You’re not listening. I’m Priparchis, the god of piglets, and—”

Buzz snorted despite himself. The god of piglets, he thought. No wonder this guy’s in the Forsaken Territories.

The small god lifted his chin. “You find something funny, clearly,” he said. “But you won’t be laughing if you go down into that crater.”

“We can deal with a couple of piggies,” Buzz said.

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