The Hollow Earth Trilogy by John & Carole E. Barrowman

Author:John & Carole E. Barrowman
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781784082161
Publisher: Head of Zeus Ltd.

TWENTY-EIGHT

A crusading knight on a black stallion, a Templar cape with its signature red cross rising and falling behind him, was riding straight for Em as she ran for her life, trying desperately to escape his reach, breathlessly sprinting through a labyrinth of hedgerows and tangled paths. But no matter which direction she turned, the knight was always in front of her, always charging at her through a smoky white veil, the black horse’s eyes fiery points of red.

Em woke up in a fright. Gasping for breath, she recognized after a moment of terror that she was not being chased, but was in her room at the Abbey, safe in her bed.

Grabbing the book fanned out on her pillow, she chucked it on to the floor.

‘Stupid Ivanhoe.’

Simon banged on her bedroom door. ‘The dock in thirty minutes,’ he called. ‘You three are on beach clean-up for your dangerous stunt last night.’

‘Why so early?’ mumbled Em.

‘It’s not early. So if you want breakfast before you get to work, you’d better hurry. Jeannie’s not going to wait for much longer.’

Em staggered towards her bathroom, surprised that the clock was already showing 10 am. She got dressed slowly and headed for the stairs. The still-life with the modern goblet had been taken off the stair wall.

‘Where’s the painting?’ she called down to Simon.

‘Your grandpa has it,’ Simon said, looking up at her from the foyer. ‘We’ll discuss that painting and your time-hopping after you’ve cleaned up the beach. There was a storm last night, so there should be lots for you to do.’

‘Ugh!’ said Em.

Over a late second breakfast of sliced bananas on toast, Matt explained what he’d discovered in the library, spreading the picture out across the table in front of the others.

‘Maybe this artist’s a time-traveller too,’ he said, tapping the painting. ‘An Impressionist painting of a medieval scene that no one’s seen since the 1260s? It’s obvious!’

‘Oh man, it smells like something’s died on that,’ signed Zach, cupping his hand over his mouth.

‘Gross,’ said Em, pushing the last corner of her toast away.

‘The beach won’t clean itself,’ Simon called from the garden. ‘Let’s go!’

Matt shoved the canvas under a table placemat and grabbed his coat. ‘It’ll be okay until we get back,’ he told the others. ‘You know Jeannie will stop for ‘a wee blether’ with her friends in Seaport. We’ll be finished on the beach before she comes home. Last one to the water’s edge does tonight’s dishes.’

When they were bundled up against the autumn chill and the wind from the Atlantic, they raced each other across the sloping lawn to meet Simon on the dock. Matt won easily, but Em thought it was only because Zach was in pain from the thrashing.

At the end of the jetty, Simon passed a bin bag and a pair of rubber gloves to each of them, sending them off along the beach to pick up tourist rubbish and storm debris that had washed ashore the night before.

‘Can you imagine how long it

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.