The Shadow Queen by Lee Bacon

Author:Lee Bacon
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2017-06-13T04:00:00+00:00

The troll is twice as tall as even the tallest man. Built like a boulder, with a massive stomach and hands that could crush your skull like a grape. Its skin is a sickening shade of green. Its feet clobber the ground with each step.

Standing at the edge of the cave, the troll opens its mouth to release another thunderous roar.

I feel my last glimmer of courage flicker away. Beside me, Kara shivers like a leaf in the wind. I wouldn’t be surprised if she turned and fled. Instead, her fingers tighten around our secret weapon.

The block of cheese.

She raises the cheese above her head. And in a loud, trembling voice, she calls out, “W-we…b-brought this for you!”

A look of utter astonishment falls over the troll’s big green face. Its black eyes peer at the cheese in Kara’s hands. When it opens its mouth, I’m expecting another bone-rattling roar. But what comes out instead is a gentle, squeaky voice.

“You…You brought me…cheese?”

Kara’s head bobs up and down once. “Yes.”

“No sharp pointy things? Or hard clobbering things? Or flaming hot things?”

Kara’s head shakes back and forth once. “No.”

“Does that mean that…you’re not here to hurt me?”

Well, actually we’ve been sent to kill you. These words hang heavy in my mind. But I keep them to myself. Even though the troll is enormous and scary looking, there’s something in his soft, curious voice. Something childlike. Something that makes me think he’s just as uninterested in bloodshed as we are.

And so I raise my own voice, and I reply: “We mean you no harm. We’re just here because—well…because of some missing chickens.”

The rest of the story comes pouring out. Kara and I take turns telling the troll about how we spent the night in the stable. How we were discovered by the farmer and his wife. And about the terrible task they assigned us.

The troll listens in silence. Once we’re done, he seems relieved.

“I just want to apologize for all the scary roaring earlier,” he says. “Most people have a pretty low opinion of trolls. They show up at my cave to yell and throw things. I’d rather frighten them off before the situation gets violent.”

I stare at the giant green monster, too stunned to respond. I had no idea a troll could be so…un-troll-like.

“So I’m guessing you didn’t eat the chickens?” Kara asks.

“Of course not.” The troll seems repulsed by such an idea. “I don’t even eat meat.”

Kara’s jaw drops. “You’re…a vegetarian?”

“I suppose you could call it that.”

“But then…what happened to the chickens?”

“I’ll show you.” The troll steps back, gesturing into his cave. “Come inside. I have some jelly that will pair nicely with that cheese.”

This isn’t how I expected events to turn out, but it’s certainly better than having our heads ripped off.

Kara and I follow the troll into his cave. Along the way, he introduces himself as Groosel. “But my friends call me Groo,” he adds. “So you can call me Groo, too.”

Trailing behind him, I stare in awe at my surroundings.

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