The Snarling of Wolves by Vivian French

Author:Vivian French [French, Vivian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781406358568
Publisher: Walker Books
Published: 2015-03-18T16:00:00+00:00

It was all Gracie could do not to burst out laughing as the queen and the troll set off up the path together arm in arm.

“Don’t they look funny?” she said, but Billy didn’t answer. He was listening; his acute hearing had picked up the sound of stealthy footsteps in the undergrowth bordering the path. As the pony made its way onwards towards Gorebreath the footsteps kept pace; when Glee trotted, they went faster too.

“Miss Gracie,” he whispered, “something’s following us.”

Gracie’s heart beat faster, but her hands were steady on the reins, and no one watching would have noticed any alteration in her expression. “Would you be able to go and see who or what it is?” she asked softly.

Billy nodded, and a moment later he was circling over Gracie’s head. Remembering his Super Spotter instructions he did not immediately fly in the direction of the follower; he gradually widened his circle and then, as if on some casual quest of his own, dropped in-between the trees.

A moment later he was back, quivering with excitement. “Miss Gracie! Miss Gracie! It’s the wolf woman!”

There was an instant whirl of conflicting thoughts in Gracie’s mind. Should she stop? she wondered. Could it be a trap? After all, wasn’t this the woman Foyce had sent Billy to find? And there had been howling outside the House the night before … and Alf had seen not just one, but two werewolves. But he’d said they were male…

Gracie made up her mind. She pulled Glee to a halt, and looked into the shadowy depths of the Less Enchanted Forest. “Please don’t be frightened,” she called. “And please come out, whoever you are. I won’t hurt you.”

For a long minute nothing happened. Gracie found her hands were sweating and her mouth was dry, but she made herself look calmly about her. At last the bushes parted, and the tall thin figure of a woman stepped cautiously out. She stared at Gracie, and Gracie looked back at her, her fear fading.

I’m sure she’s a werewolf, she thought, but she looks as if she’s more frightened of me than I am of her. Holding out her hand, Gracie introduced herself. “Hello … I’m Gracie Gillypot. I don’t think we’ve ever met.”

Agony Clawbone continued to stare, and made no attempt to take Gracie’s hand, or to answer. Just as Gracie was beginning to wonder if she should introduce herself again, Agony moved nearer. She put a thin bony hand on Glee’s neck and peered up into Gracie’s face as if searching for some recognizable feature.

“You were never called Foyce, child?” she asked, and there was such longing in her voice that Gracie’s heart ached for her.

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “But no.”

Agony gave a long weary sigh. “Oh.”

Gracie hesitated. “I do know Foyce,” she said. “She … she lives in the same house as I do. The House of the Ancient Crones.”

“What?” Agony went rigid. “You both live there? And who else? What others are there?”

“It’s just me and Foyce and the crones,” Gracie told her.

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