The house of power by Patrick Carman

Author:Patrick Carman [Carman, Patrick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, General, Action & Adventure - General, Children's Books, Children's & young adult fiction & true stories, YA), Action & Adventure, Juvenile Fiction, Fantasy & Magic, Friendship, Ages 9-12 Fiction, Children: Grades 4-6, Young Adult Fiction, Science fiction (Children's, Orphans, Family - Orphans & Foster Homes, Social classes, Earthquakes, Science Fiction; Fantasy; Magic, Science Fiction; Fantasy; & Magic
ISBN: 9780316166706
Publisher: New York : Little, Brown and Co., c2007.
Published: 2008-04-15T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER20CLEANERS

It may be difficult to see at first glance, but Edgar had actually

gotten an equal measure of bad and good luck all at once. It

was a stroke of screaming misfortune that he'd come upon a

place to where a group of unsavory creatures with enormous

mouths and rows of crooked teeth had escaped. It was also true

he'd fallen twice --being hurt both times --and that the

creatures lurking nearby wanted to eat him.

But it must be said that Edgar's good luck greatly outweighed

his bad, for there was a hunter who had been tracking these

dangerous and unpredictable beasts from a distance for many

hours. He was a grave-looking man whose hair was thinning on

top, though what hair he did have grew long and tangled over

his ears. He was dressed in dark clothing that made him hard to

see, save for his very wide, hooklike nose that curved toward

his face. The man's name was Vincent.

In the waning light of day, Vincent saw Edgar scaling down the

side of the cliff and wondered with utter astonishment how

anyone could have made it so far --and why they might have

come to begin with. He had no way of knowing how old the

figure was, but he wrongly assumed it to be a man who was

either bringing trouble with him or who was in some trouble of

his own. He proceeded with great caution, unsure of whether or

not the greater threat were the creatures he was stalking or this

unknown person making his way down to the Flatlands.

After Edgar's spectacular fall, it crossed Vincent's mind to let the

creatures do away with the intruder, but it was not in Vincent's

nature to permit such a cruel act. And then there was the matter

of the creatures themselves, who were prone to losing all sense

of direction in the dark --there was no telling whether or not

their gruesome mouths would stumble onto Edgar. It would be

best to keep with the plan. He would kill the four beasts first --and then he would deal with the fallen body.

The four beasts were what Vincent cal ed Cleaners. There wil

be plenty of time to talk more of them later, for they are terribly

important dwellers of Atherton. For now we must remain uneasy

in the presence of these beasts, each about the length of two

grown men, with a great many legs and teeth that rattle like

broken bones.

Vincent had killed Cleaners many times before, but he had to

be careful not to make a mistake, or there could be quite a lot of

trouble. He used a long spear with a very sharp point, but even

so, he always waited until it was almost dark to do his ghastly

work.

What made it possible to attack a Cleaner without daylight was

the fact that these creatures, while dreadful to look at and

vicious in the extreme, were rather stupid in just about every

way imaginable. They may have been very fast on their many

legs, but they weren't smart enough to change course when a

spear was pointed right at their throats, and on they'd charge,

crooked teeth flying toward him at ferocious speed, until they

were skewered clean through.

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