The Nightmare Ninja by Simon Higgins

Author:Simon Higgins [Higgins, Simon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Fantasy, Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 9780316126267
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2011-06-07T00:00:00+00:00

Snowhawk and Moonshadow stood side by side, studying the small forest in their path.

A steep green incline rose behind it, sprouting rocky outcrops and scattered stands of trees as it climbed into a ceiling of patchy white cloud.

They had followed the winding road north from the river town until an hour after dawn. Then, exhausted, they had crawled behind a natural hedge of bamboo covering the mouth of a nearby gully. Snowhawk had slept deeply, but Moonshadow had been fitful and restless. Twice he had woken after dreaming of being drawn to the riverbank beneath green-tinged stars. In each dream, though he had seen no terrifying Kappa, he’d sensed its sinister, lurking presence just before waking with a gasp.

When Snowhawk finally roused him at noon, two things amazed Moonshadow: that he’d eventually gone to sleep at all and that he had slept for so long in daylight.

Now, after another two hours of tramping, they had finally reached the end of the road. It petered out at the base of the very mountain on which the White Nun lived.

“This is a strange place,” Snowhawk said, looking up the slope behind the trees. “Have you ever seen morning mist hang around until midafternoon?” She squinted. “Or is it actually a low cloud bank? Weird! At least it’s breaking up.”

“Whichever it is, it’s odd,” he agreed. “Something else is too. When I was learning all about poisons and sleeping drugs from Heron, she also taught me about trees.” Moonshadow pointed at the forest ahead. “Look, see how rocky the ground is? And the soil looks poor too, all leached out. So tree and shrub growth should be poor.”

He waved his hand toward the closest band of forest. There stood strong oaks, beeches, firs, and spruces. Scattered between them, red and black pines. Hinoki cypress too. And even a mighty red cedar, pushing lesser trees aside in the forest’s center.

“So many varieties.” Moonshadow frowned. “And each so healthy. If there’s a lot of rock in the ground and the soil’s bad, then why does this forest grow so well?”

A wary look crossed Snowhawk’s face. “Let’s just move away from the road, get the haunted forest behind us, and push up this mountain a bit. Then we can breathe easier; take a break and talk about it.”

Moonshadow recalled the briefing in Edo and the tell you later look that she had given him. He stared at the trees and swallowed. This forest was supposed to be haunted, yet Snowhawk wanted the place behind them before she would speak of it. Why? He licked dry lips. It was not a good sign, but since she knew the forest, he would do things her way. Besides, if he demanded information now, it’d probably start an angry argument!

A natural corridor broke the green wall. Peering into it, Moonshadow could see there was a chain of clearings from the lip of the forest to the rise of the slope.

“That way, then. We should run until we clear it,” he said quickly, “in case of another ambush.

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