Angus MacBain and the Island of Sleeping Kings by Angela J. Townsend

Author:Angela J. Townsend
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Clean Teen Publishing
Published: 2014-07-17T16:00:00+00:00

14

The travelers hiked for several hours, down a beaten path that wove along a steep hillock. Nightfall approached and a veil of dusky light cloaked the land. Cawing blackbirds circled overhead, silhouetted against a buttermilk moon. A refreshing breeze rustled the dry grasses and cooled Angus’ forehead. He stopped to rest on the brow of the hill and admired the valley below, a mossy green carpet sprawling to a thick forest of oak. He caught his breath and then jogged to catch up to the others meandering down a winding trail to the foot of the vale.

The group continued through a pile of thick underbrush and over a patch of weeds with rhubarb colored stalks. They entered the lush field with Fane in the lead, keeping a steady pace, stabbing his walking stick into the rich earth with each forward movement.

Fane finally stopped near the edge of the thick forest. From the pocket of his tunic he produced a pennywhistle. The flute glowed in the moonlight as he held it to his lips, covered all six of the bronzed holes with his skinny fingertips, and blew. A shrill sound wafted from the instrument; the limbs of the trees swayed as if to the notes. Something dark and lanky darted from tree to tree; its yellow eyes gleamed in the night, staring at them.

Angus stepped back while Vanora crept forward, peering into the forest.

“Something’s in there. Some sort of animal,” she whispered.

He snatched the back of her cloak. “Get back here. You don’t know what it might be.”

Vanora ignored him. Angus wanted to remind her of the things that had jumped out at them so far. He opened his mouth to do so, when an enormous wolf shot out of the pines, followed by two others.

Angus’ throat went dry. “Wolves! Run!”

Fane smiled. “Nonsense. These kind fellows are our ride to the Firblogs.” He tucked the whistle into his pocket. “They’re not wolves at all. They’re wolfhounds.”

“But how can that be? They’re huge. Bigger than any dog I’ve ever seen.”

Fane hiked to the side of the first hound, patted its enormous head and scrambled onto its back. He raised his eyebrows at the kids. “Are you coming or not?”

Vanora nodded, stepped forward, and petted the smallest of the hounds. The gray dog licked her hand affectionately.

“That one is a female, quite nurturing,” Fane said. “She’ll take good care of you, my dear.”

The dog lowered its head and crouched so that Vanora could climb onto its back. She swung her leg over and the beast leapt to its feet. Having settled herself in, Vanora patted the dog’s neck and glanced at Angus. “Come on,” she said, her eyes filled with excitement. “This is going to be fun.”

Angus cautiously approached the last hound, a scraggly animal missing an ear and sporting a patch of mangy fur on top of its ugly head. He’d always been afraid of dogs, especially ones that snarled and barked. This one wasn’t barking but he didn’t look friendly either. Angus reached out to pet its head.

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.