Read Online Arthur Quinn and Hell's Keeper by Alan Early - Free Book Online Page A

cabin, all eyes flitting between Arthur and Fenrir. The words hung in the air for a moment between them all, the awful realisation of Hel’s true identity.
    â€˜But … how?’ Ellie eventually asked the question on everyone’s minds. ‘Arthur’s mother is …’
    â€˜Dead,’ Arthur murmured.
    Fenrir looked at Ellie then back at Arthur, whose face had turned a pallid colour.
    â€˜Sit down, boy,’ he advised. ‘You’ve had quite a shock.’
    â€˜Just answer her,’ said Arthur, sitting on the edge of the bed. Fenrir’s suggestion had been spot-on: his legs had felt like they were going to collapse under him.
    â€˜I only realised the truth seconds ago myself,’ said the man. ‘To understand for yourself, you need to know how I trapped the evil part of her – the Hel part. That’s the key to everything.’
    â€˜Get to the point!’ Arthur wasn’t feeling very courteous right now.
    â€˜OK. When I saw that she was waking up, I knew that the evil part of her would take over. I knew she wouldn’t have a chance of a normal life. I couldn’t take the evil out of her; Loki had put it there to begin with and the magic was too strong. But I could trap it, bind it. I just needed something to hold Hel in place. And I had just the thing – Gleipnir. The magical ribbon the gods had used to bind me, the ribbon that was never supposed to break. I still had it after all those years. It was said that it could bind anything, so I harnessed that power and tied it around Rhona’s wrist. I couldn’t work out how to bind the ends together like Odin had done, so I used a simple knot, but it seemed to be enough. The magic in the ribbon meant that it shrank to fit perfectly. And, though she never fully understood why, I warned her never to take it off. She forgot about me but remembered my last words to her. I think deep down she knew there was something about her that was different, but she sensed it was not a part she wanted to unleash. Except that you took it off her wrist, didn’t you, Arthur? That’s how I worked it out just now – when I saw the ribbon on your wrist. To protect her identity, I tried to forget Rhona too, but I always hoped she’d have a normal life, a family. And you’d be just the right age.’
    The boy looked down at the ribbon around his own wrist. He remembered the day his mother had died and how he’d untied the golden piece of silk from her arm. Something to remember her by. Tears welled up in his good eye as he stroked the fabric.
    â€˜She was my mum and she died,’ he said in a low voice, not daring to look up. ‘It was a year ago. And I took the ribbon. I didn’t know.’
    â€˜Of course you didn’t know.’ Fenrir was on his feet now, moving next to Arthur. He laid a heavy hand on the boy’s shoulder. ‘But I don’t think she died, Arthur.’
    â€˜She did! She started getting weaker and weaker. For no reason. She only survived a fortnight.’
    â€˜No, Arthur, she didn’t.’ Fenrir sat down next to him. ‘If what you’re saying is true – if she just suddenly faded away a year ago – then I’m certain she didn’t die.’
    â€˜But–’
    â€˜The evil part of your mother – Hel – could probably sense Loki’s growing power in Dublin. She must have realised that the god would soon be free. But she knew that Rhona would never take off the ribbon, leaving her trapped and helpless to reach Loki. So she needed to get someone else to take it off. Hel knew this would never happen while Rhona was alive – Rhona wouldn’t allow it. So Hel did the only thing she could think of: she made Rhona think she was dying. Whatever she did, it convinced everyone around her that Rhona was seriously ill and that she died. It was a long shot – her only shot, really – but Hel’s plan