Read Online Brimstone and Lily (Legacy Stone Adventures) by Terry Kroenung - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Terry Kroenung
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canteens with water. I gathered up matches, a penknife, paper and pencil, and a map of Virginia that Ma’d cut out of Harper’s Weekly . As an afterthought I grabbed a couple of caps and both of my light jackets.
“You’re packing like we’re going on a long trip,” Eddie said.
“We might be. I don’t know.” I sat at the kitchen table to write a note to Ma to not worry about us. Silly. She’d go crazy. Still, I couldn’t do anything else.
“Why? No one acts like this unless they’ve done something wrong. Is the law after you?”
“No. The opposite, actually.” I focused on my writing . “Dear Ma, by the time you read this…”
He put his hand on mine to make me stop scribbling. “Verity.”
I sighed and told him everything. Just let it spill out like grain from a torn sack. Falling through the floor, seeing the letters on the wall, watching the Stone glow, taking the sword, meeting Jasper and Eddie, fighting Venoma. All of it. I showed him how the sword could change its shape. I even blew out the lamp and proved I could see in the dark by telling him how many fingers he held up. Not once did he laugh, snort, or make any other sign of disbelief. Name me a grown-up who could’ve done that.
“Boy,” he said after a long silence.
“Yeah,” I answered. Sometimes that’s all friends have to say.
“Guess you’d better finish your letter then.” He lit the lamp again and left me alone, moving over to the front window to watch the street.
I knew that time grew short or else I might’ve written twenty pages. How do you tell your ma that monsters are coming and that you’re the savior of humanity? That you, her only child, were going into a war zone where thousands of men were dying? That you loved her and would see her soon? I settled for the last bit and stood up.
“Anybody out there?” I asked, throwing my haversack over my neck.
“No,” Eddie said. “We should go out the back anyway, though.”
That made sense to me. Didn’t want to be out in the open any more than necessary. We pushed open the back door, me in the lead because I could see and hear the best. It felt a little silly to be holding a battered tin cup in front of me as if it were a cannon, but an enemy would laugh at it, too. That might give us the split-second we’d need to react. Ernie moved into my haversack. He claimed it would leave me free to fight, but my wonder-ears picked up munching sounds.
“Leave some for the rest of us,” I whispered.
He peeked his snout out of the bag for a second, a bread crumb falling out of his jaws. “Child, a famished mouse is no good to anybody. Press on with your quest.”
Our intrepid band of mighty warriors slid down the steps into the alley. Turning right, we headed west, hoping to get to the Potomac before the moon rose much higher. After about five minutes we began to relax a little. No matter how bad things get, it’s hard to keep yourself on total alert for long. It drains all the energy out of you. And I’d just about used mine up as it was. I found myself leaning on Eddie’s arm for support as we stumbled along.
Which is why the giant surprised us. Two blocks from home an enormous dark mass rose up out of the ground. Seeming as wide as it was tall—and it looked plenty tall, believe me—it blocked our way as if somebody had dropped the Rock of Gibraltar in our path. It growled at us and brought up its brawny arms. I had just enough time to register Ernie screeching “Blimey!” before things went crazy.
Eddie yelped and froze, hunkering down. Somebody hollered “Whoa!” Me, I suppose. The giant’s growl struck me like an ocean wave. I punched my pathetic little cup at the thing. All that went through my mind was the picture of a cartoon fist. That proved to be enough. I felt a small tremor up my arm. With a woof as the wind got knocked out of him, the Goliath crashed back head over heels and lay still.
“Did you kill it?” Eddie asked, recovered from his
“You’re packing like we’re going on a long trip,” Eddie said.
“We might be. I don’t know.” I sat at the kitchen table to write a note to Ma to not worry about us. Silly. She’d go crazy. Still, I couldn’t do anything else.
“Why? No one acts like this unless they’ve done something wrong. Is the law after you?”
“No. The opposite, actually.” I focused on my writing . “Dear Ma, by the time you read this…”
He put his hand on mine to make me stop scribbling. “Verity.”
I sighed and told him everything. Just let it spill out like grain from a torn sack. Falling through the floor, seeing the letters on the wall, watching the Stone glow, taking the sword, meeting Jasper and Eddie, fighting Venoma. All of it. I showed him how the sword could change its shape. I even blew out the lamp and proved I could see in the dark by telling him how many fingers he held up. Not once did he laugh, snort, or make any other sign of disbelief. Name me a grown-up who could’ve done that.
“Boy,” he said after a long silence.
“Yeah,” I answered. Sometimes that’s all friends have to say.
“Guess you’d better finish your letter then.” He lit the lamp again and left me alone, moving over to the front window to watch the street.
I knew that time grew short or else I might’ve written twenty pages. How do you tell your ma that monsters are coming and that you’re the savior of humanity? That you, her only child, were going into a war zone where thousands of men were dying? That you loved her and would see her soon? I settled for the last bit and stood up.
“Anybody out there?” I asked, throwing my haversack over my neck.
“No,” Eddie said. “We should go out the back anyway, though.”
That made sense to me. Didn’t want to be out in the open any more than necessary. We pushed open the back door, me in the lead because I could see and hear the best. It felt a little silly to be holding a battered tin cup in front of me as if it were a cannon, but an enemy would laugh at it, too. That might give us the split-second we’d need to react. Ernie moved into my haversack. He claimed it would leave me free to fight, but my wonder-ears picked up munching sounds.
“Leave some for the rest of us,” I whispered.
He peeked his snout out of the bag for a second, a bread crumb falling out of his jaws. “Child, a famished mouse is no good to anybody. Press on with your quest.”
Our intrepid band of mighty warriors slid down the steps into the alley. Turning right, we headed west, hoping to get to the Potomac before the moon rose much higher. After about five minutes we began to relax a little. No matter how bad things get, it’s hard to keep yourself on total alert for long. It drains all the energy out of you. And I’d just about used mine up as it was. I found myself leaning on Eddie’s arm for support as we stumbled along.
Which is why the giant surprised us. Two blocks from home an enormous dark mass rose up out of the ground. Seeming as wide as it was tall—and it looked plenty tall, believe me—it blocked our way as if somebody had dropped the Rock of Gibraltar in our path. It growled at us and brought up its brawny arms. I had just enough time to register Ernie screeching “Blimey!” before things went crazy.
Eddie yelped and froze, hunkering down. Somebody hollered “Whoa!” Me, I suppose. The giant’s growl struck me like an ocean wave. I punched my pathetic little cup at the thing. All that went through my mind was the picture of a cartoon fist. That proved to be enough. I felt a small tremor up my arm. With a woof as the wind got knocked out of him, the Goliath crashed back head over heels and lay still.
“Did you kill it?” Eddie asked, recovered from his
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