Read Online Floods 3 by Colin Thompson - Free Book Online

explained. ‘That was me.’
    â€˜What were you doing there?’ asked the King.
    â€˜As always, sire, I was protecting you,’ said the Hearse Whisperer and flew out of the window.
    She floated over the rooftops towards the forest, setting the odd line of washing on fire just to keep her hand in. This was no mean feat considering the perpetual dampness everywhere. 29
    Unseen by anyone below, she drifted over the forest. She was in no hurry. Time was on her side – though if time had realised just how deeply evil she was, it would have had nothing to do with her. As it was, it simply stood still for her, allowing her to remain the same for century after century. The Hearse Whisperer had served the King’s father and his grandfather and back until the first of the line had risen up and driven Nerlin’s ancestors into thedrains to live as the wretched Dirt People. She had played no small part in that revolution, though most people were completely unaware of her existence. Most people thought the Hearse Whisperer was a legend, an invention parents could use to scare their children when they were being naughty.
    When she found Cliché, Stain and Ooze, they were walking in such small circles that they were following themselves. The Hearse Whisperer ignored them. They would eventually make their way into the Valley of the Sages and Other Herbs but, by the time they did, Nerlin and Mordonna would probably be grandparents. A black budgie was circling the spies, squawking swear words at them.
    â€˜Ah, the Sheman’s little helper. Come here, tasty morsel,’ the Hearse Whisperer whispered. She set the bird’s feathers alight and it flew straight into a tree trunk at the edge of the forest, where the Hearse Whisperer was waiting for it. She picked it up, put out its burning wings and held it close to her face.
    â€˜Tell me, little snack food … tell me where they are.’
    â€˜Drop dead,’ said Cassandra, for it was she, and not her partner, Clint.
    â€˜Wrong answer,’ said the Hearse Whisperer, resisting the urge to fry the budgie to a crisp. 30 ‘Tell me or I will clip your wings.’
    â€˜Never,’ said Cassandra.
    â€˜I don’t mean clip your wings,’ said the Hearse Whisperer, correcting herself. ‘I mean clip your wings off .’
    In her cave, the Sheman sensed the presence of the Hearse Whisperer and knew that one of her two budgies was in trouble. She knew that if she sent Clint out to see what was happening, the Hearse Whisperer would take him too. She sat cross-legged on the ground and sent her mind out into Cassandra’s.
    â€˜Ah, your mistress has decided to join us,’ said the Hearse Whisperer. ‘So we meet again, Sheman.Last time we met you caught me off-guard because I was so jealous of your staggering beauty, but now we are enemies. This time I shall destroy you.’

In the Himalayas the mist had lifted and the sun shone down into a two-coloured world. Above, the sky was a bright clear blue. Everything else was covered in a layer of fresh white snow that had fallen during the night. It was as if no living creature had ever set foot in this high valley. The stable itself was almost hidden beneath a large snowdrift.
    Inside the stable the air was warm and humid, filled with the sweet smell of damp hay. Baby Valla lay in his manger, gurgling quietly to himself as he sucked his thumb. Being a wizard, with a touch of vampire from his great-great-grandfather on his mother’s side, he already had tiny fangs, andsoon punctured his own skin. This would make a human baby cry, but as Valla tasted his own blood, a contented grin spread across his little face. His parents lay together, half buried in the straw below the manger, and across the stable Vessel lay curled up at the Queen’s feet dreaming of cheese.
    George was gradually eating his way through the Queen’s bed when she woke with a shudder and sat