Read Online Gravenhunger by Richard; Harriet; Allen Goodwin - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Richard; Harriet; Allen Goodwin
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from his lungs.
He thrust out with his hands, clawing at the collapsing sides for something to grab hold of … but each time he was driven back by another torrent of cascading soil.
It was hot down here too … so hot he could scarcely breathe what little air there was, and beneath him one of his legs was growing numb with cramp.
He winced as something hard and sharp gouged into his thigh.
The silver angel …
Phoenix scrabbled blindly beneath him, seeking out the cool silver of his mother’s keepsake.
But his fingers met instead with a strange and otherworldly warmth.
Rose thundered through the forest, her torch illuminating a trail of scuffed-up earth and pine needles between the trees.
Her cousin had certainly done a good job of showing her the way…
Not far off she could hear the rushing of water, and moments later she was bursting out into the freezing air and skidding to a standstill beside a huge fallen pine tree.
The river was wider than she’d imagined – much wider. And this tree trunk had to be how Phoenix had crossed it.
Vaulting on to the makeshift bridge, she began to shuffle across, the soles of her trainers skimming the seething surface below.
She jumped off on to the opposite bank and stumbled through the undergrowth towards the embankment, then jammed the torch between her teeth and heaved herself up it.
At the top she paused to catch her breath.
She was far enough away from the house to call to him now, surely? Her uncle would never hear her from this side of the river.
“Phoenix!” she yelled. “ Phoenix! ”
But though she strained her ears against the vast darkness, his answer never came.
It was only the faintest of sounds, but it was enough to ignite in Phoenix a tiny flicker of hope.
Somebody was out there! Somebody had called his name!
There it was again – small and muffled, but closer this time. Much closer.
He lunged against the weight of earth on top of him, the object he had mistaken for the silver angel clenched in his fist.
And then he felt it…a hand plunging through the earth towards him and grasping his own, wrenching him free and pulling him towards the surface.
“ Phoenix! ”
His cousin was kneeling over him, brushing the soil from his hair and his eyes.
“ What happened? ”
Phoenix opened his mouth to speak, but his body convulsed in a violent fit of choking. He writhed on the ground, retching up hard gobbets of earth.
“How did you know I was over here?” he spluttered at last. “How did you know I was in trouble?”
Rose sat back and wiped her hands on her jeans.
“I couldn’t sleep,” she said, picking up her torch from the edge of the burrow. “I got up and saw you going over to the mound. And then your torch flew up into the air, like you’d been scared or something. And, well, I just knew I had to get over here as fast as I could.”
Phoenix struggled up on to his elbows and scanned the sleety darkness for the silhouette, but he could see nothing.
“What is it?” Rose asked. “What are you looking for?” She looked at him more closely. “I’m right, aren’t I? Something did freak you out earlier. That’s why you let go of the torch. What happened? Did someone follow you out here?”
“Of course not,” mumbled Phoenix.
He forced his attention back to Rose.
“I’d been searching for something I’d dropped yesterday, OK? I reckoned it might have fallen down a burrow. But this part of the mound is full of animal holes, and when I tried to reach it the earth gave way beneath me. That’s when I let go of the torch. It was as simple as that.”
“What was it you’d lost?” asked Rose.
“Something my mother gave me. A – a little silver angel.”
“An angel ?”
Phoenix narrowed his eyes at his cousin. “Have you got a problem with that? Mum gave it to me just before she died, if you must know. It was special to me.”
Rose gestured towards his clenched fist. “I take it you found it, then?”
“I thought I
He thrust out with his hands, clawing at the collapsing sides for something to grab hold of … but each time he was driven back by another torrent of cascading soil.
It was hot down here too … so hot he could scarcely breathe what little air there was, and beneath him one of his legs was growing numb with cramp.
He winced as something hard and sharp gouged into his thigh.
The silver angel …
Phoenix scrabbled blindly beneath him, seeking out the cool silver of his mother’s keepsake.
But his fingers met instead with a strange and otherworldly warmth.
Rose thundered through the forest, her torch illuminating a trail of scuffed-up earth and pine needles between the trees.
Her cousin had certainly done a good job of showing her the way…
Not far off she could hear the rushing of water, and moments later she was bursting out into the freezing air and skidding to a standstill beside a huge fallen pine tree.
The river was wider than she’d imagined – much wider. And this tree trunk had to be how Phoenix had crossed it.
Vaulting on to the makeshift bridge, she began to shuffle across, the soles of her trainers skimming the seething surface below.
She jumped off on to the opposite bank and stumbled through the undergrowth towards the embankment, then jammed the torch between her teeth and heaved herself up it.
At the top she paused to catch her breath.
She was far enough away from the house to call to him now, surely? Her uncle would never hear her from this side of the river.
“Phoenix!” she yelled. “ Phoenix! ”
But though she strained her ears against the vast darkness, his answer never came.
It was only the faintest of sounds, but it was enough to ignite in Phoenix a tiny flicker of hope.
Somebody was out there! Somebody had called his name!
There it was again – small and muffled, but closer this time. Much closer.
He lunged against the weight of earth on top of him, the object he had mistaken for the silver angel clenched in his fist.
And then he felt it…a hand plunging through the earth towards him and grasping his own, wrenching him free and pulling him towards the surface.
“ Phoenix! ”
His cousin was kneeling over him, brushing the soil from his hair and his eyes.
“ What happened? ”
Phoenix opened his mouth to speak, but his body convulsed in a violent fit of choking. He writhed on the ground, retching up hard gobbets of earth.
“How did you know I was over here?” he spluttered at last. “How did you know I was in trouble?”
Rose sat back and wiped her hands on her jeans.
“I couldn’t sleep,” she said, picking up her torch from the edge of the burrow. “I got up and saw you going over to the mound. And then your torch flew up into the air, like you’d been scared or something. And, well, I just knew I had to get over here as fast as I could.”
Phoenix struggled up on to his elbows and scanned the sleety darkness for the silhouette, but he could see nothing.
“What is it?” Rose asked. “What are you looking for?” She looked at him more closely. “I’m right, aren’t I? Something did freak you out earlier. That’s why you let go of the torch. What happened? Did someone follow you out here?”
“Of course not,” mumbled Phoenix.
He forced his attention back to Rose.
“I’d been searching for something I’d dropped yesterday, OK? I reckoned it might have fallen down a burrow. But this part of the mound is full of animal holes, and when I tried to reach it the earth gave way beneath me. That’s when I let go of the torch. It was as simple as that.”
“What was it you’d lost?” asked Rose.
“Something my mother gave me. A – a little silver angel.”
“An angel ?”
Phoenix narrowed his eyes at his cousin. “Have you got a problem with that? Mum gave it to me just before she died, if you must know. It was special to me.”
Rose gestured towards his clenched fist. “I take it you found it, then?”
“I thought I
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