Read Online Green by Laura Peyton Roberts - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Laura Peyton Roberts
Tags: Fiction, General, All Ages, Children's Books, Juvenile Fiction, Fantasy & Magic, Ages 9-12 Fiction, Science Fiction; Fantasy; & Magic, Children: Grades 4-6, Fairy Tales & Folklore, Legends; Myths; Fables, Grandmothers, Legends; Myths; & Fables - General, Fairy Tales & Folklore - General, leprechauns
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remembered where I was.
The gold still gave off the same low glow, lighting the cave just enough to see. I stumbled through coins and nuggets on my way back to the front, wondering how long I'd been snoozing.
A chink of sunlight greeted me at the tiny airhole Balthazar had plugged the evening before. I realized I'd slept the entire night just as another scrape and a shout of "Heave!" forced the sealing boulder aside and flooded the keep with light.
I blinked painfully in the sudden sunshine. And then I heard the roar. The field between the cottage and the keep was packed with happy Greens, all cheering like maniacs.
Mother Sosanna stepped into the cave, followed by her council. Her tiara of emeralds looked even more spectacular in the sun, lit through all of their facets into the full spectrum of greens. "Congratulations, Lilybet," she said. "You have passed the test of blood. Only someone with both human and leprechaun blood can successfully use the key."
I still wasn't buying the lepling thing, but I did share Gigi's blood and she had used the key. Then something else sank in: "Wait, you have to be human to use the key? That makes me the only one here who can get to the gold!" I said gleefully.
Just outside the cave mouth, Bronwyn cleared her throat. I noticed the offended looks on the faces of the council.
80
"I mean, um, that's the keeper's job," I covered. "Right?"
Sosanna overlooked my gloating. "Indeed. Opening the inner keep, recording the accounts, and storing and removing what is required are all duties reserved for the keeper."
"You mean ... even once the wall is open, I'm the only one who can take gold out?"
"Out of the inner keep, the keep beyond the keyhole. You'll carry what's needed to the outer keep, which is this part of the cave we're standing in now. Our security spells require a leprechaun to carry the gold outside from here. Checks and balances, Lil."
The mountain of treasure behind me gleamed invitingly as beams of sunlight crept toward it. Dashing back on a whim, I helped myself to a nugget the size of a jawbreaker and skipped toward the outer keep with it. An invisible force at the threshold slammed me backward like a bird that had flown into a window, landing my velvet-covered butt up against a pile of coins.
The members of the council strained to keep the smiles off their faces.
Sosanna pointed at my hand. "You're a bit ahead o' yourself, Lilybet. You passed the first test, but you're not keeper yet. You'll need to drop our nugget if you want to join us."
I uncurled my fingers but couldn't let go. I watched the
81
gold glimmer, part of me, before I finally forced my hand over and let the nugget fall into the pile.
"Good girl," Sosanna said. "Now come along to breakfast and lock the wall behind you."
I stepped cautiously over the invisible line dividing the inner keep from the outer; then I hesitated, not sure how to lock a wall that wasn't there anymore. But the instant I lifted Gigi's key, the magic stone rematerialized in front of me, sealing off the inner keep with a keyhole at eye level.
Feeling unsure and self-conscious, I slid my key into the lock. Something clicked. The keyhole shrank away from me and blended into a shadow.
"Nicely done," said Sosanna. "Let's eat."
The usual ruckus broke out as we entered Green Field, but this time there were cries of "Well done!" and "Good job!" in addition to the howls of "Greeeeeeeeen!"
Our long dining table stood ready on the platform, while the tables and chairs in the field below had been replaced by carnival-style stands serving up fruit and doughnuts to the milling crowd. Painted barricades marked off long empty lanes of turf.
Taking my seat at the table, I waited as breakfast was piled on my plate, then turned to Lexie on my right. "What are those runways for?" I asked, pointing down to the grass.
She looked confused. "Do you mean the race course?"
"Race course?" There was scarcely a man in the crowd
82
who didn't have an
The gold still gave off the same low glow, lighting the cave just enough to see. I stumbled through coins and nuggets on my way back to the front, wondering how long I'd been snoozing.
A chink of sunlight greeted me at the tiny airhole Balthazar had plugged the evening before. I realized I'd slept the entire night just as another scrape and a shout of "Heave!" forced the sealing boulder aside and flooded the keep with light.
I blinked painfully in the sudden sunshine. And then I heard the roar. The field between the cottage and the keep was packed with happy Greens, all cheering like maniacs.
Mother Sosanna stepped into the cave, followed by her council. Her tiara of emeralds looked even more spectacular in the sun, lit through all of their facets into the full spectrum of greens. "Congratulations, Lilybet," she said. "You have passed the test of blood. Only someone with both human and leprechaun blood can successfully use the key."
I still wasn't buying the lepling thing, but I did share Gigi's blood and she had used the key. Then something else sank in: "Wait, you have to be human to use the key? That makes me the only one here who can get to the gold!" I said gleefully.
Just outside the cave mouth, Bronwyn cleared her throat. I noticed the offended looks on the faces of the council.
80
"I mean, um, that's the keeper's job," I covered. "Right?"
Sosanna overlooked my gloating. "Indeed. Opening the inner keep, recording the accounts, and storing and removing what is required are all duties reserved for the keeper."
"You mean ... even once the wall is open, I'm the only one who can take gold out?"
"Out of the inner keep, the keep beyond the keyhole. You'll carry what's needed to the outer keep, which is this part of the cave we're standing in now. Our security spells require a leprechaun to carry the gold outside from here. Checks and balances, Lil."
The mountain of treasure behind me gleamed invitingly as beams of sunlight crept toward it. Dashing back on a whim, I helped myself to a nugget the size of a jawbreaker and skipped toward the outer keep with it. An invisible force at the threshold slammed me backward like a bird that had flown into a window, landing my velvet-covered butt up against a pile of coins.
The members of the council strained to keep the smiles off their faces.
Sosanna pointed at my hand. "You're a bit ahead o' yourself, Lilybet. You passed the first test, but you're not keeper yet. You'll need to drop our nugget if you want to join us."
I uncurled my fingers but couldn't let go. I watched the
81
gold glimmer, part of me, before I finally forced my hand over and let the nugget fall into the pile.
"Good girl," Sosanna said. "Now come along to breakfast and lock the wall behind you."
I stepped cautiously over the invisible line dividing the inner keep from the outer; then I hesitated, not sure how to lock a wall that wasn't there anymore. But the instant I lifted Gigi's key, the magic stone rematerialized in front of me, sealing off the inner keep with a keyhole at eye level.
Feeling unsure and self-conscious, I slid my key into the lock. Something clicked. The keyhole shrank away from me and blended into a shadow.
"Nicely done," said Sosanna. "Let's eat."
The usual ruckus broke out as we entered Green Field, but this time there were cries of "Well done!" and "Good job!" in addition to the howls of "Greeeeeeeeen!"
Our long dining table stood ready on the platform, while the tables and chairs in the field below had been replaced by carnival-style stands serving up fruit and doughnuts to the milling crowd. Painted barricades marked off long empty lanes of turf.
Taking my seat at the table, I waited as breakfast was piled on my plate, then turned to Lexie on my right. "What are those runways for?" I asked, pointing down to the grass.
She looked confused. "Do you mean the race course?"
"Race course?" There was scarcely a man in the crowd
82
who didn't have an
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