Read Online Jinx On The Divide by Elizabeth Kay - Free Book Online
Authors: Elizabeth Kay
Tags: Fiction, Humorous stories, Children's Books, Fantasy, Juvenile Fiction, Action & Adventure - General, Magic, Fantasy & Magic, Ages 9-12 Fiction, Science Fiction; Fantasy; & Magic, Children: Grades 4-6
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came to rest, he felt himself
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start to fizz and then, before he knew it, he was outside and had returned to his normal self. The lamp lay beside him in the snow, and a little furry squirrel-like thing was chattering at him.
Rhino found himself compelled to bow from the waist and say "Greetings" in the most subservient way imaginable -- followed by: "I am your brandee. I assume you want either wealth beyond your wildest dreams, or the most beautiful doe in the world?"
The creature's reply had been inconclusive, but nuts might have been involved. After a lot of chattering, the thing ran off, and Rhino realized he was his own boss once more.
Coming out of the lamp was like surfacing after swimming underwater -- the real world came as something of a shock. Rhino had arrived in Vattan ("Fish Emporium of the North"), but at that stage, he had no idea that he'd crossed over into another dimension.
It was bitterly cold, but the cloak was equal to it. He trudged along the road for a while, heading out of town. As to where he was, he had no idea. Scotland was a possibility. The little furry thing could have been a red squirrel; the lamp must have bumped against it and the friction had been enough to summon his magically cloaked self. It was as if the creature had rubbed the lamp with the palm of its little pink paw. He wondered whether it would have been in his power to grant it a sackful of hazelnuts. He tried clapping his hands the way the brandee had done, but, sadly, nothing happened.
74
Eventually, he managed to hitch a ride on a sleigh pulled by what he assumed were cattle (although the horns on their noses were a little confusing), in the hope of reaching somewhere with reception for his cell phone. He didn't have to ask what the sleigh was carrying. The smell of fish that wafted over his shoulder spoke for itself.
The driver was bundled up in a greasy sheepskin jacket and leggings, and he was wearing the most extraordinary pair of feathered earmuffs. He didn't look quite human -- if the earmuffs were anything to go by, his ears would have looked better on a garden gnome. He seemed to think that Rhino was something called a japegrin, and, as a diggeluck (whatever that was), he had a lot of bones to pick with japegrins.
"Your kind think they're the only ones with any idea of how to run things," he grumbled, "but diggelucks know more about mining than anyone else. Used to be a miner myself, before I took some of Snakeweed's cough potion. Can't work underground anymore, so I takes fish to the airstrip instead...."
Rhino sat bolt upright. "Airstrip?"
"You didn't think I was going to drive all the way to Tiratattle? Can't take chances with fish, you know; fish has to be fresh. No, I drops them off and they gets air-freighted the rest of the way."
"Er ... right," said Rhino, his mind working overtime. Perhaps there would be a radio tower in Tiratattle? But how
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much would the flight cost, and how would he pay for it? He felt in his pockets: a handkerchief, his remaining firecrackers, a knife, the cigarette lighter, a candy bar, a few coins ... He pulled out the coins.
The diggeluck glanced across. "Never seen any like those," he said. "A collector would pay a fortune for them, I reckon."
"I'll give you a special price," said Rhino, scarcely believing his luck, "seeing as you've done me a favor."
So Rhino got the money for his ticket. After a while the movement of the sleigh had a hypnotic effect, and he dozed off. When he woke up, dawn was breaking and they were at the airstrip.
It wasn't like any airstrip he'd seen in a movie. There was a runway, certainly, the snow packed down hard. But it wasn't very long, and instead of wheel marks, there were huge three-toed footprints, like dinosaur tracks. It looked as though there hadn't been a flight for a while. Rhino went inside the shack, which was the so-called terminal, to buy a ticket and, hopefully, a cup of coffee. He purchased his ticket without any trouble,
73
start to fizz and then, before he knew it, he was outside and had returned to his normal self. The lamp lay beside him in the snow, and a little furry squirrel-like thing was chattering at him.
Rhino found himself compelled to bow from the waist and say "Greetings" in the most subservient way imaginable -- followed by: "I am your brandee. I assume you want either wealth beyond your wildest dreams, or the most beautiful doe in the world?"
The creature's reply had been inconclusive, but nuts might have been involved. After a lot of chattering, the thing ran off, and Rhino realized he was his own boss once more.
Coming out of the lamp was like surfacing after swimming underwater -- the real world came as something of a shock. Rhino had arrived in Vattan ("Fish Emporium of the North"), but at that stage, he had no idea that he'd crossed over into another dimension.
It was bitterly cold, but the cloak was equal to it. He trudged along the road for a while, heading out of town. As to where he was, he had no idea. Scotland was a possibility. The little furry thing could have been a red squirrel; the lamp must have bumped against it and the friction had been enough to summon his magically cloaked self. It was as if the creature had rubbed the lamp with the palm of its little pink paw. He wondered whether it would have been in his power to grant it a sackful of hazelnuts. He tried clapping his hands the way the brandee had done, but, sadly, nothing happened.
74
Eventually, he managed to hitch a ride on a sleigh pulled by what he assumed were cattle (although the horns on their noses were a little confusing), in the hope of reaching somewhere with reception for his cell phone. He didn't have to ask what the sleigh was carrying. The smell of fish that wafted over his shoulder spoke for itself.
The driver was bundled up in a greasy sheepskin jacket and leggings, and he was wearing the most extraordinary pair of feathered earmuffs. He didn't look quite human -- if the earmuffs were anything to go by, his ears would have looked better on a garden gnome. He seemed to think that Rhino was something called a japegrin, and, as a diggeluck (whatever that was), he had a lot of bones to pick with japegrins.
"Your kind think they're the only ones with any idea of how to run things," he grumbled, "but diggelucks know more about mining than anyone else. Used to be a miner myself, before I took some of Snakeweed's cough potion. Can't work underground anymore, so I takes fish to the airstrip instead...."
Rhino sat bolt upright. "Airstrip?"
"You didn't think I was going to drive all the way to Tiratattle? Can't take chances with fish, you know; fish has to be fresh. No, I drops them off and they gets air-freighted the rest of the way."
"Er ... right," said Rhino, his mind working overtime. Perhaps there would be a radio tower in Tiratattle? But how
75
much would the flight cost, and how would he pay for it? He felt in his pockets: a handkerchief, his remaining firecrackers, a knife, the cigarette lighter, a candy bar, a few coins ... He pulled out the coins.
The diggeluck glanced across. "Never seen any like those," he said. "A collector would pay a fortune for them, I reckon."
"I'll give you a special price," said Rhino, scarcely believing his luck, "seeing as you've done me a favor."
So Rhino got the money for his ticket. After a while the movement of the sleigh had a hypnotic effect, and he dozed off. When he woke up, dawn was breaking and they were at the airstrip.
It wasn't like any airstrip he'd seen in a movie. There was a runway, certainly, the snow packed down hard. But it wasn't very long, and instead of wheel marks, there were huge three-toed footprints, like dinosaur tracks. It looked as though there hadn't been a flight for a while. Rhino went inside the shack, which was the so-called terminal, to buy a ticket and, hopefully, a cup of coffee. He purchased his ticket without any trouble,
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