Read Online Jinx On The Divide by Elizabeth Kay - Free Book Online Page A
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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but he would have to wait for the next flight to arrive so that it could be turned around. It was a tiny airport -- there were no planes on the ground at all.
No one seemed to know what coffee was, so he sat there and studied his fellow passengers-to-be. They were an odd group. This clearly was not Scotland. There were a few diggelucks, a one-eyed mutant in a pink frock, a goaty-legged
76
thing with horns -- a costume, surely -- and one lone human being. He had a mass of curly red hair, not unlike Rhino's own, and squinty green eyes. Just as Rhino was gearing himself up to go over and say hello, the man ran a hand through his hair, revealing a pointed elfin ear. Oh, well, thought Rhino. / may be dreaming, round the twist, or dead, but it could be worse. It could be history class.
A few minutes later, it did get worse, a lot worse. First of all, he noticed a light in the sky. Then he realized it was winking on and off -- some sort of identification signal, probably. By the time the light reached the end of the runway, he'd figured out that its source was a jet of name, not a lightbulb, and it was coming from the mouth of -- well, a dragon. He watched the creature touch down at a gallop and slow to a waddle. easy-flap had been painted on its flank, and it wore a long, many-seated saddle. Rhino watched the passengers disembark. None of them looked normal. A radio tower in Tiratattle was seeming less and less likely by the minute. He walked out of the airport and took the next passenger sleigh out of town. It was going to a place called Yergud.
He eavesdropped on the conversations in the sleigh as it jolted along, and he learned a lot. It became clear that, somehow, he had crossed over into another world. Whether it was a real world, or a world inside his head, remained to be seen. He couldn't do anything about it, so there was no point in agonizing over it -- but based on his experiences so far, he would be able to live like a king if he played his cards right.
77
[Image: A dragon.]
He was feeling pleased with his curly red hair for the first time ever -- and it was long enough to hide his ears.
The landscape was changing, for they were going uphill all the time. They passed gigantic frozen waterfalls, and lakes waxed with ice. There didn't seem to be any trees anymore, just great expanses of shoulder-high bushes with silvery trunks and snow-laden branches. Although Rhino had seen tundra on television, actually being in such a bleak environment was a very new experience. The sunrise was far more protracted than it was in England, and the light was strange -- a pearly lilac-gray.
78
Gradually, the grayness seeped away until the sky was streaked with turquoise and pink, and the sun appeared, red and raw. They stopped at a roadside cafe for breakfast. When they came out, a blizzard was in progress. Five minutes later, it was bright sunshine again. A little later, the sky darkened to a bruise, and then the mountains disappeared behind a veil of white. Rhino pulled up his hood, but once again, the snowstorm didn't last long.
Yergud itself looked like a toy town. There weren't any buildings over two stories high, and they were all painted in pastel colors. He made his way to the market and looked at the produce, considering lunch. Some things were familiar -- loaves of bread, crocks of honey, dried mushrooms, cheeses.
The livestock section was completely un familiar. There were several pens full of goaty things that quacked and waggled their ears every so often. Beneath the bleating of bright-blue domestic fowls and the bellows of cuddyaks, there was a nonstop background track of haggling voices and clinking coins.
Rhino took out his cell phone and turned it on. He was being very careful about saving power since he didn't have his charger with him. Once again, there was no signal whatsoever.
"I'll take that," said a voice over his shoulder, and before he had time to react, a hand had relieved him of his phone.
Rhino
No one seemed to know what coffee was, so he sat there and studied his fellow passengers-to-be. They were an odd group. This clearly was not Scotland. There were a few diggelucks, a one-eyed mutant in a pink frock, a goaty-legged
76
thing with horns -- a costume, surely -- and one lone human being. He had a mass of curly red hair, not unlike Rhino's own, and squinty green eyes. Just as Rhino was gearing himself up to go over and say hello, the man ran a hand through his hair, revealing a pointed elfin ear. Oh, well, thought Rhino. / may be dreaming, round the twist, or dead, but it could be worse. It could be history class.
A few minutes later, it did get worse, a lot worse. First of all, he noticed a light in the sky. Then he realized it was winking on and off -- some sort of identification signal, probably. By the time the light reached the end of the runway, he'd figured out that its source was a jet of name, not a lightbulb, and it was coming from the mouth of -- well, a dragon. He watched the creature touch down at a gallop and slow to a waddle. easy-flap had been painted on its flank, and it wore a long, many-seated saddle. Rhino watched the passengers disembark. None of them looked normal. A radio tower in Tiratattle was seeming less and less likely by the minute. He walked out of the airport and took the next passenger sleigh out of town. It was going to a place called Yergud.
He eavesdropped on the conversations in the sleigh as it jolted along, and he learned a lot. It became clear that, somehow, he had crossed over into another world. Whether it was a real world, or a world inside his head, remained to be seen. He couldn't do anything about it, so there was no point in agonizing over it -- but based on his experiences so far, he would be able to live like a king if he played his cards right.
77
[Image: A dragon.]
He was feeling pleased with his curly red hair for the first time ever -- and it was long enough to hide his ears.
The landscape was changing, for they were going uphill all the time. They passed gigantic frozen waterfalls, and lakes waxed with ice. There didn't seem to be any trees anymore, just great expanses of shoulder-high bushes with silvery trunks and snow-laden branches. Although Rhino had seen tundra on television, actually being in such a bleak environment was a very new experience. The sunrise was far more protracted than it was in England, and the light was strange -- a pearly lilac-gray.
78
Gradually, the grayness seeped away until the sky was streaked with turquoise and pink, and the sun appeared, red and raw. They stopped at a roadside cafe for breakfast. When they came out, a blizzard was in progress. Five minutes later, it was bright sunshine again. A little later, the sky darkened to a bruise, and then the mountains disappeared behind a veil of white. Rhino pulled up his hood, but once again, the snowstorm didn't last long.
Yergud itself looked like a toy town. There weren't any buildings over two stories high, and they were all painted in pastel colors. He made his way to the market and looked at the produce, considering lunch. Some things were familiar -- loaves of bread, crocks of honey, dried mushrooms, cheeses.
The livestock section was completely un familiar. There were several pens full of goaty things that quacked and waggled their ears every so often. Beneath the bleating of bright-blue domestic fowls and the bellows of cuddyaks, there was a nonstop background track of haggling voices and clinking coins.
Rhino took out his cell phone and turned it on. He was being very careful about saving power since he didn't have his charger with him. Once again, there was no signal whatsoever.
"I'll take that," said a voice over his shoulder, and before he had time to react, a hand had relieved him of his phone.
Rhino
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