Read Online North! Or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson - Free Book Online Page B

Janner fear for his mentor’s life even as it made him love the kind old fellow even more.
    “It’s so old that it might be a legend,” Oskar began. His legs buckled and Janner rushed to his side to hold him up. “Oh dear.”
    “I think I remember seeing it on a map,” Janner said. “It’s a bridge—at Fingap Falls.”
    “Fingap Falls!” Podo sputtered. “Blubber and porridge, how could there be a bridge at that awful place? I went there as a boy, and it was all cloud and thunder, a thing to make yer stomach curl up into yer throat. No. Absolutely not. We can’t go east.”
    “Why not?” Nia said. “We can’t go west. The forest stretches for miles and miles, and Maker knows how many cows we’ll meet, even if the Fangs don’t catch us.”
    “But—but—Fingap Falls is too close to the Dark Sea. Might fall in.” Podo crossed his arms over his chest as if that ended the conversation.
    “Papa, if there’s a bridge, and it’s a short walk from here, we might make it across before the Fangs even know it’s there. They might even assume we went west. I think we should listen to Oskar and Janner.”
    “Listen, lass.” Podo lowered his eyebrows at her. “There comes a time when you have to choose between death and capture. I’d rather die than let these slithers tie me down, but we’ve got these youngsters here to think about. You saw the way those Fangs held back when the kids stood in front of us. Those lizards don’t want to kill‘em. Or they do, but they’re afraid to for fear of Gnag the Nameless. Maybe they stand a better chance of survival if we turn ourselves in. Maybe—maybe Gnag won’t turn out to be as bad as all that.”
    Nia raised an eyebrow.
    Podo waved a hand in the air. “Aw, that’s not what I mean. I’m just sayin’ that if the Fangs don’t aim to kill ‘em, maybe that’s better than bein’ hurled over the edge of the falls and into the sea.”
    Tink nodded. “I think he’s right, Mama. I don’t want to die.” He gulped. “And I
really
don’t want to die from falling over the cliffs.”
    “Thank ye, lad. Glad you have some sense in your head.”
    Nia was so upset she couldn’t speak. Janner hated seeing his mother and grandfather at odds. When Peet was around, the two men argued constantly, but this was different. This was deeper than an argument. This was a decision that meant more than peace between two people—it was the difference between life and death for all of them.
    Janner didn’t know what to think. If they gave themselves up, at least they were still alive. As long as the Jewels of Anniera remained, the throne of the Shining Isle stood a chance of being restored. But if they died, whatever plans Gnag had for the children would be thwarted, which had to be a good thing.
    “We can’t just let them take us,” Leeli said. “Would King Esben—would Father—have chosen capture over death? He chose death, didn’t he? He could have escaped the castle, but he chose to risk his life for, well, whatever it was in the castle that he needed to protect.”
    “Grandpa, we might make it,” Janner said. “Maybe there
is
a bridge.”
    “But what if there isn’t?” Tink asked, shifting the weight of his backpack.
    “There’s a bridge,” Oskar said. “There has to be, old friend. Ships and Sharks, remember?”
    “ FINE !” Podo roared, then quickly took control of himself. “Fine. Maybe there’s a bridge. Oskar, if ye say there’s a bridge at Fingap Falls, it’s to the falls we go. Move! We’ve wasted precious time.”
    Nugget had no problem bounding from boulder to boulder. Tink leapt from rock to rock, trying in vain to keep up with the dog and his sister. The Mighty Blapp rushed with increasing frenzy as it neared the falls. The air was thick with a mist that soaked the Igibys and Oskar, but it smelled clean and sharp.
    They picked their way over the rocks as the bank rose, so steep that Janner worried it would be impossible to find a safe way