Read Online The Owl Keeper by Christine Brodien-Jones - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Christine Brodien-Jones
Tags: Fiction, General, All Ages, Children's Books, Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Family, Juvenile Fiction, Action & Adventure - General, Magic, Fantasy & Magic, Ages 9-12 Fiction, Nature & the Natural World, Social Issues, Animals, Human-animal relationships, Children: Grades 4-6, Friendship, Nature, Body; Mind & Spirit, Family - General, Social Issues - Friendship, Magick Studies, Prophecies, Owls, Birds, Environment, Nature & the Natural World - Environment
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curtain falling across his mind, blocking out the scene earlier that evening at the dinner table. Using Mrs. Crumlin's paring knife, he absentmindedly scraped at the moss, careful not to get dirt on his mittens.
High above sat the silver owl, mute and elegant, watching.
"You've got to be dead smart to be an explorer, and tough as nails, because of the tremors," Rose went on, swinging upside
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down. "I mean, if you're not careful a long-lost city could fall on top of you." She shook her head, as if to emphasize her point, and a dryad beetle fell from her hair and landed next to Max. "Anyway, it won't be a problem for me."
He looked at the squashed beetle in disgust. At least it wasn't a deathwatch beetle--though he was starting to have a sneaking suspicion that Mrs. Crumlin had made them up.
"My dad knows stories about olden-day explorers. He told me stuff that would curl your nose hairs." Rose swung up to a sitting position. Her matted hair glistened with cobwebs. Max wondered if she ever washed it. "They lead rough-and-tumble lives."
"You ought to brush your hair once in a while," he told her. "It's got knots and bugs in it." His owl drifted down and greeted him, nuzzling his cheek, then she hopped onto a low branch.
"Huh, shows how much you know." Rose gripped the tree and started to climb. "Explorers are too busy fighting grave robbers and digging up gold and artifacts to worry about how their hair looks."
As Rose talked, Max thought. There was something that was bothering him. If Einstein didn't know about Rose, that meant she wasn't enrolled in school. But what did she do all day? Where did she go? He had so many questions, but he was too timid to ask, for fear of Rose losing her temper or, worse, making fun of him. She was so unpredictable.
"Hey, Max," Rose called down. "Do you know about a place called The Ruins?"
Max looked up. She had climbed far higher than he ever dared go. "Sure I do. The Ruins are near Cavernstone Hall, where my parents work."
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"My dad scouted them out. He thinks they're downright eerie. He says something peculiar is going on in there."
"Your dad's wrong. The Ruins are derelict." Max wiped the knife on his jeans. He was a bit envious of Rose's having a spy for a father. His dad, he knew, would never be caught dead near The Ruins. "Mrs. Crumlin says they're empty as eggshells."
"Hey, Max, time to pop that bubble you're in!" Rose clambered down the tree, swinging monkey-style off a branch. "Crumlin's lying again." She shook her head, throwing off twigs and leaves. "You can't trust her, she's part of the machine. She's dangerous!"
"Dangerous? My parents hired her to be my guardian!" Max could hear the owl's talons, clicking against the bark, and the low thrumming of her voice.
Rose threw Max a sideways glance.
"Okay, I admit she's nosy and snoops around my room, and she's a terrible cook. But that doesn't make her a bad person." Max had no intention of defending Mrs. Crumlin, but Rose's know-it-all attitude was getting to him.
"Fine, Max, have it your way, let's just say your guardian is a cog in the wheel. Let's just say she's misinformed. Misinformation is something secret agents deal with all the time." Rose stood peeling a slug off the tree. "Everyone knows guardians are paid by the High Echelon."
Max stared at the black dirt caked under Rose's raggedy fingernails. It looked permanent. What did she mean by a cog in the wheel? What machine was she talking about? He wondered where she picked up her quirky expressions.
Max saw the owl lean toward him, nearly falling from the branch, blinking her golden eyes. He blinked back at her. If he
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could speak owl language he would tell his owl how fierce and storm-tossed she looked.
Rose thumped around the tree, whacking a stick against the trunk. Max was about to say something about the stolen boots when she interrupted him.
"My dad has got Cavernstone Hall on his radar too," she said darkly. "He says it looks
High above sat the silver owl, mute and elegant, watching.
"You've got to be dead smart to be an explorer, and tough as nails, because of the tremors," Rose went on, swinging upside
66
down. "I mean, if you're not careful a long-lost city could fall on top of you." She shook her head, as if to emphasize her point, and a dryad beetle fell from her hair and landed next to Max. "Anyway, it won't be a problem for me."
He looked at the squashed beetle in disgust. At least it wasn't a deathwatch beetle--though he was starting to have a sneaking suspicion that Mrs. Crumlin had made them up.
"My dad knows stories about olden-day explorers. He told me stuff that would curl your nose hairs." Rose swung up to a sitting position. Her matted hair glistened with cobwebs. Max wondered if she ever washed it. "They lead rough-and-tumble lives."
"You ought to brush your hair once in a while," he told her. "It's got knots and bugs in it." His owl drifted down and greeted him, nuzzling his cheek, then she hopped onto a low branch.
"Huh, shows how much you know." Rose gripped the tree and started to climb. "Explorers are too busy fighting grave robbers and digging up gold and artifacts to worry about how their hair looks."
As Rose talked, Max thought. There was something that was bothering him. If Einstein didn't know about Rose, that meant she wasn't enrolled in school. But what did she do all day? Where did she go? He had so many questions, but he was too timid to ask, for fear of Rose losing her temper or, worse, making fun of him. She was so unpredictable.
"Hey, Max," Rose called down. "Do you know about a place called The Ruins?"
Max looked up. She had climbed far higher than he ever dared go. "Sure I do. The Ruins are near Cavernstone Hall, where my parents work."
67
"My dad scouted them out. He thinks they're downright eerie. He says something peculiar is going on in there."
"Your dad's wrong. The Ruins are derelict." Max wiped the knife on his jeans. He was a bit envious of Rose's having a spy for a father. His dad, he knew, would never be caught dead near The Ruins. "Mrs. Crumlin says they're empty as eggshells."
"Hey, Max, time to pop that bubble you're in!" Rose clambered down the tree, swinging monkey-style off a branch. "Crumlin's lying again." She shook her head, throwing off twigs and leaves. "You can't trust her, she's part of the machine. She's dangerous!"
"Dangerous? My parents hired her to be my guardian!" Max could hear the owl's talons, clicking against the bark, and the low thrumming of her voice.
Rose threw Max a sideways glance.
"Okay, I admit she's nosy and snoops around my room, and she's a terrible cook. But that doesn't make her a bad person." Max had no intention of defending Mrs. Crumlin, but Rose's know-it-all attitude was getting to him.
"Fine, Max, have it your way, let's just say your guardian is a cog in the wheel. Let's just say she's misinformed. Misinformation is something secret agents deal with all the time." Rose stood peeling a slug off the tree. "Everyone knows guardians are paid by the High Echelon."
Max stared at the black dirt caked under Rose's raggedy fingernails. It looked permanent. What did she mean by a cog in the wheel? What machine was she talking about? He wondered where she picked up her quirky expressions.
Max saw the owl lean toward him, nearly falling from the branch, blinking her golden eyes. He blinked back at her. If he
68
could speak owl language he would tell his owl how fierce and storm-tossed she looked.
Rose thumped around the tree, whacking a stick against the trunk. Max was about to say something about the stolen boots when she interrupted him.
"My dad has got Cavernstone Hall on his radar too," she said darkly. "He says it looks
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