Read Online The Secret Kingdom by Jenny Nimmo - Free Book Online

almost before he knew the reason for it.
    These small cubs would soon die. Without their mother, they were helpless. She had been carrying thedead gazelle when she was shot. And it was her prey that the hyenas were gorging on.
    Timoken pulled the moon cloak from his shoulders and wrapped it around the cubs. They gazed at him, but did not attempt to shake off the web. Their wide grey eyes followed the boy as he stood up and took out his pearl-handled knife.
    ‘What are you doing, Family?’ Gabar asked nervously.
    ‘Shh!’ warned Timoken. ‘I am going to get some meat.’
    ‘I hope not,’ grunted Gabar.
    ‘Shh!’ Rage filled Timoken’s throat.
    Gabar had never known the boy to use this kind of voice. Never. The sound puzzled him. Afraid of what would happen next, the camel fell silent. Motionless, he watched the boy creep soundlessly through the trees, back to the hideous scene from which he had just fled.
    The viridee had already seen him. Red eyes tracked the boy’s movements as he stepped into the glade. Two of the hyenas looked up from their feast and snarled. Facing those long teeth, Timoken knew his little knife could not protect him. But he did not lower it, and he did not stop or back away. The hyenas were all looking at him now, their snarls and screams filling the air.
    Timoken began to speak. He hardly knew where the words were coming from, but he was aware that he was using the voice of an animal. He spoke of the hyenas’ children, of horrible pain, of the end of life.
    The hyenas lowered their heads. Meat slid from their bloody jaws and their snarls turned to whimpers. Timoken stepped closer. Any fear he might have felt had been replaced by his unflinching will. All at once, to his astonishment, the whole pack turned their backs and ran, whining, into the trees.
    But the hunter stayed where he was, red eyes flashing. With one fluid movement, his long fingers reached for an arrow.
    For a fraction of a second Timoken was afraid. Could he grab the gazelle before the arrow reached him? As the hunter lifted his bow, the boy had his answer. Pointing his ringed finger at the treetops he cried out to the sky.
    The answering crack of thunder startled the hunter, but it did not deter him. He fitted the arrow to his bow and drew it back. The second crack of thunder came with a blinding flash. A shaft of lightning struck the tree beside the viridee. Before he could move, the treecrashed to the ground, crushing the viridee beneath its flaming branches.
    Fire snaked along the fallen tree and crackled in the undergrowth. Seizing the gazelle, Timoken carried it through the forest, while the fire snapped and hissed behind him. He heaved the length of meat towards the cubs’ hiding place and laid it before them. Three small heads appeared between the hanging creepers. Cautiously, the cubs crept from beneath the moon cloak and sniffed the meat. Excited by the smell, they began to eat, tearing, chewing and whimpering with hunger and delight.
    ‘Look! Look, Gabar,’ Timoken said joyfully. ‘I got the meat. I’ve fed them, and they will live!’
    Gabar had taken several paces away from the scene. What he saw worried him. He had never liked the smell of raw meat, and it unsettled him to see these three dangerous creatures tearing at it.
    ‘Aren’t you proud of me, Gabar?’ Timoken asked. ‘I wish you had seen those hyenas slink away.’
    ‘There is a fire,’ the camel grunted. ‘Soon we will all be burnt to death.’
    Timoken leapt up with a gasp. ‘I forgot!’ Seizing themoon cloak he whirled it in an arc above his head, again and again. His calls rose through the forest and the rain answered him. It poured through the leaves and splashed against the trees, extinguishing the fire in seconds.
    Timoken wrapped the moon cloak around his wet shoulders and laughed with pleasure. The rain stopped, but the cubs, now wet through, continued to eat. Even when their bellies were full they went on gnawing, their fear of