Read Online The Shadow of the Bear: A Fairy Tale Retold by Regina Doman - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Regina Doman
Ads: Link
tumultuous innards? She could not breathe.
The noise changed. The dragon gave in to friction and slowed sullenly, tearing and snapping at the ground. Ordinary light—ordinary city noise poured into the car as the doors opened with a hiss and a bang. The crowd propelled them out of the car onto the pavement. A guitarist was plucking away on the far side of the track, emitting a melancholy air.
They had escaped—for now. Blanche shivered in the wispy breath of the dragon and wished she were safely at home in her bed. The heady joy of the opera had vanished, and she felt even more unprepared than usual for an adventure.
Chapter 5
LEAVING THE UPROAR of the subway tunnel, Rose felt a little overwhelmed by the silence outside. The snow was still falling thick and fast, smothering the City in a layer of downy white. It was almost as though the weather had drawn a muffling hood over the City’s head. An occasional taxi flashed past, making furrows in the white roads, but otherwise, this section of the city was deserted.
“Where are we?” Rose asked Bear, looking around.
“You’ll recognize it in a moment, I think,” he said. He had started to walk faster now, so the girls had to hurry to keep up. There was a change in him. He now seemed much taller, casting off his habitual slouch in his eagerness. He was in his own element, following some purpose, something familiar to him but foreign to the girls. It was as though he was transformed into a denizen of fairyland, about to enter his own haunted realm.
Blanche reached out and clung to her sister’s hand. Rose felt her thin mittened fingers clutching her own. She knew her sister was beginning to be frightened. But Rose was too caught up in the mystery to be afraid. She strained to hear the enchanted song Bear was listening to. Her heart was pounding, but to the rhythm of a marching drum, not fear. There was a sense of purpose here, and although she did not understand it, she rejoiced to be a part of it.
As the three of them moved down the snowy streets, Rose became aware of the three pointed towers of a Gothic church challenging the skyscrapers looming beyond it. A black rose window spread its wings across its facade, a whorled eye staring, entranced, beyond the world. She realized that Bear was heading for the church. And all at once, she recognized it. It was St. Lawrence, the abandoned church beside St. Catherine’s.
“We’re right by our school!” she blurted in excitement.
“Yeah, I thought you’d figure it out. We just came from a different direction, that’s all,” Bear said.
Blanche cast glances towards the school fearfully. Rose knew she was remembering the times she had seen Bear hanging out in the schoolyard with the druggies.
“Are we going to the school building?” Rose asked.
“No. We’re going to the church,” Bear said.
“Really? But I thought it’s been locked up.” Rose gave a skip of anticipation.
“I happen to have a set of the old keys. I used to be an altar boy there.” Bear said the last sentence offhandedly.
Rose laughed at him. “I can’t imagine you as an altar boy.”
Bear gave her a ghostly smile. “Believe it.”
They crossed the snowy street slowly, as though wading through a river of slow water, with the traffic light heedlessly changing colors above them. Bear leapt up the steps to the church in three bounds. The girls scrambled after him, breathing hard. He pulled out a key from beneath his coat, looked around once, then said, “Follow me,” and pushed it into the lock. The door opened and he slid inside, cracking it for the two girls to follow.
Rose squeezed her sister’s hand tightly and plunged into the pitch-black cavern. Blanche followed, and Bear shut the door with a click behind them.
The chilly smell of must and grime assailed Rose’s nostrils. She heard Bear and Blanche breathing hard, but she could not see anything, although she felt they were standing close by.
“This is so neat!”
The noise changed. The dragon gave in to friction and slowed sullenly, tearing and snapping at the ground. Ordinary light—ordinary city noise poured into the car as the doors opened with a hiss and a bang. The crowd propelled them out of the car onto the pavement. A guitarist was plucking away on the far side of the track, emitting a melancholy air.
They had escaped—for now. Blanche shivered in the wispy breath of the dragon and wished she were safely at home in her bed. The heady joy of the opera had vanished, and she felt even more unprepared than usual for an adventure.
Chapter 5
LEAVING THE UPROAR of the subway tunnel, Rose felt a little overwhelmed by the silence outside. The snow was still falling thick and fast, smothering the City in a layer of downy white. It was almost as though the weather had drawn a muffling hood over the City’s head. An occasional taxi flashed past, making furrows in the white roads, but otherwise, this section of the city was deserted.
“Where are we?” Rose asked Bear, looking around.
“You’ll recognize it in a moment, I think,” he said. He had started to walk faster now, so the girls had to hurry to keep up. There was a change in him. He now seemed much taller, casting off his habitual slouch in his eagerness. He was in his own element, following some purpose, something familiar to him but foreign to the girls. It was as though he was transformed into a denizen of fairyland, about to enter his own haunted realm.
Blanche reached out and clung to her sister’s hand. Rose felt her thin mittened fingers clutching her own. She knew her sister was beginning to be frightened. But Rose was too caught up in the mystery to be afraid. She strained to hear the enchanted song Bear was listening to. Her heart was pounding, but to the rhythm of a marching drum, not fear. There was a sense of purpose here, and although she did not understand it, she rejoiced to be a part of it.
As the three of them moved down the snowy streets, Rose became aware of the three pointed towers of a Gothic church challenging the skyscrapers looming beyond it. A black rose window spread its wings across its facade, a whorled eye staring, entranced, beyond the world. She realized that Bear was heading for the church. And all at once, she recognized it. It was St. Lawrence, the abandoned church beside St. Catherine’s.
“We’re right by our school!” she blurted in excitement.
“Yeah, I thought you’d figure it out. We just came from a different direction, that’s all,” Bear said.
Blanche cast glances towards the school fearfully. Rose knew she was remembering the times she had seen Bear hanging out in the schoolyard with the druggies.
“Are we going to the school building?” Rose asked.
“No. We’re going to the church,” Bear said.
“Really? But I thought it’s been locked up.” Rose gave a skip of anticipation.
“I happen to have a set of the old keys. I used to be an altar boy there.” Bear said the last sentence offhandedly.
Rose laughed at him. “I can’t imagine you as an altar boy.”
Bear gave her a ghostly smile. “Believe it.”
They crossed the snowy street slowly, as though wading through a river of slow water, with the traffic light heedlessly changing colors above them. Bear leapt up the steps to the church in three bounds. The girls scrambled after him, breathing hard. He pulled out a key from beneath his coat, looked around once, then said, “Follow me,” and pushed it into the lock. The door opened and he slid inside, cracking it for the two girls to follow.
Rose squeezed her sister’s hand tightly and plunged into the pitch-black cavern. Blanche followed, and Bear shut the door with a click behind them.
The chilly smell of must and grime assailed Rose’s nostrils. She heard Bear and Blanche breathing hard, but she could not see anything, although she felt they were standing close by.
“This is so neat!”
Similar Books
