Prince of Hazel and Oak. John Lenahan
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Название: Prince of Hazel and Oak
Автор: John Lenahan
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Детская проза
isbn: 9780007425600
isbn:
‘You promised you would keep your hands in your pockets. What were you doing when Spideog threw the rock at you?’
‘Spideog hit me? What for?’
‘What were you doing?’
‘I got bored waiting for you so I notched an arrow and was about to do a bit of archery practice.’
‘And what were you aiming at?’
Brendan pointed to a young oak. His misfired arrow was about ten yards behind it.
‘Come with me,’ I said, grabbing him by the arm and leading him to Mother Oak.
‘Hug that tree,’ I demanded.
‘What?’
‘Hug that tree.’
‘I’m not going to hug a tree.’
‘Hug that tree or I will have you dragged back to Castle Duir in chains and you can stare at Frick and Frack for the next year.’
He looked at me and then tilted his head. ‘You mean it, don’t you?’
‘Yes.’
‘If I didn’t know better, I’d say my mother put you up to this.’
‘Hug!’
Brendan approached the tree and with an if it will make you happy attitude, wrapped his arms around Mother Oak. His smirk disappeared in an instant. I wish I could have heard Mother Oak’s side of the conversation ’cause all I heard from Brendan was ‘Yes, ma’am’ and ‘No, ma’am.’ His conversation finished with, ‘It won’t happen again, ma’am.’ Then he let go of the tree and staggered.
I caught him by the arm. ‘Steady, Detective.’
He tried looking me in the eyes but wasn’t focusing well. ‘I’m still concussed, aren’t I?’
‘I’m pretty sure you’re not.’
‘Yeah,’ he said, regaining his balance, ‘I was afraid of that.’
I waited for him to say something else but he just stood there. Finally I asked, ‘So what did you think of Mother Oak?’
‘That’s a heck of a tree.’
I laughed. ‘That’s what I said when I first met her.’
A group of soldiers had galloped ahead and had started cooking so that dinner was ready to be served almost as soon as we made camp. Other soldiers pitched tents for Mom and me. As I have said I’m not a big fan of the royal treatment I get around here but after a hard day of riding – well, it would be rude of me to complain about a meal and a clean bed.
Brendan wolfed down his supper and then disappeared. I had a silent meal with Araf and then decided to hit the hay in the luxury of my own royal tent. As I approached it I heard a strange noise coming from inside. I unsheathed the Lawnmower and pushed open the flap only to find Brendan snoring in my bed. No amount of shaking and then kicking could get him to move so I grabbed a blanket and slept out under the stars on a lumpy piece of ground next to Araf. I fell asleep thinking of ways to strangle Brendan as he slept.
I was having a dream about Essa talking to an invisible man when I was awoken by a ruckus at the edge of the camp. I saw Mom heading towards the commotion. Araf and I followed. At the perimeter of the paddock we found Mom tending a wounded soldier. Next to him was a dead wolf with an arrow through its chest.
Mom stood up and walked over to the wolf. ‘Who shot the beast?’ she demanded.
‘I did,’ came a response from the shadows. It was Spideog.
‘Explain yourself.’
‘It was a last resort, Lady Deirdre. I arrived as the wolves were harassing the horses. The guards were shooing them away when they attacked. This man went down and lost his banta stick. I only fired when the wolf went for him on the ground. I had no choice.’
Mom looked at the wounded guard, who nodded in agreement. Mom placed her hand on the neck of the wolf and then began to run both her hands over the animal. She paused for what seemed to be the longest time, turning her head from one side to another, and then suddenly reached into her boot and pulled out a knife. She cut a long incision deep into the creature’s abdomen and reached inside. When her bloody hand emerged she held a short wire necklace with a small flat gold disc attached. She held it up and displayed it to Spideog. The look on both of their faces made me feel very afraid.
Chapter Ten
The Athrú
I didn’t get a chance to talk to Mom until we were back on the road the next day. I slid Acorn up next to her and asked, ‘What was that thing you pulled out of the wolf last night? It looked like it really spooked you.’
‘Yes, I was certainly freaked up.’
‘Out.’
‘Damn, I thought I had that one right,’ she said with a smile. ‘No matter. The necklace I pulled out of the wolf was an athrú.’
‘An athrú?’
‘Do you remember the Pooka that died when you were first in the Fililands?’
‘How could I forget.’
‘Do you remember the piece of gold I placed in his mouth before he died?’
‘I do, it scared the hell out of me. You put the disc in his mouth, then he changed into a wolf, howled, died and changed back.’
‘Well, the disc I put in his mouth was his athrú – a Pooka amulet. The Pooka wear them around their necks, it helps them change. The wire it hangs from expands and contracts so it doesn’t fall off during the metamorphosis.’
‘Like Banshee blade wire?’
‘Exactly,’ Mom said. ‘The wolf that Spideog killed had an athrú in its stomach.’
‘That wolf was a Pooka?’
‘No, if it had been a Pooka it would have changed into a man when it died.’
‘So where did the wolf get the amulet?’
‘I can only conclude that that animal ate a Pooka but that just does not make sense.’
‘Why not?’
‘The Pookas are very secretive with their lore but I know a small bit.’
‘You once told me that one of your tutors in the Hazellands was a Pooka.’
‘Well remembered, son; yes, she was. She СКАЧАТЬ