Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke Read Free Book Online Page B

spider.”
    “A spider? My goodness, Igraine!” You could hear Bertram’s sigh rise from the bottom of the pit. “Blow it away.”
    “Blow it away?” murmured Igraine, nervously pulling her hair back from her forehead.
    She narrowed her eyes, took a deep breath, and — it worked! When she opened her eyes again, the cobweb was torn and the spider had gone.
    With shaking fingers, she unfastened the rope from the winch and tied it around the donkey. Then, clicking her tongue, she led Graycoat away from the hole. The little donkey had to pull hard. Bertram was no lightweight, and twice the donkey just stopped and left him dangling over the abyss in the rocking basket. But by pushing and shoving, scolding and petting, Igraine managed to get him going again.
    “Just a tiny bit more!” she whispered to Graycoat. “Come on, you can do it!” But at that moment they suddenly heard voices outside.
    “Don’t move!” Igraine hurried over to the door.
    “What is it, little donkey?” she heard Bertram calling up. “Fat Bertram here isn’t keen to go back down that horrible hole again!”
    “Shhh!” hissed Igraine, putting her ear to the door.
    “Hey, take a look at Baldur there, will you?” she heard a hoarse voice from outside say. “Asleep on duty again. If the Spiky Knight sees him, the Dungeon of Despair will have two lodgers soon.”
    “So it will.” Another voice laughed mockingly. “How about we let old Iron Spikes know that the guard he posted outside the dungeon shakes all Darkrock Castle with his snoring? What a joke that would be!”
    “Wouldn’t it just!” replied the other man. “Sleep tight, Baldur. You’ll soon have a visitor.”
    “Oh, drat it!” whispered Igraine as the footsteps went away. In haste she ran back to Graycoat and hauled away until at last the basket emerged from the depths.
    “Quick!” she gasped, getting both Bertram and the basket back on firm ground. “We have to get out of here! Fast!”
    The Master of Horse could hardly keep on his feet. She had to help him out of the basket, and he blinked at her with his eyes half closed. After almost two days in total darkness, even what little light there was in the tower hurt them.
    “What are you doing here?” whispered Bertram, leaning on her shoulder. “Didn’t I tell you I’d throw you into the moat with my own hands if you turned up at Darkrock?”
    “Oh, yes? Would you rather I let you down into the pit again?” Igraine untied her donkey from the rope and helped Bertram to the door. “I’m not here for fun. Osmund really did come to see us at Pimpernel Castle, and I need a fast horse. I came to borrow Lancelot.”
    “What?” Bertram stared at her blankly.
    “I’ll explain later. Can you walk?”
    Bertram nodded.
    “Good.” Igraine took Graycoat’s reins and cautiously opened the tower door.
    The guard was still snoring, but there was no sign of the Spiky Knight. The castle was more crowded than ever. Men were carrying sacks of flour to the kitchens and driving livestock across the courtyard. Armorers made their way through the milling throng. Igraine led the donkey out into the open and signaled to Bertram to follow her. The Master of Horse glanced at the sleeping guard in disbelief as he squeezed past. Igraine took Graycoat over to a dark corner between the castle wall and the great linden tree. The old Baroness of Darkrock used to hold her court of law under its spreading branches.
    “Here,” Igraine whispered to Bertram, taking her cloak out of the bundle, which also contained her armor. “We can’t disguise you as a woman, I’m afraid, because of your beard, but perhaps this will do. Take the basket; you can have the donkey as well. Then the guards will think you’re a farmer bringing eggs to the castle. They only check up on people coming in at the gate. Outside, there are so many donkeys and carts that you won’t attract attention. You just mustn’t seem to be in too much of a hurry.”
    Bertram