The Extremely Epic Viking Tale of Yondersaay by Aoife Lennon-Ritchie Read Free Book Online Page A

don’t see anything,” the crooked man said.
    “It moved!” the big man called.
    Mum, who was terrified of anything bad happening to her children, had sewn yards and yards of fluorescent, glow-in-the-dark tape onto every visible inch of their clothing.
    As soon as they were out of sight, Dani and Ruairi took off their jackets and turned them inside out. They turned their hats inside out and tucked their scarves well inside the tops of their coats. They gave each other the once-over, and when they were sure there was no more reflective material visible, they signaled to each other and got ready to make a run for it.
    “When did she manage to do all this?” Ruairi said. “Granny only gave us our new winter coats this morning!”
    “She must have sewn it on in the plane while we were sleeping,” Dani said.
    “Sometimes that woman goes too far.”
    “There’s definitely something there,” the big man said. “I’m going to take a look.” He started toward the bridge.
    That was all Dani and Ruairi needed to hear. They bolted out from behind the boulder and ran as fast as they could toward the village and home, never once looking back.
    Almost out of breath, they ran down the hill, right in the middle of the High Street, not caring if they made noise now, and onto Gargle View Avenue. The wind was picking up, and the snow was really starting to come down. Taking care not to slip on the fresh snow, they jumped over the garden wall and climbed up the rose trellis on the side of the garage. They tumbled through the open window, undressed, and got into bed as quickly as they possibly could.
    “No way did they see who we were,” Ruairi said.
    “No. Absolutely no way. It was way too dark, and we were quick as lightning. Ruairi, you’re becoming super fast. I could hardly keep up with you.”
    “Thanks, Dans.” Ruairi grinned from ear to ear. “I think it’s all the broccoli I’ve been eating.”
    “You do eat a lot of broccoli.”
    They both drifted into a fast and sound sleep. Ruairi’s last thought just before his dreams began—more an image than a thought; it flashed across his mind and was gone forever—was of two sets of tracks in the snow.

The Butcher, The Baker

     
     
    Ruairi sprawled out beside Dani on the rug in front of the fire where they were both eating toast and pretending to read their books.
    “What do you think they were looking for?” Dani asked Ruairi.
    “Maybe it was a dead body.” Ruairi went pale.
    “Why would they be looking for a dead body with a metal detector? A dead body wouldn’t beep. Only something metal would.”
    “Maybe it had lots of fillings.”
    “What are you two talking about?” Granny asked from her armchair.
    “Nothing, Granny,” Dani and Ruairi said quickly.
    Dani looked intently at her book and whispered to Ruairi out the side of her mouth. “Let’s get dressed and go for a walk by the river, just to have another little look around.”
    Ruairi was not sure he wanted to do that. “What if they’re still there?” he asked.
    “No chance, not in broad daylight,” Dani said. “Anyway, didn’t the one say they were going to go to the Crimson Forest in the morning?”
    “Oh yeah.”
    “I want the pair of you to hurry up with your breakfast. We have a full day ahead of us,” Mum said, coming down the stairs with her arms full of coats and gloves and hats. “There’s so much to do to get everything ready for Christmas Day. We’ll need some milk from the dairy where we’ll also get some cheeses and some lovely thick cream for the pudding, which we’ll get at the baker’s. Ooh, and some crusty brown bread for the smoked salmon from the smokehouse, which we’ll eat before the turkey and ham from the butcher’s, which wouldn’t be Christmassy at all without some Brussels sprouts—” Mum handed out all their coats as she spoke. Granny stuffed two buttered pancakes into her mouth and four slices of toast into her handbag. “—which we’ll get at