The Prophet of Yonwood by Jeanne DuPrau Read Free Book Online

she would.

    As soon as Amanda had gone off with Mrs. Beeson, Nickie found a pencil and a scrap of paper and wrote down these words:Sinners. Wrongness. Forces of evil. Shield of goodness. Those were the things to remember. It was so perfectshe could accomplish her Goal #3 by helping to battle the forces of evil and build the shield of goodness. Just the very words made her feel like a warrior. Maybe she should give something up, the way everyone else was. If she did, would she have more love to give to God? She thought probably her love for God was a little weak, since she didnt know much about him and hadnt really thought about whether she loved him or not. It was hard to love someone invisible that youd never met. Giving up something might strengthen her devotion. What could she give up? Shed think about it.
    Then she ran up to the nursery to see Otis. She knelt down and held him up by his front paws so that they could look at each other eye to eye. Otis, she said, Amanda had to go away. Im taking care of you now. Okay? Otis gazed back at her. His eyes were like shiny deep-brown marbles. He cocked his head, as if trying to make sense of her words.
    It was going to be a little tricky, taking care of Otis. Shed have to keep Crystal from coming up to the third floor. And shed have to feed Otis and take him outside without letting Crystal see him. She hated leaving him all alone in the nursery room with nothing to do but chew things up. Did dogs get depressed from being alone too much? She didnt want Otis to be depressed. Luckily, it looked as if Crystal had so many errands to do and people to talk to that Nickie could probably be alone at Greenhaven for hours every day.
    She pulled Otis onto her lap and hugged him. He wiggled out of her armshis small blond body was amazingly strongand then he sort of danced in front of her, his front paws stretched out straight and patting the air. Woof! he said, and Nickie instantly understood thatwoof meantplay .
    In the closet she found a little brown shoe that must have belonged to a child years ago. Watchthis, Otis! she cried, and she threw the shoe across the room.
    Otis hurled himself after it. He snatched up the shoe and raced back to her. He gave it a shake to make sure it was dead, and then he dropped it and waited, his round brown eyes on hers, shining with expectation.
    They played Retrieve the Shoe for a long time, until Otis got distracted by a spider on the floor. Nickie went downstairs for another cup of hot chocolate and got back to find Otis in a squatting position, his back humped and his tail up and a faraway look in his eyes. Just in time, she seized an old magazine, put it under his rear end, and caught what came out before it could stain the rug.
    Take him outside twice a day, Amanda had said. Shed forgotten. She found a leash hanging in the closet, hooked it to Otiss collar, and led him downstairs and out the kitchen door.
    While he trotted among the bushes, she looked around. There was a clothesline back here and a concrete terrace bordered by a low stone wall. In the back of the house was a door that probably led to the basement. She tried it, but it was locked.
    Once Otis was emptied out, they went back upstairs to the nursery. Nickie wondered if Amanda was having her interview with the Prophet at this very moment. She was so curious about the Prophet. She longed to meet her.
    It was almost noon, but Crystal wasnt back yet, so Nickie went into the next room, one of the rooms crammed with trunks and boxes. Moving aside a stack of old magazines, she opened the biggest, oldest-looking trunk and saw a great jumble of stuffmostly papersinside. She scooped up an armful and took it back to the nursery room to look through.
    No one had bothered to put any of these things in order, or even to store them neatly so they didnt get bent and crumpled. There were a lot of old Christmas cards, some faded snapshots of babies, and bunches of ancient bills and report cards and school