Troll Blood by Katherine Langrish Read Free Book Online Page B

Ralf went on. “Sigurd’s notold enough to manage, and the last time I went away Gudrun had all sorts of trouble with the trolls. I can’t leave her to cope alone.”
    Gudrun’s eyes shone, but Gunnar’s whiskered cheeks creased uneasily. “Trolls? You have many trolls here?”
    Ralf laughed, and waved his hand. “We live on Troll Fell, Gunnar.”
    “Trolls.” Gunnar shuddered. “I hate ’em. Unnatural vermin.”
    Astrid seemed to stir. Her lips parted, but before she could speak another dried bean dropped from the rafters, splashing into Harald’s cup as he lifted it to his lips. Harald threw down the cup.
    “That’s enough, you!” He pointed at Peer, who scrambled to his feet. “Do you think I’m going to put up with this?”
    Everyone stared. Harald put his hands on the table and leaned forward menacingly. “You’ve been throwing beans at me, haven’t you, Barelegs? And you think it’s funny?”
    “I didn’t do anything,” said Peer, seriously alarmed.
    “It wasn’t Peer!” Sigrid cried.
    “No. There’s something dodging about in the roof,” said Astrid, to Peer’s great surprise. Most people couldn’t see the Nis.
    Everyone looked up into the smoky dark roof space, cluttered with fishing nets, strings of onions, old hay rakes, and scythes.
    The Nis flung down its fistful of beans. A stinging showerrattled onto Harald’s upturned face, and as he cursed and ducked, the Nis followed it up by bouncing some small wrinkled apples off his back. Then it could be heard drumming its heels against the beam, and sniggering:
“Tee-hee-hee!”
    Astrid’s face sharpened into a triangular smile. “There it is!” she breathed, fixing her eyes on a spot above Harald’s head. The sniggering broke off.
    “Where?” Harald spun around, golden hair spraying out. He dragged out his sword and angled it up, craning his neck to see into the rafters.
    Everyone leaped to their feet. The dogs began barking. “Put that sword away,” called Ralf. “Someone’ll get hurt!”
    “No swords in this house!” cried Gudrun.
    “My apologies,” said Harald between his teeth. “There’s something up there. Stand back, and let me deal with it.” He put a foot on the bench, obviously preparing to spring up onto the table. Peer heard a frightened squeak from the Nis.
    “There it goes!” Peer shot out his arm and pointed. “Look, a troll! Running along that rafter, can’t you see?” His finger followed the imaginary troll from beam to beam. “It’s over the fire—oh!” He let his arm drop.
    “What? Where?” gasped Gudrun, half convinced.
    “It went out through the smoke hole,” said Peer with disappointment in his voice.
    “Then it’s on the roof.” Harald sprang for the door, Arnë and Gunnar and the dogs close behind him. Ralf followed more slowly, giving Peer the flicker of a wink.
    Peer thought he had better dash for the door, too. He caught Hilde’s eye and said loudly, “Let’s hope they catch it!” Hilde was laughing silently.
    The twins were already crowding outside, while Gudrun tried to pull them back. “Harald’s got a sword out there!”
    Then the wind was fresh on Peer’s face. The moon skimmed between the clouds like a stone skipping over water, filling the yard with scuttling shadows. Harald was making Arnë give him a leg up onto the farmhouse’s thick turf roof. Gunnar stood squarely in the patch of light from the open door, squinting up under his good hand. “Go on, son,” he shouted. “A roof’s no place to hide. We’ll not be fooled by that again….”
    “I never thought he could have climbed up,” said Harald over his shoulder.
    What were they talking about? Peer looked at Ralf, who shrugged and said in a low voice, “I guess they’ve had adventures before.”
    Harald walked along the roof ridge, sword in hand, a sinister silhouette against the sky. The moonlight silvered his blowing hair. Peer shivered suddenly, and Ralf too must have felt uncomfortable about this