Warriors of the Black Shroud by Peter Howe Read Free Book Online Page A

ever lie to me then it’s shame on you, not shame on me.”
    â€œI’m not lying,” Walker protested. “He’s real. I’ve really seen him.”
    â€œNo way!” exclaimed Frankie, swinging her legs down from the bench and sitting up. “Are you sure?”
    â€œPretty sure,” said Walker, although he didn’t sound too certain.
    â€œPretty sure,” Frankie questioned, “or, like, absolutely sure? Did you actually touch him?”
    â€œYes, we held hands.”
    â€œWhy?” Frankie asked.
    â€œTo get into the Kingdom,” Walker replied. “You have to hold hands and jump into that hole I dug behind the barn.”
    â€œReally?” Frankie said excitedly. “Can anyone do it? If we held hands could we go to the Kingdom?”
    â€œ I don’t think so,” said Walker. “I think you have to be with Eddie.”
    â€œOh, come on,” urged Frankie, “I bet you can. Let’s try it. Please!”
    Walker was about to explain to her that he didn’t want to go back to the Kingdom but Frankie was already running toward the barn.
    â€œIt’s not very deep,” she observed, looking into the hole.
    â€œNo,” agreed Walker, “it doesn’t have to be. It gets deeper when you jump in.”
    â€œCool!” she cried. “Let’s do it.”
    She grabbed his hand and leaped in, pulling him with her. There was a jarring thud as their feet hit the dirt, and they both tumbled over. She got up and brushed herself off. Walker was relieved that he wasn’t on his way back to Nebula because he would have to explain to everyone that he wasn’t there because he wanted to be king, but because a girl had pulled him into the hole against his will. It would have been kind of embarrassing.
    â€œWell,” Frankie said with a grin, “I guess you’re right. We need Eddie. How do you get hold of him?”
    â€œActually,” said Walker, “he gets hold of me. I don’t know how to get hold of him.”
    â€œWhat kind of a friend is that?” Frankie exclaimed. “Now that you’re my friend you will always be able to get me. Can’t you text him or something?”
    Walker mumbled something about Eddie not being a texting kind of guy, then got out of the hole and started to walk back toward his house. Frankie quickly caught up with him.
    â€œDon’t worry, he’ll come back,” she said, “and when he does, come get me. I’m going to be here for weeks and weeks, practically forever, so we’ve got time. I want to go to that Kingdom place with you.”
    It wasn’t until Frankie had gone home and Walker was alone that he thought about what she said. It was true that he had no way of contacting Eddie, and Walker was probably just a job to him. An assignment. One Chosen One—find and deliver ASAP.
    That night Walker had a strange dream—two strange dreams, in fact. The first one was really a nightmare. He was walking by himself in an empty, barren place and it was almost dark. There were no trees or shrubs, no buildings, no roads, just an endless flat expanse of rough, stony ground. Suddenly out of this wasteland came the most awful monsters—hooded giants that loomed over him, and skeletons with round, bulging eyes and ragged clothes that flew above him on black-feathered wings. They swept down like angry jackdaws, and he dropped to the ground to avoid them. As he did so, huge, blind black worms rose up out of the arid earth and crawled around his legs and arms, pulling him down so that he could not escape. It took all his strength to free himself from their slimy grasp, and when he was finally upright the skeletons dove toward him again, forcing him back down to the ground, where the worms trapped him once more. He woke up with his heart pounding.
    He was convinced that he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep, but no sooner had he thought this