Читать книгу The Goblin King - Linda Chapman - Страница 7

Chapter 2

Anthony the Annoying

Sophie stared out of her bedroom window. It was getting late and beyond the garden fence the woods were very dark. She hadn’t told Grandpa yet about the key being lost. He had been out all day with Anthony, and she was still hoping the key would turn up before he discovered it had gone.

Maybe I’ll find it tomorrow, she thought hopefully.

Tomorrow. Sophie felt a rush of excitement. Tomorrow was her tenth birthday. Being ten sounded so much older than being nine. What presents would she get? She’d love a new skateboard! And a football, and some games for her DS...

Her bedroom door opened and Anthony strolled in. He looked quite similar to Sophie, with thick, blonde hair and a slim, athletic build, but his eyes weren’t green and friendly like hers. They were pale blue and smug.

Sophie frowned. “Hey! Don’t just come in without knocking!” She went to the door and pointed to the notice she had stuck there. “Private. Keep out. Or you’ll be sorry!” she read.

“Ooh, I’m so scared.” Anthony rolled his eyes mockingly. He started examining the things on her desk. “I thought you might want to know about my day with Grandpa,” he said, flicking through the pages of a tae kwon do book.

“Well, I don’t,” answered Sophie.

“Really? ’Cos we had a brilliant time,” gloated Anthony.

Sophie and Anthony were being looked after by their grandfather for a couple of months. Their parents were archaeologists and often had to go away to work. When that happened, Grandpa moved in. He often took Anthony out to do ‘boy-stuff’, leaving Sophie at home with the housekeeper, Mrs Benton. Most of the time, Sophie didn’t mind. She loved Mrs Benton and she had much more fun playing with Sam than she would have had being with Anthony and Grandpa.

“You’d have loved it,” Anthony went on. “We went climbing on the rocks in the Outwoods and went on the rope swing there. Then after that we had burgers and ice-cream sodas for lunch.”

It did sound fun, but there was no way Sophie was going to admit it. “Big deal,” she said airily.

But her brother wasn’t finished yet. “Before we came home we went to this big outdoor shop. Grandpa bought me a backpack and penknife, a torch and some rope—”

“What?” Sophie burst out, unable to stop herself. She loved stuff like that – and Anthony knew it. “Did Grandpa get me anything too?”

“No.” Anthony laughed. “But I guess that’s ’cos you’re just a girl.”

Sophie clenched her fists angrily.

Anthony grinned. “I reckon Grandpa’s planning on taking me camping. You’ll get to stay here and have a lovely time doing lots of girly things with Mrs Benton,” he sniggered. “You could play tea parties together or bath some ickle-wickle baby dolls…”

Sophie gave an enraged yell and leapt at him.

Anthony scrambled over the bed, grabbing a football card from her bedside table as he did so. “Hey, thanks, I need this one!”

“Give it back!”

But Anthony just darted round the bed, past her and through the door.

Sophie glared after him. She wanted to go to his bedroom and snatch the card back, but she’d be bound to be the one who got into trouble. Anthony was very good at making it seem as if she started any row between them.

There was the sound of footsteps on the stairs, and then Mrs Benton came in with a tray. On it was a glass of apple juice and a peanut butter sandwich. “I thought you might like a bedtime snack, Sophie-duckie. You didn’t eat much at teatime. You’re not missing your parents, are you?” the housekeeper asked anxiously.

“Thanks, Mrs B. I’m OK,” Sophie replied. The reason she hadn’t eaten much was she had been worrying over Grandpa finding out about his missing key. She wished she could tell Mrs Benton about it, but she knew Mrs B would make her tell Grandpa. Sophie felt sick at the thought.

“Maybe it’s just excitement about your birthday then.” Mrs Benton smiled fondly at her. She had round, pink cheeks, and had been cooking and cleaning for the Smith family since the twins were babies. “I can’t believe you’ll be ten tomorrow, Sophie. You won’t be too big for a cuddle, will you?” She opened her arms.

Sophie grinned and hugged her. “I’ll never be too big for that, Mrs B.”

When the housekeeper had gone, Sophie shut her door and got into bed with the sandwich and a book. When she finally got sleepy, she brushed her teeth, turned off her light and snuggled down under the covers.

For a moment, the missing key popped into her head. She forced the thought away and concentrated instead on her birthday.

I hope I do get a new skateboard, she thought. Her parents knew it was the only thing she really wanted. Shutting her eyes and imagining herself doing loads of awesome skating tricks, she fell fast asleep.

When Sophie woke in the morning, she felt cold and shivery. As she got out of bed, a wave of dizziness swept over her. “Oh, no,” she groaned. She didn’t want to be ill on her birthday!

Putting on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, she went downstairs. When she reached the kitchen, she saw Anthony unwrapping a present. Grandpa was sitting beside him watching, and Mrs Benton was bustling around cooking breakfast.

“Happy birthday, poppet!” Mrs Benton exclaimed, sweeping over.

“Happy birthday, Sophie,” Grandpa greeted her, his blue eyes sharp above his grey moustache and short beard. As usual, he didn’t look very much like a grandfather. He was slim and fit and dressed all in black, apart from the grey fishing waistcoat with lots of pockets he usually wore.

Anthony held up a digital watch for Sophie to see. “Look what Grandpa’s got me! It’s got GPS. That means it can tell you where you are and how to get places. Isn’t it cool?”

Sophie looked enviously at it. She hoped she’d get one too, but she was sure she wouldn’t.

“And this is for you, Sophie,” Grandpa said, handing her a present wrapped in pink ballerina paper. Sophie’s heart sank. From the paper she could tell that Grandpa had given Mrs B some money to buy something for her. It felt like clothes. She sat down with the present, still feeling a bit faint.

Grandpa turned back to Anthony. “So, are you feeling OK this morning, Anthony?”

“Yeah, I feel great,” Anthony replied.

Sophie blinked, shaking her head. She seemed to have stars dancing in front of her eyes.

“You’re quite sure?” she heard Grandpa question Anthony. “You don’t feel shivery, faint or light-headed?”

“No.”

At that moment, a wave of real dizziness hit Sophie. “I-I do!” she burst out. And with that she fainted.

The next thing Sophie knew, she was being picked up in Grandpa’s arms.

“Oh, dear. The poor duckie,” Mrs Benton fussed around them. “She must be coming down with something. Anthony, don’t open the rest of your presents until Sophie’s back downstairs.”

“But that’s not fair!” Anthony protested. “Just ’cos Sophie’s ill, why can’t I open my presents?”

“It’s all right, Mrs B,” Grandpa said quickly. “He can open them. I’ll just take Sophie upstairs and keep an eye on her.”

Despite feeling ill, Sophie was astonished. “It’s OK, Grandpa,” she mumbled. She knew Grandpa would far rather be with Anthony, watching him open his presents. “No, I’m going to look after you,” Grandpa’s voice was firm.

As he carried her up the stairs, he stared at her intently. It was almost as though he was seeing her properly for the first time. “So, it’s you,” he muttered.

“What?” She wondered if she’d heard him right.

Grandpa reached her bedroom and placed her on her bed. “Have you got a tingling in your arms and legs?” he asked.

She nodded.

“And you’re feeling shivery? Dizzy? Seeing stars?”

Sophie stared. How did Grandpa know all that? “Y-yes,” she stammered.

Grandpa frowned and shut the door. “Sophie, I’ve got something very important to tell you.” He sat down beside her. “Do you believe in goblins and boggles and trolls – creatures like that?”

She blinked. “What?”

“Do you believe in goblins, boggles and trolls?” Grandpa’s face was deadly serious. “Imps, sprites, gnomes and hobgoblins?”

Sophie shook her head. “Of course not! Things like that don’t ex—” She’d been about to say exist, but Grandpa cut her off.

“They do exist. They’re real.”

“Real?” She sat up, gaping at him.

“Yes.”

“But they–they can’t be!” Sophie stammered.

“They are,” Grandpa said.

Sophie stared at him, her head still swimming. Maybe I’m dreaming this, she thought dazedly. Grandpa was behaving so oddly. Creatures like goblins couldn’t be real – they were just in books and fairy tales. She hadn’t believed in them since she was about five!

She frowned in confusion. “You’re joking, Grandpa—”

“Do I ever joke, Sophie?” he interrupted.

Sophie slowly shook her head. Grandpa was definitely not the joking type.

“Believe me, child. All those creatures live in a dark, frightening place called the Shadow Realm, which lies within the Shadow Woods. Someone has to protect our world against them. That person is known as the Guardian of the Gateway.” Grandpa took a deep breath. “And Sophie…”

“Yes?” she said faintly.

Grandpa’s blue eyes bored into hers. “From today, that person is you!”