Читать книгу The Ominous Eye - Tracey Hecht - Страница 13
Оглавление“Well, don’t just stand there, my mysterious, Tutu. Tell us how to stop this terrible creature!”
Polyphema looked at the sugar glider and tilted her scaly neck. “It is really quite easy,” she said. “To defeat him, simply meet his demand.” She paused, flicking her two front eyes over her audience. Her voice was low and unwavering. “Everyone must leave,” she said. “The jerboas in the forest, the moles underground, even the birds in the sky. They all must leave the valley and never return.”
For a moment, no one spoke. Only the wind shrieked in the night.
“What?” Bismark extended his flaps in disbelief, sending a whirlwind of ash through the air. “Impossible! Unworkable! Infeasipracticable!”
“Kick everyone out of their homes?” Tobin asked. The pangolin rubbed his round belly, which had suddenly developed a knot. “Why would the beast want that?”
“This is his territory,” said Polyphema. “He came here first, long ago. Now he’s returned to take what is rightfully his.”
Dawn narrowed her eyes. “We will not force anyone out because of the demands of a selfish beast.”
“I don’t see any other choice,” said the tuatara.
Slowly, with purpose in her stride, Dawn moved toward Polyphema, spearing the ground with her nails. They stood face to face, eye to eye, with only a thin veil of ash hanging between them. “These animals are not going anywhere,” said Dawn. Her words pierced the air like shards of ice.
“But look what the beast has already done!” exclaimed Polyphema. With a flick of her head, she gestured toward the burned ground and the ragged crater nearby.
Dawn shrugged. “There’s no proof that the beast did this,” she said.
The moonlight peeked through the clouds, flickering off Polyphema’s scales. “Trust me. This is the work of an angry, powerful creature.”
Tobin curled into a ball. With the exception of the wind’s lonely howl, the air hung heavy with silence.
“Well then,” said Dawn, clearing her throat. “I will go talk to the beast. We will hear for ourselves exactly what he is planning, and exactly what he wants.”
Slowly, Tobin uncoiled. He stared at the fox in awe.
Bismark, however, let out a quick yelp. “Muchacha, no!” With a dramatic leap, he flung himself at the fox and clutched the red fur on her leg. “You can’t! You won’t! I won’t let you!”
Polyphema’s eyes flickered. “We have to remove everyone from the area!” she exclaimed, her voice ringing with desperation. “We need to do what he says! I have seen the future.”
“We will trust what we see for ourselves,” Dawn said coolly. With a confident turn of her head, she looked toward her friends. “Let’s go.”
The tuatara gazed down at the ground for a moment. “You have no idea what you’re in for,” she murmured, sweeping the ash with her tail. And then, with a narrowed stare, she watched the Brigade depart into the dust.
