Arthur Quinn and Hell's Keeper by Alan Early Page A

had connected with the underside of his chin. He soared backwards in an arc, smashing through the window and landing with a heavy thud on the ground outside.

Chapter Five

    â€˜We’re getting close now,’ Ash said with her eyes fixed firmly on the phone screen.
    Ex had parked the Beetle in a spot marked ‘Staff Only’ a few minutes ago. They had gotten out of the car and followed Ash along the docks, moving ever closer to the blinking dot on the little screen. Eirik had left the sword in the car, deciding at the last minute that it would draw too much unwanted attention. Luckily for them, a huge freighter was coming in further down the harbour and most of the staff were too preoccupied with that to wonder why four kids and a suspicious-looking adult were wandering around the docks.
    The phone started beeping frantically. Ash hit the touchscreen to silence it, then looked up at the trawler they’d arrived at.
    â€˜Here we are,’ she said.
    â€˜You sure it’s the right one?’ Arthur asked. He didn’t want to have come the whole way here only to get on someone else’s boat.
    â€˜It’s definitely it,’ Ellie said. ‘See the name on the side. Drysi . He named it after his daughter.’
    Arthur nodded in agreement. He was still impressed by how Ellie noticed the smallest of details long before the rest of them.
    â€˜Hello?’ he called out, stepping closer to the boat. ‘Anybody home?’
    When no response came, he looked back at his friends and shrugged his shoulders. ‘Guess we should take a look around,’ he said, then took a short running jump onto the deck of the trawler. It swayed forwards underneath him as he landed. The rest looked at each other doubtfully and then, seeing no other option, followed him on board.
    â€˜Anyone here?’ Arthur called again, moving towards the stack. A few steps there led down into the hull. He took them and found himself face to face with a door with a round window in it. He peered through the smudged glass and could just about make the features of the lower deck: a single unmade bunk, a kitchenette with a table big enough for one person to sit at and a narrow door left open into a tight-fitting bathroom. He shook the handle but the door was firmly locked.
    He turned around and had just reached the top of the stairs again when suddenly a huge man landed on the deck of the boat. The vessel bobbed violently up and down in the water with the force of the impact.
    â€˜What–?’ the man cried in surprise.
    Ash turned towards him. ‘Fenrir, it’s me,’ she said in a soothing voice.
    â€˜Ash.’ Fenrir’s face was flushed and he was out of breath. ‘What are you doing here?’
    â€˜We’ve come looking for you.’ She pointed out the others. ‘You remember Ellie and Ex? And that’s Eirik. And you’ve met Arthur. We’ve come to ask you about Hel.’
    At the mention of the name, Fenrir turned away, shaking his head and thinking how lucky he had been to get away from Loki at the café. As soon as he’d been thrown through the window, he had scrambled to his feet. Loki’s laughter rang in his ears as he fled. He couldn’t fight his father again. Not a second time. Fenrir was powerful but he would never be a match for the god. And he valued his own life too much to try to prove otherwise.
    â€˜No, no, no,’ he said, shaking his head violently. ‘You’ll all have to go. I’m leaving now.’
    â€˜Fenrir, please,’ begged Ash.
    â€˜I said no. You can get off or stay, I don’t care. But I’m pulling out of this dock in the next minute either way. I just hope you can all swim back to land.’ He pushed past Arthur down the stairs and unlocked the door, then ran back to the tiller and started to switch on the engine.
    â€˜Mister Fenrir, sir,’ Arthur said, taking a tentative step towards the man. ‘We