The Raven Queen by Che Golden Page B

‘Imagine what they’ll think when they come home and find you three gone.’
    â€˜They’d have been home by now,’ said Danny. ‘Something is really wrong. We need to get out to them and there’s no one at home who can take us.’
    The taxi driver said nothing but kept glaring at them, his eyes lingering on Maddy a little bit longer than she thought necessary.
    â€˜Please help us – our Granda could be dying,’ pleaded Roisin.
    â€˜We’ve got money, if that’s what you’re worried about. You’ll get your fare,’ said Danny, digging into his jeans pocket.
    â€˜I don’t want your money,’ snapped the taxi driver. ‘It’s not getting paid I’m worrying about, it’s getting done for kidnapping.’ All three of them stared back athim while he looked at Maddy, the car pinging gently as it reminded him there were three people in it with no seat belts on and the engine was running.
    â€˜Who did you say your granda was?’ he asked Maddy.
    â€˜We didn’t. He’s Bartholomew Kiely,’ said Danny, trying to attract his attention away from Maddy.
    The taxi driver looked back at Danny and thought again for a moment. ‘I’ll tell you what I’ll do,’ he said. ‘I’ll take you to the door of the house, but I’m getting out of the car with you and I want to talk to an adult, do you hear me? Otherwise, it’s back in the car for the lot of you and off to the nearest Garda station, where I’ll be leaving you. Do you understand?’
    â€˜Yes,’ they all said at once, grabbing at the seat belts and buckling up.
    â€˜And you can put your money away, lad – I’m off the clock,’ said the driver. ‘I was heading home anyway.’
    â€˜Thank you,’ said Danny.
    Roisin looked at Maddy and gave her a little smile as the car pulled away from the kerb and began to pick up speed. Maddy knew what she was thinking. They would be able to give the monsters their birthday money back. One less thing to get into trouble over.
    The driver seemed to have bought their story, but Maddy was still stiff with tension. It was stuffy in the car and her jacket was too hot and heavy. She could feelher T-shirt begin to cling to her back, and her rucksack was digging into her spine. To make things worse, the driver had one of those horrible car fresheners swinging from his rear-view mirror and the sickly scent of fake pine was making her stomach churn. She pressed the button in the door of the car and let the window slide down a few inches, enough for her to gulp at the balmy summer air and settle her stomach a little.
    The smooth surface of the motorway hummed beneath the wheels of the car and the engine purred along. She looked at her watch – it would only take about fifteen minutes to get to Blarney at this rate. She looked at the driver and caught him looking at her in the mirror. He looked away again quickly, but not fast enough for her not to see the anger and the fear in his eyes.
    Her breath froze in her throat. She thought of what the Blarney Stone had said to her when it had declared her the new Hound. ‘
Men may sing of your deeds when you are long dead, but they will curse you while you live!’
    He didn’t ask us for the address! He knows who Granda is, he knows who I am, where we live. He’s Sighted!
    She looked at Roisin and Danny beside her. Roisin was rubbing her fingertips around her eyes and stretching the lids in an effort to keep alert. Danny wasback chewing on his fingernails and staring out of the window. Neither of them seemed to notice anything was wrong. Perhaps the driver had given them enough of an argument to fool them into thinking getting the lift had been harder than it really was.
    Anyone else would have brought us straight to the Guards
, thought Maddy.
He’s making sure I don’t get away and bring trouble into Blarney
.
    She swallowed