Girl, Missing Read Online Free PDF

said.
    Rory’s eyes narrowed. ‘Why?’
    â€˜Go on,’ I smiled. ‘I want to see. Who are you being now? Is that the troll?’
    Rory shot me a look of utter contempt. ‘Trolls don’t carry swords. This is Largarond, the elf king of Sarsaring.’ He raised the sword above his head. ‘This is him in killer mode.’
    â€˜Fantastic,’ I enthused. ‘You look way cool doing all that.’
    Rory said nothing. But as he did the move again, a smile curled across his mouth.
    I sat and watched for another minute or so. I felt a pangof guilt for what I was about to do. But then I reminded myself how Rory had deliberately turned down the volume on my phone the other day.
    He deserved what he got.
    I moved in for the kill.
    â€˜There’s an awesome
Legends of the Lost Empire
ride just opened at the Fantasma theme park,’ I said.
    Rory stopped his sword in mid-swing. ‘What’s it like?’ he said.
    â€˜Wicked.’ I knew the ride existed but I was a bit hazy on the exact details. I thought fast. ‘There’s this big, dark forest and you go through it really fast, spinning round. And . . . and if you’re sitting up at the front you get to fight all the main characters.’
    Rory frowned. ‘But the main characters should all be fighting the troll army and the goblin hordes of Nanadrig.’
    â€˜They do,’ I said quickly. ‘I meant you’re
with
all the main characters, fighting the baddies. Jam told me about it. He says its awesome.’
    Though I say it myself, that last bit was massively clever of me. Rory adores Jam. And anything Jam thinks is cool, Rory wants to do too.
    â€˜I want to go on the ride,’ Rory said, lunging forward with his sword.
    â€˜Well, you’ll have to ask Mum,’ I said, trying to hide a smile. ‘The Fantasma theme park’s in America.’
    It was in New Hampshire to be exact, near the capital, Concord. I’d spent the whole of the previous evening looking for a holiday destination which was as close to Vermont as possible. Fantasma was perfect – a newish theme park specialising in indoor rides connected to fantasy stories. Lots of fairy-tale type stuff, plus a brand new ride celebrating the massive success of the
Legends of the Lost Empire
film, book and revolting-cereal franchise.
    Once I’d sorted Rory, Mum was the next step. I reminded her casually how she’d been saying for months that we should take a family holiday.
    â€˜I know, but we’re planning on buying a new car this year,’ Mum said. ‘We can’t afford that
and
a holiday.’
    â€˜But a holiday where we can all be together’s more important,’ I said. ‘Who cares if our car’s a bit old?’
    Mum raised her eyebrows. ‘Well,
you
did the last time I came to pick you up from a party in it. You said it was so old it was embarrassing. Which you also said made it remind you of me.’
    â€˜I’m sorry I said that,’ I muttered. ‘I was being stupid. It’s just, well, there won’t be that many more family holidays will there? I mean, soon I’ll just be too old. Don’t you want to make the most of it while I still really want us all to be together?’
    She looked up at me. And I knew I had her.
    The rest was easy. What with Rory going on and on about the
Legends of the Lost Empire
ride, and me quoting whole passages out of the New Hampshire tourism website about the extraordinary and sublime beauty of the area’s autumnal landscape, Mum quickly came to believe that a trip to the north-east coast of America was the ideal half-term break.
    â€˜It’s still going to be expensive,’ she said grimly.
    I was ready for this. ‘Doesn’t need to be,’ I said. ‘I’ve checked. They’re doing special offers at the theme park. And Jam and I were looking into cheap flights on the internet last night.’
    Mum