Griffin of Darkwood Read Online Free PDF Page B

stacks of books on the floor, while Mr. Cherry scowled and tapped his foot. Then Favian turned to a wobbly wall of books and beamed. “Aha!” he shouted.
    He grabbed a book from near the top, and the wall tipped and tilted and crashed to the floor. A fat six-hundred-page volume called An Encyclopedia of Little People landed on Mr. Cherry’s foot, and Mr. Cherry exploded with a very nasty word.
    “Here it is.” Favian held up a book with a picture of a castle on the shiny cover. “Medieval Castle Construction and Design. I think you’ll find it –”
    “It’s not for me, it’s for my nephew,” growled Mr. Cherry. He grabbed the book, threw some bills on the desk and left the shop, banging the door behind him.
    A dog barked furiously, and Mr. Cherry cursed again. A girl’s voice shouted, “No, Peaches! Down boy! DOWN!”

Chapter Eight
    New Friends
    Will dropped his books on the desk. He and Favian dashed outside. A brown-and-white dog with floppy ears hung on to Mr. Cherry’s pant leg.
    “Get this beast off me!” he roared.
    The dog growled and gripped harder. Mr. Cherry swung his castle book wildly in the air.
    “Let go, Peaches!” a girl shouted. She was tall and slim with long fly-away brown hair. She grabbed the dog’s collar and dragged him away.
    Mr. Cherry’s face was purple. “That dog’s a menace! A monster! I’ll shoot him next time I see him!”
    He stormed off across the square.
    “Peaches tries to bite that man every time he sees him,” said the girl. “I can’t stop him.”
    “It’s not your fault,” said Favian. “I want to bite him too! Emma, this is Will Poppy.”
    “Will Poppy! Everyone’s talking about you,” said Emma. “Do you think I could see inside the castle?”
    “I guess so," said Will. He wasn’t sure he was ready to make friends with anyone yet. He wanted to check things out in the village a bit longer.
    “When?” demanded Emma.
    Will sighed. Persistent would be a good word to describe her. “Let me get my books and we can go now.”
    They said good-bye to Favian and started the climb up Black Penny Road. “Are you going to read all those books?” asked Emma.
    “Of course. I love reading.”
    “I don’t. I’m glad you’ve come. It’s been deader than ever around here. Most of the kids are away for the spring holidays. You’ve heard of Barnum and Bailey, right?”
    “What?”
    “Barnum and Bailey.”
    “Never heard of it.”
    “Never heard of it? Everyone’s heard of Barnum and Bailey.”
    “Not me.”
    Emma stopped walking and stared at Will.
    “Well, what is it?” said Will.
    “It a circus. It’s famous. They have shows all over the world! I’m going to be an acrobat in a circus when I’m older.” She did a slick cartwheel on the cobblestones to demonstrate.
    “The circus is my passion ,” she said. “Everyone should have a passion. What’s yours?’
    “Um ...” Before, Will would have said writing. That was how he thought of his life; Before and After. He shrugged.
    “When I finally get out of Sparrowhawk, I’ll be going to New York,” said Emma.
    “Let me guess,” said Will. “Circus school.”
    A horn blared behind them. It was Mr. Cherry in the pink van. The road was so narrow that they had to press up against a building to let him pass. He glared at Peaches through the window and shook his fist. Peaches barked until the van disappeared around a corner.
    “How old are you?” asked Emma.
    “Twelve.”
    “School year?”
    “Seven.”
    “Good! Same as me. Do people call you Willy?”
    “Will,” said Will firmly. He wanted to direct the attention away from him. “Why is your dog called Peaches?”
    “He used to be called Jack. And then he stole ten peaches and ate every one!”
    “Ten?” said Will.
    “He grabbed them off the table when no one was looking. He had a stomach ache all night and moaned and groaned and now he won’t touch a peach. He shakes when he sees one.”
    “Hey, Emma!” called a voice above