Tagan's Child Read Online Free PDF

immediately.”
    “Yes of course
I will,” I said in my sweetest and best air hostess voice. “Now if
you don’t mind.” I handed him his jacket and opened the front door
as a signal for him to leave.
    “Please be
vigilant, for yours and Toby’s sake.” He sounded angry. It wasn’t
the first time this evening. I’d got the distinct impression that
he didn’t want to be here and he wanted me to be difficult even
less. He had obviously expected us to go with him, but I was damned
if that was going to happen without more proof. He hesitated and
then turned and walked out into the darkness.
    I slowly shut
the door behind him. My head ached. As implausible as Ahran’s story
was, could I afford to ignore it? What would be the point of making
up a story like that? Perhaps he was just a very convincing fraud,
albeit a very good-looking one. I leant my back against the door
and took a deep breath. Were our lives really in that much
danger?
     
    *****
     
    The alarm woke
me at 6.30 as usual. I eventually got to sleep about half past
three after tossing and turning thinking about Ahran’s visit. I
slowly put my feet to the floor. My head was pounding as if I had
been drinking. I was still struggling to believe what he had told
me and the evil voice in my head was doing its usual thing,
spouting negativity and insisting that I could be putting our lives
in danger if I didn’t heed Ahran’s warning. “Oh shut up!” I
grumbled and went into the bathroom.
    I thought about
the day ahead. My best friend Bennie had just got back from her
latest assignment and she was coming over this evening for a
takeaway and a catch up. She had been in Kenya for over a month
filming a new litter of lion cubs in one of its nature reserves. I
missed her and her sensible counsel even more than usual in the
light of last night’s unexpected bombshell. She was one of those
people who talked sense and at this moment in time I really needed
someone to be sensible. After I’d had a shower my headache had
lessened and I felt a little better as I headed downstairs. Bennie
would know what to do.
    Toby was
already dressed and sat at the breakfast table eating a bowl of
Cheerios with Mungo drooling at his elbow.
    “What have I
done to deserve the pleasure of your company at this hour of the
morning?” I asked cheerily, if a little suspiciously.
    “Nothing,” Toby
said as he slurped down the last couple of spoonfuls of cereal.
“I’m going on a school trip today, remember. I’ve got to be at
school by seven thirty.”
    “Dammit! I’d
forgotten all about your trip and I need to make you a packed
lunch,” I said, moving from one foot to the other as I tried to
decide what to do first.
    “Don’t worry,
I’ve made it already,” Toby said.
    I was always
dubious of the nutritional value of a packed lunch Toby had made
but I didn’t have time to argue. I hardly even noticed when he put
his breakfast bowl on the floor and Mungo began to lap up the
leftover milk. It was one of my pet hates. I went over and gave him
a hug.
    “You are
amazing Toby McAllister, do you know that?” I gave him a kiss on
the cheek. Ahran’s words came back to me and I contemplated life
without my little nephew. A lump formed in my throat and tears
stung my eyes. I quickly turned away and busied myself with putting
some toast in the toaster. I hoped we would never see Ahran Elessar
again.
    “Yeah, I know,”
Toby replied.
    “And modest
too,” I laughed, wiping my nose on my sleeve.
    “Are you
alright Auntie Sophie?”
    “I’m fine,” I
said, dodging his question. “Go and brush your teeth, we’d better
get going.” We made it to school just in time.
    It wasn’t as
busy at the coffee shop as it had been the day before, so the three
of us made the most of the lull and got on with some of the mucky
jobs we’d been putting off for a week. I cleaned the coffee
machine. Sandie worked on the grills and Audrey tackled the fridge.
It was a hive of activity and just