The Freedom of Navid Leahy Read Online Free PDF

Northern Forest, deep and timeless, and felt the shadow of the giant over his house.
    And then the whispering trees ceased and the shadow dissipated, and he found himself under a clean sheet with his stuffed rabbit tucked beside him. His father was sitting on a wooden chair beside his bed. When he saw that Navid’s eyes were open, he smiled broadly, and Navid understood that he wasn’t angry with his son. Brian Leahy leaned forward, hands on his knees.
    â€œYou asked how Kilkeer slew the giant,” he said. “After crossing the Nordefell Falls, he finally came to the region of Red Lake. He stormed up the mountainside so he could stand face-to-face with the tyrant who had caused so much grief. And Kilkeer swung his enchanted sword—”
    â€œAnd cut off his head with one chop?” Navid said hopefully. His voice echoed eerily inside his drowsy mind.
    â€œWhen we tell the saga to children, that’s what we say,” Brian said. “But you’re growing up, Navid. But no, that’s not how it ends. He tried, but the giant just brushed him away. Even the greatest cottager in the world was no more than a fly buzzing in the giant’s ear. So, Kilkeer offered up his son and daughter as tribute in hopes that his people would be safe. He knew that the giant would devour his children, and he did it anyway. Before he bound them and took them to Red Lake, he covered their skin in a dusting of hemlock to make them poisonous. When the giant devoured them, he would die. But in the end, it wasn’t the monster who killed them. It was Kilkeer himself.”
    â€œAll right, Papa,” Navid said, not sure why he was weeping. His elbow brushed his rabbit, and it tumbled onto the floor. “Leave it; I don’t need it anymore.”
    But his father picked the rabbit up and tucked it near his side. “You don’t have to give up the things of childhood, Navid. Just be wary of those who don’t tell you the whole story.”
    â€œI won the dare, Papa,” Navid said sleepily. He could barely keep his eyes open. “If we have to fight, we should do it with our talents. Is there a battle coming? Will we have to go to war with the Zunft?”
    â€œYes, we will,” Brian said after Navid had drifted to sleep. “And the Michael Henrys of the world will sing the ballads and raise the banners, but it will be the sons and daughters who die in the streets.”
    He brushed a lock of hair off his son’s face. “But not you, Navid. I won’t lose you, too.”

 
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    Copyright © 2015 by Jenna Helland
    Art copyright © 2015 by Red Nose Studio