The Spider Gnomes Read online

  “Oh, Great King Ug!”

  “Mighty King Ug!”

  “Most wonderful, cunning, clever and handsome King Ug!”

  King Ug preened and looked at himself in a cracked mirror. “Yes, I am looking rather good today, even if I say so myself.” He tweaked a piece of flaking skin. “Now – what’s the news on the Spider Gnomes? Have they fetched the gem yet?”

  The three goblins exchanged nervous looks.

  “Um, not quite,” ventured one with a knobbly nose like a potato.

  “No, not exactly,” said one with particularly flaky skin.

  King Ug’s black eyes narrowed. “Why not?” he snapped. “They told me yesterday they knew where it was.” His voice rose. “Where’s the red gem?” he yelled.

  The goblins each tried to push the other ones forward.

  King Ug jumped to his feet. “Where is it?”

  “The… the Guardian’s got it!” stammered one with large feet.

  “What?” King Ug stared at him.

  “She fought the Spider Gnomes and won!” gasped Potato Nose.

  “NO!” King Ug’s roar was so loud it shook the leaves on the trees. “Compost brains! Maggot heads!” He strode towards them. They leapt out of his way, tripping and stumbling. “This cannot have happened again! Where are those Spider Gnomes?”

  “Gone, King Ug!” yelped Big Feet as he was thwacked round the ears.

  “But there are still three gems to find,” gasped Flaky Skin from his hiding place behind a tree stump. “And there are lots of other shadow creatures we can call on.”

  “Lots and lots,” whimpered Potato Nose. “The Snake Sprites, the Wolf Trolls, the Fire Imps…”

  “GAH!” exclaimed King Ug, but there was a gleam in his dark eyes as an idea came to him. So the Spider Gnomes had failed just like the Swamp Boggles, but what if he found some really crafty creatures? A smile creased his crumbling face. Oh, yes, he knew who he was going to ask! That pesky girl Guardian might have won this time, but wait until she saw what he had in mind for her next.

  He strode back to his throne, chortling. She wasn’t going to like it – she wasn’t going to like it at all!

  What’s next in store for Sophie

  King Ug gulped as the fog surrounded them. Before his eyes, a shiver ran through the white mist. Suddenly ten tall, thin creatures were standing there. Their skin smile of greeting.

  One of the creatures stepped forward, wearing a raggedy dress. Her voice was a sinister whisper. “King Ug, I am Spindle Fingers, Queen of the Fog Boggarts.”

  Ug inclined his head. “Greetings, Your Most Majestical Majesty.”

  Spindle Fingers bowed back, and then her eyes narrowed. “Your servants came to find us, King Ug. They told us you wanted our help with the little matter of finding a shadow gem. Is this true?”

  Ug attempted a confident chuckle. It sounded more like a nervous cough. “Oh, that. Well, only if it’s quite convenient. I mean…” He shuddered, catching sight of the queen’s gaping mouth. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  Her dark gaze bored into him. “We shall search all of the human world until we find where one is hidden.”

  Moving forward, she whipped the key out of Ug’s hands. “We Fog Boggarts have many tricks up our sleeves we can use. If one way doesn’t work, there are others. . .”

  Copyright

  1

  SOPHIE AND THE SHADOW WOODS : THE SPIDER GNOMES

  Text copyright © Linda Chapman and Lee Weatherly 2011

  Illustrations © Katie Wood 2011

  Linda Chapman and Lee Weatherly assert the moral right to be identified as the authors of this work.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  ISBN 978-0-00-741167-2

  EPub Edition © 2011 ISBN: 9780007411689

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