Read Urchin and the Heartstone for Free Online

about that sword. It really was too good to be true.
    “But, please,” he said, looking from Crispin to Padra and back, “just for a moment, just now, when I thought it might be the place I come from, I really wanted to go there. I wanted it for my own sake. So I suppose I should be ready to go for theirs. I don’t know if I’m the squirrel in the prophecy, or what I’m supposed to do when I get there, but if I don’t go, Your Majesty, I’ll always wonder what would have happened if I had. So I’m willing to go, if you want me to—or as willing as I can be, when I don’t know what I’m letting myself in for.”
    “Well done, Urchin,” said Padra, and knowing that he was impressed made Urchin feel better about everything.
    Crispin nodded. “Wait outside, please, Urchin, while we talk further,” he said. “And you, too, Needle—unless there’s anything you want to say?”
    Needle had stayed silently by the fireplace all this time. Urchin saw the way her sharp spines bristled, and the tight little scowl on her face.
    “It’s nothing to do with me,” she said brusquely. “But since you’ve asked, Your Majesty, I think Lord Treeth’s looking down his nose at us, the same goes for that Trail squirrel, and Bronze looks like a claw thug. If I were Urchin I wouldn’t want to go with them, but if he must, I’ll go too.”
    “That’s very noble of you, Needle,” said Crispin. “But if Urchin goes he’ll have guards and warriors to protect him. He mustn’t be in danger from Mistmantle exiles, or from the mercenaries who fought for Husk.”
    “Yes, Your Majesty, but I think I should be there all the same,” she said. She bowed with a tight little pursing of her mouth, and left the chamber side by side with Urchin. They found Docken still on duty outside, his spines sticking out in various directions. The empty stone corridor was pleasantly cooler than the Throne Room, and they scurried straight to the open window. Three hedgehogs were struggling up the beach, carrying a dark wooden sea chest between them.
    “That must be Lord Treeth’s belongings,” remarked Docken, looking over their shoulders. “He must be planning a long stay. Expect it’s full of robes.”
    “He looks like the sort of animal who likes dressing up,” said Needle, and leaned out farther to watch. “I keep getting the Hedgehog Host mixed up. That big one’s Lumberen, I know that.”
    “Yes, that’s Lumberen. Not bright, but a good worker,” said Docken. As he spoke, the very large hedgehog at the front stepped in a rock pool so that the chest tilted dangerously. Urchin couldn’t hear what the other hedgehogs said, but he knew it wasn’t polite.
    “And the two at the back with the cross faces are Sluggen and Crammen,” said Docken, pointing out two hedgehogs who appeared to be scowling with effort. “They always look like that. These days they’ve got nothing to scowl about, but I suppose they’ve got into the habit of it. And,” he said, turning to meet someone in the corridor, “here’s Gorsen. You’ve got all those visitors sorted out, then, have you?”
    Gorsen, who was rubbing something into his paws, looked even more perfectly groomed than before. Urchin supposed he was trying to impress the envoys.
    “Far better work than slaving underground day and night for Captain Husk,” said Gorsen. “King Brushen would never have allowed it if he’d known the half of what was happening. I’ve put Lord Treeth in Lady Aspen’s old sitting room. It was far too good for her.” He marched smartly away with a scented waft of resin oil.
    “He even puts sniffy stuff on his paws,” observed Needle.
    “Gorsen thinks of everything,” said Docken. “He’ll be a member of the Circle one of these days. He’s the kind who gets places.”
    Urchin’s mind was still on the other side of the Throne Room door. He supposed it would be all right, going to Whitewings; only, well, only he was still learning how to be a court