The Heart of Glass Read Online Free Page A

— gone!”
    “Oh, dear.” Elsie put her hand to her face. “I think we’d better tell the Ancient One.”
    Gubble frowned. “Find Gracie,” he said. “NOW.” And he headed toward the back door, which immediately slipped to one side and pretended to be a window.
    The Oldest rushed after him and towed him back. “Let’s hear what Edna has to say first, shall we?” she suggested, and led the way into the corridor. Room seventeen, the most important room in the House of the Ancient Crones, was, for once, immediately opposite, and Elsie sighed with relief as she and Gubble hurried in.
    The two looms were click-click-clacking as usual; an extremely pretty young woman was angrily throwing the shuttle to and fro on the smaller loom, while the Ancient One was steadily weaving the iridescent silver of the web of power. Val, the Youngest Crone, was muttering to herself as she tried to sort out a tangle of thread on the floor.
    “Edna,” said Elsie, “could you spare a minute? Marlon’s just arrived with some rather alarming news.”
    The Ancient One glanced around, her one blue eye gleaming. “Can’t be too alarming. The web’s clear. Look!”
    All three crones stared at the loom, and indeed the gleaming silver cloth flowed smooth and stain-free.
    The pretty girl sneered. “What’s the matter? Has my nasty little stepsister gotten herself lost? Serves her right. Perhaps she’s been eaten by a bear. Crunch, crunch — Gracie for lunch!”
    “Be silent, Foyce,” Edna said. “Remarks like that will most certainly prolong your stay here. We can release only those who are purged of wickedness and evil.” Her voice was quiet, but the girl flinched and bent low over her work. The Ancient One turned to Val. “Val, dear, could you take over for five minutes? I’ll have a word with Marlon, and then I’ll be straight back.”
    The Youngest nodded and took Edna’s place in front of the web. As she did so, a faint shadow rippled across the shimmering sheet of silver, and both old women caught their breath, but a second later it was gone.
    “Hmm.” The Ancient One sounded thoughtful. “Keep a close eye on it, dear. It looks as if something might be stirring after all. I’ll go and see what Marlon has to say.”
    Marlon was fretting. Only his deep respect and admiration for the Ancient Crones stopped him from flying into room seventeen and asking them to hurry things along. When Gubble came stomping back into the kitchen, Marlon flew down to perch on a chair back and asked, “Well? Action stations or what?”
    “Unk,” Gubble said as he marched across the room, a determined expression on his flat green face. “Get Gracie. Gubble go.”
    “Yay!” Marlon said approvingly. “What did the crones say?”
    Gubble ignored him. Reaching the back door — which was where it belonged but upside down — he grunted loudly. The door shot up to the ceiling, and Gubble folded his arms and grunted again. When there was no response, he walked through the wall, leaving a troll-shaped space behind him, together with a great deal of fresh air.
    Marlon began to laugh but stopped as Edna and Elsie came in from the corridor. He waved a wing at the gaping hole. “Gubble’s gone.”
    “We can see that for ourselves,” the Ancient One said crisply. “Now, please tell us exactly what happened.”
    Marlon stood at attention and gave a short but accurate account of the early morning’s events.

    When he had finished, Edna nodded. “Very sensible to mark the tree. Well done.” Marlon glowed — but he looked increasingly uneasy as she went on. “It sounds like a dwarf-trap, but I can’t be sure. I thought they’d all been sealed up long ago, but it’s possible one or two of them were forgotten about. Nasty things, dwarf-traps.”
    Elsie frowned. “What were the dwarves hoping to catch?”
    “Oh, it wasn’t the dwarves who set them.” Edna sounded surprised by Elsie’s ignorance. “They’d never do anything like that. It