Jenny Nimmo - Henry and the Guardians of the Lost

First published in paperback in Great Britain 2016

by Egmont UK Limited

The Yellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road, London W11 4AN

Text copyright © 2016 Jenny Nimmo

Cover illustration by George Ermos

The moral rights of the author and illustrator have been asserted

First e-book edition 2016

ISBN 978 1 4052 8087 7

Ebook ISBN 978 1 7803 1740 3

www.egmont.co.uk

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Stay safe online. Any website addresses listed in this book are correct at the time of going to print. However, Egmont is not responsible for content hosted by third parties. Please be aware that online content can be subject to change and websites can contain content that is unsuitable for children. We advise that all children are supervised when using the internet.

For Max, with love.

Cover

Title Page

Copyright First published in paperback in Great Britain 2016 by Egmont UK Limited The Yellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road, London W11 4AN Text copyright © 2016 Jenny Nimmo Cover illustration by George Ermos The moral rights of the author and illustrator have been asserted First e-book edition 2016 ISBN 978 1 4052 8087 7 Ebook ISBN 978 1 7803 1740 3 www.egmont.co.uk A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Stay safe online. Any website addresses listed in this book are correct at the time of going to print. However, Egmont is not responsible for content hosted by third parties. Please be aware that online content can be subject to change and websites can contain content that is unsuitable for children. We advise that all children are supervised when using the internet.

Dedication For Max, with love.

The Yellow Letter

Timeless

Henchmen

The House in the Forest

Into the Tower

The Mayor and His Monster

Hiding in the Attic

A Cry in the Night

Ankaret and the Bomb

The Guardians

The Shaidi Workroom

Talk of Goblins

The Night Forest

The Goydrok

Miss Notamoth’s Surprise

The Day of the Pan Shining

Lucy’s Whisperers

Trapped

The Tempest

The Wizard

Back series promotional page

The yellow letter arrived on a Saturday, otherwise Henry would have been at school. The envelope was such a bright, sunny colour, no one would have believed that it contained a bombshell

There had been a storm in the night and the postman was late. Henry went out to see if the wild ocean had flooded the road. He knew he shouldn’t stand so close to the edge of the cliff, but he had survived so many dark and dangerous events, he had decided that nothing could finish him off. That was before he knew the contents of the yellow envelope.

Henry lived with his aunt, Pearl, and a black and white cat called Enkidu. Pearl wasn’t his real aunt, she was more of a minder, but she was distantly related to Henry, and also his cousin, Charlie. Henry’s parents had died long ago, nearly a hundred years in his father’s case. How could that be, you might ask, if Henry was only twelve?

That was his secret.

Henry’s life had changed in an instant, almost a century ago. He had been alone in the great hall of his uncle’s gloomy house when a large and beautiful marble had come rolling towards him. Unaware of the danger, Henry had picked it up and looked into it. He had been thrust into the future, and had lived in the present for almost two years, but in all that time he hadn’t grown. Not one inch.

Henry’s home was a small white-washed house perched halfway up a rugged cliff. For obvious reasons the house was called Ocean View. It was a place of safety for a boy whose past was almost too incredible to be believed.

Frank, the postman, arrived at last. He was a wiry, cheerful person with a wide smile and large, pink ears. He never complained about the steep lane that led up to the house nor the road below that was frequently puddled with sea water.

Henry met Frank at the front door. ‘Hullo, Frank. Have you had a bad time?’ Henry looked up at the rain-filled clouds.

‘Not so bad.’ Frank placed a bundle of mail in Henry’s hands.

The yellow letter was on top.

‘Interesting!’ Frank tapped the stamp in the corner. ‘Diplodocus, is it?’

‘Iguanodon,’ said Henry.

‘I’ll learn them one day.’ Frank grinned and got back into his van. ‘Give my regards to Auntie Pearl!’ he called as he sped off.

Henry regarded the yellow envelope. The name and address had been written in a large sloping hand. There was no mistaking Aunt Treasure’s round dots and sweeping tails. He took the mail into the kitchen where his aunt was making a chocolate cake.

Pearl was a small, round woman with dark, greying hair and permanently rosy cheeks. Henry placed the letters as close to the mixing bowl as he dared. He waited, hopefully, for Pearl to pick up the yellow envelope. She glanced at it and smiled. ‘Ah, from my sister.’

But the letter wasn’t opened until the chocolate cake was in the oven and Pearl’s hands were clean. Henry tried not to appear nosey, but he was keen to know what Treasure had to say. He sensed a secret, something too important to be said on the phone.

Pearl took ages to read the letter. The more she read, the more she frowned. It seemed that she couldn’t quite comprehend what her sister had written. And then she opened her eyes, very wide, and dropped the letter. Clasping her face in both hands, she said breathily, ‘Henry, go and pack your bag.’

‘What?’ Henry couldn’t believe Pearl’s instruction.

‘Now!’ she commanded. ‘Now, Henry. Not a moment to lose.’

‘But . . .’

‘Didn’t you hear what I said?’ Agitation made her words sound like a kind of scream.

‘You said pack a bag. But why?’

‘I’ll explain later.’ Pearl tore off her apron and ran to the kitchen door. ‘Come on, Henry. This is no time to dream.’

‘I’m not dreaming,’ Henry mumbled as he followed Pearl upstairs. ‘Or maybe I am, because I’m not sure that this is really happening. Charlie was coming today.’

‘Not now,’ said Pearl.

‘But we’d made plans. I’ve been thinking about them all week. Charlie is the only –’