Troll Mill

Troll Mill
Katherine Langrish

Sequel to the highly-acclaimed Troll Fell, this is just as exciting, dramatic and atmospheric. Follow Peer’s adventures as he tries to get the mill working again. But watch out! You never know what kind of sneaky creatures are lurking in the shadows, waiting to jump out at you at Troll Mill…Troll Mill follows Peer Ulfsson, his dog Loki, Hilde and their friends and family three years on from where we left them in Troll Fell.Returning from a day’s fishing with his friend Bjorn and with a violent storm brewing, Peer is shocked when Bjorn’s wife Kersten rushes past, thrusts her young baby into Peer’s arms and throws herself into the sea. What kind of creature would do this… and will she ever return?On his way back up the hill, carrying Kersten’s baby to safety through the storm, Peer notices the old mill wheel turning. But it’s been derelict for years… The next day, fed up with Hilde’s constant rejections, he decides to prove himself and goes down to investigate the old mill, determined to get it up and running again and become the miller himself. But who or what creatures will be lurking in the shadows of Troll Mill… And are his greedy scheming uncles really gone for good?

Troll

Mill

KATHERINE LANGRISH

For David, Alice and Isobelwith love

Warm thanks to:Liz, for everything, and especially uprooting the elder trees

Catherine,Michele, Jackie and Carolfor being the best agents anyone could have

Phil Scott of Regia Anglorumfor first-hand advice on how to sail a faering

And once again to Alan Stoyel and Critchell Brittenfor your help on water mills.

My apologies to you all for any remaining mistakes

Last but not least, thanks toGillie, Sally and Robin,my wonderful and understanding editors;to Becky for the exciting cover designs;and to everyone else at HarperCollins

Table of Contents

Cover Page (#u14d1d65a-ff1f-5c11-beb6-4875b992a371)

Title Page (#udc3131d2-594e-5094-a1ac-9eeca309a045)

Dedication (#u0a2ff1e8-12d5-5526-afad-b07aa5e31524)

Map (#ufa245568-8615-5e17-8069-71c9edfbbfee)

CHAPTER 1 What Happened on the Shore (#u26e6e9b3-1bb6-5b94-b597-a5d73b584243)

CHAPTER 2 A Brush with the Trolls (#u1d906241-d684-59a9-a332-d4ce8955e197)

CHAPTER 3 A Warning from the Nis (#uefd45dea-4f16-5a5e-ab85-d48750e40199)

CHAPTER 4 Bjørn’s Story (#u262fed45-0b66-5dd4-8df5-972889fde605)

CHAPTER 5 The Quarrel (#u7ade0ef7-2531-536c-806c-4e2fc0226ef3)

CHAPTER 6 Exploring the Mill (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 7 A Family Argument (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 8 Voices at the Millpond (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 9 The Nis Behaves Badly (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 10 The Nis in Disgrace (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 11 Success at the Mill (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 12 Rumours (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 13 Sightings (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 14 Gruesome Grindings (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 15 The Lubbers at Large (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 16 Under Troll Fell (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 17 The Nis Confesses (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 18 The Troll Baby at the Farm (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 19 Granny Greenteeth’s Lair (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 20 The Miller of Troll Fell (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 21 Kersten (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 22 New Beginnings (#litres_trial_promo)

Also By Katherine Langrish (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 1 What Happened on the Shore (#ulink_08c8c196-588c-570b-9ee7-1c714ba23a1b)

The boat danced ungracefully in from the fishing grounds, dipping and rolling over lively waves at the mouth of the fjord. Her crew, a man and a boy, reached steadily forward and back, tugging their two pairs of oars through the choppy water.

The boy, rowing in the bows, looked up over his companion’s bent back. Out west beyond the islands, the wind tore a long yellow rift in the clouds, and the setting sun blinked through in stormy brilliance, splashing the water with fiery oils.

Dazzled, the boy missed his next stroke, slicing the oars through air instead of water. Braced to pull, he flew backwards off his seat into a tangle of nets and creels and a slither of fat, bright fish. He lay breathless as the boat heaved under his spine, hurling him skywards, then sinking away underneath as though falling through space.

“Resting?” teased his friend Bjørn. “Had enough rowing for one day?”

Peer laughed back from the bottom of the boat, long arms and legs sprawling. “Yes, I’m tired. I think I’ll just stay here. Ouch!” Salt water slapped his face as the prow cut through a wave, and he scrambled up hastily with dripping hair, snatching at the loose oars.

“Ship them,” said Bjørn over his shoulder. “I’ll take us in.” He leaned unhurriedly on his own pair of oars, and Peer knelt, clutching the slender bows, looking forwards at the land. The water under the boat lit up a cloudy green; over on the shore the pebbles glittered, and the sea-grass on the dunes glowed gold. The late sunlight turned the slanting pastures above the village to slopes of emerald. High above all, the rugged peak of Troll Fell shone as if gilded against a sky dark as a bruise.

“Bad weather coming,” said Bjørn, squinting at the sunset. The breeze stiffened, carrying cold points of rain. “But we’ll get home before it catches us.”