Arthur Hood: the Heir of Robin and King

Chapter Eight

While Merlynna gazed at the glowing shard in bed, wondering what it could be, Little Johnny was up a tree in his back garden once again. This time he wasn't waiting for Mr Scarlett to leave his home but for his return. Little Johnny hadn't seen the mysterious man since he had been thrown off the carriage the other night.

'Had something happened to him?' Little Johnny asked himself. 'Something bad, perhaps? Had he met his demise at the hands of this Shadow that he mentioned? Or maybe he was captured by them and needs help.'

If Mr Scarlett does, could he come to his rescue, Little Johnny wondered. But how? What could he do? Unless he could find something useful below the fountain. Maybe there was a secret superhero lair down there.

Little Johnny didn't think about it for long. He was going to check it out.

But first, he needed a disguise, something to hide his face if he were to run into anything, someone.

Across the branch he walked and through a window to his bedroom he climbed, the place void of anything that would hint that it was a child's bedroom. Little Johnny then leapt over his bed to his closet as the faint sounds of his foster parents sleeping crept through the crack under the door.

Little Johnny wondered if they would believe him if he told them about his suspicions about Mr Scarlett.

He chuckled at the thought.

Definitely not. They probably wouldn't even care. Probably wouldn't even notice that he was talking to them.

Little Johnny riffled through his clothes until he found what he was looking for, the hideous coat that had been in his closet ever since he had come to live with his foster parents. Made of thick wool that had turned brown with age, it looked like some sort of matted creature or some gnarly dead brush.

He had never worn it before, and never thought he would, but it had a baggy hood.

He quickly draped the coat over him, it smelling as if something had died inside, before covering his head. He then climbed through his window again and back onto the tree, where a branch as tall as him and as thick as his arm took his fancy.

'I may need something to defend myself if I get into trouble,' Little Johnny whispered before grabbing the branch and breaking it off. 'Excellent. A staff.'

He gave it a try too, showing off his gymnastic baton twirling skills to the owl that was perched nearby. With a thrust, he shot the staff over his head and began spinning it around and around. First with two hands and then with one.

'Brilliant,' Little Johnny said as he stared up in awe at the twirling blur before bringing the staff down and doing the same in front of him. Then with a snap, he stopped and finished off with a few lunges and sweeps.

The owl hooted at the display.

'Thank you,' Little Johnny responded as he eyed a delivery truck rolling down the street. 'And perfect timing.'

With a smile, he leapt down to the branch below, which was hanging over his fence and the sidewalk, and shuffled to the very end. And the moment the delivery truck ambled by beneath him, he jumped.

Through the air he plummeted until he hit the hood of the truck's trailer with a bang. The driver briefly stuck his head out at the noise but continued on and towards Mr Scarlett's gate. Once there, and as he turned the corner to travel down another street, Little Johnny leapt off, soared over the gate and down into Mr Scarlett's front garden.

'That was fun,' he mumbled. He gave another twirl of his staff before dashing around to the back and to the fountain. 'Now, what did Mr Scarlett do to make it go down.'