The Hand Above the Gate - Softcover

Butcher, Nicholas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1849233489 ISBN 13: 9781849233484

Publisher: YouWriteOn.com, 2008

Synopsis

Synopsis: While on holiday in Spain, ten-year-old Daniel finds a buried amulet in the shape of a hand. The discovery opens up a way back in time to the Moorish Spain of centuries ago. Disaster strikes,and Daniel and his younger sister Rosie find themselves not only trapped in the past but also embroiled in a historic conflict centred on the Alhambra in Granada. They will have a key role to play, but at the cost of enormous personal danger to themselves. Even as they fight to survive, one question haunts them: will they ever be able to get back to their own time?

About this title

About the Author

Nicholas Butcher is an English teacher and writer. He has lived in Nerja in Spain since 1984. He is also the author of two books on Spanish cooking, 'The Spanish Kitchen', Macmillan, and 'The Festive Food Of Spain', Kyle Cathie

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

His mouth opened wide, his eyes stared not quite believing. There it was, right in front of him, just behind some leaves. How could he have missed it? He looked closer, forgetting the pain in his fingers. It was a door, shaped somewhat like a keyhole, with a straight base and sides but with an arched top like a horseshoe. It was small, nowhere big enough for a grown-up to get through.

"But just the right size for me," he said to himself, letting go of the branch and landing with a thump on the ground. Now he put the ladder back on its feet and climbed up again. He parted the leaves and saw that there was a small metal stud on the right hand side of the door. It looked like the head of an old nail. He pulled on it, but the door didn't shift. He tried again and again but it was stuck fast, so he went back to the storeroom to find a chisel. He was sweating a lot by this time and that made his back itch more, but he didn't mind one bit. Everything was too exciting to worry about an itchy back.

He jammed the blade of the chisel into the crack between the door and the wall and pushed on it, trying to lever the door open. Nothing happened, so he pushed harder, as hard as he could. There! He felt the door move a fraction. He tried again, and little by little the door began to give. The wood seemed to groan as it was disturbed, like someone woken from a deep sleep. At last the door came free and he pulled it open. It was stiff, and the hinges creaked. He shivered as the air released from behind the door brushed his face. It felt damp and musty, as if he had opened a tomb.

"How long can it have been shut, I wonder?" he said to himself.

He shone the torch inside, but it barely penetrated. There seemed to be a narrow passage there, but it was hard to tell. He thought for a moment of climbing in, but that definitely would have been frightening, so he heaved the door closed, climbed down the ladder and took everything back to the house.

Exploring beyond the door would have to wait until tomorrow.

Edition details

• Publisher: YouWriteOn.com
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1849233489
• ISBN 13: 9781849233484
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 204