16
Hodgenock decided to sleep in the stables with Knoxby. It had proven to be a good choice, because the troll had kept him up all night with his snoring. He smiled to himself when the troll snorted and laughed in his sleep.
Knoxby rolled over with a large half-eaten ham in the crook of his arm. The troll took a bite and then happily mumbled to himself. Hodgenock raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms in front of him.
“Hmmm. Here, piggy-piggy.”
Hodgenock choked back his laughter and stood up, then walked out into the open air and breathed deep. One of the windows on the second floor flickered with a red glow. “The boy's up late,” he muttered. Max practiced on the back lawn all afternoon and into the early evening the day before. He didn't stop until he was pulled away for dinner. The b
