Dicing with Death by Beth Chambers Page A

the forest where no one else would find it. Recently he had taken a plastic milk crate down there to use as a table. Surprise, surprise, it had been another babysitting day, and he had made the fatal mistakeof taking Amy with him. Since then all she had done was nag him to take her back.
    â€˜I’m not taking you. We’re going to the lake instead,’ Max told her.
    â€˜Why?’
    â€˜I’m going to get myself one of the trees planted there.’
    â€˜Why?’
    â€˜Because this Christmas I’m having my own tree in my own room.’
    â€˜Why?’
    â€˜Because this Christmas,’ Max said, rubbing his hands up and down his arms to keep warm, ‘I’m spending on my own. No Mum, no David…’
    â€˜No Amy?’ Amy said in a small voice.
    â€˜And no Amy,’ Max said firmly. ‘This Christmas is going to be family-free.’

Chapter Two
    â€˜Will you still get presents from Father Christmas?’ Amy pouted, looking upset.
    Max stared at her. ‘What?’ he snapped. Not looking where he was going, his foot suddenly sank into something mushy, steaming and very smelly. ‘Shhh…ugar!’
    He did his best to scrape his trainer clean while ignoring Amy’s giggles. By the time they had reached the lake, Max could cheerfully have thrown her in. Knowing that he might have a question or two to answer at home if he did, instead he picked up a pebble and skimmed it across the black expanse of water. His real dad had taught him how to snap back his wrist and send the pebble scudding across the surface. He’d taught him other things too, like how to make bows and arrows, how to belch the national anthem and how to produce the most awesome farting sounds from under hisarmpit. He’d been a great dad. Not like David with his, ‘Tidy your room, Max,’ and ‘Let’s work out a payment plan for this broken window, Max.’
    Deep down, Max
knew
that his real dad was going to come back.
He would have come back aeons ago if Mum hadn’t been so quick to remarry
, he fumed, kicking some loose pebbles into the water.
    â€˜Max?’ Amy tugged at his sleeve. ‘I’m getting cold.’
    Max glued a vacant smile to his face. ‘You can help me look for a tree. That will warm you up.’
    â€˜OK.’ Amy pushed her hair out of her eyes and gazed around at the towering pines that dominated the landscape like giant forest guardians. She tugged off her gloves.
    â€˜You’d best keep them on,’ Max told her, ‘you’ll freeze without them. Your fingers will turn into icicles and they’ll snap off.’
    Amy tramped off towards the nearest line of trees while Max headed off in the opposite direction. Moments later he heard his sister shriek.
    â€˜Max, Max, I found the best tree ever!’
    Max hurried around the mouth of the lake and found Amy standing with her arms wrapped around a tree at least three times her size. ‘That’s not atree, that’s a forest! Look, Amy, they’ve planted the smaller trees closer to the lake. Look there, OK?’
    â€˜Is it bad to take them?’ Amy whispered. ‘Dad says stealing is wrong.’
    â€˜It’s only
bad
if we get caught.’ Max winked.
    â€˜You’ll be in big trouble.’
    â€˜No, I won’t.’
    â€˜Will.’
    Max blew out a long breath, sending a column of hot steam into the freezing air. ‘No I
won’t
, because I’ve been looking after you all holiday and the forest fairies have decided I deserve a reward.’
    â€˜Forest fairies!’ Amy’s eyes widened.
    â€˜Yep. They’re all over the place, watching everything you do. If you’re good they give you a present, but if you’re bad they punish you.’
    â€˜How?’ Amy was hanging on his every word.
    â€˜They play mean tricks on you. Sometimes they’ll follow you home and wait until it’s dark and you’re