A Little Taste of Poison by R. J. Anderson

Author:R. J. Anderson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Chapter Fifteen

EEEEAAAAHHHH . . . EEEEAAAAHHHH . . .

Like the bray of some maddened donkey, the magical alarm droned on. Isaveth crouched atop the rafter with a float-charm in one hand and a shade-charm in the other, stomach cramping with fear. She was safe for the moment, but if the manservant circling Eryx’s sportster looked up . . .

“Who’s been fooling about in here?”

Isaveth’s insides knotted tighter. The new arrival was Eryx Lording himself.

“They must have bolted when the alarm went off, sir.” The footman gestured to the side door of the carriage house, which Isaveth had suggestively left open. “I came as soon as I heard it, but—” He raised his voice to be heard above the din. “There was nobody here.”

Eryx’s mouth flattened. He tapped the sportster’s door handle and the alarm cut off, leaving Isaveth’s ears ringing. “Then look for them, man. They’ll have left footprints, surely, unless . . .” He rubbed a finger across his chin. “Unless they used magic to hide their trail.”

“One of the guests, then, milord?” The servant craned outside, sweeping the night with his spell-torch. “No prints.”

The Lording pivoted slowly, scanning the carriage house. Isaveth held her breath. Merciful All-One, don’t let him look up! True, all he’d see was shadow at first, but if that torch swung toward her . . .

“Probably one of Esmond’s idiot schoolmates,” said Eryx at last. “Lock up and we’ll deal with it tomorrow.”

“Yes, milord.” Ice rasped as the footman pulled the side door shut. He glanced about one last time, then snapped off the lights and followed his master out. The lower door slammed, and Isaveth was alone.

Isaveth let out her breath, tension draining from her body. But she was freezing, filthy—and even more worrisome, stuck. She’d used the floater to get up to the rafter, but how to get down?

She didn’t dare touch Eryx’s spell-carriage a second time, and its soft top likely wouldn’t hold her anyway. The Sagelord’s sedan looked more sturdy, but what if she set off another alarm? Isaveth shinned forward, peering at the darkened floor. Could she roll off the beam, dangle by her hands a bit, then drop?

Maybe, but she’d also stand an excellent chance of breaking an ankle. Besides, the rafter was too wide to give her a proper grip. Isaveth sighed and backed up to where she’d started.

Little by little the darkness lightened as her shade-charm lost its power. Her body grew heavy, and the rafter dug into her thighs. She was shivering uncontrollably, and she couldn’t hold on much longer. . . .

“Isaveth?”

Her muscles melted into butter. “Esmond!” she gasped as he climbed out of the stairwell, a light-charm glowing in his hand.

One glance was all it took for him to grasp her predicament. Esmond dropped the charm into his pocket, scrambled onto the roof of his father’s sedan, and stretched out both hands to help Isaveth down. For an awful second the metal groaned beneath their combined weight—then he swung her off the far side of the carriage and hopped to the floor beside her.

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