A Trick of Time by Jenni Jennings

Author:Jenni Jennings
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic
Published: 2021-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

““I suggest we go to the offi ce and regroup” said said Uncle Vex.

“And eat pie?” suggested Seth.

“Definitely,” said Uncle Vex. “We need to regroup and eat pie and see if we can work a plan. Besides,” he added, dodging as a curse of boils flew past his nose. “It’ll be safer in there than out here. Is your lanyard secure, Seth?”

“It is,” said Seth.

“Then let’s be gone. To the office!” cried Uncle Vex, and away they went.

It was dark by the time they turned into the road where Uncle Vex lived and worked. A gas lamp illuminated the door to the office, which had been decorated with what looked like a series of tiny belts with clips hanging from them. These strange items had been tacked to the door in two diagonal lines, to create the letter V.

Uncle Vex quickly began taking the small belts down and stuffing them into his pockets.

“What are they?” asked Malice, unhooking one of the items from the door and inspecting it.

“A downright gross breech of privacy, that’s what,” grumbled Uncle Vex.

“Right,” said Malice. “But what are they?”

Uncle Vex gave a long sigh.

“If you must know, they are my sock suspenders.”

Seth choked on a chunk of pie as he tried to stifle his laughter.

“Sock suspenders?” Malice asked.

Groaning dramatically, Uncle Vex lifted his trouser legs to reveal one of the small belts halfway up each calf. The little clips held his socks up.

“I don’t like my socks rolling down,” said Uncle Vex haughtily. “One can’t solve crimes when one’s mind is distracted by wrinkling socks!”

Malice bit her lip and looked down at the ground to hide her smile.

“Now, if you don’t mind, let’s get inside and do some work,” Uncle Vex grumbled. He unlocked the office door and Seth and Malice followed him inside.

Once inside and seated around the large desk, each with a pie and steaming mug of stinging nettle tea, they began to discuss the letters that Maniacal was strewing around.

“I think the ‘V’ is a little obvious,” said Uncle Vex derisively. “It stands for Vexatious.”

“But why?” asked Malice. “What is he trying to tell us by leaving these letters everywhere?”

“I’ve told you,” said Uncle Vex. “Nothing. He’s trying to goad us, that’s all.”

“Goad us into doing what?” asked Seth.

“What you need to understand,” said Uncle Vex, “is that anarchy is, well, anarchy! It is of itself disorganized. You’re looking for a motive for the mayhem, but there isn’t one; mayhem is his only motive.”

“Then what should we be focussing on?” asked Seth.

“How to track Maniacal down, take the watch back and hide it where he’ll never find it again,” said Uncle Vex simply.

“What about if, instead of hiding it again, we destroy it?” Malice suggested.

Uncle Vex shook his head.

“Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. You can’t destroy a magical item if you don’t know how it’s made. You need to understand the mechanism of the magic if you are to successfully disarm it. That’s why it was sealed in amber in the first place.

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