Circus of Marvels by Justin Fisher

Author:Justin Fisher [Fisher Justin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2016-05-12T04:00:00+00:00

French Steel

Everything seemed to move slowly and all to the pounding beat of his heart. That was, until his heart stopped. He did not notice George tearing Kitty’s door from its hinges, after she’d lowered the black-domed barrier. He was not aware of how close the Darkness had come to taking him, nor did he know how hard the Farseer had fought to stop it. The only thing he remembered clearly was the notion of a girl holding a flower, that and a room raw with shouting before George’s great arms carried him back to his bunk.

Much later, when Ned woke, the thought of the terrible voice and the girl who had reached out to him were still fresh in his mind. The voice had been ancient and frightening. Different again to the one aboard Barbarossa’s ship. But if not Barbarossa then who or what was it? He decided to say nothing about it, at least until he had a better understanding of what it meant. As for the girl, it must have been Lucy Beaumont. Kitty had been right – as soon as he’d bonded with the ring, their connection had come alive. He switched on his sidelight and studied his hand. The band of metal looked quite normal. From the outside you couldn’t tell that it was connected to him through the pores of his skin, as much a part of his nervous system now as the hand that carried it. He’d survived the bonding. Ned had become an Engineer, just like his father before him. It was at this precise moment that he felt something he had never felt before. Ned felt special.

“Well this is weird, Whiskers,” he whispered, but his Debussy Mark 12 was pretending to be asleep. “Oh and yeah, I’m fine, thanks pal,” he added, which was when his mouse turned over and started to snore.

Ned left Whiskers ‘recharging’. He was met outside by Monsieur Couteau who was waiting in full fencing gear, rapier in hand, with his customary expression of French severity.

“Monsieur Neede, follow me.”

“It’s actually Ned, Mister Couteau.”

“Swish! swish!” said Couteau, as the tip of his blade did just that in front of Ned’s nose.

“Monsieur Couteau, if you please, Neede.”

Ned had had little to do with the man since their run in with Barbarossa in Shalazaar, but had heard from the others that he took his job and the Ringmaster’s orders extremely seriously.

“Er, yes Monsieur Couteau,” replied Ned now, eyes fixed on the rapier’s tip, only inches from his nose.

With Ned’s new status as an Engineer, Benissimo had evidently given the French Master at Arms instructions to begin his battle training immediately. Having Ned taken again, by whatever means, was not an option. He needed to be ready for anything.

Couteau led them over to the big top, where Finn was wrestling with a level two tiptoe – a slim, grey-skinned, oily-looking creature that reminded Ned of something between a snake and a frog. He’d caught it giving nightmares to young children throughout the Italian countryside.

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