THE ORB OF KANDRA by Morgan Rice

Author:Morgan Rice [Rice, Morgan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-12-26T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

Oliver still couldn’t quite believe he’d been in the presence of Sir Isaac Newton. But he also knew he had to focus and find the mysterious shrouded school.

He held up the spyglass, peering into the direction he’d originally seen the light on the horizon. It was still there, a burst of aquamarine rays.

“It’s that way,” Oliver said, pointing.

He, Esther, and Ralph headed into the busy streets.

It was just starting to rain as they began to walk the narrow cobbled streets of 1690s London. It was extremely noisy and the air was thick with the smell of garbage, smoldering metal, horse manure and urine. Oliver could hardly believe that over a third of the population had recently perished, considering how overcrowded the city still was. It must have been even worse before, though Oliver couldn’t imagine how all those people had fit in.

“WATCH OUT!” a voice suddenly shouted from behind.

The three friends leapt to the side just in time for a horse rider to come galloping past. The horses’ hooves splashed into the puddles, spraying them all in cold rain water and manure.

Esther looked appalled. She stared down at her disgusting clothes. “Well, that’s just great.”

Ralph grimaced. “Now what?”

“We’re right by an inn,” Oliver said, gesturing to a sign that read The Lion. “Let’s go inside and dry off.”

They went into the pub. It was warm, with a crackling fire. But very little light came in through the windows, which appeared to be covered up with dark curtains, giving the space a sort of seedy vibe. The only light came from small candles on each table. It also smelled musty, like ale and cooked meat, and was filled with tables and patrons. Clearly the early hour of the day didn’t matter too much to the drinking men of London.

As Oliver and his friends went over to the fireplace, every pair of eyes in the room followed them. Oliver got the immediate feeling that coming in here had been a bad idea.

“Oi,” the barman called in a gruff voice. He was standing behind the bar cleaning glasses with a rag. “What are you lot drinking?”

Oliver was taken aback by the question. They were clearly children. They weren’t here to drink!

“Nothing, thank you,” he stammered. “We just came in here to get out of the rain and dry off.”

“Dry off?” the barman said angrily. “Does this pub look like an umbrella to you?” He sniffed, clearly catching a waft of the horse manure they’d been splattered with. “What are you, beggars?”

Oliver shrank back, definitely feeling like coming in here was a terrible idea. The rest of the patrons were staring at them too, like they clearly didn’t belong.

“Let’s get out of here,” Esther said.

“That’s right!” the landlord shouted. “Scram!”

They started to back away for the door.

Just then, a group of young teenage boys who’d been sitting at the window stood up. They blocked their route out of the inn. The tallest one stood at the front of the pack. He looked filthy, his clothes little more than rags.

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