The Curse of the Chocolate Phoenix by Kate Saunders

Author:Kate Saunders
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic UK
Published: 2014-01-23T16:00:00+00:00

The people of Pudding Lane had begun to take notice of the fire. They were running out of the narrow, higgledy-piggledy houses in their long nightgowns, yelling and bumping into each other. A woman with a baby tried to count her excited children. Two men on the roof of the baker’s shop were pouring buckets of water on the blazing thatch. Two more men were swinging axes at the house next door, trying to pull it down before the fire could spread.

Lily cowered in the mouth of the alley, trying to keep out of sight. Something tugged at her skirt. She looked down to see the eyes of Spike and Demerara gleaming in the shadows.

“We followed them!” mewed Demerara. “They went into a big castle!”

“It’s the one that gets burned down in the Great Fire,” Spike said breathlessly. “There are soldiers at the gate, but we found a little window you should be able to squeeze through.”

“And I didn’t say a single word, did I, Spike? So you don’t need to tape my mouth again.”

Oz, Lily and Caydon looked at one another. Their official work was done, but they all hated the thought of leaving Dr Spatz behind in the past to be barbecued.

“It’ll be dangerous,” Silver said. “None of us has clearance for direct dealings with D33.”

“But we can’t just go without him,” Oz said. “Not now we’ve seen him. We’ve got time to rescue him before the chocolate wears off, haven’t we?”

“Yes, but we’ve also got time to get killed,” Lily said, with a shiver. “And then we’d go back to the future as dead bodies.”

“Don’t be such a wimp.” Caydon was scornful. “If we listened to you we’d never do anything!”

Lily turned to him angrily. “And if we listened to your silly ideas—”

“Shut up, both of you!” snapped Silver. “I’m trying to think.”

“I do wish you two wouldn’t argue all the time,” Demerara said. “It’s so unhelpful.”

Caydon gave a sudden snort of laughter. “Look who’s talking! You never stop fighting with Spike!”

“Nonsense!” The cat was offended. “I’m merely giving an ignorant rat the benefit of my superior WISDOM!”

“That’s right,” Spike chuckled. “She’s got the temper of a blooming angel!”

The rat’s dirty, furry face, with its bright little eyes, looked so funny and so kind that they all relaxed into smiles, and Lily felt braver. She took Silver’s hand. “Look, I’m really scared and I want to go home – but poor Greta will be so sad if anything happens to Dr Spatz. She doesn’t have anybody else, except her mean mother. We ought to try, at least.”

“And we’re armed,” Caydon added. He was longing for a chance to use his sword.

“Well – OK,” Silver said. “But you’ve all got to follow my orders exactly. Unlike me and the animals, you three are mortal – and if I bring you back dead, that’s my promotion down the pan.” She tried to smile, but her face in the dim orange glow of the flames was deathly pale. “Seriously, do as you’re told.

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