The Grandest Bookshop in the World by Mellor Amelia

Author:Mellor, Amelia [Mellor, Amelia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Affirm Press
Published: 2020-09-28T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

COLE’S PATENT WHIPPING MACHINE FOR FLOGGING NAUGHTY CHILDREN

Vally was going to die.

He knew it by the metallic clatter from the floor below, by the hungry growl of its engine. He knew it by the war-drum beating of his heart. He knew it by his dry mouth and his skin stinging with memories that would never be erased, even if he lost the game. Too bold. Good education. The canes would whip the clothes from his skin, the skin from his flesh, the flesh from his bones, and he would die.

He dug his fingernails into the strap of his school satchel. He was dressed again, and the satchel was packed with useful things. Inside was the flower dictionary, the altered Funny Picture Book, the emergency sweets from Miss Kay, a list of the flowers they had so far deciphered, paper and pencils for decoding riddles, scissors in case they encountered more malevolent ball gowns, and at Pearl’s insistence, the oryx horn. As thorough as this kit was, it didn’t feel like much protection. Vally wished he was upstairs with Ivy, keeping an ear out for Pa and an eye out for their mother returning down Bourke Street.

Five stairs from the ground floor, his feet seemed to turn to stone. Eddie and Pearl looked up at him.

‘I don’t think I can do this one.’

Eddie rolled his eyes. ‘What do you mean, you can’t do it?’

Too bold. It suited Pearl and Eddie, but not him. Pearl had kept a level head in the second challenge when Vally had lost his. She bantered with Magnus Maximillian as brazenly as their mother did with those who crossed her. Eddie’s natural attitude to danger was to charge in with a courage that verged on stupidity. But Vally was scared. And the thing he was most scared of was how his own mind might betray him. He would panic. Or worse – forget.

‘I’ll mess it up,’ he said. ‘I don’t trust myself.’

‘Well, I do,’ said Pearl.

Vally was about to argue with her when he noticed the open, hopeful look on her face. She wasn’t brushing him off. That slight note of provocation in her voice wasn’t saying, you’re a coward, but come on, cheer up, don’t be hard on yourself. Which meant a lot, coming from the Constant Irritation.

That was a horrible nickname, now that he thought about it. She wasn’t a constant irritation. She was loud, and she didn’t always know how to think things through. But she wasn’t stupid. Every time she had argued with him since the game began, it was only because she was trying to help him reach the goal they shared. The goal of saving Pa.

‘Tick, tock,’ said Eddie, pointing at the diminishing rainbows. ‘Don’t sook out on us, Val.’

‘All right, all right.’ Vally hefted the satchel and stepped onto the ground floor. It felt like stepping into an ancient battle arena. The Book Arcade was suspiciously devoid of customers, considering the doors had been open for almost an hour.

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