The Speed of Darkness by Catherine Fisher
Author:Catherine Fisher [Fisher, Catherine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hachette Children's
Published: 2016-02-11T08:00:00+00:00
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
After Katra Simba, Venn travelled obsessively. Cities, rainforests, the Greenland interior â he spent years on the road.
Once in Rome, I came across him on the Janiculum, gazing down at the domes and houses.
âThe Eternal City,â I said, foolishly.
He looked at me as if I was a stranger. âIf there only was such a thing,â he said.
Jean Lamartine, The Strange Life of Oberon Venn
The city was a nightmare to drive through.
Every street was angled, every corner warped. The roads buckled and ran over dangerous, filmy places that Sarah was terrified the car would fall right through. The noise of the engine seemed hideously loud in the silence, and as they sped under walls and the empty houses she imagined hundreds of Januses hurrying to windows to watch them pass.
She shook her head. Already her arms ached from gripping the wheel too tightly.
Relax.
Concentrate!
Venn had the glass gun in his hand; he watched the streets intently.
âHe must know,â she muttered.
âMaybe he doesnât care.â
She flung him a glance. âHe will when he realizes where weâre going. And why.â
Grim, Venn nodded. âLeft here. Left!â
They passed deserted crossroads. Vast office blocks and shops, underpasses and road bridges confused her. She had never known London well; it was Venn who navigated, from memory and guesswork, and she was amazed at how the ancient ways of the city still existed, the roads and thoroughfares that might have been here for centuries.
She spared him a glance. âYou must find this strange.â
âThe silence is. In my time over six million people are crammed into this city. A swarming ant heap. All those lives, all those plans and dreams. Just gone.â
She slowed at a junction. They were back near the river. âWhere now?â
âWestminster Bridge. Straight ahead. If itâs still there.â
She saw him searching for landmarks. âWhereâs Big Ben?â
âBuilt into the tower. Sometimes you hear it strike in there, at odd hours.â
They came to the bridge. It had been stretched to over a mile long and was barely wider now than the car. The lampposts were black, elongated slices of metal; each took half a minute to pass.
âThis part has been pulled a long way.â Sarah bumped the car over debris. âThe warping is different in different places. Have you noticed?â
He nodded. âMaybe if we can get far enough things will be more normal. Out of London.â He looked back. High and unsteady on the horizon, the tower rose like a nightmare silhouette, a childâs interrupted game of stacked pieces. Rain blurred its outline. Cloud streamed from its top. âI hate leaving Jake in there.â
âNo choice.â
âIf anything happens, David will.â
âIt wonât. Janus will hold him as a hostage, and heâll be kept alive, Iâm sure.â But she wasnât sure, and both of them knew it.
Suddenly the world convulsed. Sarah swore, slammed the wheel sideways, the car skewing along the pavement, shearing the parapet, and then along the façade of a building, sparks scorching up.
The road buckled under them. She jammed on the brakes but the car didnât stop; for a
Download
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
Action & Adventure | Aliens |
Dystopian | Space Opera |
Steampunk | Time Travel |
Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli(952)
Percy Jackson: The Complete Series by Rick Riordan(933)
The Cruel Prince: The Folk of the Air [Book 1] Anthology Anthology by Holly Black & Black Holly(892)
Kingdom of the Feared by Kerri Maniscalco(842)
Powerful by Lauren Roberts(789)
I Did NOT Give That Spider Superhuman Intelligence! (Please Don't Tell My Parents Book 4) by Richard Roberts(739)
A Curse For True Love by Stephanie Garber(701)
The Tales Of Beedle The Bard by Unknown(679)
The Dragon's Promise by Elizabeth Lim(661)
The Dark Artifices, the Complete Collection by Cassandra Clare(616)
Nightbane by Alex Aster(615)
03 Charmfall by Chloe Neill(576)
Path of Vengeance by Cavan Scott(533)
Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao(532)
The Do-Over by Lynn Painter(524)
De Jaden Troon by Naomi Novik(490)
The Twisted Christmas Trilogy (Complete Series by Daniel Parsons(490)
The Prisoner's Throne by Holly Black(475)
All of Our Demise by Amanda Foody(451)
