The Midnighters by Hana Tooke

Author:Hana Tooke [Tooke, Hana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2022-06-28T00:00:00+00:00

Ema watched helplessly as the second part of her plan unraveled before her very eyes. Everything about the way Matylda was glaring at her was clearly meant to intimidate. And yet, just like in the tunnel, Ema felt a perplexing sense of mischief bubble up inside her. The more Matylda glared, the more Ema grew determined not to let a knife-throwing clown stand in the way of her completing her mission.

She summoned her brightest smile and wiggled her fingers in a friendly wave, then grinned when Matylda’s scowl deepened.

Why was she trying to rile a girl who threw knives for a living?

Matylda mouthed the words: What are you doing?

Ema pretended to look very confused.

Matylda crossed her arms and shook her head.

Ema pretended to look even more confused.

Matylda nodded pointedly at Ema’s herding spot across the room.

Ema pretended to look flabbergasted that she wasn’t in that very spot.

Matylda blinked.

Ema thanked her with pressed palms and a deep bow.

Matylda rolled her eyes.

Ema blew her a kiss.

Matylda gagged, squeezing her eyes closed in mock disgust.

And that was all the time Ema needed to throw the cloak over her head and shoulders and dart quickly into the throng of patrons.

As the crowd shuffled forward, Ema peeked through her hood to find Matylda looking out across the ballroom in confusion.

The mischievous delight Ema felt lasted only another second. If Matylda had seen her, did that mean her stealth was failing? And if it was failing, how on earth was she supposed to sneak Silvie out of the guild without being seen? Especially since Matylda would soon realize exactly where Ema had snuck off to.

Panic fluttered in her chest.

With the first two parts of her plan now compromised, it was surely best to revert to plan B: abandon her mission and seek help. Instead, she put her head down and shuffled along, her heart thundering and her palms itching as she got closer to the doorway. The raven did not reach out to grab her, though. And a moment later, Ema found herself over the threshold and in a corridor. A new panic set in as the crowd crept forward.

What kind of horror would await in the Bone Sculptor’s spectacle?

An imposing iron gate loomed ahead, and Ema risked pulling her hood back slightly to get a better look at the metal lettering above it: THE MOONLIGHT GARDEN.

Ema’s panic morphed into bewilderment as she passed through the iron gates into the most spectacular garden she’d ever seen. Beneath the vaulted stone ceilings hung a luminescent moon, casting a silvery glow across a wild tangle of greenery that filled the vast room. Rising up above the botany were gleaming white marble sculptures of every animal imaginable, wrapped in curling vines.

Ema was swept down some mossy stone steps, partly by the awestruck patrons around her, partly by the fact that she was too confused to do anything else.

I wish you could have seen it, Emiliana. Only a botanist as brilliant as Vendula Beranová could grow such a spectacular underground garden.

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