Castle of Shadows by Ellen Renner

Author:Ellen Renner
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780547744469
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
Published: 2012-03-19T22:00:00+00:00

She knelt between the roots of the largest yew tree in the Castle grounds. The giant stretched sixty feet into the sky; its lower branches swept the ground, forming a cave. It was dry under the tree, and the winter sunshine filtered through the branches and lit the cavern with an emerald glow.

‘It’s nice here,’ Charlie said. ‘It feels safe.’

Tobias nodded. ‘Foss won’t find us here. But I can’t stay too long. He’ll be looking, and he won’t stop till I show up. Doubtless I’ll be shovelling muck all day tomorrow.’ He was sitting on the thick root that burrowed into the ground beside her. There was no complaint in his voice, only a sort of bleakness.

She looked at him. ‘You really hate gardening, don’t you?’

‘Yes.’ He smiled. ‘But that ain’t why you’re here. What’s up? I gotta get back to work.’

She fished the bottle of medicine from her pocket and handed it to him. ‘This,’ she said. ‘I need to know what it is. Would you ask Maria if she can figure out what’s in it? She knows about herbs and medicines.’

‘Why don’t you ask her yourself?’

‘Because she likes you better. She’ll do it for you no matter what. With me it’s chancy.’

‘Fair enough. Where’d you get it?’

She hesitated. ‘I’d rather not say. Not yet. Do you mind?’

He frowned, shrugged again. ‘All right, Charlie. You don’t have to tell me. I’ll take it to Maria.’ He shoved the bottle in his pocket.

‘Thanks.’ She smiled at him.

‘She’s a brick, Maria.’

‘Watch certainly seems to think so.’

Tobias’s eyes darted to her face. ‘What d’you mean by that?’

‘Nothing. Only wondered if you’d written any love letters lately.’

Even under his tanned skin and the smudges of dirt it wore, she saw his face flush bright red. His mouth fell open. He shut it. ‘Peter certainly got his end of the bargain! You’re a born spy. Just don’t let Watch catch you. Not these days, with O’Dair on the rampage.’

‘You seem friendly enough with him.’

‘He’s all right, Watch. When he ain’t drunk too much. We’re old mates. But he ain’t altogether to be trusted. So don’t go wandering around the Castle at night on your own.’

‘It’s none of your business, Tobias Petch! I don’t tell you what to do!’

‘Charlie…’ He paused, shook his head. ‘This isn’t a game. People can get hurt. You could get hurt. O’Dair hates you, in case you hadn’t noticed!’

‘I don’t know why. I never did anything to her.’

‘That’s the way some people are when they do someone down. They can’t be an honest villain, so they blame the person they’re hurting. Now…breaking into the secretary’s office. Can you do tonight? Nell’s agitating.’

‘But you said—’

‘There’s other stuff we can look for. Proof that Windlass is working with the Esceanians. We could give Peter names, contacts. The secretary’s bound to have a record of his meetings and correspondence in a tidy little file somewhere. It’s worth the effort, I reckon. Meet me in the library?’

‘What time?’ asked Charlie.

‘Midnight.’

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