Chantress Fury by Amy Butler Greenfield

Author:Amy Butler Greenfield
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published: 2015-06-26T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

BROADSIDE

Nat stopped short when he saw me. In the dim light, it seemed as if his face were covered with bruises, but as he came closer, I was relieved to see it was only mud.

“Lucy?”

“It really is me,” I assured him, holding up my bracelet. As he briefly touched his iron-ringed hand to it, I swallowed hard. What must he think, finding me here in his rooms?

“I brought Penebrygg here,” I told him quickly. “His house is flooded, and he had nowhere to sleep except your rooms. I hope I did right—”

“Of course you did.” His face was full of concern. “Is he still here?”

“Yes, fast asleep in your bed. But he’s heartsick about the flood, Nat. He couldn’t save your books and papers—”

“No matter. As long as he’s safe.”

It was exactly what I’d thought he would say, but it warmed me all the same. It seemed he hadn’t changed that much after all, at least not in the most important ways. “And what about you?”

“I’ve just come back for a change of clothes before I have a quick word with the King.” He set some sodden papers down on the desk and shucked off his dripping coat. Draping it over a chair by the banked fire, he added, “There’s more bad news, I’m afraid. You know Westminster’s flooded, and I expect you’ll have heard about Bridewell from Penebrygg. And now St. Katharine’s is underwater too, and most of Southwark and Lambeth.”

That was very bad news. “And the kraken?” I asked.

“An archer up at the Tower shot it down two hours ago; there are plenty of witnesses. But on my way here, I saw Sir Christopher Linnet, who says he spotted it—or another just like it—not half an hour ago, surfacing near London Bridge.” Nat rubbed the mud off one cheek with the back of his hand. “But what worries me most is that we’re only two hours off low tide, and yet the waters haven’t gone down.”

“Not at all?”

“Not so much as an inch. Sir Barnaby’s been keeping track of that for us, and I don’t doubt his measurements. I’ve told the King that if it continues this way, I think we may need to evacuate the whole city.” He looked at me with hope in his eyes. “Unless you’ve found a way to stop all this?”

“Not yet.” I hated to disappoint him, but that was the hard truth. “I may have found a clue, though. I’m just not sure what it means, but I’m hoping Sybil can help me. I was looking for her when I ran across Penebrygg.”

“It was good he found you.”

Our eyes met, and there was a light in his that made me blush. But before either of us could speak, something shot through the gap between door and sill: a cheap printed broadside on a page of foolscap.

I was closest to the door, so I picked it up for him. I read the title in disbelief.

THE WICKED CHANTRESS

or, The Melusine-Monster

Nat tried to grab it from me.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
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.