Nightshade City by Hilary Wagner

Author:Hilary Wagner
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fantasy, Young Adult, Childrens
ISBN: 9780823422852
Publisher: Holiday House
Published: 2010-09-30T14:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIVE

Alive!

THE GRAND STAGE was set up at the end of Catacomb Hall in front of the horseshoe of establishments, including Ellington’s Tavern.

Billycan meticulously examined the hall, making sure the laborers had done as instructed for the approaching Grand Speech. He had soldiers posted throughout the hall to ensure that none of the workforce were lackluster in their duties.

The laborers had been working since early morning and were just finishing up with the decoration. They chatted amongst themselves as they worked, discussing rumors of a big announcement. Billycan strolled from group to group, inspecting their handiwork and eavesdropping on their conversations.

“Well, you heard the rumor, didn’t ya?” said a lanky, undernourished rat to his much smaller, equally scrawny associate.

“No, what’s the gossip?” said the other, not looking up from his work.

“Rumor from the troops is Killdeer is announcing a new High Duchess.”

“You don’t say. A new High Duchess? Well, I’ll be! So, who is this mystery girl? Who is to be our new esteemed duchess? Don’t leave me standing here, holding my tail!”

“That’s the kicker,” said the taller rat. He smiled with a pinched grin of crumbling teeth. “You won’t believe who it is!”

“Well, out with it, then,” said the other.

“You wouldn’t believe it if I told you!” The short rat looked crossly at his friend, who finally gave in. “All right, all right, I’ll tell you. It’s ol’ Barcus’s daughter, Clover. She’s to be the new High Duchess. The Minister is announcing it tonight!”

“You mean the daughter of Barcus Belancort—the niece of Juniper?”

“One and the same,” said the tall rat with a fiendish giggle.

“Well, what do ya know? I wonder what those dead buggers might think of all this?”

The tall one scratched his head. “What about the rest of the Belancort clan? They must be dumbfounded by the pending nuptials!”

The small rat finished tacking up his end of the swag. “Who’s to say? No one’s heard hide nor hair of the Belancorts in years. Not since Julius Nightshade got his, anyway.”

“Barcus, Juniper, and Julius Nightshade—all three must be rolling over in their graves. A Belancort, daughter of a Loyalist, betrothed to Killdeer! What a tasty scandal!”

The short one lowered his voice. “Now, listen here, I don’t deem it to be true, but I heard another juicy tidbit. This one concerns Juniper himself.”

Drool dribbled from the tall one’s mouth. “Now what’d ya hear about ol’ Juniper?”

“I was at Ellington’s last night, and some tipsy old ones were insisting that the ghost of Juniper Belancort has taken to lurking in the corridors of the Combs, seeking revenge against the Ministry. The ol’ codger floats around in a grubby black shroud—looks like the grim reaper himself, they say, giving Batiste a run for his money.”

The tall rat shuddered. “If I were the High Minister, I’d watch my back, I would. He’s gone quite soft in the belly. He wouldn’t be able to outrun Juniper. No one outruns the undead, especially when the undead has a bone to pick!”

“Well, Juniper’s lucky he can’t

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.