The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Author:Holly Black [BLACK, HOLLY]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Tags: Juvenile Fiction / Horror & Ghost Stories, Juvenile Fiction / Legends, Myths, Fables - Other, Juvenile Fiction / Paranormal, Juvenile Fiction / Social Issues - Runaways
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2013-09-16T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 23

Death has made

His darkness beautiful with thee.

—Alfred Tennyson

The streets after dark were stolen by vampires. They strode along, their ruby eyes flashing and their coats flapping. Some had Mohawks and nose rings, making faces at everyone they passed; some ran through the streets, arm in arm, flowing white dresses fluttering behind them; some twirled ebony walking sticks, strutting in velvet jackets, with long, dandyish hair; some were surrounded by a crowd; and some strolled alone.

Tana stuck close to the buildings, ducking under awnings to stay out of their way. Her heart raced, and she couldn’t tear her eyes from their unnatural pallor and easy grace, couldn’t stop staring at their hellish eyes.

“You get used to them,” Jameson said, but she noticed that if a vampire got too close, he’d crouch and his hand would twitch toward something in his boot.

Finally, Jameson stopped at a metal-barred window displaying earrings in the shape of scarabs, a purple raincoat with a matching umbrella, and several wigs in bright colors. A sign crafted from glass beads and broken bits of mirror over the door read: ODDMENTS & LOST THINGS.

The door had a metal speakeasy grille set into it. Jameson pulled a bell.

A few moments later, a girl opened the grille. The moment she spotted Jameson, she broke into a wide grin, although her smile dimmed slightly at the sight of Tana.

She flipped the locks on the door and opened it, letting them into the dimly lit building.

The girl was tall, with long, tawny hair, like a lion’s mane, loose around her shoulders, and eyes the bright green of bottle glass. Gold was dusted over her cheeks and painted on her eyelids. She was wearing a kimono-style robe, looking as though she’d just gotten up.

“Hi,” Jameson said, smiling shyly. He looked a little dazzled by her beauty.

“Hi,” she said back. She seemed to be holding her breath, waiting for him to do or say something. Whatever it was, he didn’t do it.

Gone was the breezily confident boy who’d taken Tana to breakfast and explained Coldtown politics. “You can get most anything here,” he said to Tana. “Valentina’s got a magical power to recall where an old box of the exact thing you’re looking for was put a year ago.”

The girl—Valentina—smiled. “I wasn’t working here a year ago,” she protested.

His lips curved, but he didn’t look at her. “That’s why it’s magic.”

Tana glanced at the racks of clothes against one wall, with open suitcases near them, each one overflowing with shirts and coats. A few mannequins had been arranged to look as though they were tied up, and those wore an assortment of sparkly dresses and hats. Oil lamps burned on several surfaces, making shadows dance.

A woman descended the stairs, her heeled shoes loud on the wood. At the sound of her arrival, Valentina pulled away from Jameson. The woman was the oldest person Tana had seen so far inside the gates, with long, gray-streaked hair, fine enough to look like spiderwebs where it caught on her black gown.

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.