The Conjurer's Riddle by Cremer Andrea

Author:Cremer, Andrea [Cremer, Andrea]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2015-09-28T07:00:00+00:00

LINNET HAD BEEN right to send Charlotte back to her friends with plenty of time to spare before the Calypso docked. It took three repetitions of Linnet’s story for the others to comprehend it fully.

Scoff tugged on his suspenders. “You know, I’m pretty sure Jack told me about this once, but I thought he was lying.”

“I can’t fault you for that,” Charlotte said. “It sounds like something Jack would make up.”

“It certainly does,” Birch said. “What a bizarre law.”

“I like it.” Scoff bobbed his head in an exaggerated show of approval.

“What do the masks look like?” Pip was sitting on Charlotte’s bed. “Do we get to choose what mask we wear?”

Charlotte answered, “I don’t know. I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough.”

“I’ve always had the notion to create an elixir that alters facial features,” Scoff said. “I wonder if I could brew it up here and sell it.”

“Since it’s a law that requires your face to be hidden, I don’t think it matters if you’ve altered the way your own face looks. It’s still a face.” Even as she said it, Charlotte felt confused.

“I suppose,” Scoff grumbled.

“I don’t think they’d object to modifications of one’s mask, though.” Birch scratched at his chin. “Do you?”

“I really couldn’t say,” Charlotte answered.

“Oh! Oh!” Pip jumped up and down, tugging at Birch’s sleeve. “I want to modify my mask, too. Will you help me?”

“Let’s make sure modifications are permitted before you start to draw schematics,” Charlotte told her.

Pip stuck her lower lip out. “Even if they’re just tiny modifications?”

“Who’s modifying what, now?” Linnet asked. She and Coe carried a large trunk into the room.

Pip dashed to it and opened the lid before they could set the trunk down.

“Masks!” Pip’s eyes were wide. “They’re sooooo pretty.”

Pip’s body obscured Charlotte’s view, but she could see an array of bright colors peeking from within.

“And they’re animals.” Pip held a mask aloft. It had been crafted of leather in a deep, mottled green and shaped to have the blunt snout of a serpent. “I’d rather not be a snake.” She tossed the mask aside.

“Ummmm.” Linnet frowned when the mask hit the floor. “Maybe take a bit more care with the masks. They’re quite expensive.”

“Oh, a butterfly!” Pip brandished another mask. “I want this one.”

She put the mask up to her face. Wings of turquoise rimmed in black spanned Pip’s cheeks, the butterfly’s wingtips reaching just beyond her temples and jaw. She tied the ribbon around her head.

“That’s not an animal,” Scoff said. “It’s an ornament.”

Pip ignored him, asking Birch, “Can we make the wings beat?”

Linnet glanced at Charlotte, eyebrows raised.

“The modifications,” Charlotte said.

“Ah.” Linnet smiled at butterfly Pip. “Small mechanical mods are permitted. So long as the movement doesn’t reveal the face.”

Pip squeaked her delight.

“The rest of you should find your favored animal quickly,” Coe told them. “We’ll be docking within the hour.”

“And don’t become too attached to one mask,” Linnet added, with an eye to Pip. “You should put on a different mask whenever you leave a private space to go into the public.

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.