The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Philbrick

Author:Rodman Philbrick
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-0-545-30387-3
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2013-01-17T05:00:00+00:00

IT’S AMAZING HOW Furies can blend into the shadows without making a sound. Their skull masks are the mark of the assassin — that and the black daggers. I’ve heard about Furies, of course, but never seen one. Supposedly they have to be female. Not that you can tell the female part; it could be anybody or anything inside the hooded black capes.

They say Furies are so cunning and stealthy, their victims die without uttering a sound. All I can do is hold tight to Little Face and hope that Lanaya knows what she’s doing.

“Greetings,” she says quietly, as the Furies move silently around her. “We bring offerings to Vida Bleek.”

My heart clenches when she speaks that name. Vida Bleek is boss of the underworld traders and in his own way as powerful as the Latch Queen. He deals in all things stolen or forbidden, and nobody gets the best of him and lives to brag about it. I can tell Ryter has heard of Bleek, too, because his eyes are as big as targa stones. We look at each other but we don’t dare speak, afraid that the wrong word will trigger the Furies.

Lanaya has no such fear. “I’m a child of Eden,” she says, ignoring the daggers that dance beneath her elegant nose. “Tell Bleek I must see him on a matter of great urgency.”

Notice she doesn’t say “please,” not even to dagger-waving assassins. My brain tells me the proov girl is maddeningly stupid to taunt the Furies, but my heart thinks she’s also incredibly brave, braver than I’ll ever be.

“Quickly!” Lanaya demands. “We haven’t got all day!”

That’s it, I’m thinking, and I’m hoping the daggers are sharp and true so we won’t suffer much. And then before I can let out the breath I’ve been holding, the Furies seem to vanish and a small, hairless figure emerges from the darkness.

“Offerings?” the small man asks. “Did I hear the word ‘offerings’? What have you brought me, besides your lives?”

Vida Bleek stands with his tiny arms folded across his chest, looking up at Lanaya with an expression of curiosity. As if he’s discovered a rare gemstone he’d just love to pluck from its setting. The only big thing about him is his eyes, which seem to blaze with intelligence and cunning. Lanaya is at least twice as tall as Bleek, but he doesn’t seem to mind. How big you are doesn’t matter when you have the Furies at your command.

“Whatever it takes,” Lanaya tells him. “That’s what I bring.”

“You’re rich,” he says with a shrug. “But then all proovs are rich. What is it you want, exactly?”

Lanaya taps a finger against her forehead. “Probes,” she says. “Mindprobes.”

Bleek’s teeth are small, too, when he smiles. There’s nothing friendly about the smile, though. It’s a smile that wants to chew you into little bits. You can almost hear his mind whirring as he tries to figure an advantage. Behind him the Furies blend themselves into the darkness, waiting for his command, as silent as eternity.

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