Wild Boy and the Black Terror by Rob Lloyd Jones

Author:Rob Lloyd Jones [Lloyd Jones, Rob]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781406355246
Publisher: Walker Books
Published: 2014-06-15T16:00:00+00:00

20

Wild Boy could always tell when someone was lying. His eyes homed in on ticks and traits, subconscious gestures that were as clear to him as if the person had hung a sign around their neck declaring their guilt. The way someone’s voice rose or fell by a note as they delivered their deceit, a narrowing of an eye, an almost imperceptible flare of a nostril.

He saw none of these things in Oberstein.

Really, he didn’t need to look. He could hear it in her voice as she told the history of the Black Terror, the weight of emotions pressing on every word. The story was true, or at least she believed it to be.

By the time Oberstein had finished speaking, Wild Boy and Clarissa were gripping each other’s arms. Clarissa’s eyes remained on the black diamond, but she was no longer determined to steal it. Now she was scared of it.

Gideon was affected by the story, too. It seemed almost as if it had physically pained him to hear it. His face had screwed up even tighter, and he gripped his necktie so hard that he gagged.

“So,” Oberstein croaked, her voice weak from her long tale. “You understand how little chance your friend Marcus has of survival. He is marked to die by a demon.”

“No!” Clarissa insisted. Her cry was so loud that the guard raised his pistol. “That can’t be true.”

Oberstein let out a noise like a bark. Wild Boy realized she was laughing.

“Perhaps,” she said, “if you see the stone, you will understand its power. Spencer, bring me my stone.”

Her masked bodyguard shook his head, refusing to leave her side. He whispered something but Wild Boy couldn’t make out the muffled words.

Oberstein raised a hand and stroked Spencer’s mask. “My dear, please. Bring me my stone.”

Still the man hesitated, but he was clearly bound to obey her command. The bones in his knees clicked as he rose. He glared at Wild Boy and Clarissa, his grey eyes swirling like storm clouds. Wild Boy wondered if Spencer had built all the traps around this building. How hard had he worked to protect his mistress? And how deeply did he now despise the people who had broken through his defences?

Spencer strode to the cabinet. With a single swing of a fist, he smashed its glass. Blood spotted his knuckles, but he didn’t seem to feel the pain. He reached into the case and picked up the black diamond.

As he placed the jewel in Oberstein’s hands, light from the fire gleamed off its faces, like a black sun shining darkness. It was a true piece of treasure, a mesmerizing thing. Wild Boy couldn’t imagine how stunning the Black Terror had looked when it was whole.

But the jewel and its history appalled him. He brought the Queen’s card from his pocket, stared at that name in dark ink. Malphas. He remembered the eyes of the demon, glowing with darkness just like that stone.

No, he told himself. You don’t believe in demons.

He just had to study the clues, like Marcus had taught him.

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