Twelve-year-old Carmen has a secret: she can talk to her cat Grim. But the powerful Brotherhood has banned pets, and the penalty is death.
Ward is the most wanted boy in the world. The only thing standing between him and the hangman's noose is maste...
The following weekend Slops was dragged along by his parents to Croakumshire, where a clandestine gathering of inventors, painters, and other creatives was being held, but Carmen had grown too anxious to await his return. So she collared a stray Argie on the street and convinced it to take a message to Ward and Mildew.
Ward was holed up in the Okies' dorm. Mildew, Wrinkler, and Lightfinger were busy. Nick hadn't been sighted since the burning of Parliament, and nobody knew where he was. So Ward found himself in limbo, helping the few remaining Scowerers while his friends were, as one Doodle put it, "fratranising with the enemy."
Then the Argie arrived with the note.
"You Ward?" The Argie was about seven, of unclear sex, with a disposition not unlike that of a snokey.
"Ahuh."
"Letter forya." A grubby piece of paper folded over a ludicrous number of times, until it was no larger than a postage stamp, and cubic in shape, was deposited in Ward's hand.
"Thanks," he said.
The Argie scuttled off.
Ward unfolded the note. Meet me at the usual place at four, was all it said. There was no name on it. Ward suspected Carmen had written it – he doubted Slops would have shown that much initiative.
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