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...
"Corvus eh?" Snapper said. "Not well. Peculiar old bird." Snapper glanced at the chest then back at Ward, and his voice lowered. "Some say he works for the MSI."
"MSI?"
"Ministry of Social Investigation."
"Oh," Ward said, none the wiser.
"Nobody's sure what the MSI does," Snapper said. "Some say they report directly to the Brotherhood, but who knows? People go missing – well it's all hearsay isn't it?"
"Do you think he works for them?"
"Can't see it myself. There's that archon for starters. If there's one thing the Brotherhood don't stand for, it's familiars."
Ward had heard of the Brotherhood, and he had a vague idea that Devil Island belonged to a Republic, but that was all. "What do you know about the mines in the Western Marches?" he said.
Snapper simply peered at him.
"I heard someone talking about them," Ward pressed.
"Well the less you know about them, the better. More blackleaf?"
"No thanks," Ward said. He looked at the great round creature before him. Could he trust Snapper? Who else could he trust?
So he told his story, beginning with the arrival of Corvus, and ending with what he had overheard at the wheelhouse the night before, and his conclusion that Corvus planned to send him to the Mines.
When Snapper was able to speak again his reaction was disappointing. "Corvus wanted you to cover up your foot? May I – can I see it?"
Ward was annoyed. All anybody seemed to care about was his stupid foot. He grudgingly removed his shoe so that Snapper could see the birthmark.
Snapper's face drained of colour. He glanced at the door, as if he expected it to come crashing down. "Please," he said weakly, "put it back on."
It was some time before he was able to speak again.
"Corvus doesn't plan to send you to the mines, Ward. He's going to hand you over to the Brotherhood."
"And what will they do with me?"
Snapper leaned forward until his face filled Ward's vision.
"Kill you, of course."
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