Page 3 (1/2)

The Supre and still dark, ten years to the day since Silas had found the bundle

At the end of Corridor 223, behind the big black door with the number 16 stamped on it by the Numerical Patrol, the Heap household slept peacefully Jenna lay curled up snugly in her small box bed that Silas hadthe riverbank The bed was built neatly into a big cupboard leading off a large room, which was in fact the only room that the Heaps possessed

Jenna loved her cupboard bed Sarah had ht patchwork curtains that Jenna could draw around the bed to keep out both the cold and her noisy brothers Best of all, she had a smallin the wall above her pillow that looked out onto the river If Jenna couldn&039;t sleep, she would gaze out of herfor hours on end, watching the endless variety of boats that made their way to and frohts she loved to count the stars until she fell fast asleep

The large rooued and (occasionally) did their homework, and it was a mess It was stuffed full of twenty years&039; worth of clutter that had accuether There were fishing rods and reels, shoes and socks, rope and rat traps, bags and bedding, nets and knitting, clothes and cooking pots, and books, books, books and yet h to cast your eye around the Heaps&039; roo to find a space in which to sit, the chances were a book would have found it first Everywhere you looked there were books On sagging shelves, in boxes, hanging in bags fro up the table and stacked up in such precariously high piles that they threatened to collapse at any moment There were storybooks, herb books, cookery books, boat books, fishing books, but yk books, which Silas had illegally rescued froyk had been banned a few years back

In the e hearth from which a tall chimney snaked up into the roof; it held the rerown cold, around which all six Heap boys and a large dog were asleep in a chaotic pile of quilts and blankets

Sarah and Silas were also fast asleep They had escaped to the small attic space that Silas had acquired a few years back by the si, after Sarah had declared that she could no longer stand living with six growing boys in just one roo roo and rather wobbly table was covered with a clean white cloth On it were placed nine plates and s, and at the head of the table was a small chair decorated inter berries and leaves On the table in front of the chair a small present, carefully wrapped in colorful paper and tied with a red ribbon, had been placed ready for Jenna to open on her tenth birthday

All was quiet and still as the Heap household slept peacefully on through the last hours of darkness before the winter sun was due to rise

However, on the other side of the Castle, in the Palace of the Custodians, sleep, peaceful or not, had been abandoned

The Supreme Custodian had been called froht Servant, hurriedly put on his black, fur-triold cloak, and he had instructed the Night Servant how to lace up his embroidered silk shoes Then he himself had carefully placed a beautiful Crown upon his head The Supreme Custodian was never seen without the Crohich still had a dent in it from the day it had fallen from the Queen&039;s head and crashed to the stone floor The Crown sat crookedly on his slightly pointed bald head, but the Night Servant, being new and terrified, did not dare to tell him

The Supreme Custodian strode briskly down the corridor to the Throne Room He was a small, ratlike oatee beard that he was in the habit of spendingHe was almost swamped by his volues, and his appearance was htly fe you would not have laughed You would have shrunk back into the shadows and hoped he would not notice you, for the Supreme Custodian carried with hiht Servant helped the Supree himself on the ornate throne in the Throne Rooratefully, his shift nearly over

The chillair lay heavily in the Throne Room The Supreme Custodian sat impassively on the throne, but his breath, which misted the cold air in small quick bursts, betrayed his excite to wait before a tall young wo the severe black cloak and deep red tunic of an Assassin walked briskly in and bowed low, her long slashed sleeves sweeping across the stone floor "The Queenling, my lord She has been found," the Assassin said in a low voice

The Supreme Custodian sat up and stared at the Assassin with his pale eyes "Are you sure? I want no ly

"Our spy, my lord, has suspected a child for a while She considers her to be a stranger in her fae"

"What age exactly?"

"Ten years old today, my lord"

"Really?" The Supreme Custodian sat back in the throne and considered what the Assassin had said

"I have a likeness of the child here, my lord I understand she is much like her mother, the ex-Queen" From inside her tunic the Assassin took a sirl with dark violet eyes and long dark hair The Supreirl did look remarkably like the dead Queen He caers loudly

The Assassin inclined her head "My lord?"

"Tonight Midnight You are to pay a visit to - where is it?"