Abarat: Absolute Midnight Read Online Free PDF

Skizmut; her people were born from the deep waters of what Izarith had called Mama Izabella. Now she came through the crowd toward Candy, wearing what looked like a homemade hat, sewn from different kinds of seaweed. She was cradling her baby Nazré with one arm and holding the little hand of her daughter Maiza with the other.
    She was very emotional about seeing Candy again. Her eyes filled with silver-green tears.
    “I’ve heard so much about you since you first came to my house. About all the things that you’ve done.” She glanced at Malingo. “And I’ve heard about you too,” she said. “You’re the one who worked for the wizard, right? On Ninnyhammer?”
    Malingo made a little smile.
    “This is Izarith, Malingo,” Candy said. “She was very kind to me when I first got here.”
    “I did what anybody would have done,” Izarith said. “Do you have time to come back to the house and tell me whether all the things I’ve heard are true? You both look hungry.”
    “Actually, I am a little,” Malingo said.
    But in the short time since Izarith had called to Candy the mood of the crowd had changed, influenced by the anger toward humankind pouring from the man with the green beard.
    “We should hunt them down, every last one of them humans, and hang them,” he said. “If we don’t it’s only a moment of time before they come looking to steal our magic again.”
    “You know, I don’t think we have time to eat, Izarith, much as we’d liked to stay.”
    “You’re worried about Kytomini aren’t you?”
    “Is he the one saying he’d like me hanged?”
    “He hates everybody. Right now it’s your people, Candy. It could be geshrats in five minutes.”
    “There’s a lot of people agreeing with him,” Candy said.
    “People like to have somebody to hate. Me, I’m too busy raising the little ones.”
    “What about your husband?”
    “Oh, Ruthus is working on his boat right now. Patching it up for selling. We’re getting out of the Yebba Dim Day as soon as we have the money. It’s getting too dangerous.”
    “Is his boat seaworthy?” Malingo said.
    “Ruthus says it is.”
    “Then perhaps he’d take us to the Nonce, for a price.”
    “The Nonce?” Izarith said. “Why are you going there?”
    “We’re meeting friends,” Candy said. She reached in her pockets as she talked, and brought out all the paterzem she had. Malingo did the same. “Here’s all the money we’ve got,” she said to Izarith. “Would that pay for the journey?”
    “I’m sure it’ll be more than enough,” Izarith replied. “Come on, I’ll take you to Ruthus. The boat’s nothing fancy, just so you know.”
    “We don’t need anything fancy,” Candy said. “We just need to get away from here.”
    Izarith lent Candy her wide-brimmed hat, to keep anyone in the increasingly agitated crowd from realizing that they had a member of humankind in their midst, then led Candy and Malingo down the quay, past vessels large and small to one of the smallest of the lot.
    There was a man on board doing some final work on his vessel with brush and paint. Izarith called her husband away from his work, and quickly explained the situation. Meanwhile Candy watched Kytomini’s audience from the corner of her eye. She had a nasty feeling that she and Malingo had not passed through the crowd entirely unnoticed, a feeling that was lent weight when several of the crowd’s members turned to look in Candy’s direction, and after a moment, started to walk down the quay toward them.
    “We’re in trouble, Izarith,” Candy said. “Or least I am. I think it would be better if you weren’t seen with me.”
    “What, them ?” Izarith said, staring back contemptuously at the approaching thugs. “I’m not afraid of them.”
    “Candy’s right, love,” Ruthus said. “Take the children quickly and go around the back of the fish market. Hurry.”
    “Thank you,” Candy said. “Next time it won’t be so rushed.”
    “You tell my husband