Luthier's Apprentice, The Read Online Free PDF

playing.
    “Sometimes I wish they would shut up,” the woman said, glancing toward the distant woods with distaste. “More wine, Niccolò.”
    The gaunt servant obeyed, his movements slow and dragging.
    The woman wore a purple velvet tuxedo embossed with hundreds of tiny diamonds. From her ears dangled golden violins studded with amethysts. Her ash blonde hair was loose and fell down her shoulders in glossy lavish curls. As always, her face was heavily made up, her arched brows set high above her eyes, her lips full and shimmering with gloss. Her feet were shod into black leather boots with abnormally high stiletto heels.
    Her loyal beast, Stradivarius, sat at her side. She patted him on the head.
    “If they shut up, you wouldn’t be here,” Niccolò mumbled.
    “Hah! That is what you think. I am so powerful now, I can do almost anything. Nothing can stop me. Besides, who asked your opinion? Your job is to serve me and to shut your mouth.” Her expression turned sweetly cruel. “I am sure it must be quite a shock, to have to live like this after having been such a great, admired figure in your time. But remember, it was you who decided to sell your soul to the forces of darkness in order to fool the world.”
    “I’m paying for my mistake… We all have to one day.” His voice was icy, devoid of life.
    “Niccolò, Niccolò, I am so bored with your blues. Always whining. Always talking in riddles. If I let you go now, you would burn in hell. Have you forgotten that?”
    “I’m already all’inferno .”
    “You call this hell?” She made a wide gesture with her hand toward the woods. “Music! Continuous violin music. Forever and ever. What more could you ask for?” She took a scone from a silver platter and fed it to Stradivarius, who gobbled it up greedily. “Have you started making the preparations for All Hallows Eve? I want everything to be perfect. If anything goes wrong because of you, I swear I will feed your heart to my dog, and the rest to the wolves.”
    As if to prove her point, Stradivarius growled to display his fangs. In the distance, a wolf gave a long, mournful cry.
    The woman’s lips spread into an icy smile. “You see. Already they can feel the excitement approaching.” She threw Niccolò a sharp, suspicious look. “What did Dupriez whisper to you the other night?”
    “He asked who I was.”
    “Did he recognize you?”
    Niccolò shrugged. “That’s always a possibility. There are drawings of me in books. So?”
    “And ugly drawings, if I may say so. I do not like Dupriez. I hate his accent, and I hate French food. It is incredibly overrated.”
    Niccolò sighed.
    “Bring him to me,” she commanded. “I want to see the stupid look of shock on his face when he sees where he is. Just like the other three.”
    Stradivarius licked his lips. Niccolò turned on his heels and stepped out of the cool twilight and into the castle.

Chapter Seven
    T WO DAYS LATER ON SATURDAY MORNING, Emma and Annika met at Van Ketts’ Kiosk and from there watched the Dupriez home. Since the shop was directly across the street from Dupriez’s, Emma often came here to get a soda or gum after her violin lessons.
    The open market—or marché , as they called it here—was only a few blocks away in Stockel Square. The sky was crystal clear and the air chilly. The streets were lively with shoppers. It was one of those perfect October days, beaming with the yellows, oranges, and browns of falling leaves.
    “Let’s go,” Emma said, glancing at her wristwatch. “It’s almost ten thirty.”
    “I’m ready. Are you sure she always leaves at ten thirty?” Annika blocked the sun’s glare from her eyes with her hand. Her mane of red hair shone like a bonfire.
    “Totally. She’s always saying that.”
    Annika grinned evilly. “Do you really think she’ll go nuts about the roses?”
    “You’ll see.”
    From the back of the little shop, Van Ketts called, “Do you need something, girls?”
    “Look busy,”