Quest for the Secret Keeper Read Online Free PDF Page A

English—though he washard-pressed to say exactly what tongue he’d been speaking. Still, Eva did turn around and Ian knew she could understand him, because she too was wearing a piece of the Star, which Jaaved had given to her the year before.
    Beside her was Jaaved, another one of the special orphans of Delphi Keep and the boy responsible for finding the Star in the first place. As the pair raced down the block toward Ian, he doubled over, attempting to get as much air into his lungs as he could before he’d be forced to run again.
    “What’s happened?” Eva asked.
    Ian eyed the pedestrians around them. He couldn’t tell what language they were speaking to each other—the Star had a way of jumbling things—so he pulled both Eva and Jaaved close and said in a rush, “Madam Dimbleby has been stabbed by a German prisoner at Castle Dover, and her life is hanging by a thread!”
    Eva gasped and gripped Ian’s arm tightly. “Take me to her!”
    Ian nodded and was about to race off with his companions when Jaaved took Eva’s hand and said, “Let me, Ian. I can take her to the castle. You’re still out of breath.”
    “I’ll catch up,” he promised. “Madam is right outside the front entrance, unless she’s been moved inside. If anyone bars you from seeing her, find the earl and he’ll insist on getting you close to her.”
    Jaaved nodded and tugged on Eva’s hand. The pair flew down the street, running as fast as they could. With a pang, Ian thought about poor Madam Dimbleby and hoped desperately that they’d make it to her in time.
    After catching his breath, Ian began to trot down the street himself, weaving in and out of the traffic, growing frustrated when it seemed that the already crowded streets were becoming even more congested.
    The village clock gonged four times, and Ian realized that another ship of soldiers had likely come into port in the past half hour, which was the reason the village was suddenly full of people.
    He worried that Jaaved and Eva—who were somewhere up ahead—would be caught in the swell and further delayed in reaching Madam Dimbleby. It was all Ian could do not to shove his way forcefully through the crowd, and he settled for pushing firmly against the throng while grinding his teeth and clenching his fists.
    He finally freed himself from the congested streets and set off across the downs, running again as fast as he could. He made sure to travel back the way he’d come, as he had to keep his promise to the soldier and find out what he was doing so far out of his own time. Also, if the portal was indeed open, Ian wondered if it had opened for him. The last prophecy had suggested that it would open to a land he would resist. Maybe that land was the one from which the soldier had stepped.
    Making his way to the spot where he’d found the soldier, Ian soon determined that the man was nowhere about. For a moment he considered abandoning the man and running back to the castle to see what had happened to Madame Dimbleby, but just then Carl came hurrying along the path.
    “There you are!” his best friend said when he saw him.
    “How is Madam?” Ian said right away.
    “Eva’s with her,” Carl told him, stopping to clutch at his side like he had a stitch from running. “And Madam Scargill is there too.”
    Ian sighed with relief. “She’s still alive, then?” he asked almost tentatively.
    Carl nodded, but his face was grim. “She’s in terrible shape, Ian. Eva is giving it her best, but her abilities have been weakened by all the healing she’s been giving to the wounded soldiers.”
    Since the war had begun and injured soldiers had been arriving in Dover, Eva had volunteered to assist Dr. Lineberry—the village’s lone physician, who’d been recruited to help the other navy doctors with the overflow of wounded. Eva never revealed her abilities to the soldiers she sat with, but almost all of them had made remarkable recoveries.
    While it was a wonderful thing for