The Cabinet of Curiosities Read Online Free PDF Page A

Lukas could see trails of golden water plants catching the sunlight. All along the waterline were sawmills, tanneries and boat-building yards.
    ‘Out of my way,’ shouted a harsh voice above the clip-clop of hoofs and the grinding of wheels on cobblestone. Lukas darted into one of the passing points on the bridge as a large wagon trundled past. ‘You dolt!’ shouted the red-faced man who drove the wagon, and lashed his whip down on Lukas’s head. The whip caught his cheek and drew blood.
    Lukas waited for a gap between wagons and ran. Catching his breath at another passing point he looked up to admire the great tower that marked the western side of the river. Something ominous caught his eye. On the upper ramparts were heads on spikes. Some were rotten green, some were skulls picked to the bone by carrion birds, others were fresh with slivers of tendon or a dribble of dried blood still dangling from the severed neck. Who were they? Criminals? Traitors? Feeling a little sick, Lukas shivered as he thought of all the things he and Etienne had done. Guiltily he glanced around, even though no one in Prague knew him.
    Beyond the bridge was the great bulk of the Castle, big enough to be a prosperous-looking town in itself.
    The road leading from the river was quite different to that on the other side of the bridge. It led past grand buildings with cloistered pavements and all manner of shops. There were fewer people here and they were better dressed.
    Wondering where to find the entrance to the Castle, Lukas thought to try his Czech again ‘ Hrad? ’ he said to one man, who hurried past without even looking at him.
    Another did stop – and pointed to a steep hill to the right of the square. Lukas climbed until the cobbled street narrowed, then stopped at a broad stone staircase. This twisted steeply to a large open square where the Castle lay before him, with a magnificent view of the city below. Lukas felt a great rush of excitement. This amazing palace was to be his home.

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    Chapter Five
    The Castle stood above the city’s smoke and filth and stench. Like the streets and the people, the air here was cleaner.
    It seemed extraordinary to Lukas that one man should have such a vast fortress to call his home. But then, he was the Holy Roman Emperor – successor to the late great Roman Empire. Rudolph was lord of half of Europe.
    The closer Lukas got to the Castle the more his apprehension grew. He had never met his uncle. His father had spoken fondly of him, but said there was always something going on inside his head that the rest of his family were not privy to. He would begin a sentence and never finish it, because something more interesting had intercepted his train of thought. They had mocked him roundly for his absent-mindedness when they were children, said his father. But what now? wondered Lukas. Now Anselmus was an accomplished fellow of great standing, would he be prickly and impossible to understand? He would soon find out.
    The entrance gate was modest for such a grand building – only a small carriage could pass through. Approaching it, Lukas regarded the palace guard with a flutter of trepidation. They had pikes with vicious spikes and stared directly ahead. There must still be blood on Lukas’s face where the wagon driver had caught him with his whip. He wished he’d thought to wash it off.
    Lukas walked up to the nearest guard and stood in front of him. The man ignored him. He coughed, looked him straight in the eye, and still the man ignored him.
    ‘Stand away,’ came a ringing command from within the gate. Lukas looked over, and there was another guard, an officer by the look of his uniform, with sword drawn.
    ‘Hello, sir,’ said Lukas. ‘I am come here to meet with my uncle, the court physician.’
    ‘Be off with you,’ said the man. ‘You insult the office of the Holy Roman Emperor. And if you come back on my watch I shall run you through.’
    Feeling very small, Lukas gathered the courage to