The Children Of The Mist Read Online Free PDF Page B

rational explanation for this phenomenon. They’d been drugged. It was a dream. That was it. Of course, it was one of those weird dreams that were more real than reality. She’d wake up in a minute, deeply embarrassed by her unconscious and utterly unnatural interest in Zest’s anatomy. That would explain the lady in the window and the castle in the river. A lot of stuff.
    â€˜Morven, time’s getting on. If we’re going to do this thing, we’d best do it.’
    Morven looked at Zest. At Dog. At the spider, busy once more. Intense. Really intense. And she knew she was just imagining it. It was a trick. The power of suggestion. She laughed. ‘Oh, very clever. You nearly had me going then.’
    Zest shook his head and opened his mouth, then shut it again. He swung his bag off his shoulder and pulled out his lock pick. ‘Show time!’
    The door was open in seconds. Once inside Zest went unhesitatingly across the room, through a small door and up a concrete set of steps, which Morven figured served as a fire escape. Dog scampered up ahead and the journey became a headlong flight for the finish. Zest cheated though and used his bigger frame to block Morven from passing. She tried to shove him aside but he just laughed at her. They burst through the top door giggling and gasping for breath. Dog eyed them disapprovingly.
    Morven’s humour evaporated as she looked around. The roof was smooth and hard, and big enough to build up the speed. She felt a strange sense of disconnection. As if the world had changed and she had been left behind. Or was it the other way around?
    Any further speculation was cut short when she realised that Zest was already under steam. Her mouth went dry and her stomach turned into a clenched fist. And then it hit her. He was really going to do this thing. The unfinished shell of the building looked an ocean away. Panic stricken she knew she had to stop him. It was completely mad. Zest was going to kill himself.
    But she realised it was too late. Zest wheeled around and flew down the centre of the surface. She let out a cry and called, ‘Zest, no!’
    And then he flew past…and she stopped breathing.

Chapter 6
    Up, up, up he went. Like the Silver Surfer. For one mind-crunching moment Morven thought he was going to sail clean over the other building. And it hit her with almost physical force that Zest, indestructible Zest, may not be indestructible after all. But just as her throat began to close up, he was down. She heard his triumphant yell. And she let out a huge breath and put her face briefly in her hands as he squealed to a halt. While she couldn’t see his face she knew he was grinning. If he ever scared the crap out of her like that again, she’d murder him. Slowly.
    Dog ran to the edge of the building and stared across the void. His tail pointed and his ears flickered. Morven laughed as the big dog tilted his head in a distinctly questioning manner.
    â€˜It’s alright Dog, he’s fine,’ she said, as much to reassure herself as Dog.
    But Dog was not reassured. He whined and began to pace up and down the edge of the building. Morven called and he came. She knelt down and patted him, ruffling the thick mane of hair at his neck. ‘Chillax Dog, it’s all good.’
    â€˜Morven!’
    She got up and went to the edge. Zest waved and she waved back.
    â€˜Come on — it’s easy! Sick as.’
    Morven laughed. ‘Right,’ she said. But Zest looked an awful long way away. The memory of her fear was still stuck firmly in the forefront of her mind. That gut-wrenching moment when she had thought Zest was strawberry jam. It was impossible to ignore the horrible prospect that she also may end up only fit for a jam jar. She didn’t think she could do it. But it was one thing to think it and another to say it. More than anything in the world she valued Zest’s respect. If she chickened out, would he still