The Diamond Conspiracy: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel Read Online Free PDF Page A

touching his ears.
    Callum wet himself. Christopher could not blame him. Not for being so terrifyingly close to this monster. This monster that would serve as the death of them all unless they moved. Now.
    “Nommus!”
Christopher screamed.
“For fuck’s sake, nommus!”
    On the street you learned the moment to run, and one look at that creature and Christopher knew they had no chance. The remaining Ministry Seven didn’t need much urging. They bolted down the hallway and out of the back door as if thehounds of hell were on them. Christopher made sure to be at the rear, though his instincts were now screaming to go faster.
    All but one.
The book!
    His eyes went to Liam, who was clutching that ledger tight to his breast.
Good lad.
    Christopher did not recall the struggle with a door or even a gate. He burst out into the streets, the memory of that smile that threatened to split the man’s head in two driving him on. Looking at the others, he knew they felt the same. Christopher heard nothing behind him, save for the usual sounds of London town. The man, or whatever it had been, had not followed them.
    That did not mean he was going to stop, or tell Serena, Liam, and Colin to follow suit.
    “Jigsaw puzzle!” he shouted, clapping his hands at Liam. “Jigsaw puzzle!”
    Liam tossed into the air the great ledger, which Christopher immediately caught and tucked under his arm, and then he ducked off to his right as the other three scattered like dandelion seeds in a strong breeze. To any bystander, Christopher’s run would have seemed erratic, perhaps in a panic, but he was—as were his compatriots—gradually progressing to their designated place of safety.
    When he saw the three children in front of Miss Eliza’s apartments, it was the first time he felt as if he could take a proper breath. Together they climbed the stairs, pounded on the door, and were admitted by Alice. One look at their faces was all she needed to know something was wrong.
    Christopher, for once, did not mind the maid’s fussing over them. Much like in their flight from the doctor-monster’s home, he had not noticed being led to any couch. Even the scones and tea before them seemed to appear in the same way as that thing had.
    After a few fortifying sips, Alice turned to the children. “Now, please tell me what this is all about! Where is little Callum? Can I expect some bobbies to break down Miss Eliza’s door?”
    That was when the dam broke. Christopher didn’t even try to stop them all telling the story. He sat still while Liam,Colin, and Serena gabbled out what had happened. Their eyes grew wide again in the telling.
    When they were done, Alice looked to Christopher. “Is this true?” she asked quietly.
    He blinked. “You understood us?”
    “I lived in a house with five brothers and sisters. It’s a bit of a skill.”
    The hard cough from the boy lingering by the door made them all jump.
    “Where’s Callum?” Eric asked.
    “We had to leave him,” Christopher muttered.
    It was as if the sickness slipped away from him like a veil, an unexpected rush of colour coming to his face as he shouted,
“You did wot?!”
    “Eric, you weren’t there! You didn’t see . . .” Christopher’s throat tightened. If he cried, he cried. He had earned their scorn tonight. They had been
his
responsibility. He had promised Verity he would protect the Seven . . .
    What would she think of him now?
    “Christopher,” Liam spoke, his voice almost unrecognisable. He spoke with some sort of wisdom Christopher never heard within the boy’s clever remarks. “You were on the fly, and we were with you. If you hadn’t gotten us out of there, we’d all be in lavender.”
    The burning in Christopher’s eyes raged. What would Verity think? “It happened just like what we all said,” he insisted, turning tear-filled eyes to Alice as a blurry semblance of Eric took a seat next to the maid. Probably life with Miss Eliza had prepared Alice more than