The Eleventh Plague Read Online Free PDF Page A

keeping one step ahead of his emotions.
    ‘Well…this is it,’ he said, tilting on the balls of his feet. ‘Butter…I leave our family in your very capable hands. They can be a rowdy bunch, but I have no doubt that they will continue to function as exemplarily for you as they do for me.’ Quaint cupped a hand to Butter’s ear. ‘If the clowns get out of hand, just threaten to set Rajah on them – that’s what I do.’ Butter sniggered into his hands as Quaint turned to Ruby. ‘My dear child, it is with my sincerest apologies that I was forced to miss the send-off that you so thoughtfully organised on my behalf last night. An urgent situation arose that commanded my full attention, but know that if there were any way that I could have avoided it, I most certainly would have. You are a very special young woman, my dear. You make me, and your old mentor Viktor, most proud.’ He leaned closer and pecked the knife thrower on the cheek, sending a crimson flush to Ruby’s cheeks. Quaint took a deep breath as he gripped Prometheus’s great hand. ‘And as for you, my friend…it’ll take some getting used to, you know, turning around expecting you to be watching my back and yet finding you absent. Fear not, though, the Madame has offered to step in and be my brawn should the need arise…of which there is a high probability, it must be said.’ Quaint took a step back, raising his voice to address the entire troupe. ‘Madame Destine and I willonly be away for a couple of months at the most. In that time, I expect each and every one of you to pull together like the family you are, and continue to do what you do best – namely, put on the best damn circus that this country has ever seen, bar none!’ Quaint lowered his head. ‘You may disperse to your duties.’
    As the rabble broke ranks and rushed to shake Quaint’s hand and hug Madame Destine, the fortune-teller felt a great twinge inside her heart. The conjuror had made a vow that he would come back home to their family. She only hoped it would not become a vow that he was forced to break.
    A short time later, Quaint was alone in his office onboard the circus locomotive, packing a large canvas bag. There was a gentle tapping against his door, almost too faint to be heard. The door opened slowly, Butter’s wizened faced poking gingerly around it.
    ‘Am I not intruding?’ he asked.
    Quaint smiled. If ever there were something to lift his spirits, it was Butter’s cheerful demeanour. Although the cloud hanging over his head could not be ignored indefinitely, perhaps Butter might succeed in pushing it aside for a while.
    ‘No, Butter,’ replied Quaint, a trifle confused. ‘I mean, yes, Butter. That is to say: no, you are not intruding. Come on in.’
    Butter entered, seating himself upon the edge of Quaint’s bunk. He pulled down the hood of his sealskin parka and fixed his dark eyes onto the conjuror’s like a hound awaiting a scrap at his master’s table.
    ‘Something on your mind, Butter?’ enquired Quaint.
    ‘I wish to speak prior to your departure. Is that agreeable to you?’ Butter asked, in his usual childlike fashion.
    ‘My Inuit friend, it is most agreeable to me,’ said Quaint, ‘as long as you don’t mind my continuing to pack as you talk. The Madame and I leave for Dover within the hour.’
    ‘Indeed, and it is of your journey far that I wish to speak,’ said Butter, toying with the fur trim of his sealskin parka, stoking his courage. ‘You say I now take care of circus whilst you are gone away, yes? I wish to know how long please?’
    ‘As long it takes,’ replied Quaint gruffly. ‘That poison could be halfway to Egypt by now, and my best bet is to try to stop it at the source. The Hades Consortium is a crafty pack of buggers, they’ll have covered their tracks. Thankfully, I know the country well. I spent a lot of my time there back when I was with…’ Quaint’s eyes dimmed as an old reminiscence passed through his mind.