What is Hidden Read Online Free PDF Page A

door to the workroom had closed behind me. I pushed against it, flinching at the hot surface and gasping as it opened before me.
    Surveying the burning room, I spied a path that would lead me to the other side safely, free of debris and flame. Taking a chance, I sprinted across the room, and called out, “Papa! Papa, where are you?”
    I heard no reply and tried to turn the knob that opened the door to the front of the store, but to no avail. Something was blocking it from the other side. I backed up and rammed my shoulder against the door, budging it slightly. I slammed against it twice more, until whatever it was finally gave way and the door flew open.
    Although this part of the store was untouched by the fire, it was just as ransacked as every other part of the house.I wondered why my room had been untouched as I instinctively looked to our inventory of completed masks.
    Every last one was gone. They’d been kept in a locked cupboard, which had been broken open and completely emptied.
    My mind flashed back to the announcement from the Square. Had the Chameleon struck here? None of our masks were for anyone particularly wealthy or high-ranked, but that didn’t matter if one simply wanted to remain unseen. In fact, the lower ranked, the better.
    Panic started to rise in my throat again as I remembered the other part of the warning. My father was still nowhere to be found. What if the Chameleon had gotten to him? Killed him for his mask? My father was well respected in his circles, and his mask would certainly be worth something if this man were similar enough in build to fool those unfamiliar with my father.
    A floorboard creaked behind me, and I spun around. Relief flooded me as I saw my father’s mask looking down at me in the pale moonlight. But that feeling was suddenly replaced with terror as I realized that the eyes behind the mask were strange and cruel.
    The Chameleon.
    “What did you do with the owner of that mask?” my voice rasped out without my permission.
    The dark eyes glinted with amusement, the rest of his face obscured in shadows, as the fire danced behind him. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head.” His voice was smooth, crisp, and low, and he cocked his head to get a better look at me. I backed up instinctively. “He’s in a better place,” he continued in that mocking tone. “I’m sure he’s quite at peace, if you catch my meaning.”
    “No,” I breathed, refusing to believe what he was insinuating.
    “I’m afraid so,” he continued conversationally, as if he were talking about the price of glass beads going up and not my father’s death. “You can go with him if you like. I’m afraid I wouldn’t have much use for your mask, though.” He watched me, as a cat watches a mouse he’s toying with. “Although, it might be fun to try something else . . . ,” he murmured.
    As he approached me, I shook my head mutely until I collided against the wall.
    “Stop trembling, my pretty lady. I’m not going to kill you.” He stopped directly in front of me, and I crossed my arms across my body, trying to shield myself from him.
    “However,” he continued, his hand stroking the smooth surface of my mask just below my right eye, “I would like . . .”
    Without another word, he removed his mask and I gasped in shock, turning away at seeing his bare face. He angled his head and caught my chin in his left hand, forcing me to look at him.
    His face was twisted in a cruel expression, and once I looked, I couldn’t help but stare at him even as my vision blurred from the smoke. I’d never before really looked at a completely bare face of someone outside of my family. I tried not to look at the criminals at the Square, and this was nothing like the simple tattooed foreign faces of the men at the Market. This was a face bare of any paint or ink, almost completely unmarked. It was fascinating in a bizarre and twisted sort of way, and the light from the flames around us threw his features