The Jade Boy Read Online Free Page A

fists so tightly that the nails dug into his palms.
    No one, not even Wormald or Pig Face had made him feel like this before. He glared at the girl, but she didn’t open her eyes. Tolly took a soft step back and Cleo jumped from Jem’s shoulder to the table where she cowered behind Ann, covering her eyes with a paw.
    After a few seconds Jem spoke quietly, his voice low and dangerous.
    “Who are you to speak of my mother? As for my father, he is… dead.” The word tasted bitter in Jem’s mouth. “How dare you come here and…’
    “And what Jem?” Ann’s odd green eyes snapped open and she stared up at him. “I’ve spoken the truth, haven’t I? This place is not your home. And your mother, she loves you, but there is a shadow between you, isn’t there?”
    Jem was silent for a moment as a whirl of confusing feelings and memories tumbled through his mind. Why wouldn’t Sarah ever speak about his father? Why wouldn’t she ever take his side against Wormald and Pig Face? Why did she try to avoid him?
    And how did this girl know all this?
    He stared sullenly at the floor.
    Ann took his hand again and squeezed it tightly. “Isn’t there Jem?” she asked softly, tipping his head up with her other hand so that he looked her full in the face. Jem didn’t answer. His anger was fading but it was being replaced by confusion and something like fear.
    Cleo gave a little chirrup, jumped to Ann’s shoulderand nuzzled into the girl’s thick white hair, chattering into her ear.
    Ann smiled. “I know Cleo. I have been rude and abrupt. But we have such little time. Please forgive me, Master Green. I only wanted to make you trust me, but I fear I offended you in the process…”
    Jem swallowed and looked uncertainly between the girl and the dark boy. What kind of trick was this? How had this girl known so much about him? Things that even
he
didn’t like to put into words.
    Tolly laughed and reached over to tweak a tendril of Ann’s white hair. “She’s always the same – so eager to show off her skills. But you must listen to us. We’ve been searching for you.”
    Ann broke in. “And you don’t have to call me Lady Ann, Jem. Can I call you Jem? I can’t bear formality among friends. Can we begin again? Please?”
    She took his hand once more and squeezed it.
    Jem felt an unexpected jolt of warmth. He smiled warily at the girl and then at Tolly.
    “I don’t wish to be rude,” he began, “but could one of you tell me what’s going on?”
    For a fleeting moment he wondered if this was a dream – or perhaps a fever? Maybe he was actuallyin his truckle bed sweating out the nightmares brought on by the ague?
    “You are perfectly well,” said Tolly, reading his thoughts. “But you must listen to Ann. She has reason to believe that your life is in danger. Tell him.”
    Ann sat on the edge of the table and Cleo jumped from her shoulder to curl up in her lap. The girl stroked the monkey’s head as she spoke softly.
    “I know this must seem very odd, Jem, but you must believe that we mean you no harm. In fact, we need your help.”
    She paused and looked up at him. “What do you think of Cazalon?”
    He noticed that she clenched her left fist as she forced herself to say the name.
    Jem remembered his encounter in the duke’s study and shuddered. He thought about giving a brave answer, but looking at the expression on Ann’s face he decided to be honest.
    “I thought he was… sinister and peculiar.”
    Tolly laughed, but it wasn’t a happy sound.
    Ann continued. “My guardian is a collector. He is fascinated by all things unusual, powerful, strange, ancient and wondrous. His house is full of the most hideous and unnatural things. Things thateven I, with all my… skills, cannot understand.
    “Recently, he has become obsessed with a new find – a new object to add to his collection. Please don’t ask me how I know this, I just…”
    Ann came to a halt and Tolly reached out to take her hand. Cleo looked up,