Читать книгу Battle of the Beasts - Ned Vizzini - Страница 25

“I don’t want you to do a séance, please,” Eleanor begged. She was getting very frightened as the crouched, make-up-caked Aldrich Hayes placed a wooden board on the long table in the Bohemian Club’s great hall. The table was lit up with candles like a birthday cake. Eleanor was holding still, her shoulder in the grip of Denver Kristoff’s big hand, but now she was getting way too scared to be here. If Hayes were really going to do a séance, that meant ghosts and spirits, and Eleanor wasn’t sticking around for that. Luckily, by not moving for so long, she had made Denver Kristoff relax his grip, and with Hayes tending to the table, she broke free!

Eleanor ran towards the doorway that Angel had just walked out of. Kristoff called angrily after her, but she didn’t turn around – and then she heard Hayes’s voice, calm: “Wait, little one. You’ll be needing some money.”

Eleanor stopped, turned back. Did I hear that right?

Apparently she did. Because Hayes was holding out a hundred-dollar bill.

“I want you to get a taxi, go back to your parents, and never tell anyone about being here. And keep the change. Understand?”

“You’re letting me go?”

“Mr Kristoff was wrong to bring you here.”

Eleanor glanced at Kristoff, who stood behind Hayes. He was clearly angry but also powerless. The old man really was his boss. Eleanor hesitantly took the hundred-dollar bill and strode towards the door. Behind her, she heard Kristoff whisper to Hayes: “You’re making a mistake. We should get rid of her. Permanently. I know a place under the Bay Bridge where we can dispose of the body—”

“Enough. Make yourself useful and bring me more candles—”

“I’m not your servant—”

“You are in my home and you will follow my rules.”

Eleanor paused as she approached the door, catching sight of something above. She turned slowly, so Hayes and Kristoff wouldn’t notice—

And saw Brendan staring down at her.

He was upstairs, on the balcony, next to Will!

Have they been up there the whole time?

Eleanor had to get to them.

Two sets of doors stood in front of her: one that led out of the great hall and one that led to the street. She went through the first set and opened the second, so it would sound like she was leaving … but then she dashed left, climbing the stairs to the balcony. She squeezed her eyes shut as she passed a pedestal holding a glass-encased stuffed falcon with huge, sharp claws. She had to get past all the scary stuff in this place. She had to get to Brendan and Will. And there they were! So close …

Control yourself, stay steady, no sudden movements, she thought, but it was all she could do not to cry out as she fell into them.

Their three-way hug was as strong as it was silent. It had only been a few hours since Eleanor had finished her riding lesson with Crow, but she thought she was never going to see her family again, and knowing that Bren and Will had come reminded her: Sometimes your siblings annoy you, but sometimes they save your life.

Then, all of a sudden, the lights in the Bohemian Club went out.