Clockwork Blue Read Online Free

to cover his lips. " What ' s wrong with her? She looks rather dim-wit ted to me. "
     
    Nicola realized she was staring with her mouth open. Scowling, she snapped it shut.
     
    Allegro shook his bright yellow hea d. " I didn ' t sign onto this mission to be rude. "
     
    " Oh? " Glissando smirked. " With your carping at her about her clothes, you could have fooled me. "
     
    Nicola watched Allegro ' s face turn blood-red, the color contrasting with his bright yellow hair. Could her mind really conjure up such details? Slowly she reached out and touched Allegro.
     
    He faltered and yelped . " Watch out! You could knock a fellow sill y with that huge hand of yours. "
     
    She rubbed her fingers togeth er, marveling. It was as if she ' d touched light, ye t solid, tangible light—like a fragment of the sun. As the shock wore off, memories from her childhood flooded Nicola ' s mind, memories she ' d convinced herself had been dreams.
     
    She shook her head in wonder. " So, the little Callers do exist. The pixie tales are true. "
     
    Glissando flew close a nd smiled. " Of course, Miss Diderot . "
     
    " My surname is not Diderot. It is Moore. "
     
    The pixie ' s gaze outlined her face. " However, your aura says Diderot. You have Diderot ancestry in your blood, which is much stronger than the Moore surname you claim. "
     
    What rubbish was the wee fellow spouting? She dismissed his comment, her mind too busy with the fact that the pixies really did exist, and that they were here. " And you have finally returned. "
     
    " A ye , we have come. "
     
    Allegro nudged his comp anion aside and stared at her. " You remember? "
     
    She glared at him. " Of course. " Sh e ' d gotten a glimpse of pixie s when she was a child of five ye ars. And Grandmother Diderot had told her about the Legend. But that had been so long ago, Nicola had convinced herself it was a child ' s tale her grandmother had fabricated to soften the harsh realities that made up her grandfather .
     
    " So you really do remember. " Although Glissando smiled , Nicola could detect a strain in that grin.
     
    Legends came flooding back. Even though she was only five ye ars old, she remembered Granddear ' s own tale of how devious pixies could be—namely a pixie called Glissando. " Yes , I do. And I particularly recall how Grandmother warned me against you. "
     
    Glissando ' s shoulders drooped. Then he lifted those shoulders and gazed up at her . " Lass, I ' ve changed. A nd I ' m here to redeem myself. "
     
    " What ' s this? " Allegro ' s eyes widened as he glanced between them.
     
    " Why are you here? " Nicola asked, ignoring the other pixie. Instead, she narrowed her eyes at Glissando.
     
    He ran a hand through his hair to flatten it, but the strands only popped up again. " To save England. "
     
    " Ha! Well, sorry to break the news, but you came too late. England is saved. The war is over. We have the Treaty of Amiens between us and France. In fact, you missed the grand c elebrations we had nearly three months ago. "
     
    Allegro flew in front of Glissando to face her, hands on hips. " See here. I don ' t know what this note slider did to your grandmother, but I wasn ' t involved. And I tell you that England is still vulnerable . Napoleon Bonaparte will renege on the deal. Your country will be a war again, several terrible war s that will be named The Napoleonic Wars , and you are the key to de feating Napoleon as well as crucial to a long, prosperous era following the wars . "
     
    Nicola narrowed her eyes at Allegro. " And just how am I going to achieve all this magnificence? "
     
    The pixie opened his mouth as if to answer. But then he glanced down at his dangling, curly-toed shoes as if he couldn ' t look her in the eyes . Soon he darted a look toward his companion who had landed on the copper lip of an electrified wall sconce .
     
    " Go ahead, hot shot , " Glissando leaned against the copper lamp and shrugged. " You might as well tell her everything.