Crown of Three Read Online Free Page B

awkwardly. Should he try to comfort him, and tell this strange, pale boy that he knew what it was like to grow up without a family? With a shiver, he wondered if this place would eventually make him like Nynus too.
    A drop of water landed on Gulph’s cheek. He looked up at the slit in the rafters. The daylight had turned gray—a cloud passing in front of the sun, he supposed. More water splashed on his upturned face; outside, it was raining.
    Hope stirred inside him.
    â€œHave you ever tried to escape?” he said.
    Before Nynus could reply, Gulph went over to the desk and swept the books onto the floor.
    â€œHey,” said Nynus. “My books!”
    â€œThe world’s full of books,” said Gulph. “I’ll show you.”
    Gulph climbed on top of the desk he’d cleared. Lodging his fingers into the woven strands, he started up the iron wall. It was hard work, like trying to climb a tree with only the rough texture of the bark to cling to, but his joints were strong and supple and soon he was halfway up. The wall was smoother here, forcing him to contort his body and stretch his arms beyond the reach of any normal boy in order to find the next handhold. Each time he performed another impossible maneuver, he heard Nynus gasp, and felt a warm glow of pride. The other prisoners had called him a freak. If only they could see what a freak could do.
    At last he reached the place where the wall met the sloping roof. Hanging like a spider, he pressed his face against the narrow slit in the rafters and peered out. The smell of sewage wafted in.
    Below stretched the crowded streets of Idilliam. Beyond them, at the city’s edge, loomed the craggy rock known as the High Peak, which Pip had pointed out to him on the day they arrived.
    â€œFrom the top of the High Peak,” Pip had said, “you can see all three realms of the kingdom. I wish we could go up there!”
    The memory of that moment stung Gulph’s eyes even more than the rain. He wondered if he’d ever see Pip again.
    Near the High Peak was the great Idilliam Bridge: a huge stone structure spanning the chasm between the Toronian capital and the vast green forests of Isur. It felt like a lifetime since the Tangletree Players had crossed that bridge on their way into the city. Yet it was merely five days. Now the bridge promised escape and freedom, but it was impossibly distant. Gulph couldn’t see how he’d ever reach it.
    One step at a time.
    He studied the roof outside. Just below the slit through which he was peering, a network of gutters met above a fat waste pipe. The top of the pipe was open; it was from here that the bad smell was emanating. The pipe ran at a steep angle down the side of the Vault of Heaven.
    All the way to the ground.
    The door to Nynus’s cell rattled. Heart racing, Gulph scrambled back down the wall, releasing his grip and leaping the last few feet to the floor. Just as he landed, a slot in the bottom of the door swung open and a fat hand shoved two battered metal bowls into the room. One contained a steaming pork chop, two potatoes, and a mound of cabbage. The other was filled with a nameless gray slop.
    Unable to stop himself, Gulph said, “Are we supposed to fight over dinner?”
    A second slot opened at eye level and Blist glared through. “Know your place, freak,” said the jailer. “Nothing in my orders about giving you special treatment. It’s not like you’re a prince, is it?”
    â€œOf course I’m not a prince!” Gulph shouted, but already the door slots were shut. He turned to Nynus. “What was he talking about? What’s this got to do with—?”
    To his astonishment, his cell mate was bowing. “Prince Nynus, at your service. I’d ask you to kiss my hand, but I think we’ve got past that, don’t you?”
    â€œPrince . . . Do you mean you’re the son of . . . ?” Shock made it