The Grimjinx Rebellion Read Online Free Page A

parasol. “What’s happening?”
    By now, the rain was falling so hard that the entire world blurred. My clothes grew heavier as I soaked up every drop. I stood there, staring numbly at the spot where my sister had disappeared. I couldn’t even form the words to explain it.
    â€œJaxter!”
    The shrill voice came from behind. I spun around to find my friend Callie Strom racing down the street. Her fists pulled at her gray apprentice robes, hoisting them up over her shoes as she ran. She doubled over as she reached me, trying to catch her breath.
    â€œAm I too late?” she asked, her eyes searching the neighborhood frantically.
    The Dowager met us in the middle of the street. “Someone tell me what’s going on.”
    My head had started to spin. I could feel my left hand twitch. My lungs hurt. And I couldn’t stop staring at that spot on the ground.
    Aubrin.
    â€œJaxter!” Callie grabbed my arms. Her puffy cheeks and red eyes told me she’d been crying. “Did they already take her?”
    â€œTake who?” the Dowager demanded.
    I nodded, stupefied. “Yes,” I said. “Yes, she’s gone. She was here and then she— Wait. How did—? Callie, did you know the Palatinate was coming to take Aubrin?”
    Callie shook as she sobbed. “O-only s-since th-this m-m-morning.”
    â€œHow could you know?” I asked.
    She buried her face in her hands. “Because it’s all my fault! ”

4
    An Ancient Decree
    â€œThe only difference between a lie and a truth is the telling.”
    â€”Manjax Grimjinx, former commander of the Provincial Guard
    â€œT here’s a very good reason.”
    Ma had been repeating this for the last hour. It was less convincing each time.
    My family had gathered in the parlor of Talian’s home. As a member of the Palatinate, Talian could explain what had just happened to Aubrin. “You wait and see,” Ma continued. “It’s a mistake or a miscommunication or . . . or something. We’ll get it straightened out. Aubrin will be home by sundown. All very simple.”
    Da put his arm around her. Their weak smiles told me that neither believed what Ma was saying. The Palatinate had dispatched Sentinels to take Aubrin. There was nothing simple about this.
    â€œSome mistake,” Maloch said with a grunt. His tussle with the Sentinels hadn’t ended well. He sat in a high-backed chair, his bandaged leg on a tuffet. A large gash on his cheek had just started to scab over. A dark red ring around his right eye promised to turn black and blue in the days to come.
    Am I to blame? I wondered. I’d been discreet while researching the Great Uprisings. Maybe word had gotten to the Palatinate. It was very possible Aubrin’s abduction was a warning: stop poking your nose into the Great Uprisings.
    Da winked at me. “Some birthday party, eh?”
    I groaned. So much for relaxing.
    A sob from across the room broke through the sound of the rain outside. She’d been so quiet, I’d almost forgotten that Callie had banished herself to the corner. She hadn’t stopped crying since she’d met us in the street.
    The Dowager, who had been admiring a glass cabinet filled with phials of sparkling magical elixirs, moved to comfort her. “Callie,” she said in her singsong voice, “please explain what you meant when you said this was your fault.”
    Callie eyed my family cautiously. Ma and Da gave the sofa a pat, inviting her to sit next to them.
    Callie joined my parents and blew her nose on a handkerchief. “It started this morning. Every day, as part of my magical studies, I have to read several history books and report back to Talian on what I learned.”
    She pointed to a very old leather book on the table. The cover said A History of Seers in green-tarnished copper letters. “I was reading about the history of prognostication in the Five Provinces. The