The Nowhere Emporium Read Online Free

floor. And then one of the books, bound in green leather, shot away from the shelves as though it had been thrown. But this book did not hit the floor. Its pages opened and began to flap, and the book circled over Sharpe’s head like an awkward bird.
    After thirty seconds or so, the book thudded to the bare stone floor.
    Sharpe’s face remained calm, but the boy could see that something in his eyes had changed.
    “Everything all right in there?” came the master’s voice from out in the hallway. Neither the boy nor the tall man answered.
    “Why aren’t you scared of me?” asked the boy.
    Sharpe said nothing. For the first time, the boy was aware of how strikingly blue his eyes were.
    Without warning, every remaining book on the shelves soared into the air, and began to circle and swoop around the room, never colliding, though there were many of them.
    The boy’s mouth fell open. He watched and watched, until Sharpe glanced towards the bookcase, and in seconds the books were back, each in exactly the spot it had previously occupied.
    Vindictus Sharpe flattened out a crease on one of his leather gloves. His blue eyes met the grey eyes of the boy.
    “I am not afraid of you,” he said, “because I am a monster too.”
    ***
    A doctor from the city asylum arrived at the orphanage early next morning. He had been called upon to evaluate one of the boys – a child who had been involved in unexplained and, occasionally, violent incidents. When the master led him down the narrow stairs to the dark corridor and opened the door, he was at a loss to explain where the boy might have gone, or whyseveral of the books were missing from the bookcase.
    The doors to the building were locked immediately, and every inch of the place searched. But there was no trace of the child. He had simply vanished.
    The master had no recollection of ever having answered the door the previous night. He possessed no memory of Vindictus Sharpe in his impeccable suit, or how he had led him to the boy in the basement. He certainly could not remember how he himself had helped to pack the child’s belongings and seen them safely out.
    That night, and every night thereafter, the master would dream of a man and a boy walking together through the falling snow. Though he ran, he could never quite catch them up.

CHAPTER 5
THROUGH THE DOORS
    Daniel’s eyes cracked open a fraction. He screwed up his face at the sunlight flooding the room. He sat up, and rubbed his eyes with a knuckle. The blurred edges of his mind began to focus.
    He lay in a small, comfortable bed in a cosy room with an arched wooden roof. At the opposite end of the room were two doors, one of which was open. Through the open door, Daniel could hear the sound of birdsong and the babbling whisper of running water. He shuffled to the edge of the bed, swung his legs from beneath the thick duvet. His bare feet sank into a deep carpet.
    Memories came bursting back: of running through Glasgow, Spud chasing close behind; of the horror as the car came towards him; of hitting the hard ground.
    Daniel climbed from the bed and stumbled towards a small mirror that hung between the doors. He gazed at his reflection, expecting to see cuts and bruises, but there were no marks on him, no sign that he had been hurt at all. A great fear began to build in his chest. His lungs tightened. His head spun. What if … what if he had been hit by a car?
    Am I dead?
    He did not have time to contemplate this question, because a flicker of movement drew his attention to the window, and herealised that a girl was staring at him through the glass.
    He stumbled backwards as she moved to the door. She stood in the doorway, brushing long wild curls from her grey eyes. She looked him up and down, arms crossed.
    “Enjoy your snooze, did you?” she said. “Nice and comfy?” She looked around the room and shook her head. “Unbelievable. This is nicer than
my
room!”
    “Who’re you?” said Daniel. “Where am I? Am I …