Angel Arias (22 page)

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Authors: Marianne de Pierres

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‘Don’t be so frossing chicken, Em,’ said Jarrold. ‘You don’t hear Naif wailing.’

‘I’m not wailing,’ his sister quavered.

‘Ssssh!’ said Naif.

The gantry swung only a short distance above them now.

Hurry. Hurry.

Jarrold started jumping, trying to reach it. On his fourth attempt it was close enough. He grabbed it and steadied it with his hands.

‘Naif, you and Em first.’

But before Naif could move, whistles pierced the air around them and hounds burst onto the street. Lamp-lit sleds filled with wardens swarmed onto the waterfront from the alleys; three times as many as had been with the Elders at the meeting.

The sound of a loud explosion filled the air and above them the airship swayed wildly.

Naif spied a cannon fixed to one of the sleds. Its first shot had hit the airship in the bow of the cabin deck.

‘Get on!’ bellowed Jarrold.

The hounds had reached the end of the jetty and were tearing towards them.

Jarrold clambered up onto the swinging platform but as Markes went to help Emilia on, Naif stood in the way.

‘Someone has betrayed us.’

‘Naif! What are you talking about! Get on the gantry!’

‘Markes, they’ve brought a
cannon
. How else would they have known about Ruzalia coming?’

Emilia’s face crumpled and she began to cry. ‘I didn’t tell them,’ she sobbed. ‘It wasn’t me.’

Markes shoved Naif aside and bundled the weeping girl onto the gantry. He jumped up alongside her, leaving Naif standing.

The lead hound was on the jetty now.

‘Naif!’ shouted Markes.

But she couldn’t get her legs to move, her gaze transfixed by the slavering, wide open jaws of the hound.

Then without warning, the animal catapulted sideways, yelping as it tumbled from the pier. A piece of wood flew with it, leaving a gaping hole in the floor.

Naif glimpsed Liam’s and Glev’s faces underneath the jetty.

Glev brandished a large hammer, while Liam threw a bunch of fish bags up through the hole onto the surface of the jetty. The rest of the hounds stopped dead in their tracks and circled the food in a frenzy.

‘Liam. Hurry!’ called Naif.

The boy climbed past them and sprinted towards her. As he reached Naif, he wrapped his tentacle around her wrist, threw himself onto the gantry and hauled her after him.

Jarrold locked his arms around her waist and planted her on the wooden planks, holding her tight as the airship lifted.

Down on the waterfront, the wardens shook their fists at the sky, and the sled holding the cannon tracked south with them.

Another explosion rocked them and the airship listed heavily. But somehow they kept afloat and moved away.

Naif imagined she could hear Ruzalia swearing.

But it was only a fancy because the wind roared in their ears as they lifted higher.

‘Fross!’ shouted Jarrold, pointing. ‘Look, on the cannon sled. It’s Gurney. He must have been the one who told them.’

Naif stared down at the lamp-lit sled. It could have been Gurney on the back but it was too hard to see.

She glanced across at Markes. Emilia had her arms around his waist, her head buried against his shoulder.

He was looking at Naif, though, his expression grim.

She took a deep breath and held his gaze. They’d made it. And she knew what they had to do next. They must return to Ixion and bring about its downfall.

M
arianne de Pierres is the author of the multi-award-nominated
Parrish Plessis
and
Sentients of Orion
series. The
Parrish Plessis
series has been translated into eight languages and adapted into a role-playing game. She is also the Davitt award-winning author of the
Tara Sharp
humorous crime series, written under the pseudonym Marianne Delacourt.
Burn Bright
, the first in the
Night Creatures
series, is her first novel for young adults.

Read more about the series at
www.burnbright.com.au

‘Brilliant storytelling. Riveting and unforgettable.’ Lauren Kate, bestselling author of
Fallen

‘To enter the endless night of Ixion is to enter a darkly glamorous world in which danger and pleasure dance to an intoxicating beat – as irresistible to us as it is to Retra.’ Isobelle Carmody, bestselling author of
The Obernewtyn Chronicles

‘In Ixion, Marianne de Pierres has constructed the perfect metaphor for teenage anxiety: a foreign world loosed from all past certainties, inhabited by symbolically costumed cliques engaged in complex hostilities. Your worst fears lurk just off the poorly lit paths, and the only relief comes from the brief sleep of the
petit nuit
, or in surrendering yourself to the music that throbs through the clubs. Read
Burn Bright
and feel a shiver of recognition, even as Ixion’s strangeness casts its spell.’ Margo Lanagan, author of
Tender Morsels

‘The world created by de Pierres is fascinating, strange, and dangerous. It is a riveting read.’ Rebecca Kemble,
Reading Time

‘An intense, unpredictable and addictive page turner . . . a one-of-a-kind experience. Marianne de Pierres is an amazing and ingenious writer.’ girlaboutbooks.blogspot. com

‘In a YA market fast becoming saturated in dystopias
Burn Bright
shines out in the crowd. It’s ominous and daring and spectacular. I LOVED THIS: It’s dark and wild, unpredictable and somehow enchanting.’ inkcrush.blogspot.com

‘This thrilling sci-fi read is perfect for anyone in search of something a little darker, a little more sinister and a little more sinful.’ Amelia, Better Read Than Dead Bookstore

‘
Burn Bright
introduces one of the most exciting worlds I’ve encountered since Scott Westerfeld’s
Uglies
series, or Isobelle Carmody’s
Obernewtyn
, and it will surely appeal to fans of both . . . Lush writing, which at times feels like you’re floating through a dark dream.’ Holly Harper, Readings Books

‘If Isobelle Carmody and Melissa Marr had a book baby together,
Burn Bright
would be the finished product! Adventurous, edgy, provocative, dangerous . . . and kind of thrilling with each and every page you turn.’ tales ofthe innerbookfanatic.blogspot.com

H
uge thanks to Kimberley Bennett and Zoe Walton who helped me through this. And to Yunyu for bringing more of her magnificent music to the
Night Creatures
trilogy experience.

I’d also like to acknowledge the support I’ve had from the book blogging community in the
Publish Burn Bright Worldwide
campaign. You are truly exceptional and passionate and inspiring. I’m totally renewed by your love for books.

Lastly, to my MDPWeb team: Bec Stafford, Belinda Hamilton, Cels Jansink, Jamie Marriage, Janette Dalgliesh, Krista Mckeeth, Mandy Wrangles, Kylie Fox, Phil Coss. What can I say? You are simply the best! With a special shout out to my ‘adopted’ UK daughter, Amy Parker, who always goes the extra mile for me.

Burn Bright, all of you!

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, photocopying (except under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian
Copyright Act 1968
), recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of Random House Australia. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

Version 1.0

Angel Arias

ePub ISBN 9781742754512

Published by Random House Australia 2011

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

A Random House Australia book

Published by Random House Australia Pty Ltd

Level 3, 100 Pacific Highway, North Sydney NSW, 2060

www.randomhouse.com.au

Addresses for companies within the Random House Group can be found at
www.randomhouse.com.au/offices

First published by Random House Australia in 2011

National Library of Australia