The Ark of Dun Ruah, Book 1 Read Free

bright red coat from its wrapping and helped the Mayor into it. With great fuss, the butler was ordered to wheel in a full-length mirror. Kerry did up the buttons and straightened the shoulders and collar. Then they all peered into the mirror.
    â€˜Wow! It’s beautiful, Kerry, absolutely top class,’ proclaimed President Lumina.
    â€˜It makes me look younger,’ cried the Mayor.
    â€˜Yes and thinner,’ President Lumina added while the Mayor blushed.
    â€˜I love the fiery reds you’ve used and, look, this gold stitching shimmers like real flames. It’s so detailed. Quite exquisite! This is certainly an extraordinary talent you have, dear child. I simply must get you to make one for me too. Sometimes I have four or five functions to attend in a day and I’m always looking for talented designers to come up with a new image for me. Why don’t you visit me in the Land of Fire? You could design an entire new wardrobe for me. I would pay you handsomely, of course, and give you a very good time. What do you say?’
    â€˜Well, thank you, Lady Lumina. I’m very honoured. But do you mind if I think about it?’ Kerry asked.
    â€˜What’s there to think about? I know you’d love it! If Frederick can spare you for a few months you can leave for my home in Fire City next week. There’s nothing to worry about. All your expenses will be covered.’
    â€˜I’d love to go, but the problem is that I have a younger brother. He’s just a schoolboy and I can’t leave him here on his own.’
    â€˜Then bring him with you,’ insisted President Lumina.

    Simon was fighting his way through the crowds that had filtered into St John’s Cathedral. He was still searching for the man with the hooded cloak. The monks were chanting and it was difficult to see anything in the flickering candlelight. He was just about to go back outside to rejoin Kerry when he spotted the man in the grey cloak ahead of him. People were filing into the pews but the grey-cloaked man was making for a side aisle. As the crowd suddenly parted, Simon found a way through and darted after him. The man took a right turn into a side altar and skirted the railings behind it. Simon followed. He was curious to know why an almost extinct bird would attack a man in such a savage way. He also wondered what kind of power the man possessed that was strong enough to overpower a Giant Eagle.
    The man in the grey cloak stopped abruptly. It was as if he knew what Simon was thinking. He turned to face him and suddenly reared up to a great height. He stared down into Simon’s eyes. A deep hood still shaded his face. But Simon sensed that the man was warning him to keep his distance. Penet rating green eyes flashed from under the dark cowl and bored into Simon, almost piercing through his skull. A wave of fear coursed through his veins causing his head to spin. He staggered into a pew and righted himself in time to see the man vanishing behind the side altar. Simon rushed after him and jumped over the altar railings. He scanned the area. There were no doors or windows visible, only stone walls towering up on each side. The man had vanished.
    Then light breeze brushed his face. Something landed on his shoulder.
    â€˜What are you doing hiding behind here?’ asked Timmy. ‘I’ve been looking for you everywhere.’
    â€˜You nearly gave me a heart attack,’ said Simon. ‘Did you see the way that man disappeared? He was standing here right before my eyes one moment and the next he was gone. I can’t find any trace of him.’
    â€˜You’ve got to come with me to the town hall right now,’ pleaded Timmy. ‘No more chasing after disappearing men. Kerry is relying on you. This meeting is important to her, to both of you.’
    Casting a final look around the altar in the hope of catching one more glimpse of the man with the green eyes, Simon tore himself away from his