Free The Palace of Laughter by Jon Berkeley

when he stood up his whole head was white and dripping, and he stepped straight into something the elephants had left behind. It was really very funny.” Little giggled at the memory.
    â€œSilverpoint was angrier than I had ever seen him. I didn’t know if he was more angry with me or with purple-head. He grabbed my arm, and there were sparks still coming from his fingertips that made my skin hurt. He said, ‘Come!’ But before we could leave, a man stepped out of the shadow of the tent.”
    â€œHe was a small man, no taller than Silverpoint himself. You have met him, Miles, I think. He is called the Great Cortado. He spoke to us from behind his great mustache, and his words were kind. ‘That was a very impressive trick, and funny too’ was what he said to Silverpoint. The purple-haired man had wiped the paint from his eyes, and he bent to pick up his stick, but then he met the Great Cortado’s eye and he dropped it again, and slunk off with his head down.
    â€œSilverpoint thanked the Great Cortado politely and told him that we really must be leaving, but Cortado insisted that we go into his trailer to have some supper and to dry off. Silverpoint tried torefuse, but Cortado wouldn’t take no for an answer. While he went to have supper made for us, we sat in his wagon and Silverpoint told me off for following him. He said that it was very foolish, but now that I was here, there were things that I must remember. He said that humans could not be trusted. I mean he said…” She hesitated.
    â€œDon’t worry, my dear,” said Lady Partridge. “In some cases I’m afraid he’s right, but we’re not all bad! What else did he say to you?”
    â€œHe said that people must never find out who we really were. He told me never to let anyone see my wings, and above all never ever to sing my real name.”
    â€œIsn’t Little your real name?” asked Miles.
    Little laughed, and her laugh itself was like music. “Of course not,” she said. “Little is just the name that Silverpoint gave to me, when the Great Cortado asked who we were. It’s far too short a name for a Song Angel!”
    â€œYou must excuse our ignorance, my dear, but what exactly is a Song Angel?” asked Lady Partridge.
    â€œSong Angels are the voices of the One Song,” said Little.
    â€œAnd what is the One Song?” asked Lady Partridge.
    â€œIt’s hard to put into words,” said Little. “I’ve never had to explain it before.” She stared into the fire for a minute, a small frown on her face.
    â€œThe One Song is the music that runs at the heart of everything. It keeps the world spinning and the stars shining. Everything that exists, every insect and rock and river and flower, has a name in the One Song. Love and Sorrow, Laughter and Anger and Courage all have their places too, and they must be kept in harmony. When one of these strands is taken out from the rest, that is when bad things happen, like a rope beginning to unravel. Each Song Angel must learn a part of that song. We keep it alive and guard it, and in the end we must each add our own name to it so that the Song keeps growing and the world keeps moving along its path.”
    â€œBut why can’t you use your real name, instead of Little?” asked Miles, who had not understood much of what she had just said.
    â€œIf I sang my name here, its power would be spent. I would be bound to Earth, and would never be able to return home.” She laughed. “Besides, my real name would not come to life on the clumsy tongues of people.”
    â€œIs Silverpoint a made-up name as well?”
    â€œWell…yes and no. A Storm Angel’s name is adifferent thing, and does not have the same power. Silverpoint is something like his real name, but shorter and simpler. It’s a name he uses when he visits Earth.”
    â€œAnd why did Silverpoint come down through the