Free Ondine by Ebony McKenna Page B

box at their feet.
    More dust billowed.
    A tingle of excitement crept into Ondine’s throat – and it wasn’t just the dust – as she began to imagine what might be in the box.
    â€˜What’s in it?’ Marguerite asked the hushed room.
    In a flash, Shambles dropped down from Ondine’s shoulder and clambered on to the box, chewing at its leather straps until they came free. Thomas and Josef lifted the lid. Their mouths fell open. So did Ondine’s. And Ma’s, and Marguerite’s. Even Shambles’s wee furry mouth, full of nippy fangs and a little pink tongue, gaped in shock.
    â€˜Saturn’s rings!’ Ondine gasped.
    â€˜Looks like we’ve found a way to pay for the renovations,’ Da said.
    â€˜What did I tell you? I knew Shambles would bring us good luck,’ Ma said.
    Â 
    25 The spell checker thinks this should be ‘cleric’ but religion has nothing to do with this. ‘Skerrick’ means scrap, as in scrap of paper, scrap of cloth or scrap of information.
    26 Always have a big breakfast. It gets the metabolism going for the day and helps you think straight. Skip breakfast and you lose ten IQ points.
    27 It was for twelve people.
    28 In a parallel universe, Ondine remained at Psychic Summercamp and failed all her subjects, then returned home to find a pile of smouldering ash where the hotel and her home used to be. Josef had walked into the kitchen and discovered Cybelle and Chef in a passionate embrace. He’d lost his temper and thrown the nearest thing to hand – a jug of water – at the pair of them. The jug missed its target and landed in the roiling deep fryer, which exploded and set the kitchen on fire. They didn’t know the health inspector was due to arrive the next morning, but in any case, his visit was a moot point.
    In yet another parallel universe, the health inspector decided to arrive two weeks early and was hit by the 7.05 express as he attempted to cross the train tracks. This was because the pedestrian walkway hadn’t opened yet.
    29 In Brugel banks are open on Mondays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesdays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed Wednesdays and weekends.
    As an interesting side note to history, Brugel’s Prime Minister vetoed Euros after he saw the first pressing of Brugel’s 20-cent Euro coin featuring a banker in a hammock. The coins were withdrawn from circulation, but are available for bids over US$20 on eBay. Bidders should contact user profile pmforlifeme for more details.

Chapter Seven

    T he contents of the box gleamed in the afternoon sunlight shining through the front windows. Gold rings. Bracelets. Fine threads of necklaces studded with diamonds. Brooches. Earrings with drop pearls. A tiara with red gems that might have been rubies – Ondine couldn’t tell. Not a tangled mess, as you might expect, but all sorted and segmented into neat little compartments. Underneath the tray of gleaming jewellery they found wads of banknotes, stamped with faces and places on them, which Ondine didn’t recognise. They must have been made before the currency changed. 30
    â€˜Do pirates come this far inland?’ Cybelle held up a necklace with a delicate anchor-shaped charm at the clasp. The anchor spun back and forth, catching the light. Strange that the main feature of the necklace should be at the back, until Ondine realised it was designed to be worn with your hair up.
    Marguerite stepped closer to admire the booty. ‘Do we invoke the international treaty of “finders keepers”?’
    Unable to stop herself, Ondine reached forwards and picked up a couple of elegant necklaces. One looked as delicate and complicated as a crocheted doily, if you could make a doily from spun silver then BeDazzle 31 it with diamonds.
    Ma sounded out of breath. ‘Let’s just think about this for a minute. Think about where all of this may have come