Free The Black Crow Conspiracy by Christopher Edge Page A

could be glimpsed, the grand columns of the royal residence rising up behind them. The night was dark, but the windows of the palace shone with a brilliant radiance. From the pinnacle of its flagpole, the Royal Standard fluttered, proclaiming to all that the King was in residence tonight.
    Desperate not to lose the two figures as they flitted between the trees, Penelope picked her way through the undergrowth, Alfie following close behind. The men were less than twenty feet away now, the glow of the street lamps beyond the park illuminating the glowing-green tint of their skin, which could just be glimpsed between the dark folds of their scarves. As Penny stepped beneath the shade of a scarlet oak, the warning honk of a goose nesting in the undergrowth caused the two men to glance back in their direction.
    Penelope froze. Behind her, she heard Alfie’s muttered curse as the first of the black-coated figures took a step towards the source of the sound. For a second his scarf slipped, causingPenny to silently gasp in surprise. The newspapers had described these mysterious figures as radiant boys, but until this very moment she hadn’t truly realised why.
    The face staring back at them was the face of a boy not much older than Alfie himself. The boy’s features were drawn in a haunted frown, but his skin glowed iridescently as if lit from within. From the darkness of the trees, Penelope prayed that he couldn’t see them.
    The sound of the second man’s voice turned the boy’s gaze back to the palace. Penelope couldn’t make out the words, but the meaning was clear. Pulling the scarf back over his face, the boy followed his companion as they slipped through the park railings without a pause, their shadows scurrying towards the palace.
    “That was close,” Alfie muttered in relief. “But surely they can’t be heading for the palace gates.”
    Shaking her head, Penny hurried to the railings. There was no time now to try and climb over. All she could do was watch as the black-coated figures closed in on the grand edifice. Outside the palace gates, a soldier stood guard outside his sentry box, his scarlet tunic and black bearskin cap illuminated by the light falling from a nearby lamppost. His gaze was fixed straight ahead, unaware of the two shadowy figures now slipping like ghosts through the high, spiked gates.
    Alfie appeared at her shoulder, peering throughthe park railings to see the figures disappear into the shadows of the palace.
    “What are they doing?”
    Penelope shook her head again. She had no idea. Was this yet another daring theft to add to the haul of the Crown Jewels? Thinking quickly, she glanced again at the guard standing sentry at the gates. If she tried to raise the alarm now, she knew that she wouldn’t be believed. There was no way the soldier would think that thieves could have walked through the gates of the palace without his having seen them. He was more likely to call the police and have her and Alfie arrested for trespassing in the Royal Park. There was only one person who might possibly believe that they had watched the shadowy figures walk through solid iron.
    “We have to tell Inspector Drake what we’ve seen tonight,” she said, staring into the darkness where the radiant boys had disappeared. There was no sign now of any movement in the shadows, but the palace windows still shone brightly. If by any miracle they had found their way inside, then they would soon be discovered. “Surely this will clear Monty’s name.”

X
    Drake leaned across the table, fixing Monty with an intimidating stare.
    “I am losing my patience, Mr Flinch. It has been a long night and your lack of cooperation is proving to be an irritation.” He glanced at the burly figure of the police constable hovering over his shoulder in the cramped interrogation room. “I hope it won’t be necessary for me to ask Constable Taylor here to loosen your tongue.”
    Monty shrank back in his chair. The actor’s face was