BreadCrumb Trail (The Yellow Hoods, #2): Steampunk meets Fairy Tale by Adam Dreece Read Free Book Online Page A

and he needed the help of my Grandmama,” answered Tee.
    “Seriously?” said Richy. He pulled his coat in, as the winter night air was getting a bit nippy.
    Elly gave a raised eyebrow to Richy. “Have you had a conversation with that man that he didn’t want to have? His mind is an island unto itself.”
    Richy gave Elly a fake, surprised look. “ Unto . Wow. Pulling out special words for the holiday, are we?”
    Elly gave Richy a shove. “It’s a word.”
    “Oh, I know it’s a word. It’s an un loved, un wanted word. A problem un to itself, if you ask me.”
    Rolling her eyes, Elly said, “That doesn’t make sense.”
    “You know, last year,” said Tee, changing the subject, “we were just three kids running around playing with our homemade yellow cloaks. Now look at us.”
    “Well, not all cloaks were created equal. You had yours from your grandfather, Elly made hers with her mom, and… I made mine,” said Richy.
    Elly smiled at Richy and said, “Well, yours was less of a cloak and more of an honest effort in trying to get a bed sheet to bend to your will.”
    Tee started laughing. She tried not to, but it was true.
    Richy looked a bit hurt. “Hey! I lost blood putting that thing together. I don’t know how you girls do sewing.”
    “Oh, we know you lost lots of blood—it was all over that yellow cloak! Well, yellow and red, really,” said Tee, laughing.
    “Really gross,” added Elly, shaking her head in mock disapproval. “I’m glad we have these ones now. I still wonder what they’re made of.”
    Richy stopped and crossed his arms. “Really? You’re so superior at sewing?”
    “Well, like you said, you don’t know how we girls do it. We’re born with it. Born to make things, from babies, to buildings, to…”
    “Got stuck looking for another ‘B’ word, eh?” said Tee, switching sides.
    “Head plant,” said Richy. “So close . You nearly finished me off, but just as you rounded the corner, the wheels fell off and you flipped your cart. Ha!”
    Tee looked over to Richy. “Someone’s been spending a bit too much time with his sail-cart.”
    Richy smiled uncomfortably, and a sudden chill doused the playful mood. Elly and Tee hadn’t asked Richy what was going on at home, but it had been clear over the past couple of months that something was awry. Whatever it was, they hoped that if and when he was ready, he’d talk to one of them. They were surprised when he’d mentioned his family life to Nikolas earlier, in front of everyone. Clearly, it was worse than they’d thought.
    For a few minutes, they walked in silence, occasionally waving to the kids they knew as they wandered the colored lantern-decorated streets of Mineau.
    Richy sighed, letting go of the tension, and said, “They decorate differently here. Have you noticed the red, yellow, and green leaves together on every business? Not on a house, just on a business. I never saw that before.”
    After several seconds, Elly grumbled. “I wanted to make a killer snarky remark about how you wouldn’t notice something obvious, but I drew a blank. A blank!”
    “Oh my goodness—maybe you’ve lost your right to the throne!” said Tee, teasing her long-time best friend.
    “Oh, no,” said Richy, starting to laugh. “You’re but a simple commoner now! Doomed to be snarked upon by your betters! Doomed to—”
    “Watch it—I still have plenty of quick wit in my quiver, Aldrich ,” said Elly, squinting cheekily.
    Richy and Tee stopped in their tracks and looked, mouths wide open, at Elly.
    “Did you just declare a full and proper names war?” said Tee, scooping a handful of snow.
    They had a sacred rule: Not one of them was fond of their proper name, and it was not to be used under any circumstances. Violation of this rule unleashed all manner of chaos.
    “You’re going down, El—” said Richy, interrupted by a snowball in the face from Elly.
    “Snowball fight!” yelled nearby kids. They started to leave their