Button Hill by Michael Bradford Read Free Book Online

this is the borderland between Nightside and Dayside, a sort of place between places.” Dekker thought of Cobb’s army swarming up Captain Tom’s legs on the front porch, and he glanced nervously over his shoulder at the entrance to the garden. He would be trapped here if Cobb arrived now.
    She arched her left eyebrow. “Your dog told you. He talks to you?”
    Dekker shrugged. “Here he does. I’m looking for my sister. This freaky kid named Cobb took her. Long story. We should get out of here.”
    Harper bit her lip. “I’ve met him too. I don’t think Cobb is a kid. More of a Nightside creature.” They started walking. Grass crunched underfoot as they stepped through the frozen landscape.
    Dekker showed Harper the burn on his palm. Its edges seemed more defined than before. She cringed. “Harsh.”
    â€œCaptain Tom said I restarted the clock somehow when I touched it.”
    â€œThe Nightclock? You should be worried about that mark then. Nightclocks are unpredictable. Don’t look at me like that—it was in a bedtime story.”
    Dekker frowned. “What kind of bedtime story has a Nightclock in it?”
    â€œYou should pay more attention to fairy tales. Lots of them are gruesome. When I was little and living with my mom, she told me stories. One was about how Nightclocks govern the passage between the lands of the living and dead, and the places in between. Cross the borders at Eventide, dream of death by your side. That’s from the story. It must be Eventide now. That’s why I thought you were a monster come to get me.”
    â€œIs your mom in Nightside too?” asked Dekker.
    She nodded. “In Understory, a city in one of the realms below. Don’t worry—it was safe! For me. When I was little…” Harper’s voice faltered as Dekker’s eyes widened.
    â€œMaybe we can use the clock to get back—you know, if it controls all the travel,” Dekker said.
    But Harper shook her head. “Part of the story is that Nightclocks are old beyond reckoning, and the knowledge of how to control them has been lost.” She bit her lip in frustration. “We’re in the borderland between Dayside and Nightside. If I had my music box, you could maybe use it to open one of the cracks this close to the surface. We’ll have to find the train station and see if we can get passage on a train bound for Dayside.” The pit in Dekker’s stomach grew as he imagined what living here would be like and what kind of creatures would live even farther down. A question started to form in his mind about where exactly Harper was from, but as they circled the frozen pond, he noticed a pink, frost-covered lump nestled in a small bush. He pulled it out; it was a small backpack. “Oh, no.”
    â€œWhat is it?”
    Dekker’s voice cracked. “It’s Riley’s backpack. She had it with her before she disappeared.” He started rooting through it. “Her stuffed cat, some comics, candies and the other handset to my walkie-talkie. It’s her boredom-attack pack. She’d never leave it behind on purpose.” He took the other handset out of his back pocket and placed it in with Riley’s things, then slung the bag over his shoulder. He motioned toward the path. “Let’s get out of here.” They started to move toward the gap in the wall of vines, but a troop of sharpened soldiers marched through the opening, blocking their way.
    A moment later, Cobb appeared behind the line of soldiers. The blond boy surveyed the scene and chuckled. “It seems our game is going to end more quickly than I imagined. Unless, of course, you managed to find your sister?” Cobb clapped his hands, and his teeth glittered.
    Dekker raised his voice. “You said I had until midnight. That’s not fair.”
    â€œYou do have until the Witching Hour. But I never agreed not to try and stop