Dance of Fire by Yelena Black Read Free Book Online Page B

must be contagious. I shrugged and said, ‘I guess so.’
    â€˜Well, whatever it was you were doing, you got us past her, ’ Hal said.
    And there on the street, Erik took my hand in his and gave it a gentle kiss. ‘Now we’re even,’ he said, as my fingers fell from his.
    â€˜Who’s paying for all this?’ I asked as we took our seats on the train, facing each other across a table. Outside the window, the countryside passed by, neat rows of buildings glowing gold with the rising sun, burning off the morning mist.
    Hal shrugged and said, ‘Erik’s people.’
    Erik said, ‘It’s complicated and hard to explain, but I have access to money. Not a ton of it, but enough to get us over here and to pay for a few months’ rent on a flat.’
    â€˜A flat?’ I asked. I admit it, diary: I had dreams of some cosy apartment like the ones I’d seen in movies.
    â€˜It’s not much money, so it’s not much of a flat,’ Hal added. ‘A room, more like.’
    â€˜A room?’ I repeated. Clearly they had discussed this without me. I wondered what other surprises they had in store. How much do I know about Hal and Erik, really?
    â€˜More like a room with a cubbyhole,’ Hal said. ‘It was the best I could do. But it should be hard for the people you’re running from to trace us.’
    â€˜Don’t worry,’ Erik said. ‘It will only be for a short time, until we’ve found some way of making money and blending in.’
    â€˜And I’ll only be there for a few days,’ Hal said. ‘Just long enough to rest up before moving on.’
    Hal had told me he’d taken a year off to travel the world on the cheap, couch-surfing in the homes of hacker friends and getting around in the most thrifty ways possible – which was how he knew to book the freighter.
    â€˜The room we’re letting is above a pub called Barre None, not far from the Royal Court,’ he went on. ‘I wanted someplace where the two of you would blend in, and the woman who runs it is a former dancer. She calls herself Coppelia.’
    â€˜Calls herself ?’ I asked.
    He shrugged and ran a hand through his dishwater-blond hair. ‘I don’t think it’s her real name. But it doesn’t matter. Everyone says good things about her. I trust the online community.’
    A former dancer . I don’t doubt that Hal’s online friends are trustworthy, but the dance world is small. Can we trust someone who doesn’t even give out her real name? Can I even trust Hal? Why is he so devoted to Erik?
    â€˜At least you’ll always have a place where you can eat,’ Hal said.
    â€˜Good,’ Erik said, ‘because I’m starving. I didn’t think I’d miss having breakfast on that merchant ship, but if we don’t get food soon, I’m going to have to eat one of you.’
    â€˜Eat Hal,’ I said. ‘He’s got more meat on his bones. I’m pretty scrawny.’
    Erik’s smile was for me alone. ‘But you’re so much tastier-­looking.’
    I laughed and looked away, embarrassed but for some reason bursting with joy. He always seems to know how to make me blush.
    Fla t is kind of an overstatement. Even room is pushing it. When we got there, Barre None wasn’t open yet, but this Coppelia woman met us at the door. She had that faded beauty of so many former ballerinas – perfect posture, with her white hair pulled back into a messy bun.
    She took in the three of us and said to Hal, ‘You must be Henry Greene.’
    â€˜I prefer to be called Hal,’ he said, nervously ducking his head.
    â€˜Henry it is,’ she said, not bothering to introduce herself to me and Erik. Then she turned and led us down a dim hallway and up four flights of stairs, her long skirt stirring up dust until it tickled my nose.
    At the top was a worn-looking wooden door. The woman unlocked