Starclimber by Kenneth Oppel Read Free Book Online Page B

black letters. Underneath, in print almost too small to read, were six columns of rules.
    “This is absurd,” said Kate. “We do not have chits. We will not get chits.”
    The attendant clucked his tongue. “No, no, mademoiselle, I am very sorry, you must have chits.”
    Kate gave a disdainful wave of her hand. “I poo-poo the chit.”
    The attendant looked stunned. “You cannot poo-poo the chit!”
    “I do,” she said solemnly. “I do poo-poo.”
    “We’ll walk,” I said, standing.
    “Normally, monsieur, that would be fine, but now that I have exposed you as chit délinquents , I must ask you to leave the park immédiatement .”
    “Look here, do you know whom you’re talking to,” said Sir John, whose face had taken on a scarlet shade.
    “I do not care, monsieur. These are rules that must be obeyed by all. We are not lawless hooligans like you Americans.”
    “Canadians, actually,” said Mr. Lunardi.
    “I see little difference between you.”
    Behind us, someone started shrieking. We whirled around to see an elegant middle-aged woman swatting in terror at Kate’s aerozoan hatchling. It had ensnared her little poodle with its tentacles and was doing its best to pluck the stunned dog off the ground.
    “Phoebe!” cried Kate.
    “Quel monstre!” shrieked the woman. “Au secours! Gendarme!”
    “I think someone needs your help,” I told the attendant.
    He turned, saw sparks flying from the aerozoan’s small tentacles. Without even lifting an eyebrow, he turned back to me.
    “This is not my responsibility. Your name, monsieur. You leave me no choice but to write you a chit delinquency ticket.”
    “May we borrow your jacket?” Kate asked, already yanking it off the attendant's shoulders. “We may be able to catch her. Come on, Matt!”
    “That is my jacket,” said the bewildered attendant.
    We ran toward the lady, who’d just received a zap and was now whimpering under the bench. Phoebe was still struggling to lift the dog off the ground, but it was proving too heavy.
    “We’re coming, Phoebe!” Kate called out.
    But Phoebe did not want to be caught. She seemed to sense our approach, and as Kate threw the jacket, she released the dog and shot high into the air, narrowly avoiding getting tangled in the branches of a chestnut tree.
    “Oh, dear!” Kate said.
    A few people in the park watched the aerozoan’s escape but must have thought it was just a fancy balloon. They looked away, unimpressed.
    “My jacket, monsieur,” said the attendant frostily. I picked it up, dusted it off, and held it to him.
    “Are you all right, ma’am?” I said, offering my hand to the lady under the bench. She ignored me and rushed to her poodle. The dog was whining piteously, but he seemed all right, just a bit singed. The park attendant strode over and peered severely from the dog to its owner.
    “Madame, may I see your dog’s chit, please,” he said.
    Kate and I took this opportunity to rejoin the others, and we walked on. Kate kept peering up through the trees, hoping to catch a glimpse of Phoebe.
    “Your aerozoan seems to have a taste for Paris,” Mr. Lunardi remarked.
    “Well, who doesn’t like Paris?” Kate said.
    “You’ll have to say au revoir to the City of Lights for the time being,” Mr. Lunardi said to us. “We want you both in Lionsgate City by Thursday.”
    “Lionsgate City?” I said. “Is that where the training is?”
    “I thought that would please you,” said Mr. Lunardi. “You’re going home.”

LIONSGATE CITY

    I arrived with the dawn, the spires of Lionsgate City already aglow as our ship came in to land. I’d forgotten just how high and glorious the city was, its skyscrapers straining to compete with the mountain peaks that encircled them.
    Stepping down the gangway onto the landing field, I suddenly realized how much I’d missed the sea and mountains. Almost two years had passed since I’d been back, and when I got into the hired car with my luggage, I gave the