The Grimjinx Rebellion by Brian Farrey Read Free Book Online Page A

held up the documents bearing both Talian’s and Castellan Jorn’s forged signatures. The creature waddled outside, grimacing with each step. He examined the papers closely.
    â€œIs not first of month,” the creature muttered, poking at Talian’s wax seal. “Is first of month, is time for new workers.”
    â€œAh, yes,” Ma said, “but you see, these ruffians have been very bad. They’re really quite terrible. Couldn’t wait for the first of the month to get rid of them.”
    The creature shrugged. “Is making no difference to Gobek. Is always needing new workers. Is following me.”
    He turned and went inside, pushing the door wider so we could all come in. Holding tight to Tree Bag, I stepped over the threshold and caught a glimpse of a plaque that hung over the doorway.
    The plaque read: YESTERDAY IS TODAY .
    My heart skipped a beat at seeing Kolo’s last words engraved over the door. I’d never been one to believe in coincidence. This is what Kolo meant, I thought. He wanted me to come here. I had a feeling I’d find more than Aubrin in these halls.
    Iron pots filled with magical green-blue fire floated above our heads. A single corridor led us deeper into the sphere. Instead of walls made from stone or wood, the passages were formed by sheer yellow curtains that hung from above. The creature stopped in the middle of the room and groaned.
    â€œAre you okay?” Callie asked.
    â€œIs very difficult being Gobek,” the creature said, pain pinching his voice.
    â€œCan we help?”
    Maloch cleared his throat and glared at Callie. We were supposed to be outlaws. Callie’s concern wasn’t helping our story.
    But Gobek didn’t seem to notice. He waved his hand and smiled. “Is nice of you, young criminal lady. Gobek is not able to help being Gobek. Is to be Gobek, is to be hurting. Is way of things.”
    Now even I was feeling bad for him. Every gesture, every step seemed to hurt. Still, he kept smiling at us.
    â€œIs Gobek. Is caretaker. Is welcoming you to Creche. Is being good? Is treated good. Is being bad? Is not treated good. Is simple.”
    The curtains gave way to stone walls that curved widely to the right. All the while, Gobek chattered amiably about how he hoped we would enjoy working at the Creche. Truth be told, I got the idea that working under Gobek wouldn’t be much punishment at all. He seemed rather nice. Talkative, but nice.
    The corridor opened up into an expansive library. Kids our age and slightly older scuttled around with feather dusters, cleaning the bookshelves. The caretaker took us across the room to a tall, Aviard girl with short black feathers. She was throwing logs into the fireplace and prodding the embers with a poker. Actually, the way she did it was more like stabbing. And each stab made her frown more deeply.
    â€œIs looking at this, Mavra,” Gobek said to the girl. “Is new workers!”
    Gobek had said they could always use new workers. The look on this girl’s face suggested otherwise. She swung the poker around furiously, narrowly missing Gobek.
    â€œIt’s not the first of the month!” she shouted. Nearly every worker in the room jumped when she spoke. “I just trained the last batch.”
    â€œIs in charge of workers,” Gobek explained to us brightly, pointing at Mavra as if he hadn’t even noticed how angry the girl was. Which was hard to miss. Dead people could have seen how angry she was.
    â€œIs special circumstance,” Gobek continued. “Is just three more.” Before Mavra could protest again, Gobek said to us, “Gobek is leaving you in Mavra’s care. Is listening to her carefully. Is being good.” With that, he turned and waddled away.
    Mavra’s beak clicked furiously. She growled, then she spun to face away from us.
    â€œSo, Mavra,” I said brightly. “I know this is really inconvenient for you. Believe