The Spindlers by Lauren Oliver Read Free Book Online

will find in all the libraries of the world.”
    Liza refrained from pointing out that from what she could tell, the glowworm did not even have a head. Its head and bottom appeared to be entirely indistinguishable. She wondered whether this would affect the quality of its thoughts—if, in fact, it had any.
    â€œIf they could only speak,” the rat continued, and Liza was alarmed to see that tears welled up in her eyes again, “the secrets they might disclose to us! The wisdom they might impart! The stories they might convey! That is the source of their light, you know. Excess brainpower.” The rat shook her head wonderingly.
    Liza’s head was spinning; she did not know what to believe. On the one hand it seemed incredible that such a tiny, ugly, bulgy little grub could possess any power of thought or feeling; on the other hand, she was standing in a dark tunnel with a rat wearing a skirt and lipstick, so she supposed that really, anything was possible.
    She advanced several paces down the tunnel, craning her neck so that she could stare up at the glass domes nestled in the canopy of mossy green branches above them. In each of them, she now saw, was nestled another tiny glowworm, a crescent no bigger than a fingernail clipping, glowing and pulsing with light.
    â€œHow many are there?” Liza asked. “How far do they go?”
    â€œOh dear. Dear me. There are ever so many lumpen, thousands and thousands. You can always count on them to light the way, remember that. These tunnels are full of twists and turns, and it is easy to get lost. But the lumer-lumpen always light the path. They know all the ins and outs. Yes, thousands of them. In fact, they go almost all the way.”
    â€œAlmost all the way where ?” Liza said. She was having trouble keeping up with the rat’s excited babble.
    â€œTo the spindlers’ nests, of course,” the rat said, dropping her voice reverentially on the word spindlers . For a moment, as she passed directly underneath one of the lumpen’s lanterns, her eyes glittered a brilliant violet color. “Hip-hop and top-tip and look smart about it. We’ve still a very long way to go. And I expect we’ll want to be in and out before the Feast begins, won’t we?”
    Liza’s heart stopped. “The … the Feast?” she repeated.
    The rat looked nervously from side to side. “The Feast of the Souls. Surely, you’ve heard …?”
    Liza was filled suddenly with a coldness that froze her voice completely. She could only shake her head.
    The rat lowered her voice to a whisper. “Well, they need to eat, don’t they? Hungry, that’s what they are. They want control—power over everything Below.”
    â€œBut—” Liza found her voice. “But that’s terrible. We have to stop them.”
    â€œAh.” Once again, the rat’s eyes flashed momentarily violet, and for a second a look of sadness passed across her face. “But there will be no stopping them once they feast, my dear. No stopping them at all. All the world Below—everything you see—will be theirs for the taking.”
    Now she understood why Anna had always been so terrified when Liza asked her about the spindlers and what they did with the souls of the children they took.
    They feasted. They grew fat and powerful.
    Liza’s fear turned to resolve. “Don’t you know any shortcuts?” she asked desperately.
    The rat paused, seeming to consider it. “I suppose we could cut through the palace grounds.... Although the nids won’t like it.... It’s nearly time for the nightly ball, and these days it’s invitation only.”
    â€œThe nids?” Liza repeated uncertainly. She was not at all sure she wanted to meet any more underground creatures.
    â€œ Silly creatures, if you ask me.” The rat sniffed. “Still, I suppose they have a right to their fun.” Then she paused,