The White Rose by Amy Ewing Read Free Book Online Page A

above our heads, a tiny light twinkles, like a lonely star.
    Without waiting for further discussion, Raven starts to climb.
    “Wait!” I say, grabbing her ankles. “Are you sure?”
    “Of course I’m sure,” she says. “You want to get out here, don’t you?”
    “Yes, but . . . how do you know?”
    “I know. I just do.”
    Ash shines the beam of the flashlight up so I can see his face. His mouth is set, his eyes determined. He nods once.
    I stuff the map into the satchel and follow Raven up the ladder. Ash brings up the rear, still holding the flashlight.
    The metal rungs are endless. My arms begin to ache, the muscles in my thighs burn, and my stomach growls with hunger, but I force myself to keep moving, trying not to think about the long drop below me, getting progressively longer the higher we climb.
    No one speaks. Slowly, the tiny star above us gets brighter. And bigger. It looks like a flower, petals of light emanating from one circular beam in its center.
    Raven stops and I bang my head on the bottom of her shoe.
    “This is it,” she says.
    “What?” I ask, rubbing the top of my head.
    “The end,” she says. Carefully, I lean over to one side, gripping the rungs tightly, and see a circle of metal with slits cut into it. Raven pokes her fingers through one of the petal-like holes.
    “How do we open it?” she asks.
    No one answers. I try to control my breathing, because the thought of climbing all the way back down this ladder to the sewers below is unacceptable.
    “There has to be a way,” I say.
    Raven’s fingers are still wriggling through the petal when the whole metal circle shifts to the left.
    “Oh!” she cries, and her foot slips off its rung. I grab her shoe with one hand, my heart hammering in my throat.
    The metal thing is lifted up and a brilliant circle of sunlight floods the tunnel. For a moment, I am completely blinded by it—my eyes water, my retinas are seared, and all I can see is white. Then a shadowy figure comes into view, looking down on us. I blink, and a face comes into focus.
    “You made it,” Garnet says with a smile. “Welcome to the Bank.”

UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE
    HarperCollins Publishers
    ..................................................................
Six
    “W HAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? ” I ASK, AS G ARNET GRABS Raven’s arm and helps her out of the sewer.
    “I’m taking you to the safe house,” Garnet says. He’s dressed in his Regimental uniform—he must have gotten a new jacket. I scramble out of the hole and Ash climbs up after me.
    We’re in another alley, but this one isn’t nearly as creepy as the one by the morgue. It’s sandwiched between two buildings made of pale reddish stone. The air is cold, but the sun shines brightly in a clear blue sky. About fifty feet away, the alley ends in a bustling street. I see an electric stagecoach trundle past.
    “I thought you were done with us,” Ash says.
    Garnet shrugs. “Figured I could still be helpful.” His eyes dart to Raven. “Don’t think this makes you right,” he snaps, as if worried she might call him a coward again.
    Raven frowns. “Who are you?”
    “He’s helping us,” I say, wishing desperately that I could fix whatever is wrong with Raven’s brain. This isn’t her at all. Raven should remember him.
    “Get in there,” Garnet says, pointing to a wide alcove in one of the buildings, stuffed with a few empty metal trash cans. “You’re all going to have to change again.”
    There is a canvas bag, larger than the satchel, wedged next to the cans. I unzip it and pull out two dresses made of plain brown cloth. I hand one to Raven, whose eyes have gone blank. She clutches the dress and stares at the wall with a vacant expression. I change into my own dress before helping her into hers.
    “Is it time for the doctor?” she whispers. She looks terrified.
    “No. No more doctors,” I say, smoothing her hair back from her face. “Here, put this on.”
    Ash trades his