Ned’s Circus of Marvels
From exciting debut author, Justin Fisher, comes this rip-roaring, page-turning new magical adventure. Perfect for fans of House of Secrets.Ned Waddlesworth has always considered his world to be exceptionally ordinary. Until the day he discovers it ISN’T. AT ALL. Because on Ned’s thirteenth birthday he discovers that everything magical he’s ever read about or imagined is REAL.And without him, the world will soon be engulfed in monstrous beasts and beings.So with the help of a robot mouse, a girl witch and a flying circus unlike any other, it’s up to Ned to swoop in and save the day!Roll up, roll up, and prepare to be AMAZED by Ned and the marvellous, magical, monstrous flying circus!
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First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Childrenâs Books 2016
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Text © Justin Fisher 2016
Cover illustration © Manuel Šumberac
Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers 2016
Justin Fisher asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Source ISBN: 9780008124526
Ebook Edition © 2016 ISBN: 9780008124533
Version: 2016-05-24
For C, the glue that binds my pages
And for L, G and L, my tiny pots of Ink
Contents
Chapter 3. The Greatest Show on Earth
Chapter 5. Lots & Lots of Marvels
Chapter 10. Mystero the Magnificent
Chapter 15. Something in the Smoke
Chapter 20. The Amplification-Engine
Chapter 22. A Single Grain of Sand
Chapter 25. Something in the Mirror
Chapter 33. The Show Must Go On
Chapter 34. On Your Marks, Get Set â¦
Chapter 39. To Mend a Broken Heart
The building work at Battersea Power Station had been abandoned without warning. âSITE UNDER NEW MANAGEMENTâ billboards had been hurriedly put up years ago, with a small logo stamped across their tops, âOUBLIER AND COâ. The army of cranes, bulldozers and diggers lay silenced, their only visitors an occasional seagull and deepening bouts of rust. It was late and London was asleep. As always, the River Thames flowed quietly by, disturbed only by the odd houseboat and the occasional taxi making a final drop off before heading home.
It started as it usually did. Deep in the bowels of the old power station, the air began to move. Behind a half-cracked mirror, water pipes trembled, inexplicably flowing backwards, inexplicably flowing at all. If anything could have lived down there, which it couldnât, it would have run. Only the buildingâs four vast chimneys could see how the shadows turned and twisted, before revealing a mud-splattered, silver-haired nun.
Sister Clementine was tired, tired of running, tired of always being afraid. Ever since sheâd agreed to carry the message, theyâd had her scent. No matter how well sheâd hidden, no matter what tricks sheâd used, theyâd always found her. Her chest was tight and her legs ached from the chase. She had to think fast; any minute now and theyâd be on her. She couldnât outrun them, especially not the little one. By the time she made it to the fence, theyâd have her, and if they had her, there was no hope of keeping quiet. No one ever kept quiet.
Looking out towards the river, she saw a sliver of hope. If she could make the crane in time, she might get high enough to go unnoticed. She climbed the ladder quickly and quietly, her robes perfect cover under the pitch-black sky.
But Sister Clementine did not go unnoticed. Finally at the craneâs arm she slowed enough to hear them. The same two men that had tracked her since the beginning, one short and barrel-chested, the other impossibly tall. They were studying their new surroundings carefully. The shorter man sniffed at the airâs unique aroma, while the tall manâs pin-sharp eyes scanned the horizon. Their kind might usually have been nervous, afraid even of being on land owned by Oublier and Co. But not these men. It was not their job to fear, but to be feared. They were the things that went bump in the night.
In no time they had zeroed in on their target. They moved fast, the tall one climbing with all the skill of a spider while the other charged with the excitable brute strength of a predator nearing its prey.
