Read Online The Clock Winked (The Sagittan Chronicles Book 2) by Ariele Sieling - Free Book Online Page A

bookseller’s was closed when Bronwyn arrived. She pulled on the front door but it wouldn’t
open.
    “Closed,” said a gentleman standing just down the street. He
had a shiny bald head; blue stripes marked his face like a strange birthmark.
“I just speak to boy.”
    “That’s okay,” she said, trying not to stare. “Auvek is a
friend of mine. I’ll try around back.”
    “Auvek? The young boy is
accountant?” asked the man. Bronwyn found his strange accent distracting.
    “His family members are accountants,” she replied, glancing
toward the window, looking for a sign of him. “But he’s running the bookstore
for right now. His uncle is in jail.”
    “You know him long time,” the man stated.
    “No, only a few days,” Bronwyn smiled.
    “Spend much time here,” he added.
    “When I can,” she replied, taking a few steps towards the
side of the building.
    “I old family friend,” the man said. “Is long time since I
see here. ”
    “That’s nice.” Bronwyn inched towards the building, trying
not to be rude. “He’s waiting for me. I should go. Have a nice day now.”
    “Also you,” he answered before striding down the street away
from her.
    At the end of the alley that ran between the bookstore and
Mr. Yofstek’s Slumgum, Auvek stood in the small courtyard behind the shop with
a broom and six rugs tied up to a clothesline.
    “Auvek!” she yelled over the sound of the broom thwacking
against the rugs. Clouds of dust blossomed into the air. Auvek turned.
    “Oh hey!” he said. “You’re back! Come see all the work I’ve
done inside.”
    He leaned the broom against the wall and pulled open the
back door, leading her into the shop.
    “This is just the back hallway.” Boxes and boxes of books
were stacked against the walls—brown cardboard boxes, plastic crates, wooden
crates, and even giant kegs were filled with books. “I’m still sorting
everything.”
    He pulled open a door. Two couches sat against the wall in
one corner. A low table squatted between them. The rest of the room contained
bookcases, all built from the beautiful red dokomaya wood from the Eastern
Shores of the Casiopus Sea.
    “Gorgeous,” Bronwyn said. She pointed to two large paintings
hanging over the couches; one pictured a ship being catapulted forward by
tumultuous waves and the other showed a large dragon swooping over a terrified
village.
    “Yeah, Simon found those upstairs.”
    “There’s an upstairs?” Bronwyn asked, raising her eyebrows.
    “I know, go figure.”
    “You called?” Simon appeared in the doorway, apparently
responding to Auvek’s mention of his name.
    “Bronwyn’s here. Can you make some tea?”
    “Certainly, Master Auvek. Blackberry?”
    “Sure,” Bronwyn answered, smiling. “My
favourite kind!”
    “Was this the avalanche room?” Bronwyn asked, taking another
look around.
    “It was. It turns out that the avalanche didn’t actually
extend that far into the room. The books were heaped up around the door—which
is why they fell—but most of the rest of the room was neat or empty.”
    Auvek led her into the main part of the shop. It glistened.
Every surface had been dusted, all the shelves sat neatly, tidied and
organized, and behind the desk a brand new glass-fronted locked case stood
elegantly, filled with ancient and highly valuable volumes.
    “Amazing,” Bronwyn said, craning her neck to look around.
“It’s an entirely different shop!”
    “Yeah. I even have a plan to move
around bookcases to maximize the number of books we can fit in this space! What
can I say, I like math.” He grinned. “Anyway, I found an article I thought you
might be interested in.” Auvek reached over the desk and pulled out a book.
    The brown leather volume had tears across the cover, like an
animal with claws had swiped at it and ripped it to shreds. Gold embossed
letters were emblazoned across the front, also clawed but still legible. They
read: History of the Clock: Construction and