Read Online The Live-Forever Machine by Kenneth Oppel - Free Book Online

machinery in the darkness rang through his head.
    “Is there anything down there still?” he asked. He could still see Jonah bent over the storm drain grate, bellowing about fire and brimstone.
    “Not a thing,” Alexander replied. “They are empty as tombs, home only to rats.” He tried to stifle a cough but couldn’t.
    “Are you all right?” Eric looked at him with concern. “Isn’t there something you could take for that?”
    “A passing fit.” His breathing calmed and his eyes settled on Eric. “How much did you see and hear in the armoury?”
    Eric’s body tightened and, for a moment, he felt sick. He had been watched without his knowing. Even though he’d hidden in theshadows of the display, Alexander had known he was there.
    “Alexander’s not your real name,” he shot back to cover up his alarm. “I called the museum.”
    “I see.” The tall, stooped man appeared amused, a small spark dancing in each pupil. “I applaud your resourcefulness. But it is my real name—my middle name, in fact. It is simply that no one calls me by it.”
    “Only the man you fought with?”
    “Yes. Your ears are very sharp. You heard everything,
saw
everything?” His gaze was piercing.
    Eric couldn’t stand it any longer.
    “Here,” he said, reaching into his pocket. “I found it on the floor afterwards.” He unfolded the washcloth and held out the locket. “You dropped it, right? That’s why I came. To give it back.”
    Alexander’s bony hand darted out and closed around the wooden oblong.
    “I’ve been searching for this,” he said.
    A chill ran through Eric. His instincts told him that Alexander was lying: he’d known all along where it was. Alexander had dropped it on purpose, left it like a lure. Everything seemed to click into place: the feeling of being watched, the door at the rear of the display leftslightly ajar, the meeting in the service corridor. Had it really all been planned out, every step? But why?
    For a split second he wanted to get as far away as possible. But he stood riveted, watching the rapt expression on Alexander’s face as he gazed at the locket.
    “There she is,” he said softly. “A wonderful likeness, though it fails to capture her fully—or so I am told. But even Leonardo fell short with his
Mona Lisa.
Yes, truly one of the great beauties. ‘Love, that doth reign and live within my thought, / And built his seat within my captive breast.’ “
    The smile faded from Alexander’s lips, and he looked up at Eric.
    “Why didn’t you give it back immediately?” he demanded.
    There was no anger in his voice, only a fierce urgency.
    “Well—” Eric faltered. “I—”
    “Tell me!”
    “I wanted to keep it,” Eric heard himself saying. “I didn’t want to give it back.”
    “Yes, yes,” Alexander said softly, urging him on. “And why?”
    “Because it was old and beautiful.” He scarcely recognized his own voice. “Because of her. There was something about her.” Howcould he explain the mesmerizing effect she had? “I wanted to know about her, more than just her name and date. I wanted it, her, for myself—to keep her safe. I didn’t want anyone else to have it.”
    “That’s right, yes,” said Alexander quietly, his eyes ablaze. How strange they were, Eric noticed for the first time: a swirling ocean green, infinitely deep.
    The lights went out with an electric snap, plunging the corridor into darkness. A second later came a ghostly fluorescent flicker that lasted long enough for Eric to make out the stricken look on Alexander’s face. Then blackness again.
    “ ‘The day is done, and the darkness / Falls from the wings of Night, …’ “ Alexander’s voice was a hoarse, croaking whisper in the dark. For the first time Eric felt afraid.
    The lights flared on. Alexander’s face was tight and pale. A muscle twitched at the corner of his mouth. His fingers tightened around the locket.
    “This heatwave,” Eric said, watching Alexander nervously.