The Child Thief: A Novel
Brom
Language: English
Pages: 496
ISBN: 0061671347
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Peter is quick, daring, and full of mischief—and like all boys, he loves to play, though his games often end in blood. His eyes are sparkling gold, and when he graces you with his smile you are his friend for life, but his promised land is not Neverland.
Fourteen-year-old Nick would have been murdered by the drug dealers preying on his family had Peter not saved him. Now the irresistibly charismatic wild boy wants Nick to follow him to a secret place of great adventure, where magic is alive and you never grow old. Even though he is wary of Peter's crazy talk of faeries and monsters, Nick agrees. After all, New York City is no longer safe for him, and what more could he possibly lose?
There is always more to lose.
Accompanying Peter to a gray and ravished island that was once a lush, enchanted paradise, Nick finds himself unwittingly recruited for a war that has raged for centuries—one where he must learn to fight or die among the "Devils," Peter's savage tribe of lost and stolen children.
There, Peter's dark past is revealed: left to wolves as an infant, despised and hunted, Peter moves restlessly between the worlds of faerie and man. The Child Thief is a leader of bloodthirsty children, a brave friend, and a creature driven to do whatever he must to stop the "Flesh-eaters" and save the last, wild magic in this dying land.
“Flew all the way here from Otherworld just to sing me a song,” she said. Peter nodded absently. Her eyes found Drael, then Tanngnost. She frowned, her face confused. “You’ve come back too. Or have I finally passed beyond? Ulfger told me you were all dead.” “No, my Lady,” Tanngnost said. “We’re not dead. Nor are you.” Peter barely heard them, their voices muffled by the beating of his own heart. He put his hand to his cheek; it still tingled from her touch. It was all too much; after a
dug trenches, prepared our defenses, and tried to make peace with our souls. “They came for us in the earliest hours of dawn, a horde of demons. I fought to remain steady as they burst from the tree line, but in my heart I wanted to run into the sea, almost preferring to drown than face such monsters. The very ground trembled as they charged, filling the air with their awful screams and howls. I would stand against any man, but these weren’t men. These were Satan’s own children. My legs trembled
screamed, saw a foot coming for his face, and managed to move. The kick caught his shoulder and sent him tumbling. “STOP IT!” Nick screamed. The Devil tromped after him, raising the club with its wicked hook above his head. Nick sprung out of the way. The club hit the stones, getting knocked loose from the Devil Beast’s grasp and bouncing across the floor to the middle of the ring. Nick jumped up, limping away, trying to keep some distance between himself and his tormentor. The Devil leaped
his small, uncomfortable perch as the wolf devoured his dinner. When the wolf was finished, it curled up beneath the tree and went to sleep. As the long day slowly passed, Peter did his best to keep his legs from falling asleep and himself from falling out of the tree. By dusk, his whole body was numb and he had resigned himself to a miserable night. “Well, look there,” called a gritty voice. “A Peterbird.” Both Peter and the wolf looked up. Goll appeared above them on a short ledge. Goll
woods. The man came around the tree and glared at the boy. “I told you to stay close.” The man scanned the trees. “There are wild things in these hills. Nasty boogies that live in holes. They steal little boys like you. And do you know what they do with them?” The boy shook his head. “They make stew out of their livers and shoes out of their hides. Now come along. We’ve much ground to cover by dark.” PETER ARRIVED AT the village well after dark. His feet and legs ached, his stomach growled.