Sadie Madison and the Boy in the Crimson Scarf

1 | The Clockwork Universe

Fire Wolves and Frost Bears fled for the Carcassus Mountains while Walnut Squirrels and River Badgers retreated to their frozen hollows. Sightings of Goofang, Cactus Cat, and the Winter Witches were becoming less common than the summer sun.

In the stillness of the trees, a dark mist spread.

Flowing like water over stones, it brushed against bark and twig, leaving ash and dust in its wake. At the base of the foothills, where the vast canopy of evergreen Sandaracs thinned, it waited.

Silently, purposefully, the mist gathered.

At first, it swirled into a ball of black.

Then—a strange, curious girl.

Smoothing her long dark hair with cadaverous fingers, she squared her shoulders, and flattened her white linen dress. The girl glared at a mighty sandstone wall between her and the peaceful town of Iron Bridge.

A sharp eyebrow flickered.

A rotten grin cracked her face.

* * *

Sadie Madison wormed her hands into the deep pockets of her black, threadbare cardigan. She lingered in the hallway of Number 5 Leviathan Crook, surrounded by a horde of mismatched antique furniture, dog-eared books, and gruesome paintings. Some depicted people, places, and things Sadie understood. But most were surreal and strange. Paintings of war and bloodshed, distorted realities, monsters, and broken, frightened things.

Before her hung Battle For The Clockwork Universe. It depicted a barbaric scene from the Divine Wars where the armies of Earth stood screaming, thrusting weapons over their heads. High above, lightning cracked a nightmarish sky. A gigantic hand hovered over the battlefield and, upon its palm, hordes of angels with furious wings rode raging stallions towards the fight.

Battle For The Clockwork Universe, by far Sadie's favourite painting.

A window into the past.

History.

Memory.

Her mother's voice broke through her daydream, through fire and brimstone and chaos and death. "Dinner's ready!"

Tucking her unruly, black hair behind her ears, Sadie followed her nose through the hallway clutter and into the dining room. Amber lamplight warmed a long wooden table laden with thick steaks, cheesy mashed potato, carrots, peas, parsnips, runner beans, cauliflower, and several boats of delicious smelling gravy. Crystal decanters filled with golden tokay, plum wine, and blood-red ziela sparkled, dowsing the dark walls with a spectrum of shimmering diamonds.

Sadie's brother sat in a high back chair, scribbling furiously in his notebook. As Sadie entered, he snapped it shut, jamming several yellow envelopes between the leaves.

Nine year old Eli Madison had the same dark, untrustworthy hair, and profoundly blue eyes as his sister. However, pushed onto the top of his head sat a pair of odd-looking spectacles made from copper and brass, ordained with all manner of tiny levers and dials.

Eli called them his Monster Magnifiers.

Natalia whirled down the wide staircase and joined them at the table. Smelling of winter flowers and spiced fruit, she took her seat, and tossed her golden, tangle-free hair over her shoulder. She sighed, staring thoughtfully out of the window. Sadie wondered what her sixteen-year-old sister daydreamed about. Boys, probably. Well, one in particular.

The front door yawned. Snowflakes drifted into the Madison house.

Atticus barked, emerging from the library.