The Road of Bones

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by Anne Fine


  For I was a man of conviction now. A true believer. And so all leniency must be pushed aside. No more indulgence. Just as a general in command must send some units off to certain death to save the battle, so anyone who wanted to rid our land of evil might have to sacrifice what he had thought till then was simple kindness. The end would justify the means, and if those too stupid to understand the aim in view had to be whipped into seeing that they’d been beaten for too long, then whipped they must be.

  I glanced down at the pictures still bleeding colours into the dirt. Saints! Harebrained distractions! The spawn of nonsense. Nothing but stardust in the eyes to blind people to the real truth!

  In my mind’s eye, I saw the owner of the hut creep back and lift the latch. I watched him weep to find his precious pictures on the floor, sodden and spoiled. I could have wept myself.

  Then, Nonsense! I told myself. How much of a lesson in resolve could I have learned if causing the colours on a picture to run unnerved me more than thoughts of all the blood still to be spilled?

  I ground the pictures to pulp as I strode out. But still I found myself, all that long day, hearing the echo of my grandmother’s scorn: ‘Only a fool cheers when the new prince rises,’ and caught myself walking faster, and ever faster, as if to get away from my new self.

  About the Author

  Anne Fine was born in Leicester. She went to Wallisdean County Primary School in Fareham, Hampshire, and then to Northampton High School for Girls. She read Politics and History at the University of Warwick and then worked as an information officer for Oxfam before teaching (very briefly!) in a Scottish prison. She started her first book during a blizzard that stopped her getting to Edinburgh City Library and has been writing ever since.

  Anne Fine is now a hugely popular and celebrated author. Among the many awards she has won are the Carnegie Medal (twice), the Whitbread Children’s Novel Award (twice), the Guardian Children’s Literature Award and a Smarties Prize. She has twice been voted Children’s Writer of the Year at the British Book Awards and was the Children’s Laureate for 2001-2003.

  She has written over forty books for young people, including Goggle-Eyes, Flour Babies, Bill’s New Frock, The Tulip Touch and Madame Doubtfire . She has also written a number of titles for adult readers, and has edited three poetry collections.

  Anne Fine lives in County Durham and has two daughters and a large hairy dog called Harvey.

  www.annefine.co.uk

  Books by Anne Fine for young readers,

  published by Corgi Books:

  THE BOOK OF THE BANSHEE

  THE GRANNY PROJECT

  ON THE SUMMERHOUSE STEPS

  ROUND BEHIND THE ICE HOUSE

  UP ON CLOUD NINE

  THE ROAD OF BONES

  A SHAME TO MISS . . .

  Three collections of poetry

  PERFECT POEMS FOR YOUNG READERS

  IDEAL POEMS FOR MIDDLE READERS

  IRRESISTIBLE POETRY FOR YOUNG ADULTS

  Published by Corgi Yearling Books, for junior readers:

  BAD DREAMS

  CHARM SCHOOL

  FROZEN BILLY

  THE MORE THE MERRIER

  Other books by Anne Fine:

  For junior readers:

  THE ANGEL OF NITSHILL ROAD

  ANNELI THE ART-HATER

  BILL’S NEW FROCK

  THE CHICKEN GAVE IT TO ME

  THE COUNTRY PANCAKE

  CRUMMY MUMMY AND ME

  GENIE, GENIE, GENIE

  HOW TO WRITE REALLY BADLY

  LOUDMOUTH LOUIS

  A PACK OF LIARS

  For young people:

  FLOUR BABIES

  GOGGLE-EYES

  MADAME DOUBTFIRE

  STEP BY WICKED STEP

  THE STONE MENAGERIE

  THE TULIP TOUCH

  VERY DIFFERENT

  For adult readers:

  ALL BONES AND LIES

  THE KILLJOY

  RAKING THE ASHES

  TAKING THE DEVIL’S ADVICE

  TELLING LIDDY

  www.annefine.co.uk

  THE ROAD OF BONES

  AN RHCP DIGITAL EBOOK 9781409024040

  Published in Great Britain by RHCP Digital,

  an imprint of Random House Children’s Publishers UK

  A Random House Group Company

  This ebook edition published 2012

  Copyright © Anne Fine, 2006

  First Published in Great Britain

  Corgi Childrens 9780552554930

  The right of Anne Fine to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

  RANDOM HOUSE CHILDREN’S PUBLISHERS UK

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  www.randomhousechildrens.co.uk

  www.totallyrandombooks.co.uk

  www.randomhouse.co.uk

  Addresses for companies within The Random House Group Limited can be found at: www.randomhouse.co.uk/offices.htm

  THE RANDOM HOUSE GROUP Limited Reg. No. 954009

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

 

 

 


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