The Luck Uglies
Page 25
Gloaming Beasts: These creatures are most likely to be spotted, if at all, stalking through the twilight in search of their unwitting prey. Gloaming Beasts are masters of disguise and clever, wanton killers when inspired. Fortunately, they find humans to be oddly amusing, and may sometimes even adopt one or more as pets.
Hooks: A popular card game that involves the exchange of cards through a series of bluffs, cajoles, and threats until, one by one, players are eliminated as they “swallow the hook.” The best Hooks players can become quite wealthy—assuming they can find anyone willing to play with them. It is widely known that success in Hooks is directly related to one’s ability to cheat.
Link Rat: A link rat and a feral skunk are likely to receive the same reception at a villager’s door, but a good link rat knows every nook, cranny, and hiding place in Drowning. The link rat’s services can be indispensable to a villager who has a need to disappear.
Luck Uglies: Who? Never heard of them. Really. Not the foggiest clue who you’re talking about.
O’There: The rich and prosperous hub of the Kingdom located on the far side of the sea. Nobody in Drowning has actually been O’There, but it’s said that even the sewers smell like apricots, all the men wear shoes, and the maidens have all their teeth.
Pigshanks: A bad word. Use it, and your mother is likely to scrub your tongue with soap and a horse brush.
The Pot: Lottie O’Chanter’s chamber pot. The youngest O’Chanter has proven difficult to potty train and is just as likely to squat in a pillowcase, a boot, or Abby O’Chanter’s herb garden.
The Shambles: The roughest district in the village sits along the banks of the River Drowning, bathed in a broth of grog, bogwash, and sailor sweat. The neighborhood is home to the Dead Fish Inn: “where nobody knows your name”—and that’s just how its guests like it.
The Shivers: Neither cure nor cause of this epidemic disease has been determined, although theories have included Bog Noblin bites, going out in the rain without a hat, and pooping too close to the town water supply.
The Treaty of Stormwell: Legend says that the written peace treaty between the Luck Uglies and the House of Longchance earned its name because, in a final act of defiance, Grimshaw the Black (then High Chieftain of the Luck Uglies) threw the hat of Earl Ascot Longchance down a stormwell just before signing.
Turkeyhole: Another bad word. Call someone a turkeyhole and you’re likely to get a foot in yours.
Wirry: A mischievous ghost or spirit. Wirries are often said to haunt basements, attics, graveyards, and other places where children don’t belong.
Wirry Scares: These wooden stick people were originally built by rural villagers to scare away wirries, Bog Noblins, and other nasties that go bump in the night. Over time, Wirry Scares have been adopted as traditional Black Moon Party decorations, and for the most part scare only those Black Moon revelers who’ve drunk too much wine.
About the Author
PAUL DURHAM was raised in Massachusetts and attended college and law school in Boston. He now lives in New Hampshire with his wife, two daughters, and an enormous bushy creature the local animal shelter identified as a cat. He writes in an abandoned chicken coop at the edge of a swamp and keeps a tiny porcelain frog in his pocket for good luck. You can visit Paul online at www.pauldurhambooks.com.
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Credits
Cover art © 2014 by Pétur Antonsson
Cover design by Joel Tippie
Copyright
The Luck Uglies
Text copyright © 2014 by Paul Durham
Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Pétur Antonsson
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Durham, Paul (Paul Joseph), date.
The luck uglies / Paul Durham ; illustrations by Pétur Antonsson. — First edition.
pages cm
Summary: Eleven-year-old Rye O’Chanter and her two friends delve into the secret lore of their village when mysterious creatures of legend reappear on the night of the Black Moon, leading them to the notorious secret society, the Luck Uglies.
ISBN 978-0-06-227150-1 (hardback)
EPUB Edition © MARCH 2014 ISBN 9780062271525
[1. Monsters—Fiction. 2. Secret societies—Fiction. 3. Adventure and adventurers—Fiction. 4. Fantasy.] I. Pétur Antonsson, 1984– illustrator. II. Title.
PZ7.D9337Luc 2014
2013047720
[Fic]—dc23
CIP
AC
14 15 16 17 18 LP/RRDH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
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