Read Magickeepers: The Eternal Hourglass for Free Online

shook Isabella's hand.
    “Go ahead. Pet her. She's really a giant pussycat. If I want her to be.”
    Nick petted the giant tiger on the head. Her fur was the softest, most velvety thing he had ever touched. His fingers slid down into the fur, disappearing in its richness. His heart pounded at being so close to such a powerful animal. The tiger stood perfectly still. “How is she so well-trained?”
    Isabella looked at him with disdain. “What a silly question.”
    Nick rolled his eyes. He hated when anyone talked down to him. “Right. Magic.”
    “Come along,” Damian said. “Breakfast. Then you two have school.”
    Nick glanced over at the girl with the tiger. Great. Now he had to go to school with her. And probably the tiger, who, though totally cool, was still staring at him like he was breakfast.
    Sighing, Nick followed Damian into the dining room. Inside was a long table that probably could seat a hundred people under a chandelier that dripped with crystals. The table was laden with a feast on silver platters, steaming plates of crepes and bowls full of caviar. Pastries and plates of fruit crowded the center of the table—though most of it looked like prunes and things he wouldn’t eat if Damian paid him to do so. Ornate teapots stood on a sideboard.
    Around the table sat people in costumes. The men wore pressed black pants and white shirts—like those that hungin Nick's closet. Some wore ornately embroidered, colorful vests. The women were costumed in elaborate dresses, and many wore heavy jewel necklaces. The dresses were all made of rich fabrics and lace inlaid with gemstones, the threads gleaming as if they were real gold. At the head of the table sat a woman who looked ancient—and yet not. She appeared to have fallen asleep, her head leaning back against her chair. Her hair was pure white and pulled into a bun like Nick had seen women wear in history books, with diamond-encrusted combs holding it into place. He could tell she was very old by her gnarled hands, which curled around a porcelain teacup painted with gold, and yet her face was unlined, with slightly pink powdered cheeks. Nick looked at them all, feeling as though he had stepped onto a movie set. As if he had stepped back in time.
    “Everyone, this is Nicholai,” Damian announced.
    An assortment of greetings rang out from the people around the table. Then the eyes of the ancient woman opened wide. Her eyes were the same color as Nick's own.
    “Grand Duchess,” Damian bowed slightly. “This is Kolya.” He lightly shoved Nick toward the head of the table. On either side of the woman sat two more tigers even bigger than Isabella's, yet they looked—well, old. Like the Grand Duchess herself. Their eyes also seemed wise. Ancient.
    “He-11-o,” Nick stammered.
    She crooked her finger at him. Nick walked closer.
    “You have returned to us, Kolya,” she whispered, her voice tremulous.
    Nick nodded hesitantly and looked around the table. Everyone had stopped eating and drinking and was looking at him. Some smiled. A few women dabbed at their eyes with lace handkerchiefs.
    “Eat!” the old woman snapped. She looked at the tigers on either side of her. “Make way,” she commanded. Each tiger withdrew. One went to a corner and sat, like a sentinel. The other tiger moved under the table and curled at the old woman's feet. “Sit down,” she told Nick. “By my side.” She patted a chair.
    Nick reached the stiff high-backed chair and sat down, the smell of fish, cabbage, and stewed prunes overwhelming him. He took small spoonfuls of food, his stomach rumbling with both hunger and disapproval of the menu.
    He looked around for juice, but didn’t see any. As if she had read his mind, the Grand Duchess snapped her fingers, and an ornate silver teapot rose from the sideboard and glided through the air, poising over a teacup in front of his plate. Nick looked down the table and saw that every dish sat in silver tureens and platters with silver