Read Soul Music for Free Online

deal, yes?”
    “A deal,” said the little old lady. “And don’t go spitting on your hand before we shake, that sort of thing’s unhygienic.”
    Glod turned to Imp. “I think I handled that pretty well,” he said.
    “Good. Listen, this is a very—”
    “Got twelve dollars?”
    “What?”
    “Something of a bargain, I think.”
    There was a thump behind them. Lias appeared, rolling a very large drum and carrying a couple of cymbals under his arm.
    “I said I’d got no money!” hissed Imp.
    “Yes, but…well, everyone says they’ve got no money. That’s sense. You don’t want to go around saying you’ve got money. You mean you’ve really got no money?”
    “No!”
    “Not even twelve dollars?”
    “No!”
    Lias dumped the drum, the cymbals, and a pile of sheet music on the counter.
    “How much for everything?” he said.
    “Fifteen dollars,” said the old woman.
    Lias sighed and straightened up. There was a distant look in his eyes for a moment, and then he hit himself on the jaw. He fumbled around inside his mouth for a moment and then produced—
    Imp stared.
    “Here, let me have a look,” said Glod. He snatched the thing from Lias’s unprotesting fingers and examined it carefully. “Hey! Fifty carats at least!”
    “I’m not taking that ,” said the old woman. “It’s been in a troll’s mouth!”
    “You eat eggs, don’t you?” said Glod. “Anyway, everyone knows troll’s teeth are pure diamond.”
    The old woman took the tooth and examined it by candlelight.
    “If I took it along to one of those jewelers in Nonesuch Street, they’d tell me it’s worth two hundred dollars,” said Glod.
    “Well, I’m telling you it’s worth fifteen right here,” said the old lady. The diamond magically disappeared somewhere about her person. She gave them a bright, fresh smile.
    “ Why couldn’t we just take it off her?” said Glod, when they were outside.
    “Because she’s a poor defenseless old woman,” said Imp.
    “Exactly! My point exactly!”
    Glod looked up at Lias.
    “You got a whole mouthful of them things?”
    “Yup.”
    “Only I owe my landlord two month’s re—”
    “Don’t even fink about it,” said the troll levelly.
    Behind them, the door slammed shut.
    “Look, cheer up,” said Glod. “Tomorrow I’ll find us a gig. Don’t worry. I know everyone in this city. Three of us…that’s a band .”
    “We haven’t even practiced together properly,” said Imp.
    “We’ll practice as we go along,” said Glod. “Welcome to the world of professional musicianship.”
     
    Susan did not know much about history. It always seemed a particularly dull subject. The same stupid things were done over and over again by tedious people. What was the point? One king was pretty much like another.
    The class was learning about some revolt in which some peasants had wanted to stop being peasants and, since the nobles had won, had stopped being peasants really quickly. Had they bothered to learn to read and acquire some history books they’d have learned about the uncertain merits of things like scythes and pitchforks when used in a battle against crossbows and broadswords.
    She listened halfheartedly for a while, until boredom set in, and then took out a book and let herself fade from the notice of the world.
    SQUEAK?
    Susan glanced sideways.
    There was a tiny figure on the floor by her desk. It looked very much like a rat skeleton in a black robe, holding a very small scythe.
    Susan looked back at her book. Such things did not exist. She was quite certain about that.
    SQUEAK!
    Susan looked down again. The apparition was still there. There had been cheese on toast for supper the previous night. In books, at least, you were supposed to expect things after a late-night meal like that.
    “You don’t exist,” she said. “You’re just a piece of cheese.”
    SQUEAK?
    When the creature was sure it had got her full attention, it pulled out a tiny hourglass on a silver chain and pointed