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