Read Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer Online
Authors: Katie Alender
Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer (25 page)
Later that night, I was in my bedroom, unpacking. Charlie came in and sat on my bed.
“Are you just being nice because you’re tired or something?” he asked.
I laughed. “I don’t think so.”
“Okay, good.”
He looked around. Normally, I wouldn’t have even let him into my room, so this was a new experience for him.
“Um, hey.” He stared at his hands. “I’m sorry I scared you in the garage before you left.”
“Have you been feeling bad about that the whole time?” I laughed and patted his shoulder. “You’re forgiven. Not like I haven’t been mean to you for the past, oh, fourteen years.”
He laughed, but it was the kind of laugh that meant I’d spoken the truth.
“You know, Charlie … we don’t have to do that anymore.”
“Do what?”
I took a deep breath. “I don’t know, hate each other? Maybe we could just start getting along.”
“What, starting now?”
I shrugged. “Why not?”
“Okay.” He gave me a small smile. “You must be tired.”
“Yeah,” I said. “I’m so turned around, I can’t even tell what time it is.”
“I’ll let you go to bed, then.” He stood and then leaned over me and gave me an awkward little hug, which I returned as well as I could. “You want me to take that back downstairs for you?”
He was looking at my desk, where Great-Grandma Colette’s box was still sitting.
“You know what?” I said. “I’ll do it myself.” After what I’d been through, the storage closet no longer seemed so scary. And I liked the idea of sealing the box back up and stashing it far out of reach, even though it was free of the medallion.
Some things deserved to be locked away.
Charlie nodded and left my room, wishing me good night as he closed the door.
I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth, unpacking my toiletries with one hand while I brushed with the other. I knelt to put my makeup bag under the sink, and when I stood up, I stared into the mirror.
I waited for the swimmy, woozy feeling to take over, for Véronique’s face to show up in place of my own. But even though I stared for a full minute, I only saw myself.
I hope you’ve found peace at last, Véronique.
I knew that I would always be looking for her. Every time I looked in a mirror, I’d expect to see her face. Véronique was part of me. What she’d done was part of me. But … what I’d done, what I’d chosen, was a bigger part.
I returned to my room, slipped beneath the covers, and fell asleep before I had time to wonder if I was tired.
I dreamed of small, curving streets paved with rough stones; of the perfume of flowers and sweet pastries in the air; of beautiful buildings rising up on every side of me; and of a feeling of magic and history beneath my feet.
And my dreams felt as real as a memory.
WHILE MANY OF the details found within this book are based on actual locations and historical accounts, the Order of the Key, its members, and its role in Marie Antoinette’s life (and death) are completely fictional. In reality, the queen’s dearest friend, Princess Marie Louise of Savoy, the Princess of Lamballe, was executed for her stalwart loyalty to the royal family.
MANY THANKS TO Aimee Friedman, David Levithan, and the other wonderful people at Scholastic who helped to make this book what it is: Natalie Sousa, Janet Robbins, Rebekah Wallin, Erica Ferguson, Becky Shapiro, Stacy Lellos, and Tracy van Straaten.
Thanks to Matthew Elblonk (as ever) for his encouragement, patience, and guidance.
Thanks to the friends, readers, fellow authors, teachers, librarians, parents, and booksellers who have been so supportive of my books over the years.
Special shout-out to the lads (you know who you are).
And finally, infinite love and gratitude without end to my family, especially my husband, Chris, my sister Ali, and baby G (who kindly put off being born by a few days so Mommy could meet her deadline).
KATIE ALENDER
is the acclaimed author of several novels for young adults, including
Bad Girls Don’t Die
and
From Bad to Cursed
. A graduate of the Florida State University Film School, Katie now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and her daughter. She enjoys reading, sewing, and eating delicious high-calorie foods. To find out more about Katie, visit
www.katiealender.com
.
Bad Girls Don’t Die
From Bad to Cursed
As Dead as It Gets
Copyright © 2013 by Katie Alender
All rights reserved. Published by Point, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.,
Publishers since 1920
.
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,
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Alender, Katie.
Marie Antoinette, serial killer / by Katie Alender. — First edition.
pages cm
Summary: While in Paris, France, on a class trip, Colette Iselin enlists the help of her charming French tour guide to help uncover a possible connection between Marie Antoinette, a series of gruesome murders, and perhaps her own family history, and he also gives her insights into herself.
ISBN 978-0-545-46809-1
[1. Interpersonal relations — Fiction. 2. Ghosts — Fiction. 3. Marie Antoinette, Queen, consort of Louis XVI, King of France, 1755–1793 — Fiction. 4. Serial murders — Fiction. 5. Paris (France) — Fiction. 6. France — Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.A3747Mar 2013
[Fic] — dc23
2012045535
First edition, October 2013
Cover photo by Michael Frost
Cover design by Natalie C. Sousa
Author photo by Christopher Alender
e-ISBN 978-0-545-57699-4
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.