From THE CRACKS IN THE KINGDOM: They all hesitated, deciphering the warning bells. "That's twinned Colors." "Blue and - what? Aquamarine?" "No, Blue and Green." "Level-four Blue?" "Better: 5(a)." "Then it must be Green 6(b). They travel together." Sergio spun on his heel. "Then it is Turquoise Rain! It is what I have wanted to know ever since I am coming to your Kingdom!" The Princess and Keira were both grinning. They caught each other's eyes. "You've been in Turquoise Rain before too?" Keira nodded. Nobody else had. "Anyone who wants to go inside, go now," the Princess said, swinging her elbow back toward the kitchen door. "But I'm staying out." "What's it like?" Elliot asked. They were speaking over the warning bells, which continued to chime. Nearby, doors were slamming, shutters clattering, footsteps running. Something made of glass hit the ground, spiraled, then stilled. The laneway was empty. "It's like possibility," Keira said, her eyes searching the night sky. "You feel wild," the Princess explained. "Like you could dance on the wildness -catch hold of it, straddle it, and fly it." "I have read," said Sergio, "that it makes the world sing with hidden doors. That the effect is so beautiful you wring it from your clothes for days to come." Samuel took a step backward, eyes alarmed. "Turquoise Rain!" He crouched to find where his hat had fallen, hands trembling. "It is dangerous! It has been known to quicken the heart so that some fall dead!" "Not many," the Princess countered. "And they've usually got a preexisting condition or something." A thought occurred to her. The volume of the bells was increasing, so she shouted to be heard: "Some people get addicted. They do it once and then basically ruin their lives chasing it around the Kingdom." The bells stopped. "So if you're an addictive personality" - the Princess looked from Sergio to Elliot - "it's maybe a mistake." "And if this is your first time in a night-dwelling city," Keira added, twisting on her heel, "it'll be sensory overload already." She regarded Elliot. "Especially you, Elliot, since you're pumping already about your dad." He shrugged. "I'll risk it." Sergio danced down the laneway. "When will it start?" "I will see you all on the morrow!" Samuel pressed up against the kitchen door. "Please to all be alive at that point." He reached for the handle - and a drop hit his hand. Excerpted from The Cracks in the Kingdom by Jaclyn Moriarty All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.