The Initiation Read online

  “Such as?” I inquired, sounding doubtful, I admit.

  “Trust,” he said, causing me to turn my head and look at him, not the bed of leaves.

  “Is that so?”

  “And each other,” he said, reaching down and taking my hand in his. Our fingers interlaced. I tightened my grip and he returned in like fashion. I briefly shut my eyes, allowing him to lead me along like a seeing-eye dog. The air smelled crisp and alive. The empty branches rattled overhead musically. My hand was approximately two thousand degrees. My heart soared.

  I smiled, the first real smile since I’d had news of Father’s fall.

  I don’t know if Sherlock saw my eyes closed, or felt my hand as warm as I did, or if he watched my face turn into that smile, or if he was simply being Sherlock, something he had so much trouble avoiding. Whatever the case, he made me smile even wider with what he said next.

  “Walk upright, Moria. Clear-eyed and strong. There’s adventure yet to come.”

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  This story is an imagining of how a boy descended to a darker place to become the world’s greatest mastermind, my brother, James Moriarty. I have devoured every short story written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It is only with the greatest admiration and respect that I dare to exploit my brother’s transgressions. I beg Sir Arthur’s indulgence.

  Without the help of David Linker, Nancy Zastrow, Jen Wood, and Miranda McVey, I would have been without my magnifying glass. Without my cousins, Storey and Paige, and their mother, Marcelle, I would have been without a heart.

  Yours,

  Moria Moriarty,

  BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  AUTHOR PHOTO BY SARAH CROWDER

  RIDLEY PEARSON is the bestselling author of over fifty novels, including Peter and the Starcatchers (cowritten with Dave Barry) and the Kingdom Keepers series. He has also written two dozen crime novels, including: Probable Cause, Beyond Recognition, Killer Weekend, The Risk Agent, and The Red Room. To learn more about him, visit www.ridleypearson.com.

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  CREDITS

  COVER ILLUSTRATION BY BRIAN THOMPSON

  COVER DESIGN BY JOE MERKEL

  COPYRIGHT

  LOCK AND KEY: THE INITIATION. Copyright © 2016 by HarperCollins Publishers. Map copyright © Pomfret School 2015. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, 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 HarperCollins e-books.

  www.harpercollinschildrens.com

  * * *

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2016932099

  ISBN 978-0-06-239901-4

  EPub Edition © August 2016 ISBN 9780062399038

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  FIRST EDITION

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