Knife Edge

• Praise for Knife Edge:
  
• By the Same Author
  
• Title Page
  
• Copyright Page
  
• Dedication
  
• Epigraph
  
• THE DAILY SHOUTER
  
• RED
  
  • Chapter one. Jude
    
  • Chapter two. Sephy
    
  • Chapter three. Jude
    
  • Chapter four. Sephy
    
  • Chapter five. Jude
    
  • Chapter six. Sephy
    
  • Chapter seven. Jude
    
  • Chapter eight. Sephy
    
  • Chapter nine. Jude
    
  • Chapter ten. Sephy
    
  • Chapter eleven. Jude
    
  • Chapter twelve. Sephy
    
  • Chapter thirteen. Jude
    
  • Chapter fourteen. Sephy
    
  • Chapter fifteen. Jude
    
  • Chapter sixteen. Sephy
    
  • Chapter seventeen. Jude
    
  • Chapter eighteen. Sephy
    
  • Chapter nineteen. Jude
    
  • Chapter twenty. Sephy
    
  • Chapter twenty-one. Jude
    
  • Chapter twenty-two. Sephy
    
  • Chapter twenty-three. Jude
    
  • Chapter twenty-four. Sephy
    
  • Chapter twenty-five. Jude
    
  • Chapter twenty-six. Sephy
    
  • Chapter twenty-seven. Jude
    
  • Chapter twenty-eight. Sephy
    
• ORANGE
  
  • Chapter twenty-nine. Sephy
    
  • Chapter thirty. Jude
    
  • Chapter thirty-one. Sephy
    
  • Chapter thirty-two. Jude
    
  • Chapter thirty-three. Sephy
    
  • Chapter thirty-four. Jude
    
  • Chapter thirty-five. Sephy
    
  • Chapter thirty-six. Jude
    
  • Chapter thirty-seven. Sephy
    
• YELLOW
  
  • Chapter thirty-eight. Meggie
    
  • Chapter thirty-nine. Sephy
    
  • Chapter forty. Meggie
    
  • Chapter forty-one. Sephy
    
  • Chapter forty-two. Meggie
    
  • Chapter forty-three. Sephy
    
  • Chapter forty-four. Meggie
    
• GREEN
  
  • Chapter forty-five. Jude
    
  • Chapter forty-six. Sephy
    
  • Chapter forty-seven. Jude
    
  • Chapter forty-eight. Sephy
    
  • Chapter forty-nine. Jude
    
  • Chapter fifty. Sephy
    
  • Chapter fifty-one. Jude
    
  • Chapter fifty-two. Sephy
    
  • Chapter fifty-three. Jude
    
  • Chapter fifty-four. Sephy
    
  • Chapter fifty-five. Jude
    
  • Chapter fifty-six. Sephy
    
  • Chapter fifty-seven. Jude
    
  • Chapter fifty-eight. Sephy
    
• BLUE
  
  • THE DAILY SHOUTER
    
  • Chapter fifty-nine. Jude
    
  • Chapter sixty. Sephy
    
• INDIGO
  
  • Chapter sixty-one. Jasmine
    
  • Chapter sixty-two. Meggie
    
  • Chapter sixty-three. Jasmine
    
• VIOLET
  
  • THE DAILY SHOUTER
    
  • Chapter sixty-four. Sephy
    
  • Chapter sixty-five. Meggie
    
• Extract: Checkmate
  
  • Checkmate
    
  • Chapter one. Callie Rose
    
• About the Author
  
• CHECKMATE
  

Praise for
Knife Edge:

'A powerful story of race and prejudice'
Sunday Times

'Relentless in its pace and power . . . devastatingly powerful'
Guardian

'The eagerly awaited sequel to Malorie Blackman's
acclaimed novel,
Noughts & Crosses
. . . is every bit as
exciting and intelligently written as one would expect . . .
the novel is both moving and thought-provoking'
Observer

'Superbly plotted'
Inis

'Supercharged . . . the dislocation from reality lends her
writing an unsettling quality which keeps the reader
constantly alert and often uncomfortable'
Scottish Sunday Herald

'Written with passion . . . will appeal to teenagers who
want to understand grown-up emotions'
Sunday Times

'Fast-paced and full of incident'
TES

'[In Jude] Blackman has created a figure of truly
awe-inspiring malevolence'
Irish Times

'A genuine literary achievement'
Books for Keeps

www.kidsatrandomhouse.co.uk/malorieblackman

Also available by Malorie Blackman:

The Noughts & Crosses trilogy
NOUGHTS & CROSSES
KNIFE EDGE
CHECKMATE (Doubleday hardback)

A.N.T.I.D.O.T.E
DANGEROUS REALITY
DEAD GORGEOUS
HACKER
PIG-HEART BOY
THIEF!

For junior readers:

CLOUD BUSTING
OPERATION GADGETMAN!

For beginner readers:

SPACE RACE!
SNOW DOG
THE MONSTER CRISP-GUZZLER

www.malorieblackman.co.uk

Knife Edge

This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author's and publisher's rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

ISBN 9781407048017

Version 1.0

www.randomhouse.co.uk

KNIFE EDGE
A CORGI BOOK :

ISBN: 9781407048017

Version 1.0

First published in Great Britain by Doubleday,
a division of Random House Children's Books

Doubleday edition published 2004
Corgi edition published 2005

9 10 8

Copyright © Oneta Malorie Blackman, 2004

The right of Oneta Malorie Blackman to be identified as the Author of this work
has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988

This electronic book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

Corgi Books are published by Random House Children's Books,
61–63 Uxbridge Road, London W5 5SA,
A Random House Group Company

Addresses for companies within The Random House Group Limited
can be found at:
www.randomhouse.co.uk/offices.htm

THE RANDOM HOUSE GROUP Limited Reg. No. 954009
www.kidsatrandomhouse.co.uk

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

This book is dedicated with love
to Neil and Elizabeth
Who bring every colour of the rainbow
And more besides.

And a big thank-you to everyone who asked,
'What happened next?'

He who binds himself to a joy
Does the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity's sun rise.

WILLIAM BLAKE

BY
J
ON
G
RESHAM

Yesterday evening, a nought suicide bomber was shot dead as he entered Ackton Palace train station. He was found to be wearing a money belt packed with explosives. A police spokesman told the
Daily Shouter,
'We had a tip-off that this terrorist planned to board the next commuter train and detonate his bomb once the train was underway. As it was rush hour, the consequences would've been devastating. This is typical of the cowardly acts we've come to expect from the Liberation Militia.'

A nought eyewitness stated, 'Four plain-clothed police officers opened fire the moment the man stepped onto the station concourse. He didn't stand a chance. People were screaming and running. It was terrifying – like something out of a film.' But as a police spokesman was quick to point out, 'Make no mistake, had we shouted a warning or alerted the terrorist to our presence, he would've immediately detonated his bomb, maiming and killing goodness only knows how many people. Better one dead nought terrorist than the deaths of dozens of innocent people – including children.'

The Liberation Militia sent out a press release condemning the death of one of their members. 'This was nothing less than state-sanctioned murder. Our member wasn't even given the chance to surrender. Whilst these state atrocities continue, the war between Noughts and Crosses will never be over.'

Kamal Hadley, the Deputy Prime Minister gave his reaction to the outrage. 'These sub-human nought terrorists will never win. Their blatant disregard for life, be it nought or Cross, will ultimately be their undoing.'

Given the fact that Kamal Hadley's daughter, Persephone was kidnapped last year by the Liberation Militia and held for ransom, the Deputy Prime Minister's reaction showed remarkable restraint. Whilst a prisoner, Persephone Hadley was made pregnant by Callum McGregor, one of the nought terrorists who abducted her.

When Callum McGregor was hanged last year for kidnap and political terrorism, there was a
(continued on page 5)