those storms,’ says Lunda.
‘It was more than the storms!’ I yell. ‘I heard her! She said missing rider, torn from back. Something happened to Leo. And now I’ve got to find a way to get to her, cos none of the full-growns believes me.’
Lunda snorts. ‘Small wonder.’
‘If you don’t want to be crew, Lunda, that’s no blubber off my blade. But if there’s even a chance that something’s gone wrong, don’t you wanna be sure?’
Lunda slides down the wall until she’s sitting cross-legged. She puts her face in her hands, saying nothing.
‘So . . . what do we do?’ whimpers Ibex.
I blow out my cheeks. ‘First, I need to know who’s in. Raise your fist and thump your heart if you’re crewing up!’
Slowly, one by one, each kid in the crypt steps forwards and thumps their chest. My heart glows. Lunda stands, keeping her eyes on mine.
I swallow my pride though it snags in my throat. ‘Be part of our crew. Help us, Lunda.’ I hold my fist to my chest and she hesitates, big pale eyes wavering as the struggle under her surface rages.
Then she swears in, too. But not without another challenge. ‘Who is leader of this crew ?’ Her accent clips the word and makes it whistle through her teeth like a birdcall.
Pride punches my chest and stings my cheeks.
‘Oh, you?’ She laughs.
‘Course!’
‘Why am I not surprised that the sea-creeper seeks attention?’
‘You didn’t even know what a crew was—’
‘Hey, you two!’ says Pangolin. We turn to face her. She’s standing next to Pika and the two of them are chuckling into their hands. ‘Settle your feathers. There is room – sure, there is need – for more than one leader. I vote for one from each Sky-Tribe plus Mouse to represent the Sea-Tribes.’
I study my boots. ‘Grand idea, Pang.’
We cast votes and count them up. The three leaders are decided – me, Pika and Ibex.
Pika strides into the middle of the crypt. ‘Our crew needs a plan. If the draggle spoke true, we have to get to the Wastes and find Leopard.’
‘How?’ asks Pang.
Silence.
‘Take the draggles?’ suggests Hammer.
‘A few of us have weather-work,’ offers a Wilderwitch kid. ‘We could try to push the storms away from you.’
‘We can’t all go out there riding draggles. Someone would see!’ glooms Ermine.
I nod. But one girl . . .
Crow catches my eye and frowns. I smile at him, but it’s a proper beam by accident. Too late, I try to wipe the look off my face but he scowls. Then he puts his mouth close to my ear. ‘Gone and had a terrible idea, have you?’
I push him away, biting back my grin. Aye. And I’ll make you help me with it. I’ll need a lookout. Who better than a boy who can take the shape of a harmless crow?
I turn to Ermine. ‘Not if one girl took the journey. Alone.’ The thought makes fire stir behind my eyes and I have to breathe quick, my veins jumping with excitement.
‘Not alone,’ says Lunda impatiently.
We look at her in surprise.
‘Haven’t any of you realised it yet?’ she says, voice bubbling with irritation. ‘Even if you got as far as the Frozen Wastes, the Fangtooths would sniff out a sea-creeper. But there’s one person at Hackles who’d be admitted into their territory, bold as daggers.’
I meet her eyes. ‘Axe-Thrower!’
Lunda bites the skin around her thumb, nods briskly.
‘But she’s a prisoner,’ says Pang. ‘She won’t be going anywhere.’
‘No, she won’t,’ replies Lunda. ‘Unless we break her out.’
Crow curses all over everyone’s shock.
But the hooks of Lunda’s idea dig into my skin. Cos what if the vision Sparrow had of me in a place of sleds and reindeer skin ent a destiny that will happen to me, but a destiny that I can choose for myself ? ‘That’s a flaming good idea!’
‘It’s too dangerous,’ warns Crow quickly. ‘Your da would never let you do a foolish thing like that.’
And there they are. The words that decide it. ‘Da’s not here,’ I whisper.
Lunda grins, eyes sparking. ‘Good girl.’
The spark leaps into my chest and sets my heart drumming against my ribs.
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