Secret of the Shadow Beasts by Diane Magras

Author:Diane Magras [Magras, Diane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2022-06-14T00:00:00+00:00

NORA’S BOOK

Five hours later, Nora woke to a hum of laughter.

Eve’s and Tove’s beds were empty. Cracks of light shone past the blind in the window. Someone had left a fresh ice-blue uniform at the foot of Nora’s bed, the silk cloth folded on top.

Nora slowly dressed, her arms weary and her mind sluggish.

I shouldn’t have gone to the bookshop. I should have slept.

But then she thought of all her new books and the one that excited her most: Sir Colm MacAskill’s.

And then she thought of Cyril and how brightly he’d smiled as they left the bookshop. He’d looked so happy when they returned that Murdo had stared—then grinned.

Nora opened the bedroom door.

Murdo was sitting on the sofa in a royal-blue T-shirt with his muscular arms crossed behind his head. His legs were outstretched, boots up on the coffee table. He was focused on a tablet in his lap.

Amar was beside him with the swords and Nora’s axe, examining the weapons. He looked relaxed, more like himself.

Eve, Tove, and Cyril were clustered around a book.

“Kemp!” Eve shook the book in the air. “Did you pick this up on purpose, or did the book man sneak it in the pile? It’s hideous!” She angled out the cover.

On a black background, hot-pink swirls wafted over sparkling gold letters: The Umbrae: Nature’s Perfect Revenge.

I like the cover, Nora thought.

“May I have my book, please?” She held out her hand.

“Wait. Let me read you something. It’s super funny.” Eve flipped it open. “ ‘Gentle giants, they glided over the swamps and marshes, releasing little more than sound and odor as they went.’ ”

“Are they talking about Cochlea umbrae or bodily gas?” said Cyril.

Eve waved at him. “Quiet. This is literature. And there’s more: ‘Their songs were tender melodies. If you listened carefully, you could hear the earth’s laughter.’ Now here’s an artist’s rendering of a Cochlea umbra.” She held open the book, revealing a glossy illustration of a dewy-eyed black snail.

“Is that a fantasy?” Amar asked.

“I think the snail’s a metaphor.” Tove shrugged. “I don’t know for what, though.”

Eve smirked. “For stupidity. Because anyone who thinks a Cochlea umbra looks like that has snails for brains.”

Nora cleared her throat. “Cochlea means ‘snail’ in Latin. Someone must have named it that for a reason. They don’t look anything like snails now, but maybe this really was an early form, before they became monsters. May I please have my book?”

“No, I want you to lecture me more about snails because I’m so interested in what you have to say.”

Nora’s face burned.

“Do we talk like that to a fellow knight?” Murdo lowered his arms. “Eve, give Nora her book.”

“I was just trying to be funny. This book is so stupid, it’s hilarious.” Eve tossed the book to Nora—who caught it—and flopped back into her chair.

Blinking hard, Nora shuffled to a chair in the corner.

Tove followed. “Do you think Cochlea umbrae were ever not monsters?”

“I was just wondering about the name and why they’re called that.” Nora glanced up at her gratefully.

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