The Shadow’s Curse by Amy McCulloch

Author:Amy McCulloch
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Corgi Childrens

32

RAIM

The initial storm passed quickly, and when he felt well again, Raim clambered back out onto the deck. That first moment of seeing the open sea in its entirety was a sight that would never leave him for the rest of his life. There was no sign of land on the horizon, just mile after mile of dark blue water, crested here and there by the white caps of sea foam on the waves. It was only matched by the feeling of looking out over the desert for the first time. In fact, if the waves stayed stationary, they could be sand dunes. But these sands dunes rolled, rose and dipped, and this boat was no more master of the waves than he had been of the dunes. And while sandworms and garfalcons and great snakes lived in the sands, Raim was terrified to think of what must lurk beneath the waves.

Raim’s stomach heaved. He swung back to face the mast and sunk to his knees.

Another man burst out of the cabins below – Tarik. He spotted Raim and stumbled across the deck to get to him. Together they both sat, their backs against the wooden railing of the ship, their heads between their hands.

‘How much more of this do we have to go?’ Tarik said, his voice shaking.

‘Too long,’ said Raim. The captain had been vague about certain details – like the time he thought the journey would take.

‘I haven’t even been able to write anything. Every time I get the quill out, I end up feeling sick again.’

As if their conversation had conjured him, Shen loomed over them, snapping them both from their reverie. ‘Boys, this is the easiest part of this journey. Trust me, if the seas were like this more than they were not, you’d see plenty more ships venturing out onto these waters. Maybe even King Song himself would send his fleet rather than attempt to cross the Red desert to get north. There, boy, that should give you an indication of just how dangerous this crossing is! The king would rather cross the desert than the sea, and he owns the finest fleet in the world.’

Why in Sola’s name did we agree to this? It’s a suicide mission! thought Raim to Draikh.

‘At least one of us is enjoying it,’ he replied. As if on cue, Oyu dived into the water and came back with a fat, juicy fish in his beak.

‘Is that normal behaviour for a garfalcon?’ asked Tarik, although he knew no one could answer his question. He slipped his scroll of paper out of his tunic pocket and began to scribble down notes while observing Oyu.

Raim laughed. Tarik could squeeze learning out of any situation.

‘The sea spares us because we bring nothing back from the cursed North,’ said a voice. It sounded as if it was coming from above them. Raim looked up to see a man swinging from the rigging like a monkey. He jumped down next to the captain, landing with a dull thud.

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