Tourmaline and the Island of Elsewhere by Ruth Lauren

Author:Ruth Lauren
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stripes Publishing
Published: 2023-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Tourmaline awoke with a start in her bed of packing straw aboard The Hunter. She was still wearing the borrowed clothes, the jacket now a bit sandy and stained with salt water from their escape from Somewhere. There was little light coming in through the porthole but she could see the dark lumps that were George and Mai still sleeping. It was nowhere near dawn, but something had woken her – eyes staring down at her from a balcony, or at least a dream about them.

She got up, sneaking out of the room and heading to the deck via the galley (where she helped herself to several biscuits and a banana). The night was dark, the wind was fresh off the sea, and clouds chased restlessly across the sky trying to cover every star. Tourmaline’s bare feet were silent as she came up the stairs to the deck.

“When?”

Tourmaline paused at the top of the stairs. The captain’s voice carried down to her even though she was speaking quietly.

“Half a day, maybe a little more if the winds go in our favour.” The other voice belonged to Dexta, and Tourmaline felt a slow smile creep across her face. They were really going to the island? And they were that close?

“Will they catch us before we get there?”

Tourmaline’s smile dropped.

“Hard to say, captain. They could gain on us.”

Captain Violet sighed loudly. “Could you see who it is? What flag do they fly?”

Tourmaline leaned out against the railings, pushing herself on to her tiptoes.

Dexta, when she answered, sounded grim. “I think it’s the Agency, Captain.”

Tourmaline strained her ears.

“Captain? I said it’s the Agency for the Investigation and Classification of Magical Artefacts.”

“I heard you. I know who the AICMA are,” snapped the captain.

Tourmaline recoiled. Her voice was so unusually harsh.

“Orders, Captain?” Dexta sounded cooler now.

“Full speed ahead, Decker. We must reach that island before the AICMA do.”

“And after that?” asked Dexta.

Tourmaline waited, but the captain didn’t answer.

She crept back to the hold, silently closing the door behind her and tiptoeing across the room. There was no way she was going to be able to sleep now.

“Where have you been?” Mai’s voice was a whisper but it still made her jump.

She looked over at George, who was still asleep.

Mai sighed and pushed herself up to sit cross-legged. “Look, I know you and George have known each other forever but I’m here too, and I’m really quite clever. I could probably help if you’d stop scowling and tell me.”

Tourmaline paused. She couldn’t see Mai’s face very well but after a few seconds she saw the other girl’s shoulders slump.

“I can’t help the scowling,” she said. “That’s just my face.” And she went over to sit next to Mai and told her what she’d just overheard.

“So there’s someone chasing us in a ship?”

Tourmaline nodded.

“And it seems like it’s the sort of someone who chases rogue artefact hunters?”

“I think so,” said Tourmaline. “Captain Violet definitely didn’t want them to catch us up.”

Mai looked around them at the hoard of artefacts.

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