Borderlands by Skye Melki-Wegner

Author:Skye Melki-Wegner [Melki-Wegner, Skye ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Teen fiction
ISBN: 9781742759579
Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia
Published: 2013-08-25T04:00:00+00:00

In the afternoon, we scrub the deck. There aren’t many other jobs left to do – not without building supplies, at least. It’s hard to patch up broken walls when all you’ve got to work with is a crate of honey-nuts and a few soggy blankets.

Scrubbing isn’t much fun, but I’m still in a fairly decent mood. Mostly I’m grateful for the rest. It’s been a long time since I felt safe enough to relax – just soaking up sunshine under an open sky. My skin feels warm and toasty, and there’s a fresh spattering of freckles on Teddy’s nose.

But as the afternoon light starts to fade, so do our newfound spirits. I know Clementine’s worried about Maisy; the Forgotten’s been gone the entire day. I’m worried about her too. And if I’m honest with myself, Maisy isn’t the only person I’m thinking about. Because the more I look at this lagoon, the less it reminds me of grass or bottles . . . and the more it reminds me of bright green eyes.

I’ve blocked Lukas from my mind for the last couple of days. The hunters, the soldiers, the storm . . . they’ve all been more pressing, more urgent. First my friends were in danger, and there was Maisy’s wound to deal with. But now I’ve got no more excuses. I have to face the fact that he’s left us. That he’s running towards danger.

And I have no idea how to save him.

Clementine throws down her scrubbing cloth. ‘How long does it take to collect a few supplies?’

‘Maybe Quirin’s being extra careful,’ I say. ‘You know, to make sure they’re not being followed. If he’s going to some super-secret hideout, I bet he’s really keen to keep it hidden.’

‘If there was a problem,’ Teddy says, ‘Silver’d tell us, I reckon. She doesn’t look worried yet, does she?’

We all glance back through the cabin window. The old woman is still inside, fiddling with the mechanics of the clockwork wall. I don’t know what she’s doing – cleaning out the river gunge from when the boat went under, perhaps.

‘Wish she’d just tell us what our job’s gonna be,’ Teddy says. ‘To pay off our debt, I mean.’

‘Me too,’ I say. ‘I want . . . I want to look for Lukas.’

I drop my voice to a whisper. Even though Silver’s inside the cabin, there are no more solid walls to block the sound of our voices. ‘If this job’s too hard, or too dangerous, I was thinking that –’

‘Maybe we should just nick off?’ Teddy says. ‘Yeah, I reckon so too.’

Clementine bites her lip. ‘We have to wait until Maisy’s better. And as much as I dislike these smugglers, I don’t like to break my word. I was raised to see oath-breaking as . . . dishon­ourable.’

‘I know,’ I say, voice low. ‘But if Lukas is the boy who’s been following the smugglers around, nagging them to help him fight the king, then –’

‘But why would he do that?’ Clementine says.

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