Gargantis by Thomas Taylor

Author:Thomas Taylor [Taylor, Thomas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781406395761
Publisher: Walker Books
Published: 2020-05-06T16:00:00+00:00

STORMQUAKE!

FIRST THE CUPS START TO JANGLE, the tea inside them rippling like the surfaces of miniature seas. Then Mrs Fossil’s basket falls off the arm of her chair as the rumbling increases.

“Heavens alive!” Jenny cries as all around us books begin to dance on their shelves, shrugging out of their places and flapping open as they topple to the ground. Over us, in the midnight blue of the ceiling, white cracks appear and showers of plaster rain down, covering us with a fine powder.

The mermonkey’s head wobbles eerily, and its hat falls to the floor in a cloud of dust.

Then the shaking ends.

“Not again!” Mrs Fossil clutches the arms of her chair. “Another stormquake!”

“Earthquake, more like it,” says the doc, jumping to his feet and grabbing his coat and hat. “The storm is still far out over the bay.”

“But since when do we have earthquakes in Eerie-on-Sea?”

“Since the storm blew up, that’s when.” Jenny looks around in dismay at the books covering the floor. “And they’re getting worse.”

“Gargantis wakes, Eerie quakes,” says Violet.

“I must go back to the museum and check my seismographs,” Dr Thalassi declares, ignoring Violet and heading to the door. “If the tremors worsen, we might have to consider evacuating the town.”

“What?” cries Mrs Fossil. “Wait for me, Doc. I need to check up on my Flotsamporium.”

And with that, they both leave, Mrs Fossil snatching up her basket as she goes.

Jenny fetches a dustpan and brush, while Violet starts to gather up books. I pick up the spilled muffins and wish that there was some way to remove plaster from salty caramel.

“Wiaow,” says a voice, and I see that Erwin has the mermonkey’s top hat in his teeth. I stoop and pick up the hat, dusting it off with my cuff.

“Thanks, puss,” I say, and go to replace the top hat back in the mermonkey’s crooked paw. The creature leers down at me, waiting. Even though its light-bulb eyes are not lit up, there seems to be a twinkle in them.

I freeze.

The mermonkey is activated by a coin thrown in the hat, but as Jenny always says, sometimes you don’t even need to do that. Some people have only to touch the hat in the creature’s hand to set off the mechanism and be dispensed a book.

I slowly move my hand away, still holding the top hat.

I notice Violet watching me from behind a pile of books in her arms.

“Nice try,” I snap to the cat.

Erwin gives a twitch of irritation, then turns his bottom towards me in disgust.

“But why not, Herbie?” says Violet. “What are you scared of?”

I stare at the hat and think about The Cold, Dark Bottom of the Sea by Sebastian Eels. Could I have been wrong about it being a warning, after all? A warning to never go to sea again? If I am wrong, then think of all the books I’ve missed by never consulting the mermonkey again! And yet, when it comes to the mystery of my origins, and the fate of my family, being given a book about a shipwreck is surely more than coincidence.

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