by Alex English
As Miranda Vossberg stalked towards her, Echo pushed her shoulders back and tried to make herself as tall and sky-piratey as she could be, although she couldn’t quite manage to stop her legs from trembling.
Miranda stopped in front of Echo and smiled. ‘And what have we here?’ she said, putting her hands on her hips. She tapped one green-nailed finger on her chin. ‘A girl, all alone on an island. But how did you get to the island? Are you alone?’
Echo dipped her head and said nothing. She probably couldn’t trust this Vossberg woman any more than she could trust Old Gus. But what other choice did she have?
She looked up to find Vossberg regarding her, a faint smile still on her pink-glossed lips. The snake round her neck flicked its tongue at Echo.
Miranda reached into her cloak and pulled out a green velvet pouch, retrieved a little white sweet and put it in her mouth.
The sweet smell of peppermint drifted towards Echo and her mouth watered.
Miranda arched one elegant eyebrow. ‘Hungry?’ She offered the bag to Echo.
Echo licked her lips, suddenly realizing she hadn’t eaten anything but a few jelly beans for almost a whole day. One sweet wouldn’t hurt, would it? After all, Miranda had eaten one.
‘Thanks,’ she said, her voice coming out in a croak. She took one of the smooth white pebbles and put it on her tongue.
‘So, what happened?’ asked Miranda, casually tossing a mint to her snake, which caught it with one deft snap of its jaws.
‘They… they left me here,’ said Echo, sucking her mint. The sweet, sugary pastille made her bones flood with warmth and her tongue suddenly feel looser. She knew she shouldn’t tell Miranda too much, but how else could she explain it?
‘Who did?’
‘The Thunder Sharks’
‘You’re a Thunder Shark? Gosh, I shall have to be careful!’ Miranda pressed her green lacquered nails to her lips and her eyes sparkled with laughter.
‘No!’ Echo felt her cheeks burning.
‘Good! I’m glad to hear it.’ Miranda leaned forward and whispered theatrically, ‘Don’t tell anyone, but I think the Thunder Sharks are a bunch of brutes! Imagine! Dumping you here, just a little girl.’ She reached forward and stroked a lock of Echo’s hair.
Echo shrank back. ‘I’m not a little girl, I’m a sky pirate!’
‘But you said you weren’t a Thunder Shark?’ A frown creased Miranda’s brow.
‘I’m a Black Sky Wolf!’ The words spilled from Echo’s lips before she could stop them.
Miranda’s eyes became sharp with recognition. ‘Don’t tell me. You’re Lil’s girl.’
‘No, I…’
‘Don’t lie to me.’ Miranda nodded slowly, as she looked Echo up and down. ‘I can see it now. You look just like her.’
Echo swallowed, torn between cursing herself for giving so much away and feeling proud that she looked so much like her mother.
Miranda recovered herself and smiled again. ‘So what are you doing out here, young Black Sky Wolf? Having adventures?’
Echo looked into Miranda’s brilliant green eyes, still unsure whether she should trust her. But what choice did she have? If she wanted to rescue Horace, she was just going to have to persuade Miranda to help. She seemed friendly after all. Echo swallowed the rest of the peppermint and began to explain.
* * *
After Echo had told the whole story, Miranda appraised her for a moment.
‘But you don’t have this map?’
Echo shook her head. ‘No.’
‘Any idea where they were going?’
Echo bit her lip. ‘If I tell you, will you help me get my friend back?’
Miranda folded her arms. ‘You’re hardly in a position to bargain. What if I leave you here? What are you going to do?’
Echo folded her arms. ‘And what are you going to do without the map?’
Miranda nodded slowly. ‘Okay, here’s how it’ll work. You help me find the dragon’s lair. Once I have the Cutlass of Calinthe safely in my possession, I’ll get your friend back.’
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Echo followed Miranda Vossberg up the gangplank and into Anaconda, the airship of the Scurvy Sea Snakes. Anaconda was a long, slim ship, made of gleaming silver plates that overlapped like the scales of a snake. Inside, it was eerily quiet, and Miranda’s spike-heeled boots rang out as she strode through the corridor in front of Echo.
Something felt wrong, but Echo couldn’t quite put her finger on it. As she followed Miranda past endless doors – to the armoury, the galley, the pristine, pod-like cabins – it suddenly occurred to her. Where was everyone?
‘Where’s your crew?’ she asked.
‘No need for a crew,’ replied Miranda, over her shoulder. ‘Anaconda is fully automated.’
Echo peered into the galley as they passed. Inside, machines hummed and whirred under cold white light. It was a world away from the buzz and chatter of the Scarlet Margaret’s kitchens, where Spud and Skillet clanged ladles and pans, and cooked up spicy stews from the strangest of ingredients.
Echo hugged herself. ‘Don’t you get lonely with nobody else around?’
Miranda let out a delicate peal of laughter. ‘Lonely? Not at all. I have Sylvester here.’ She gestured to the snake draped round her shoulders, who eyed Echo curiously.
‘I have a lizard!’ said Echo, pulling Gilbert out from his hiding place in her knapsack and putting him on her own shoulder. He sniffed cautiously at Sylvester, then dived into Echo’s collar as the snake’s head darted forward, jaws wide.
‘Sylvester!’ Miranda slapped the green snake sharply on the snout and he recoiled. ‘Where are your manners? You know you don’t eat our guests.’
She unwrapped the snake from her neck and slipped him into a tank on the far wall of the cockpit, before striding over to the map cabinet.
‘Now,’ she said, turning to Echo, ‘time for your part of the bargain. What exactly did this map look like? Do you remember any landmarks that showed where Tarakona Canyon might be?’
Echo bit her lip, still feeling disloyal for giving away all this information to another pirate captain, when she should be telling Lil. But she couldn’t leave Horace with the Thunder Sharks. And she had to somehow get home to the Scarlet Margaret.
‘It was just an ordinary map. The X was on Tarakona Canyon,’ she said. She thought back to Old Gus’s reaction. ‘In the very heart of the Dragonlands.’
‘But there must have been more than that!’ Miranda snapped. ‘Simply saying Tarakona Canyon isn’t enough to find the lair. Wasn’t there any other clue?’
‘N… no,’ said Echo, scrunching up her forehead and trying to recall something – anything – about the map.
Miranda shook her head in irritation, then gave a stiff smile. ‘Well, I suppose we shall just have to go to the Dragonlands and see,’ she said.
* * *
After poring over several sky charts, Miranda went to the cockpit and typed coordinates into the voyage computer.
‘So what are the Dragonlands like?’ asked Echo, taking a look at the charts herself. ‘Are they far from here?’
Miranda’s head jerked up, as if she’d forgotten Echo was there.
‘It’s a volcanic region to the far east of here,’ she said finally. ‘Dragons often nest inside volcanoes. They like the heat, you see. Creatures forged in fire like to stay close to it.’
‘Forged in fire?’
‘The eggs hatch in the heat of their mother’s fiery breath,’ said Miranda. She tapped her fingers on the dashboard. ‘Now, our best bet is to aim for the Dragonlands, track down Old Gus and follow him. Or, even better, intercept him and get that map. We’ll stop at Amaranth Point and see if we can find out any more there.’
Echo studied the sky chart and saw Amaranth Point marked on the edge of the Dragonlands, over the Nordland Channel. ‘What’s at Amaranth Point?’
‘It’s the last trading post before the Dragonlands,’ said Miranda. ‘We’ll stop th
ere for supplies and ask around about this Tarakona Canyon. There’s a chance Old Gus will stop off there too and if he does…’ A grin spread across her face as she pulled on a lever and Anaconda lifted smoothly into the air.
‘But what supplies will we—’
‘So many questions!’ said Miranda, with a stiff laugh. ‘Aren’t you hungry? Why don’t you get something to eat from the galley?’
Echo licked her lips. She was famished, but she didn’t want to leave Miranda alone. Not when there was so much she needed to know. ‘I’m not hungry,’ she lied.
‘No, really, I think you are. Please go.’ Miranda’s voice took on a steely edge and a flicker of uncertainty ran down Echo’s spine.
‘Okay, I mean thank you,’ said Echo. ‘I was just wondering if I could send a message to my mother though. Do you have any postal pigeons?’
‘I’ll see to it,’ said Miranda, without looking up. ‘And you should get some rest too. Sleep in any cabin you like.’
‘I don’t feel tired.’
‘I insist!’ Miranda looked up sharply, then smiled. ‘Children need naps, and you said you’d been up all night.’
‘But what about sending the postal pigeon?’
‘The postal pigeon?’
‘To my mother. How will you know where to send it?’
Miranda blinked for a moment. ‘Oh, don’t you worry about that. The postal pigeon will know where to go. I’ll see to it while you catch up on some sleep.’
‘Thank you,’ said Echo, her heart filling with hope. Once Lil knew where she was, the Scarlet Margaret would catch up with them in no time.
Miranda smiled. ‘Now, you look exhausted. Off you go!’
Echo wandered back down the gleaming corridor to the galley and pressed the entry button. The door slid smoothly open and she stepped inside. Where the Scarlet Margaret’s kitchen was a merry mess of colourful vegetables and clattering pans, the galley of Anaconda was clinically white and silent. Every surface, from the shiny, handleless cabinets to the spotless metal worktops, was blank and smooth. In the central wall, a large machine whirred quietly.
Echo approached it. ‘What do you think this does?’ she said.
Gilbert emerged from where he’d been hiding in her shirt collar, glanced at the machine, sniffed it and curled his tail into a question mark.
The machine was covered in gleaming silver pipes, with a central screen that said Please make your selection. Under the screen there was an empty cavity, and beside it a silver handle.
Echo turned the handle and, with a whirring of cogs, the letters flipped over and the writing on the screen changed.
Octo-Pie
‘Octo-Pie? I’m not sure what that is, but I don’t think I like the sound of it.’
Echo turned the handle again.
Peppermint pancakes
‘I think I’ve had enough peppermints for now.’ She tried again.
Cloud-cherry tart with almond custard
Gilbert bobbed up and down enthusiastically on her shoulder at this one. Echo’s mouth watered. Perhaps Miranda was right. It did sound delicious.
‘Now what?’ She scanned the machine. There was only one button. ‘Here goes.’ She pressed it.
There was a whirring and clanking from inside the machine. Delicious, almond-scented steam wafted out. There was a ding and a small bowl full of cherry-soaked sponge clattered into the slot, followed by a thick stream of custard. Lastly, a silver spoon landed with a plop in the dish.
The whirring stopped and Echo carefully took the dish in both hands. She glanced around. There was nowhere to sit in the galley, so she went out into the corridor. At the far end, she glimpsed the cockpit where Miranda was still poring over her sky charts.
Instead, Echo turned to the rear, where the crew capsules were. Unlike the Scarlet Margaret, with its cosy, wood-clad walls and swinging hammocks, Anaconda’s cabins were slick white pods with circular doors that opened with a whoosh. She peered into each one in turn. Each white, egg-shaped bed was freshly made, with shiny green silk sheets and plump yellow pillows. Echo picked the pod furthest to the rear and settled on the bed to eat the cake. She broke off a chunk for Gilbert and then dug in herself.
The whole ship swayed as Anaconda started to move.
Echo peered through the slit of a porthole. They were on their way to Amaranth Point, and the Dragonlands! She shivered. They must be getting further and further away from the Scarlet Margaret, and from Lil, but at least Miranda was sending the postal pigeon. Soon Lil would be on her way to find her. Longing swelled in Echo’s stomach and she hugged herself. And she was a step closer to getting Horace back too. For now, all she could do was to make the best of things while she was here. She promised herself that she would learn as much as she could about the Dragonlands from Miranda, and about the Cutlass of Calinthe too.
And life onboard Anaconda didn’t seem so bad. The food was delicious at least. There was no boring old deck-swabbing or patching of the mainsail to be done, and Miranda seemed perfectly friendly too. Maybe Echo could learn a few things about being a sky pirate from her while she was here.
She and Gilbert finished off their cake and Gilbert lapped up the last of the custard from Echo’s bowl with his long tongue. Echo stifled a yawn. She was suddenly bone-tired from her almost sleepless night on the Thunder Sharks’ ship, and Miranda’s suggestion of a nap seemed like a good idea. She pulled off her boots and flung her knapsack on the end of the bed. It spilled open, shedding jelly beans all over the covers. Her spyglass and the pocket watch all tumbled out too.
Echo sighed and started to gather up the items. She put a jelly bean in her mouth and tossed one to Gilbert, then idly took the pocket watch in her hand. It read ten past eleven, but that wasn’t right, as it was way past noon by now. It had obviously wound down. If only Echo had her clockwork tools with her! She turned it slowly in her hands.
‘That’s odd.’ She frowned at the little clock. As she turned it to the left, the hands turned with her movement, so they were still pointing towards the bow of the ship. She turned it to the right, and the clock’s hands turned again, continuing to point in the same direction.
Gilbert cocked one sleepy eye at the watch.
‘There’s something strange about this watch, Gilbert,’ said Echo. ‘I don’t think this is supposed to tell the time at all.’
Gilbert sniffed it suspiciously.
Echo tilted it from side to side. Whichever way she turned it, the hands continued to point to the ship’s bow. ‘I think,’ said Echo, excitement colouring her voice, ‘it’s a compass in disguise.’
But why would there have been a compass hidden with the map? Surely any sky pirate worth their salt would have one of their own? It was a puzzle.
Echo turned the compass over in her hands. The outer case was tarnished with age. She spat on her sleeve and rubbed at the casing.
‘There’s something engraved on here,’ she said.
But Gilbert had fallen asleep on her pillow.
Echo pulled off her breeches and got into bed too, the pocket watch still clasped in her hand. But, despite her exhaustion, she couldn’t sleep. The compass niggled at her – it was important somehow, she could feel it. She sat up and rubbed at it again with the corner of the bedspread. The tarnish was fading and an engraved picture was emerging. But of what? She held it up to the light and gasped. For carved in the silver was a dragon, breathing fire and perched on a mountain of treasure.
It’s a clue, Echo thought to herself. It’s part of the map. And Old Gus doesn’t have it!
She clasped the compass to her chest. Old Gus might have a head start, but she had the second part of the map. If only she could work out what she was supposed to do with it.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Eventually, Echo drifted off into a deep sleep, waking early the next morning to find they’d left the warm climes of Aqualiber and were sailing above dense forests punctuated by brilliant blue lakes. She suddenly felt very far from home as sh
e peered through the porthole. What would Lil be doing? Would she be looking for her? Would Miranda’s postal pigeon even have reached her yet?
And how was poor Horace holding up? Echo shook her head. If only she could send a message to him too, to tell him that she was on her way, that she’d rescue him and everything would be all right. But it would put him in danger, even if Miranda did have another postal pigeon to spare.
She stretched and pulled on her boots. ‘Come on, Gilbert,’ she said, popping the little lizard on to her shoulder. ‘We might not be able to contact Horace, but we can at least see where we are. Perhaps Miranda can show us the sky charts again.’
She went to the door, pushing the button so that it hissed open. Soft snores carried down the corridor from Miranda’s cabin.
‘I’m sure she won’t mind if we take a quick look at the charts while we’re waiting for her to wake up,’ she whispered.
Gilbert gave a shrug of his scaly shoulders.
Echo tiptoed silently along the corridor until she came to the cockpit. Anaconda was still gliding along smoothly, and the control screen read Autopilot. Out of the viewscreen, Echo saw they were flying over the sea. Acres of murky grey water rippling with choppy white-tipped waves spread out before them.
Was this the Nordland Channel? Were they almost at the Dragonlands? Echo crouched down and slid open the first cabinet to find the chart. Inside were hundreds of scrolls of parchment, bottles of emerald ink and a long peacock-feather pen. She quickly riffled through the scrolls, but there were no sky charts to be seen. She slid the cabinet closed and moved on to the next one.
Inside were spyglasses, old goggles and a green leather aviator’s cap. But still no charts. She moved on to the third and biggest cabinet. In this one was a heap of velvet sacks. Echo loosened the cord that gathered the neck of one and peeped inside to find an astonishing haul of sapphires as big as her fist. In another was a cluster of glittering diamonds. In yet another, handfuls of gold doubloons. Echo gaped at the wealth hidden in the cabinet. Miranda was rich! She didn’t even need to find treasure. There must have been enough jewels here to last her a lifetime.