“Hurry up, James!” shouted a voice…a voice James knew well.
With a furious last burst of speed, James lunged through the opening just as the second gate slammed shut.
As James stumbled forward and fell to the ground, he heard the sound of bodies thudding into the other side of the gates. Without looking back, James rose and sprinted after his friends, toward the safety of the green, welcoming jungle. The last thing he heard as the thick foliage closed around him was a scream of unearthly fury.
It took Hook almost a full minute to reduce his rage to the point where he could form recognizable words.
“BACK UP, YOU IDJITS!” he roared, kicking his men furiously, randomly. “BACK UP SO WE CAN OPEN THE GATES!”
The men scrambled to escape Hook’s boots, clearing the way so the gates could be swung open. Hook’s mind churned: Who had shut the gates? Was it the cursed natives? Whoever it was, Hook would have his revenge, and he’d have it right now. He’d rip their hearts from their chests barehanded. He’d…
“Hook!”
The sound of that voice froze Hook, froze the men—froze them all, still as a painting.
It froze them for two reasons: the first was that it was a voice they all knew well.
The second was that it came from over their heads.
Slowly, ever so slowly, Hook raised his eyes and looked up into the sky.
And that was when it hit him, right in the face.
A mango.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATOR
DAVE BARRY is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author of more than two dozen books, including Dave Barry’s Money Secrets, Dave Barry’s Complete Guide to Guys, Dave Barry Slept Here, Big Trouble, and Dave Barry Hits Below the Beltway.
RIDLEY PEARSON is the best-selling authior of twenty-two novels, including the young adult series The Kingdom Keepers and the adult thrillers Cut and Run, The Pied Piper, The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer, Beyond Recognition, Probable Cause, and Undercurrents.
GREG CALL has worked for clients in music, entertainment, and publishing. His work has garnered many honors, including the ADDY Award.
Visit www.davebarry.com
Visit www.ridleypearson.com
Visit www.peterandtheshadowthieves.com
DON’T MISS THE NEXT BOOK IN THE PETER AND THE STARCATCHERS SERIES
PETER AND THE
SECRET OF RUNDOON
By DAVE BARRY
and RIDLEY PEARSON
A sneak peek at Peter’s next adventure
of the Starcatchers.
CHAPTER 17
THE ATTACK
HOOK WAS NEARLY DELIRIOUS WITH JOY. His fondest hopes had been realized: he had gotten off the cursed island and he had the cursed boy! What’s more, the savage’s canoe was superbly crafted—fast and stable. It would take Hook to civilization, he was sure of that. The boys would not make it—certainly the flying boy would not—and some of the men might have to be sacrificed as well. But he, Captain Hook, would make it. Of that he was certain.
Prentiss, Thomas, and Tubby Ted huddled glumly at the stern of the canoe. Peter lay on the floor near Hook’s black boots. James sat next to Peter, looking worriedly at his friend, who lay with his eyes closed, his face pale as paper.
“Peter, are you all right?” James whispered.
“Yes,” Peter mumbled, barely mustering the strength to speak. “I’m fine.”
In fact, Peter was far from fine. His body still throbbed with pain from the Scorpion poison, and he was weak from hunger, having been able to swallow nothing other than the horrid Mollusk medicine. Almost worse than the physical pain was his feeling of helplessness. He, who had always looked after his mates, was now unable to lift a finger, let alone fly, as Hook carried them off to sea, to an unknown—and almost certainly unpleasant—fate. He had no idea where Tinker Bell was, and he knew that would worry her even more than it did him. And beneath all these woes and worries, Peter felt something else—a sense of dread, of something evil nearby, and getting nearer….
“Cap’n!” shouted one of the men. “Something ahead!”
“What? Where?” said Hook, scanning the horizon.
“The water, Cap’n! Dead ahead!”
Hook looked down at the waves and saw it: a strange patch of sea, boiling and roiling, with huge bubbles breaking the surface.
“What is it, Cap’n?” said Smee, his voice trembling with a fear that all of the men felt.
“It ain’t nothin’ but a little sea gas,” said Hook. “You idjits never heard of sea gas?” Hook himself had never heard of sea gas, but he didn’t mention this. “Steer clear,” he ordered the paddlers. “Leave it to starboard.”
The men complied, turning the canoe to the left so the odd patch of sea would be off to the right side. But they turned too late. The patch moved toward them and grew in size, putting the canoe right in the middle of the turbulence, which was fast becoming more violent.
“What’s happening?” screamed Prentiss. “Are we going to sink?”
“Shut your hatch, boy, or I throw you over now!” bellowed Hook. “We ain’t sinking! This here is just a…”
Hook never finished the sentence, as the canoe suddenly rose straight up, and then, as if grasped by some force from below, tilted sideways, sending men and boys flying into the boiling, roiling sea. They struggled, gasping, to the surface, flailing their arms, looking for something to hold on to.
James, a decent swimmer, whipped his head desperately around, looking for the other boys, especially Peter, who was far too weak to swim. He saw Thomas, who began swimming toward James but then froze, his face twisted in terror.
“My leg!” he screamed. “My…”
Before he could say another word, he was gone, pulled straight down into the bubbling sea. James swam to the spot where Thomas had been, and was about to dive when he felt something wrap around his right leg. He kicked at it with his left, but the grip tightened painfully. He reached down and felt something thick and slippery….
And then he, too, was gone.
For another minute, the sea continued to bubble and boil, as one by one, other desperate swimmers were suddenly sucked below. Then, at once, the sea quieted, becoming as flat as a country pond. The Scorpion canoe floated peacefully upside down. One by one, the survivors swam to it and clung, panting, to its sleek hull. There were seven of them: Smee, and the six other men who’d been with Hook. But Hook himself was gone.
And so were all of the boys….
CHAPTER 34
THE BORROWED CAMEL
MOLLY AND GEORGE FOUND IT MORE DIFFICULT than they expected to get off the Michelle. Leonard Aster, well aware of Molly’s tendency to take matters into her own hands, had left orders with Captain Stavis that the two children were to be watched closely, and Captain Stavis had relayed these orders to the crew.
But sailors being sailors, and a port being close at hand, it was not long before the crew became distracted. By the second evening, Molly and George, having waited impatiently all day, saw their chance to sneak off. As darkness fell, with the crew dozing after a bit too much food and grog, they sneaked onto the ship’s deserted main deck and tiptoed down the gangway to the dock.
Once ashore, they ducked behind a huge pile of traps next to a stone building; the traps reeked of dead fish.
“Now what?” whispered George.
“One thing for sure,” said Molly. “We must get away from these awful traps.”
“We can’t go ’round in these clothes,” said George. “We need robes, like the one your father wore.”
Molly nodded. “I saw laundry lines from the ship, by a big house up that way. We can borrow some robes.”
“Borrow?” said George.
“Desperate times,” said Molly, “call for desperate measures.”
“What does that mean?” said George.
“It’s an expression my father uses: it means sometimes you have to borrow a robe,” said Molly. She reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out
some coins, the last of the French money her mother had given her. “Besides, we’ll leave this as partial payment. Come on.”
The streets were nearly empty, as most of Ashmar was having supper; nevertheless, Molly and George kept to the narrow alleys as they moved away from the harbor and up a hill, their mouths watering as the aroma of cooking food wafted out of every house they passed.
“There,” Molly whispered. Just ahead was a whitewashed stone house, much larger than its neighbors, with a fine view of the harbor. Along the side of the house was a clothesline, on which hung a half-dozen white robes. Next to the clothesline, kneeling in a patch of dirt and contentedly chewing its cud, was a camel.
Molly and George looked around. The street was deserted. With nightfall now complete, they crept in darkness around the side of the house, took the two smallest-looking robes off the clothesline, and put them on. George’s fit fine; Molly’s was too large, but she rolled and tucked it until it was serviceable. When they were dressed, Molly put the coins on a stone next to the clothesline and whispered, “Let’s go.”
George didn’t move. He was looking at the camel.
“Why don’t we borrow this as well?” he whispered.
“Are you insane?” hissed Molly.
“Molly, we’ve got to go miles across the desert,” George said. “On foot it could take us forever.”
“But we don’t know how to ride a camel.”
“It’s got a sort of saddle,” said George, eyeing the wooden contraption strapped to the camel’s back. “How different can it be from a horse?”
Molly frowned. She didn’t like the idea of taking a camel—stealing was the word for it, she knew—but they were desperate. She had to find her father and Peter.
“All right,” she said.
Quickly, George untied the camel. Then he and Molly climbed into the saddle, wedging themselves in, George in front and Molly in back. George dug his heels into the camel’s sides and said, “Up!”
Slowly, the camel turned its head and looked back with an expression of what appeared to be annoyance. It turned its head forward again and resumed chewing its cud.
“Fine bit of horsemanship,” said Molly.
“I suppose you can do better,” said George.
“I’m not the one who said he could ride a camel,” said Molly.
George, irritated now, brought his legs out farther and kicked the camel hard. This time, the camel, rather than turning around, raised its head and emitted a loud, unhappy, gurgling sound. From inside the house came a shout.
“Someone’s heard us!” said Molly.
George kicked the camel again; the camel responded with another protest, this one even louder.
Now Molly and George heard several shouting voices and running feet.
“They’re coming!” Molly said. “We’ve got to get out of here!”
Molly struggled to get out of the saddle, hampered by her bulky robe and the tight quarters. George, determined to dominate the camel, kicked it yet again. “Up, you mangy beast!” he hissed. This time the camel whirled its head around and spit at him. George leaned violently backward, knocking his head into Molly’s. A wad of camel spit sailed past.
“Ow!” she said. “George, let me out of this saddle!”
Just then, four men, two holding swords, burst around the corner of the house. Catching sight of George and Molly, they charged toward the camel, shouting angrily, their faces filled with fury. Now George and Molly were both trying frantically to climb out of the saddle, but they and their robes were too entangled. Molly thought about using the starstuff in her locket but could not get to it in time. They had no chance to escape—the first shouting man was almost upon them, drawing back his sword, and…
…and stopping short as a brilliant streak of light flashed in front of him, inches from his eyes. The man jerked backward abruptly, causing the second man to run into him, and the third and fourth to run into both of them. The men went down in front of the camel in a clattering, shouting heap.
“Tink!” shouted Molly.
Tink responded with a burst of chimes that Molly did not understand. It wasn’t aimed at her anyway; Tink was saying something to the camel. Instantly, the beast got up, the sudden motion almost pitching George and Molly out of the saddle. But they hung on as the camel, urged on by Tink, got to its feet and lurched forward toward the street. One of the fallen men managed to lunge at the camel as it passed. He grabbed Molly’s leg, jerking it down and back. Molly screamed in pain. George lashed out and kicked the man’s head; he grunted and let go. The camel reached the street and turned right. George clung to the saddle and Molly to George, as the camel, responding to Tink’s chimes, went from a trot to a gallop. From behind, they heard the sounds of angry voices and running feet. Neither looked back. The sounds receded.
In minutes they were at the edge of the city and then on a road going into open desert. The camel slowed down to a swaying walk. The night closed around them.
“Are you all right?” said George.
“Yes,” said Molly, though her leg throbbed. “I’m fine.” She leaned around George and spoke to Tink, who now sat atop the camel’s head between its floppy ears, looking forward.
“Thanks, Tink,” she said. “You found us just in time.”
Tink turned and, with an expression that was slightly less disdainful than the one she usually used on Molly, chimed a response. Then she chimed again. And again, more earnestly.
“What is she so worked up about?” said George.
Molly shook her head. “I can’t understand bell-speak,” she said. “But I think I recognized one bit. It’s Peter she’s worried about.” She looked out at the vast darkness of the desert. “And it’s Peter she’s taking us to.”
Table of Contents
COVER PAGE
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT PAGE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: A Speck on the Horizon
CHAPTER 2: The Choice
CHAPTER 3: The Wrong Side of the Mountain
CHAPTER 4: The Voice
CHAPTER 5: The Agreement
CHAPTER 6: The Darkest Way
CHAPTER 7: An Ally
CHAPTER 8: The Mission
CHAPTER 9: A Tasty Meal Lost
CHAPTER 10: Dead Eyes
CHAPTER 11: Strangers
CHAPTER 12: Something Familiar
CHAPTER 13: The Coming Danger
CHAPTER 14: The Farewell
CHAPTER 15: Into the Night
CHAPTER 16: One Look Back
CHAPTER 17: Ombra’s Feeling
CHAPTER 18: “No Bees at Sea”
CHAPTER 19: Anything Unusual
CHAPTER 20: The Signal
CHAPTER 21: The Scuttlebutt
CHAPTER 22: Tubby Ted’s Discovery
CHAPTER 23: A Second Visit
CHAPTER 24: The Stowaway
CHAPTER 25: Genius
CHAPTER 26: St. Katherine’s Dock
CHAPTER 27: Into the Storm
CHAPTER 28: Not Safe at All
CHAPTER 29: A Bone to Pick
CHAPTER 30: Somehow
CHAPTER 31: A Tiny Heart Beating
CHAPTER 32: A Feeling
CHAPTER 33: A Way Out
CHAPTER 34: A Visitor
CHAPTER 35: A Walk in the Dark
CHAPTER 36: A Few Seconds
CHAPTER 37: “I’ll Find You”
CHAPTER 38: The Shadow Thief
CHAPTER 39: The Market
CHAPTER 40: The Fear in Her Eyes
CHAPTER 41: Play It Safe
CHAPTER 42: The Standoff
CHAPTER 43: Thunder Down the Trail
CHAPTER 44: The Collector
CHAPTER 45: The Cold Iron Ring
CHAPTER 46: Hopeless
CHAPTER 47: The Drunken Centipede
CHAPTER 48: Something Strong
CHAPTER 49: Either Way
CHAPTER 50: Grasping Hands
CHAPTER 51: The Message
from Egypt
CHAPTER 52: The Letter
CHAPTER 53: Potato Soup
CHAPTER 54: A Fine Name Indeed
CHAPTER 55: “Take All His Air”
CHAPTER 56: A Very Strange Business
CHAPTER 57: At Last
CHAPTER 58: Visitors
CHAPTER 59: Something Odd
CHAPTER 60: Overheard Words
CHAPTER 61: Footsteps
CHAPTER 62: Rough Hands
CHAPTER 63: The Thing on the Stairs
CHAPTER 64: The Black Pool
CHAPTER 65: An Urgent Search
CHAPTER 66: The Envelope
CHAPTER 67: The Phantom Light
CHAPTER 68: Conversation in a Tree
CHAPTER 69: A Cry on the Wind
CHAPTER 70: Reluctant Allies
CHAPTER 71: The Secret Place
CHAPTER 72: The Warder and the Watcher
CHAPTER 73: The Messenger
CHAPTER 74: The Ravens’ Cries
CHAPTER 75: Traitor’s Gate
CHAPTER 76: McGuinn
CHAPTER 77: Wolves on the Steps
CHAPTER 78: A Deadly Fall
CHAPTER 79: The Silent Struggle
CHAPTER 80: The Metal Man
CHAPTER 81: The Secret
CHAPTER 82: The Keep
CHAPTER 83: Ombra’s Plan
CHAPTER 84: A Voice in the Dark
CHAPTER 85: Dark Kites
CHAPTER 86: An Offer of Help
CHAPTER 87: The Golden Weather Vane
CHAPTER 88: A Good Friend of His
CHAPTER 89: No Choice
CHAPTER 90: George’s Thought
CHAPTER 91: The Destination
CHAPTER 92: Not Much Time
CHAPTER 93: A Raven’s Eye
CHAPTER 94: The Return
CHAPTER 95: A Swift, Sure Shadow
CHAPTER 96: Over Their Heads
Peter and the Shadow Thieves Page 35