Leo felt the rush of wind against his skin and felt as anxious as if he were about to run an Olympic sprint. Leo hadn’t seen or spoken to his parents in three whole years! What if they didn’t recognise him? What if they had another boy or girl by now? But deep down Leo knew that parents love their children unconditionally, and underneath his worry was a longing to reunite with them and fill them in on the lost years. He might even get around to returning that long overdue library book.
As for Milli, her thoughts took a more philosophical turn and she found herself ruminating on the nature of change. Watching her companions, she realised how much they had all changed even in the short time they had known each other. But change did not make Milli apprehensive. The big adventure she had always dreamed of had turned out bigger than she had ever imagined, and more adventures awaited her on her return. Of that she had no doubt. She was proud to think she had played a part in restoring the missing piece of Drabville. The shadows were free and the town would never fall victim to the greed of a madman again. Equipped with free thinkers, it would now be able to defend itself and subterfuge would be a thing of the past. Milli could not know this, but in times to come people would speak of this period in Drabvillian history as an aberration, a dark period never to be forgotten. New positions would be created which carried the highest honour. Custodians of Concord would ensure history’s mistakes were not repeated.
Milli closed her eyes and thought about the most important thing she was going back to in Peppercorn Place—a family. A family she was looking forward to getting to know all over again and which would now include a mother. What would life be like with a mother? For the first time she allowed herself the luxury of thinking about this without feeling dizzy. Perhaps with Rosie around something more enduring than safety pins could be used for uniform repairs and Stench might be compelled to take more frequent baths. Would Rosie braid her daughters’ hair and bake cookies like other Drabville mothers? Thinking of Rosie in an apron made Milli smile. Somehow she did not think the domestic arts would provide sufficient challenges for her mother. Mostly, Milli hoped Rosie’s return might allay some of her sister’s fears and discourage her father from going through life as if he were adrift at sea. Instinctively, she looked up at the faces imprinted on the shadow-sail. The shadow of Mr Klompet looked down and winked at his daughter.
As they drew closer to home, the children saw a great many cheering sights. They were both elated and surprised to see a fleet of makeshift rafts carrying the hedgehogs, who were almost obscured under the red military jackets they were wearing. The hedgehogs were also heading home on four legs as nature intended. A movement in the sky caught their attention: their old friend the flamingo secretary was soaring overhead. He seemed to be taking great delight in scattering to the wind shredded files from a briefcase he held in his bill; they rained down like confetti into the gondola. With some luck he was hoping to find a chilled bowl of algae soup and a familiar face at the end of his flight. The secretary, now necktie-free and no longer shedding feathers from stress, gracefully inclined his head in acknowledgement as the gondola passed beneath him.
Soon they could make out the town, which appeared as a twinkling speck in the distance. Milli stared at the lights of Drabville and found herself thinking of the ordered houses with their standard picket fences and identical doorknockers. Soon the town would not recognise itself. Suddenly exhausted, she edged closer to Ernest who put his arm comfortingly around her.
‘I wonder what it will be like now,’ Milli murmured sleepily.
‘Home? Very different, I expect.’
‘I wonder if we’ll ever get bored.’
Ernest looked at Milli a while before answering.
‘I don’t think so,’ he said.
Their attention was drawn by a sound like flapping wings. They looked up to see the combined faces of the shadows puffing and straining with effort. The sails billowed and swelled, propelling the little craft forward into the dawn. They were moving much faster now. So fast it was almost like flying.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to express my gratitude to a number of people who have contributed to the development of The Shadow Thief.
I have to thank my parents (whose patience I am sure I tested) for their support and willingness to listen no matter how tired or preoccupied with other matters they were. A special thanks to my cousin, Thomas, for his good naturedness in allowing some of his idiosyncrasies to appear in print and to Miss Arnott for being the coolest of English teachers.
I am grateful for the invaluable input I received from the talented and professional team of editors at HarperCollins whom I have come to regard as superheroes. In particular, thanks must go to Lisa Berryman whose friendship, enthusiasm and advice throughout this journey has been much valued. I am also appreciative of the contribution made by Jenny Grigg whose talent is responsible for the originality of the book’s cover and design.
Final thanks go to Milli and Ernest for being such entertaining company through what has been an extraordinary, if sometimes painful, experience.
About the Author
Alexandra Emily Adornetto lives in Melbourne and is an only child. She has loved stories for as long as she can remember. Her family includes a three-legged cat called Rosie Mittens, and a spaniel, Muffy-Boo, who features in this very book!
The Shadow Thief, the first book in The Strangest Adventures series, was written when she was thirteen years old and inspired by J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan.
Alexandra is currently completing Year 11 at school where she is focusing on subjects such as Literature, History and Religion and Society. She is also a keen debater and performer. Whatever Alexandra pursues in the future, she hopes to conintue writing books for children.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
Praise for The Shadow Thief
‘Clearly [Adornetto] is already an Australian literary phenomenon…to read The Shadow Thief is to be thrust into a fast-moving plot full of menace and thrills, amply seeded with a magnificently precocious vocabulary.’ The Courier Mail
‘…an impressive debut…a wonderful fantasy story, full of adventure and scary, dark shadows.’ The Australian Women’s Weekly
‘…a fantastic achievement…’ The Sunday Age
‘…a comic fantasy full of magic.’ The Sydney Morning Herald
‘You will be hooked by Alex’s sparkling dialogue and witty perceptive insights…’ The Toowoomba Chronicle
Copyright
Angus & Robertson
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
First published in Australia in 2007
Paperback edition published in 2008
This edition published in 2010
by HarperCollinsPublishers Australia Pty Ltd
ABN 36 009 913 517
www.harpercollins.com.au
Copyright © Alexandra Adornetto 2007
The right of Alexandra Adornetto to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000.
This work is copyright.
Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced, copies scanned, stored in a retrieval system, recorded, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
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National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data:
Adornetto, Alexandra
The shadow thief
ISBN 97
8 0 7322 8629 3 (pbk.)
ISBN 978 0 7322 8618 7 (hbk.)
ISBN 978 0 7304 0095 0 (Epub)
I Title. (Series : Adornetto, Alexandra. Strangest adventures ; 1).
A823.4
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