Free The Ark of Dun Ruah, Book 1 by Maria Burke Page B

tossing. The waters became choppy and the waves were beating dang erously close to my ledge. I tried to fly out of my porthole without being lashed by the breakers but I lost my balance and went tumbling down into the water. It all happened so fast that I didn’t have time to spread my wings. Then a huge wave hit me hard and dragged me underwater. The blow stunned me so much that I couldn’t see straight. Then another wave pulled me way out to sea and far away from the ship. I tried to get out of the water but showers of sea spray and foam swirled over me and then a heavy mist came down. I lost sight of the Ark of Dun Ruah. It was then that I really started to panic.’
    â€˜It’s not like you to fall asleep like that, Pod. You must have been exhausted.’
    â€˜I was. And it took a huge effort to gather my wits about me. Eventually, I managed to take flight. I tried to find a way to fly out of the mist but it was dark and thick. The more I tried to get out of the mist the more disorientated I became. I was terrified out there all alone above the whispering waters.’
    â€˜Poor Pod,’ said Kerry. ‘You must have lost your sense of direction.’
    â€˜We owls are experts at finding our way in the dark, but all my navigational instincts deserted me out there on the enchanted seas. There must be a terrible curse on those waters. It confused me so much that I guess I was flying around in circles. But after what seemed like ages the mist cleared a little and I saw a group of Giant Eagles above me. They looked very like the same Giant Eagles that were stalking me in Kilbeggin. Before I could get away they descended into my flight path and surrounded me. They didn’t attack but they kept staring at me and asking me questions, moving closer and closer.’
    â€˜You must have been terrified.’
    â€˜I was so desperate that I answered all their questions. I told them I was lost and was looking for my way back to the Ark of Dun Ruah. The eagles whispered among themselves and then one of them said, “It just so happens that we are looking for the Ark of Dun Ruah ourselves. You can follow us.” So I followed those eagles for a very long time. And I was sure that they were the same eagles who had been pestering me in Kilbeggin. I knew that they were leading me in the wrong direction but what choice had I but to follow them? They had me surrounded.’
    â€˜So they led you here.’
    â€˜Well, I tried to make a getaway first. I noticed that every now and then the eagles left me unguarded and grouped together to have a chat among themselves. During one of their conflabs I took the opportunity to escape by shooting upwards into the heavens as fast as I could soar. But they were on my tail straight away. Eagles are good at high altitudes. The leader of the flock seized me by the neck, with his long claws and the rest of the eagles closed in tight around me. They dragged me across the sea to the coast of this island. We flew over high cliffs and forests until we reached the foothills of the two peaks. Then I saw the Abbey below us. We entered it and flew through a maze of corridors and passages until they dumped me here in this awful dungeon.’
    â€˜Did you meet Red Beak himself?’ Kerry asked.
    â€˜Yes. After a few hours the guards came to tell me that their King wished to meet me. I was escorted to the Great Eagle’s private chambers. When he arrived he was surrounded by a bunch of tough-looking bodyguards. By that time I was so shattered that I couldn’t speak.’
    â€˜Oh, Pod,’ said Kerry. ‘What did you think of him?’
    â€˜I think he looks more like a vulture than a Giant Eagle,’ said Pod. ‘He got his bodyguards to drag me onto a high perch in the centre of the room and then he circled around me examining my feathers. All the time he made horrible hissing sounds and his hooded red beady eyes almost burned through my body.