Free Urchin and the Rage Tide by M. I. McAllister Page B

that Corr fell over and a swath of velvet landed on him. He soon realized that Needle, Thripple, and some of the other workroom animals had moved some of their sewing projects into these high, safe cupboards. On trying to fold it up again, he found that the thing that had dropped on top of him was a cloak.
    If Corr had known anything about fabrics, he would have realized at once that this unfinished cloak, made of deep yellow velvet and lined in white, was an exceptionally warm and valuable one. But all he saw was a very useful garment, the hem still tacked and the collar unfinished. Hoping nobody would mind, he bundled it up and ran down to the kitchen, and from there to the underground lake. With the tide still high, he could make his way out to sea from here.
    Folding the cloak, he stowed it safely away. He mustn’t draw attention to himself. The bay was full of otters, clearing up flotsam and jetsam, some of them in the small boats Fingal had saved from the storm. Nobody would notice another one, even if he did seem to be getting close to the mists.
    His heart was beating hard and fast, and his paws shook a little on the oars. Inside, he still felt he was just Corr the otter. But he was also a Voyager on his first great quest, and like all Voyagers, he must go alone. He had made sure to pack a box of hazelnuts. Sepia liked those.

    Crispin held out a paw to raise Padra, kneeling before him.
    “Come up to the Throne Room, Padra,” he said. “Water may be your natural element, but it isn’t mine. Whatever you have to say, you can say it there.”
    They climbed the stairs to the Throne Room without speaking. Once there, Padra knelt again, placing his sword and circlet at Crispin’s paws.
    “Your Majesty—Crispin,” he said, and his voice was heavy with sorrow, “I have let a young animal go into danger, without your permission.”
    “Get off your knees and sit down, Padra,” said Crispin. “Tell me exactly what this is about.”
    Padra did not move. “I will stay here until I’ve told you,” he said. “Dear Crispin, we went to the shore and saw the bodies of the dead. Sepia is not among them.”
    “Heart be praised for that,” said Crispin. “So there’s still hope, even if it’s a faint one. I don’t see how she could have survived that storm. Padra, if this is about Sepia, don’t blame yourself. I was the one who took her to Arder Bay, not you. She asked to come—she was so worried about Twirl and the other little ones. I could have ordered her to stay away and she would have obeyed, but I let her come. If anyone should resign it’s me, but I have made a vow to the animals of Mistmantle to be a good king, and they look to me to keep it. Put your circlet back on.”
    “It’s not just Sepia,” said Padra. “There’s more than that. Corr came to talk to me in private. He knows he’s a Voyager, so he asked permission to go beyond the mists and search there for Sepia. He wanted to bring her home if he could, alive or dead, if a way could be found. Failing that, he could at least bring news of her.”
    “And what did you tell him?” asked Crispin.
    “I told him to go,” he said. “I told him to provision a boat thoroughly, and go. Told him to keep himself safe as much as possible, but I still told him he could go. He said he thought he should ask Urchin, and I told him I’d sort things out with Urchin myself.”
    “Fair enough,” said Crispin.
    “Yes, but Crispin—Your Majesty—I even said the same about you, when he said he’d need your permission. I told him he needn’t worry about that. I told him, ‘Just go, Corr. I’ll sort it out with the king.’” He looked fully into Crispin’s face. “That was overstepping my authority—it should have been your decision, not mine. Corr is too young for such an undertaking. Who knows what he might find beyond the mists, or what might find him?”
    “I will always treasure what I found beyond the mists,” said Crispin thoughtfully, and