Free On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson

right; this wasn’t Ships and Sharks, and maybe there wouldn’t be a way out.
    Janner wished he could sleep like Tink and Leeli, but his anxious thoughts kept him from it. He tried to think about anything but the dreaded Black Carriage that was making its way over dark hill and starlit vale to Glipwood. He thought about how fine his breakfast had been that very morning, and how warm the hearth was in the Igiby cottage, nestled beneath the boughs of Glipwood trees. His heart was sad for Podo, his dear scruffy grandfather, who had lost his wife in the Great War. He was sad for his mother, whom the Great War had widowed. Now they would again be bereaved, all because he had failed to keep a close eye on Leeli.
    Janner sighed and leaned against the wall with his head hung low, thinking of his father. He wished more than ever that he was sailing on a boat in the open sea, and he thought to take his father’s drawing out again before he realized that there would be no way to see it in the dark. Surely his father would know how to escape from this dreary cell and their terrible ride in the Black Carriage. Or, if he were still alive, surely he would come to their rescue. But young Janner Igiby had no father and very little hope, there with his brother and sister in that bare, awful cell.
    Leeli lifted her head and looked up at the window.
    â€œDid you hear that?” she said.
    Tink woke up with a start and said, “Pass the gravy.”
    â€œI think it’s Nugget,” she said. “Nugget! Is that you, boy?”
    Three pairs of eyes turned up to the window. The children listened. They heard a whine and a worried sound somewhere between a bark and a howl. Janner felt happy, though he didn’t know why. There wasn’t much a dog could do for them in their predicament, but knowing that Nugget had come back made hoping easier. Then they heard Fang voices arguing in the outer room of the jail. One of the voices—maybe Slarb—was cut short by a thud and a crash.
    Commander Gnorm growled something about obeying orders, then footsteps clunked toward the door.
    The door creaked open to reveal Gnorm’s chubby silhouette. Janner could see Slarb sprawled on the floor behind him. For the second time that day, because of the Igiby children, Slarb’s head had found itself in the path of a blunt object. Gnorm took the keys off the wall and unlocked the cell door.
    â€œYou’re most fortunate, children,” he gurgled. “Someone thinks you’re worth a few shinies.”
    He wiggled his pudgy fingers at them. They were studded with four golden and bejeweled rings that hadn’t been there before. Glittering bracelets covered his forearm and a golden medallion on a silver chain hung around his neck. The jewelry looked out of place on such an ugly creature. Gnorm swung open the door and waved out the children.
    â€œSo…we can go?” Janner asked timidly.
    â€œYes. Out of my sight,” he said impatiently. Gnorm admired his new jewelry while the children eased by. But as Janner passed him, the Fang snatched him by the face and jerked him close. The Fang’s baggy face filled Janner’s vision. He saw his terrified reflection in the black bottomless pools of the Fang’s hateful eyes, felt his claws digging into his cheeks.
    â€œTouch one of my soldiers again and a
thousand
chests of gold won’t ssssave you or your family,” Gnorm said in a low, menacing voice. He thrust Janner away so violently that he fell to the floor. Tink helped him up, not daring to look at the Fang or to breathe a word. The boys helped Leeli past the soldiers, past Slarb, who by now had picked himself up off the floor and was seething with anger as he watched the children leave unscathed.
    In the faint lamplight in the middle of the street stood their mother, Nia, whose face was as pale as the moon.

13
    A Song for the Shining Isle
    J anner, Tink, and Leeli stepped down the wooden