On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson Read Free Book Online

they’d seen a little girl, but they answered only with irritated looks; they were far more concerned with sea dragons than these pesky little kids. Finally, Janner and Tink stood alone on the lawn in the fading light.
    Little Leeli Igiby was gone. The brothers looked at one another, unable to speak, unsure of what to do. Then a sound came faintly to their ears from the direction of the town—a sound that deepened their fear to terror and set them running as fast as they could run.
    A dog was barking, and someone, a little girl—Leeli!—was screaming.

8
    Two Thrown Stones
    F aster, Janner!” Tink yelled over his shoulder as he sprinted toward town. Janner was huffing behind him, unable to keep up. As they passed the livery at the edge of town, Janner heard a deeper sound, below Leeli’s screams and Nugget’s growls: the dreadful, unmistakable hiss and snarl of a Fang.
    Janner looked from one side of the street to the other, desperate for some clue as to where the screams were coming from, but they seemed to be everywhere. Tink bolted down the main street, which was mostly deserted. The few adults who remained were hustling toward the cliffs, thinking only of the annual dance of the sea dragons. If they heard the screams and the growling at all, they showed no sign of it. Out of the corner of Tink’s eye, down a narrow alleyway between Ferinia’s Flower Shop and J. Bird’s Barbershop, he saw a Fang struggling with something. Tink skidded to a stop and Janner plowed into him, nearly knocking him down.
    There in the alley, in a cloud of dust, Nugget was darting back and forth between the Fang’s legs, evading the Fang’s furious efforts to stab him with a spear. Leeli screamed again, and without a second thought her brothers ran down the alley to save her, though they both knew there was nothing two young boys could do, pitted against a Fang of Dang.
    The narrow alley led around a corner to a small area between the back of Ferinia’s and her stables. Leeli was curled into a ball while a second Fang held her in place with the butt of his spear. One Fang watched with grim delight as the other struggled with the little black dog.
    Nugget was in a frenzy, pouncing in and out, snarling and snapping at the Fang.
    The Fang standing over Leeli was chuckling in a thin, papery voice, “What’s the matter, Slarb? Is the sssmelly little thing too much for you?”
    Slarb growled as he jabbed again at Nugget. The spear nicked Nugget in the leg and he yelped.
    Leeli screamed and the Fang jabbed at her with the butt of his spear just as her brothers burst around the corner, Tink in the lead. Leeli saw them and began kicking at the Fang with renewed vigor.
    Janner found himself on Slarb’s back, beating him with all his might around the neck and shoulders. It was the first time he had ever touched a Fang, and he was dimly surprised how cold the scaly skin was.
    Tink dove past the second Fang, grabbed Leeli’s arms, and tried to pull her away from it.
    Slarb, with Janner on his back, hissed and thrashed, his long, sharp fangs dripping with venom that burned at the touch.
    Nugget bit the lizard’s leg and wouldn’t let go.
    The other Fang seized Tink by his shirt collar and yanked him backward and to the ground, where he lay choking and clutching his throat.
    Leeli reached for her crutch, but the Fang snatched it away from her and crushed it into splinters. She saw bits of wood etched with purple flowers flying through the air.
    The Fang then strode over to Slarb and kicked Nugget hard in the belly, sending him flying through the air with a yelp. The little dog crashed into the wooden wall and landed in a motionless heap.
    Slarb hurled Janner over his shoulder and onto the ground. He bent over Janner’s neck with his scaly jaw wide open, baring his dripping fangs to bite. The second Fang drew his sword and raised it to strike Tink. Leeli was helpless but to close