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

Leeli’s other arm around his neck and picked up his pace.
    Nugget trotted along beside them very seriously, as if he too had realized it was a bad situation indeed.
    The light deepened as they hurried on, so when they were still an arrow’s shot away from the cottage, they already knew that their grandfather wasn’t home. No lantern burned in the window, no smoke lifted lazily out of the chimney. Janner stopped and Tink with him as they sat Leeli down on the grass, each bending over to catch their breath.
    â€œWhere…do you…suppose he is?” Tink said between gulps of air.
    â€œDon’t know,” Janner said, pacing.
    â€œMaybe he went to see the dragons this year.” Tink was doubtful.
    â€œBut he never goes to the cliffs on Dragon Day,” Leeli said, puzzled. “Why would he go this time?”
    â€œWell, why wouldn’t he be here at the cottage?” Tink asked. “I think we should look for him at the cliffs; then we might see the dragons after all—”
    A glare from Janner cut him off. Janner looked east in the direction of the sea. Maybe Tink was right. Maybe for some reason Podo had decided to watch the dragons this year. “Fine,” he said. “But we’re taking the Glipper Trail. We can’t risk the main road. There are probably Fangs everywhere. The Glipper Trail’s faster anyway.”
    Tink moaned, but already Janner was helping Leeli toward the trail. 1

    An old walking path led through the trees behind the Igiby cottage and wound precariously near the edge of the cliffs. In the deepening shadows the children made their way through the trees.
    When they emerged, the view was terrible and vast. Shale and tough grass littered the rocky verge of the land. The horizon was silent and wide, and a salty wind sighed upward, around their ankles and through their hair. The children stood without speaking, dizzy with the smallness they felt looking out over the Dark Sea of Darkness.
    Janner looked to his right and could make out a precarious trail winding over stone and brush, leading away to where the people would be watching the dragons. The Glipper Trail stayed mostly level on a narrow shelf while the ground nearer the tree line rose steeply above them. Wiry shrubs and roots clutched the rock wall as if they too were afraid of falling.
    â€œJanner, I can’t do this,” Tink said. He was standing with his back against the gray rock, eyes clenched shut.
    â€œYou have to,” Janner said. “The Fangs that might find us on the road are more dangerous than this trail right now. You have to try, Tink.”
    Using the nearby boulders for support, Leeli hopped back to him and took his hand. “Come on,” she said.
    Tink jerked his hand away and forced a smile.
    â€œI’m not really worried about me, you know,” he said with sudden bravado. “I just meant that, uh, I don’t think Leeli should be out here.”
    â€œOh,
thank
you,” Leeli said wryly.
    Tink sighed and peeled his fingers from the rock. He inched along behind Leeli and Janner, careful to stay as far as possible from the edge. As the light faded, the trail rose and narrowed. Leeli picked her way across, but Janner had to stop now and again for Tink to gather the courage to follow. Janner kept looking back to be sure that Leeli was able to navigate the trail without her crutch. With Nugget at her side and all manner of roots and rocks to hold, she seemed more like she was taking a stroll through a park than edging along a perch above the Dark Sea.
    Finally, they topped the rise in the trail and it widened out to a grassy slope. Janner and Leeli tried not to laugh when Tink burst ahead of them and paced the safe ground. His shirt was drenched in sweat, and he was strutting like he had just won a race. Ahead and below them Janner saw the glow of torches where the people were gathered to watch the dragons.
    â€œWe made it,” Janner said.