I slowed my steps as I walked down the icy slope from my village to the harbour. Mum’s grip tightened on my hand. A ship waited to take me away—not just from Mum, but from the only home I’d ever known. And it was a pirate ship.
The frozen ground burned my bare feet. I’d left my shoes at home since I knew none of the pirates wore shoes.
There beneath my feet, as always, were the monsters—swimming in the ice like normal fish swim in water. Except normal fish weren’t covered with unpredictable lumps and spikes—and normal fish weren’t the size of houses. I focused the pleasure of a smile in my mind and sent the emotion beaming down into the ice.
Hi boys. You’re looking especially spectacular today. Spike, is that another new growth on your side? That shade of puce really catches the eye. No
