“Not quite,” he admits. “I knew it was somewhere on the island, but I decided to let the Masters of Roar find it and bring it to me. After all, I need you for the next bit, don’t I?”

He whistles, then clicks. Several scarecrows break away from the others and move toward us. “No!” shouts Rose, and we squeeze even closer together as her arms wrap around the Box.

Win pulls out his wand. “Egg-tremble!” he shouts. “EGG-TREMBLE!” A flame leaps from his wand. It’s good, it really is, but the scarecrows simply jump to one side, avoiding it, then one of them snatches the wand from Win, snaps it, and tosses it to the ground.

Then they turn on us. A scarecrow in a tattered dress grabs Win by his cloak and another towers over me. Her twig fingers wrap around my shoulders and I’m wrenched away from the Box. Rose manages to fight them off for longer. She clings on to the Box, until two scarecrows pounce on her, grabbing hold of her hair and face. With a scream, she lets the Box fall into the snow.

A bellow of rage echoes from the shore. Mitch is pulling herself onto the ice. Her hands reach for a bottle around her neck. She crushes the glass in her bare hands and throws the whole lot up in the air, smacking it with her tail. A blast of wind races toward us, blowing snow from the trees and hitting us hard. But the scarecrows are too strong. They hold their ground, tightening their grip, while Crowky sends more of them after her.

“Get out of here!” Rose shouts to her friend. “Get back to the ship. Make a spell!”

Mitch hesitates. Her eyes dart from us to the scarecrows who are racing closer. At the last moment, she comes to a decision and dives back into the water, disappearing from sight.

Crowky turns and gazes at the Box with greedy eyes.

“Don’t touch it!” says Rose, but he ignores her and runs his twig fingers across the lid.

His wings tremble. Rose lurches forward and he looks up. “It’s mine now, Rose.” Then he laughs as if he can’t quite believe this is true.

He signals to the scarecrows holding us. They toss us down in the snow, then step back to join the others. As one, the scarecrows raise their arms and fall still. Snow dusts their drooping heads. They’ve formed a cage, and we’re trapped inside.

Suddenly Crowky gasps with delight. A glimmer of light has appeared on the side of the Box.

Chapter 37

Everything seems to freeze: my breath, Crowky’s fingers, even the air around us. The ice groans and my chest squeezes tight with cold and fear. Rose, Win, and I huddle together as the golden letters form words.

What’s in the box . . .