Overhead, thunder rumbled, like the growl of an empty stomach. Barclay’s Mark stung, as if he needed a reminder that he was once again face-to-face with danger.

“The sails, my boy!” Ulick shouted.

Barclay, still clinging to the railing with all his might, didn’t realize Ulick meant him until Ulick reached over and shook Barclay’s shoulder. Bracing his feet for balance, Barclay carefully let go and looked up at the sails. The wind roared, whipping his hair across his face.

He raised his arms, preparing to summon a wind of his own. But then an image flashed through his mind—the ruined house in Knunx. If Barclay’s Lore went out of control this time, they were all doomed.

“Now! Now!” Ulick yelled.

Heart hammering, Barclay squeezed his eyes shut and thought, Wind! Gusts spun out of his hands, and the sails stretched taut—too taut. The ship heaved forward violently. Viola shrieked. Barclay collided with Ulick, which felt no different from smacking into a brick wall. The bench Edwyn slept on went slewing across the deck from port to starboard. Edwyn, still snoring, didn’t stir.

Runa climbed up the quarterdeck to Ulick and Barclay. “If the storm gets worse, should we turn back to—”

“Turn back? The Bewlah has seen worse than this! Haven’t sunk her yet!” Ulick declared, and Bewlah squawked in agreement on his arm. Then Ulick braced his shoulders, a wild look in his eyes, and hollered, “Hold on to your backsides!”

The Bewlah vaulted over the crest of another wave, and Runa grabbed the edge of the ship to keep from falling. “Listen. If we turn around now, we can still make it back to Knunx, and—”

“Oi! Frown!” Ulick shouted at Tadg, pointing ahead and ignoring Runa. “Got ourselves a live one!”

Barclay squinted, trying to see what Ulick meant. Then he spotted a large, scaly tail emerge from the water and slink back below the surface.

“What is that?” Barclay squeaked. “A shark?”

Ulick chuckled. “There are Beasts worse than sharks in these waters. That’s a Slanntramór. An armored whale. It won’t bother us if we don’t bother it. But you’ll keep an eye on it, won’t ya, Frown?”

“Only if you don’t call me that!” Tadg yelled back. Regardless, he stationed himself by the bow, where a wooden carving of Bewlah looked out to sea.

Suddenly a geyserlike stream of water burst from the surface, raining droplets over the ship. Barclay watched in a mixture of awe and terror as the Slanntramór’s massive body leapt out of the water. It was the largest creature he’d ever seen—even bigger than the treelike Styerwurms of the Woods. Its body was covered in thousands of scaly plates, iridescent like mother-of-pearl.

Barclay’s wonder was short-lived.

“Well, that’s not good,” Ulick breathed.