“So do I,” Tadg said hotly, which stunned Barclay. Not just because Tadg was willing to break the rules, but because both of them were happy to. No, Runa hadn’t forbidden them from wandering out of town… but Barclay still knew she wouldn’t approve of this. “What sort of competition?”

“You’ll see,” Cecily said, an unnerving glint in her dark eyes. “Come on.”

“But what are we supposed to do with all the letters?” asked Barclay.

“Here.” Cecily snapped her fingers. All at once, the sack vanished, replaced by a tiny black orb. It floated up into Cecily’s outstretched hand, and she caught it and stowed it in her pocket.

Everyone gaped. Even Yasha looked impressed. “How did you do that?” he asked.

“Shadow Lore,” she answered. “Now let’s go.”

They followed Cecily down the streets of Munsey. Cecily was especially sneaky, darting from wall to wall, careful not to be seen—even though no one was bothering to pay attention to seven kids strolling around in broad daylight. She led them to the stony beach below the lighthouse.

“According to this map,” Cecily declared, wielding A Traveler’s Log, “there are underwater rivers that—”

“Is that my book?” Viola asked, frowning.

“Sure is,” Cecily chirped. “I stole it. Now, as you can see on the map—”

“You stole it?” Viola repeated angrily.

“You can have it back when we’re done. Now look at this map. As you can see, the nine islands of the Sea form an archipelago. And there’s an underwater river right here that goes straight to—”

“How can a river be underwater?” asked Yasha.

“The river water is heavier than the ocean water because it’s full of sand and sediment. So it sinks and forms currents. And there’s a ton of these rivers in the Sea.”

Cecily showed them the map, which, like all maps of the Wilderlands, was only partially finished. Veinlike squiggles snaked across the ocean and looped around islands. Cecily pointed to one in particular that flowed from Munsey to the reef at the archipelago’s center.

“We propose a race,” Shazi declared. “The river is mostly straight the whole way to the reef. The first group to make it to the reef is the—”

“But how will we breathe underwater?” Viola asked.

Cecily rubbed her hands together. “I have everything we need.”

Then Cecily reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of those black marble-like spheres. She threw them on the ground. Splat! Splat! Splat! Each one burst like eggs cracking open, revealing squishy, phlegmy blobs. They looked like jellyfish without the tentacles.

“These are Polypops,” Cecily told them. “Or at least, these are the shed skins of Polypops. I heard the Guardian Keepers mention them this morning, so I stole them from that Apothecary shop you’re sleeping in.”

“You stole them, too?” Barclay said, aghast.