Runa joined Barclay by the damaged ship. The wind was so strong that her braid had come undone, and she spit strands of blond hair from her mouth. “Unfortunately, no one is willing to sail us across the gulf to the Sea, no matter what we pay them. They claim it’s because there’s a storm coming. But I’m not sure that’s the only reason.”

“They’re just scared, is all,” Barclay mumbled. There he went, defending Elsies again. He didn’t even know these people.

Runa looked out onto the water grimly. “They should be scared, given the news I’ve heard.”

Unnerved, Barclay was about to ask Runa what she meant when his Mark gave a painful twitch, as it always did when danger neared.

Not a moment later, a scream ripped across the pier. A woman crouched at the helm of one of the docked ships, swatting away a seagull.

Only the seagull didn’t resemble the ones Barclay had seen while traveling along the cliffs. It was at least three times as big, with four wings and a beak as long and sharp as a spear.

It wasn’t a seagull at all. It was a Beast.

“Well, that can’t be good,” Runa said. Except she wasn’t looking at the docks. She was looking at the sky.

Hundreds of the Beasts swirled overhead, a flock so dense it was darker than the storm clouds.

Then, all at once, they dove.

TWO

The seagull Beasts swarmed the village, attacking anything that moved. They swooped and squawked, the powerful beats of their four wings blowing up gales of sand that seemed to swallow Knunx in a dust cloud. Shopkeepers screamed and fled indoors while sailors dove for safety into the cold waters. The sheep stampeded down the road, knocking over crates, tables, wheelbarrows, and anyone in their path.

Barclay and Runa lunged for cover beside the beached ship.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

The Beasts’ spearlike beaks pierced the boat behind them. Barclay jumped out of the way a moment before he would’ve been impaled.

“What are these Beasts?” Barclay shouted, lifting his arms to shield his eyes from the flying sand. “And why are they attacking an Elsewheres town?”

Though Beasts had occasionally stolen into Dullshire chicken coops, the town had never seen an all-out invasion like this.

“They’re Sleábeaks,” Runa answered. “And I’m not sure why they’re here. One or two Beasts, maybe… but hundreds? Go find Tadg and Viola. The four of us need to protect the villagers.”

At that, Runa sprinted toward the water. She whipped her arms to the side, and a massive wave of ice rose from the ocean toward the sky, freezing a dozen Sleábeaks inside. Barclay’s mouth dropped open in awe. Even after weeks traveling with Runa, Barclay had never seen her use Lore and never once met her Beasts.