Magnus Fin and the Moonlight Mission Read Online Free PDF Page B

the fish that were now staring at him, or darting past, or tickling his feet.
    The crab that Fin had been following for a long time or a short time, he couldn’t tell which, stopped and crawled under a clam shell. Wherever Fin was being led, he had now arrived. With his heart thudding loudly he swept his bright eye-lights through the dark water. Tall craggy rocks, covered with barnacles, surrounded him. Great ancient faces, or so it seemed, stared at him. He was in an underwater world of cliffs, craters and canyons. Ahead of him loomed a huge circular rock. The crab had brought Fin to this place for a reason – but what was it? He didn’t know whether to swim on or tread water and wait for something to happen.
    Booming, sighing and slapping sounds surroundedhim, echoing on and on. From somewhere a muffled banging noise like a bass drum thundered. Fin twisted his body round, looking behind and above as he did so, but where the sounds came from he couldn’t tell. He circled his arms and kicked his feet. Why did the crab have to leave him like that? The banging went on. It sent shivers through Fin’s whole body. Something was bound to happen soon.
    I’ve come , he called out in his selkie thoughts. M F, that’s me. I’m here. I came .
    Still nothing. At least the crab is close by , Fin thought. That gave him some comfort, but when he scanned the valley floor the clam shell had vanished. He groaned and grasped his moon-stone. That helped to still his thudding heart. He circled his feet, glancing first at one rock face, than another, not noticing the brown liquid that stained the water and snaked around him.
    Through the water Fin imagined he could see a face, like a great Native American chief, beckoning him from the huge round rock. Not knowing where else to go, Fin swam towards the stern face. Only then did he smell the stench. He twisted round. Some foul-smelling creature was nearby. He looked up, down. But nothing was there, nothing but rocks and water. Even the face had vanished. Fin stared at the rock. Thick brown droplets oozed into the sea.
    Magnus Fin felt his eyes smart. He rubbed them and felt thick slime smear the back of his hands. He could see now that this brown sludge, whatever it was, dripped from a tiny crack in the rock. As it dripped it polluted the sea. And – Fin covered his mouth and nose – it stank! He swam forwards, wanting and not wanting toexplore, afraid of what he might find. Fin curled his fingers around his moon-stone. Don’t turn back now , he thought, spurring himself on.
    Up close, he could see that this rock was weeping thick brown tears. What he had imagined as the eye of an American chief was a hole in the rock from which the tears were seeping.
    Fin’s eyes were still smarting and for a second his torch-lights dimmed. He blinked and shook his head, struggling to keep his eyes open. Not only his eyes hurt but so did his ears. A dull repetitive banging hammered in his head, as though something or someone was pounding the sea with a battering ram.
    Was the thudding noise coming from inside his head or behind this weeping rock? Fighting a splitting headache, Magnus Fin dug his fingers into the crevices and hoisted himself level with the hole in the rock. The banging noise ceased. He pressed his face up to the crack and forced himself to peer through.
    A green eye peered back at him! It was the most menacing eye he had ever seen. A bolt of panic shot through him. He wanted to cry out. Fin kicked backwards away from the ghastly staring thing.
    His courage drained away. In a panic he thrashed his arms and legs wildly through the water, wanting only to swim as far away as possible. His eyes stung. Half blindly he lashed out. Why had the mysterious little crab led him to such a place? And where was the crab now?
    Fin thought of Tarkin, sitting waiting on the black rock. He wanted to be back on the land. This world was too frightening, full of strange creatures. And the smell was