Storm Singing and other Tangled Tasks Read Online Free PDF

boulder, Helen described the monster and the fight, echoing the more flowery retelling she could hear Yann giving ahead.
    When she’d finished, Rona said, “A sea-through!”
    “Yes,” agreed Helen. “It was nearly transparent, almost see-through.”
    “No, that’s its name. It’s called a sea-through. The proper name is cnidaree, but most selkies call them seathroughs.”
    “Are they dangerous?”
    “Their stings are nasty, and they like to eat selkie pups, but they don’t risk it often because it’s difficultto hide the evidence with those transparent tummies. They’re usually in a bad mood when they’re in their landform because they don’t like being out of the sea. They’re more relaxed in their underwater jellyfish form. In the sea, they’re only really dangerous when they band together into blooms, then they get each other all worked up about the sea’s rights and belongings.
    “Our storytellers say that long ago, sea-through blooms wrapped thousands of tentacles around ships carrying fish, whale oil or sealskins, and pulled them under, and that they sent gangs of sea-throughs ashore to dig up bodies of drowned sailors from graveyards. But no one has seen a bloom for a long time. I’m sure you just met a lone sea-through.”
    “Why did it try to disrupt Roxburgh’s song?”
    “Perhaps Sinclair has annoyed the sea-through, and it wanted to stop his son winning? He certainly annoys enough selkies!”
    Helen and Rona caught up with the elders just in time to hear Sinclair crowing triumphantly, “There is nothing here. It is all a conspiracy to have the centaur’s favourite win!”
    Helen looked at the clifftop. It had been scoured clean by the wind and water called up by Rona’s song.
    Strathy was striding up and down, cloak swirling. “So, centaur colt and human child! Where is the evidence?”
    Yann answered confidently, “Do you not recall the evidence of your own ears and eyes? Did you not hear the creature shriek about the power of the sea? Did you not see it trying to throw spines and stings down on you?”
    The host shook his head. “We heard no words, just your disruptive yells. We saw no monster, just a clumsygirl fooling about on a cliff and an inconsiderate centaur kicking stones at us.
    “You have shown us no evidence of this spy and this fight, so I must conclude that you are lying, that you had another motive for the disturbance.” He glanced at Rona. “It does not reflect well on our Sea Herald contestant.”
    Rona moved closer to her mum, who was biting her lip with small sharp teeth. Roxburgh’s dad was bouncing up and down with joy, but Roxburgh was edging away from him.
    Strathy looked back at Yann and Helen. “I have no choice but to banish both of you from our precious coastline. You will go inland now and you will never come within a mile of the sea again, unless you want the anger of every sea creature raised against you.”
    “No!” said Rona. “No, Strathy! It was a sea-through. Look at their scars!” But Helen’s cooling packs had been too effective. The welts on her hands were now pale pink.
    Strathy shrugged. “Those marks prove nothing. These land beings could have scraped themselves on rocks.”
    Yann said smoothly, “Selkie elders are known for their wisdom and justice, so please allow us the chance to put our story fully …”
    Strathy shook his head. “We do not have time for stories. You have disturbed us enough. Consider yourselves lucky we are merely banishing you. Rona Grey, consider yourself lucky that your natural talent makes it impossible for us to disqualify you.”
    “But …” blustered Sinclair, “… but …”
    Rona spoke up again. “We should be thanking my friends, not banishing them. Look …”
    Reaching into the rubble at the base of the rock, Rona dragged out a smaller version of the bag Helen had ripped.
    “A fishskin pouch?” said Strathy.
    Rona grinned at Helen, and tipped the small bag upside down. Everyone stepped