Chasing the Valley by Skye Melki-Wegner Page A

‘You’re gonna be the most hunted person in Taladia.’
    â€˜Imagine the price they’ll put on your head,’ says Clementine. ‘They’ll plaster your face across the papers, on wanted posters . . . The scruffer who shot a biplane from the sky! Whoever catches you will win a fortune.’
    â€˜Trust a richie to think about money,’ mutters Teddy.
    â€˜It was an accident!’ I say. ‘I didn’t even know the plane was there.’
    â€˜You think the king will care?’ says Radnor.
    Clementine throws up her hands. ‘Well, you can’t come with us! This trip is already dangerous enough, thank you very much.’
    â€˜Danika saved our lives!’ says Teddy. ‘Anyway, we already had hunters after us. What difference will a few more make?’ He gives a cocky grin. ‘We can get away from a few overfed palace buffoons.’
    â€˜A few overfed buffoons?’ says Clementine. ‘I’m glad you think this is so amusing, but I refuse to treat this journey like a game. If we stay with this scruffer girl, Nort, we are all going to die.’
    â€˜Bit melodramatic, don’t you reckon?’ Teddy says.
    I gaze down at the remains of the plane. It still doesn’t feel real. How could I, a runty little scruffer kid from Rourton, destroy a palace biplane? Clementine is right. I’ll have half the kingdom after me, all eager to set an example of the fate that awaits traitors. As long as I stay here, I’m a danger to the crew.
    â€˜I’ll go,’ I say. ‘I won’t be responsible for the rest of you getting caught.’
    â€˜They’re gonna kill us if they find us, anyway,’ says Teddy. ‘I reckon your illusion skills are the best hope we’ve got.’
    â€˜If they’re busy chasing me, maybe they’ll leave the rest of you alone. This could be your chance to get out of the forest, to find the river . . .’
    â€˜Forget it, Danika,’ says Teddy. ‘They’ll be after all of us now. You set off the flare to help us escape, remember? They probably reckon we planned it all together.’ He brightens. ‘Hey, do you reckon the papers will run my old mugshot from the jewellery store heist? I reckon I look pretty dashing in that one.’
    Clementine shakes her head. ‘They won’t be able to identify us. It was dark, and –’
    â€˜The city wall is lined with picture spells,’ says Radnor. ‘They’ll have images of all our faces by now.’
    A breeze eddies across the ruins of the plane, twisting smoke into the air. We all know what Radnor means. Rourton is a hive of rats: of whispers and rumours and dealings in the dark. The guards need only flash my picture around the dodgier end of town, and I can think of a dozen scruffers who’d sell my name for a fistful of coins. It won’t be hard to identify the richie twins, either, and as for the infamous Teddy Nort . . .
    We can never go back. If we set one foot back in Rourton now, we might as well sign our own death warrants. The realisation tightens in my stomach like a fist.
    â€˜You should get going,’ I manage. ‘The smoke’s going to draw the hunters this way.’
    Radnor nods. ‘Come on, everyone.’
    â€˜Her too?’ says Clementine sharply, tossing her head in my direction.
    â€˜No, I’ll stay here,’ I say. ‘I mean, I’ll head off in another direction, and maybe –’
    Radnor shakes his head. ‘No, you’re part of the crew now, Danika. I want an illusionist on my side. Anyway, this is my crew and I make the rules. We don’t leave anyone behind, and we don’t betray each other – no matter what.’ He gives Clementine a stern glare. ‘If we can’t trust each other, we’re not going to survive.’
    Clementine doesn’t look convinced, but she nods. I hesitate before I do the same.