Soul Splinter (32 page)

And there’s another noise in the turret now, a sound so soft it might have been missed before. But it’s there all right, a hushed kind of whispering, and it’s coming from the fibre itself as if sounds have been locked inside it: muffled sobs, a gasp, teeth chattering, a faint scream. The fibre is almost a living, breathing thing and, although every sound it makes is different, each one tells of the same thing: fear.

The figure runs a curled nail along the fibre – slowly, thoughtfully, gently. This is something very precious. The sack mouth smiles and the eyeholes slant.

‘You’re almost ready, aren’t you?’

Each word is precise, each syllable like a perfect stitch. The figure glances at an old wardrobe at the far side of the room. It is barred shut with a plank of wood, but, as the figure watches, the plank begins to shake. Whatever is locked inside the wardrobe knows it’s being watched and wants to get out.

‘All in good time,’ the figure whispers. ‘All in good time.’

Then the wardrobe doors are still once more and the figure pushes the treadle down with his foot. Again the wheel turns, creaking into the night, and the black thread gathers round the spindle.

THE DREAMSNATCHER
saw the Tribe face the Shadowmasks in the forest.
THE SHADOW KEEPER
saw them battle the witchdoctors down by the sea. Get ready for the final book in the trilogy, where they journey to the northern wilderness to force the Shadowmasks back once and for all. Here’s a little teaser for what to expect . . .

An enormous thank you to creative superstar, Thierry Kelaart, for drawing me a world inside a feather.

The dream was to get one book published. But somehow, here I am writing the acknowledgments for my second book. There are not enough star jumps in the world to express the happiness, excitement and sheer magic of that. So here are some very special thank yous instead . . .

To the Salvesen Clan, thank you for the Norwegian adventures which helped shape a lot of the drama in the book: kayaking through the fjords, jumping off cliffs and diving for mussels. A big thanks to the De Lisle family for exploring beaches and lighthouses with me in Salcombe – Little Hollows grew out of that weekend. Thank you to Sam Allen Turner for an extremely bendy afternoon of Anti-Gravity Yoga, the inspiration behind the Oracle Spirits, and also to Huw Stephens and Kevin Higgs at Barbury Shooting School for letting me practise archery with a
real
Robin Hood bow so that the Tribe knew their stuff. And thank you to Fiona Bird for foraging tips and Pith and Bunga Heathcote Amory for advice on living wild.

Thank you to my wonderful agent, Hannah Sheppard. You’ve been there for Moll, Gryff, Alfie and Sid from the start and hearing your enthusiasm for this book when you read it out at sea a year ago made me stand on my chair and whoop. Your early editorial advice, together with your continued support throughout contracts I never understand, has been invaluable.

To Jane Griffiths, my hugely talented editor, you realised what was needed to make my characters stronger and the structure of the story tighter; your advice made me write a bolder book and your compassion for Porridge the Second and Hermit makes me smile. Liz Binks, you continually inject creativity and flair into the marketing and PR of my books – thank you (and Pete!) for all your hard work. Thank you also to Camilla Leask at Angel Publicity and Elisa Offord, Becky Peacock, Jade Westwood, Rachel Mann, Laura Hough, Stephanie Purcell, Sam Habib, Johnny Keyworth and Jane Tait from Simon & Schuster Kids for your enthusiasm, time and talent. Thomas Flintham, you’ve done a fantastic job on the book cover and the map – again. Huge thanks to you and Jenny Richards.

I also want to dedicate a paragraph of shouty-style praise to the incredible bloggers who have got behind me over the last two years: Jim Dean, Darren Hartwell, Michelle Toy, Clare Zinkin, Mathew Tobin, Joshua Aldwinckle-Povey, Vincent Ripley, Sarah Watkins, Hannah Weyh, Anne-Marie Carslaw, Carly Bennett and KM Lockwood. Together with Fiona Noble, Shelley Fallows and Aimee Layton, your kind words about
The Dreamsnatcher
on social media made my tummy flip and your continued support and encouragement throughout my writing
The Shadow Keeper
has made me feel a lot braver as a writer – thank you.

To the exceptional teachers and librarians who have championed my book – especially Helen Barker, Jo Clarke, Anna Tomlinson, Anne Thompson, Lesley Parr, Amy Kinross, Hannah Verney, James Malone, Kelly Tarrant and Guy Lucas – your enthusiasm, display boards and school visits have been among the highlights of my writing journey so far. Thank you. And a huge thank you to Mel Taylor at Little Star Writing for all her incredible support, to the following Waterstones booksellers who have pushed Moll and her Tribe out into the world so boldly – Jo Boyles, Stevie Connor, Amanda Jordan, Laura Main Ellen and Craig Hayworth – and to all the independent bookshops who have shown such fabulous support: Forum Books Kids, Topping & Company St Andrews and Bath, Storytellers Inc, A Bundle of Books, Haslemere Bookshop, Chicken and Frog, Mr B’s Emporium, A Festival Of Books, Ottie and the Bea, Nutshell Studios, Tales on Moon Lane, Pea Green Boat Books and Mostly Books.

Thank you to all the awesome kids who have read my book, come to hear me speak and sent me lovely messages, drawings, stories and even raps – you guys are the best fans I could’ve asked for. A massive thank you to the Little Star Writers for their silvery advice on the cover, to all the brilliant kids at my Patron school – Whitchurch C of E Primary – and to my Beanstalk gang at Essendine Primary for all their booky chat. And a special thanks to the children who read my book when it was only just tiptoeing out into the world: Corey Yuile, Seren James, Enya Eccleston, Sara and Tesa Getter, Annika and Ishaan Arora, Morgan Damiba and Pippa Bell. Tori Van Heerden – I bet one day we’ll be signing books together. To all my wonderful friends, thank you for your continued love and support and huge hugs to Ed and Lizzie Webb for buying Edinburgh out of every single Abi Elphinstone book week in, week out.

And my family. The maddest, bestest bunch of the lot. I could never have written my books without you all – your love and support are unparalleled. Mum, I’m so proud of you in all that you do – how you manage to look after all the pupils in your school AND still find time to check I’m wearing a vest and see what Moll is up to is beyond me. You are a remarkable woman and the reason Moll is so brave is because of you. Dad, thank you for all our adventures – carving catapults, hiking the moors, watching salmon leap – you gave me a unforgettable childhood and whenever Moll and Oak explore, I imagine it’s you and me. Will and Tom, thank you for bouncing down stairs on mattresses with me and scrambling over bales in the barn; the reason Moll has such great pals in Alfie and Sid is because you two were brilliantly reckless little brothers. Charli, thank you for all your incredible support and friendship – many a jar of Chazwinkle’s was consumed during the writing of this book and I’ll let Mooshie know she should be cooking with it from now on. Matilda, you are too young to understand what on earth all this means but I want you to know Auntie Abi can’t wait to go on adventures with you soon. Cruey, my little sis, thank you for that walk along St Cyrus beach where you named Scrap and helped me build her character. So much of you went into her. And Rosie and Tron, you’re brilliant additions to Team Elph and I’m so grateful for all your support.

Edo. You get a whole paragraph to yourself. Hehe. Thank you for letting me stamp around the house when my stories aren’t quite coming together. Thank you for your patience when I’m as impulsive and tiring as Moll. Thank you for charging up and down the county with me for events. Thank you for making me laugh when things go wrong. Thank you for being so up for any adventure that comes our way. And thank you for believing in me every single day. You’re a very wonderful human being.

Abi Elphinstone grew up in Scotland where she spent most of her childhood building dens, hiding in tree houses and running wild across highland glens. After being coaxed out of her tree house, she studied English at Bristol University and then worked as a teacher in Africa, Berkshire and London. THE SHADOW KEEPER is her second book (THE DREAMSNATCHER was her first) and a third book will complete the Tribe’s adventures in 2017. When she’s not writing about Moll and Gryff, Abi volunteers for Beanstalk charity, teaches creative writing workshops in schools and travels the world looking for her next story. Her latest adventure involved living with the Kazakh Eagle Hunters in Mongolia . . .

Website: www.abielphinstone.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/abi.elphinstone

Twitter: @moontrug

Instagram: @moontrugger