THE CROSSING OF INGO
by
Helen Dunmore
HarperCollins Children’s Books An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd. 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF
First published in hardback by HarperCollins Children’s Books 2008 First published in paperback by HarperCollins Children’s Books 2009
Text copyright © Helen Dunmore 2008
Helen Dunmore asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins ebooks
HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication
Source ISBN: 9780007464135
Ebook Edition © OCTOBER 2012 ISBN: 9780007373253
Version: 2017-03-28
TO JODI AND GABRIEL
Contents
“I see that the guardian sharks have returned,” says Ervys. Both he and Saldowr glance upwards. Far above them, shadowy shapes patrol, gliding across their territory and then turning with a whip of the tail.
“Yes, they are back,” says Saldowr. His face is watchful. “They gave you no trouble on your journey to the Groves of Aleph?”
“No trouble at all,” says Ervys with cold satisfaction. “The sharks and I know each other well.”
“Perhaps a little too well,” murmurs Saldowr.
Ervys doesn’t reply. His powerful tail stirs as if he’d like to lash out at Saldowr, but he does nothing.
“The sharks also know it is their duty to guard the Groves of Aleph,” continues Saldowr,