This week your librarian read chapters 35-38 of On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, and once again, my favorite passage featured Peet the Sock Man. If you’ve not already read this far in the book on your own, I’d encourage you to catch up before reading this excerpt. If you read it here first, it might ruin a surprise!
Running faster than Janner believed possible, Peet the Sock Man bore down on them, mouth open in a vicious cry, wildness in his eyes.
The Fangs watched him come, unable to understand what they were seeing, too shocked to react. Peet leapt into the air with an animal-like grace and spread his socked arms wide, his screech still filling their ears, the crows scattering before him.
Peet fell on three of the Fangs nearest to him in a fury of talons and shrieks. The talons, Janner saw, were Peet’s— three long talons, in fact, that tore from within the socks on both arms and shredded them to pieces. The remains of the stockings floated to the ground like feathers. The Fang company stood motionless as their fellow soldiers crumpled to the ground, sliced and bleeding from a hundred wounds. Peet wasted no time. Slashing and spinning , his talons now covered in green blood, he felled two more Fangs before any of them had the sense to draw a weapon.
…
Podo’s growl, Peet’s screech, and the snarls of the Fangs mixed with the racket of clashing steel.
In a matter of moments, only Peet and Podo were left standing— the pirate and the Sock Man, covered in green blood and gasping for breath, knee deep in a pile of scaly corpses.
—From chapter 37, “Talons and a Sling.”
If you’ve got a favorite few lines from this week’s reading, I’d love to hear them—just post them in the comments. If you’re somewhere else in the series, you may still feel free to post something you read this week. All quotes are welcome here!
Before you go, check out our forum. This week, there’s been a great conversation about names (Igiby and Wingfeather in particular). You can also find some help with pronunciations! Not sure where to start? Here are a few ideas:
- Authors, Assemble!
- Andrew’s sly sneakery
- Favorite characters
- Remember who you are (A real-life adventure for you)
I had two, but since I used one in a post in the forum, I will put the other one here.
Something in the seriousness of Podo’s voice told Janner that the old pirate was trying to convince himself, and Janner suddenly felt a deep sadness. He was sad that he’d never again see the green garden or the wide, lonesome ocean beneath the cliffs or laugh in the lamplight of a warm meal with his family. He could feel his hope fleeing, and it was the Black Carriage that chased it away.