‘About as useful as frog whispering,’ Stella replied.
‘And there was a yeti, of course.’
A flash of lightning suddenly lit up the wolf pen and, in those few seconds, Stella clearly saw the dark silhouette of a wolf flash by on the other side of the canvas wall.
‘Oh!’ She leapt to her feet. ‘Oh no, there’s a wolf still out there!’
She was already heading for the exit, horrified at the thought of the poor animal being swept over-board, when Shay caught hold of her arm. Stella noticed that he wore several bracelets, woven from chocolate-coloured leather, many of them fastened with beads the shape of wolf heads.
‘Hold your horses,’ he said. ‘That’s just Koa.’
‘Koa?’
‘She’s my shadow wolf.’
Stella stared at him. ‘What’s a shadow wolf?’
Shay tilted his head, and one side of his mouth quirked upwards in a half smile. ‘Well,’ he said. ‘That’s a good question. No one quite knows for sure. Most whisperers have them. Some people think they’re a kind of guardian angel sent to protect the whisperer. Others believe that the shadow animal is a wild part of the whisperer’s own soul, brought to life and given physical form.’
He drew back the canvas wall so that Stella could see out onto the shiny wet deck. Through the driving rain, a dark shape moved slowly towards them and, as it got closer, Stella saw that it was an enormous wolf. It wasn’t like the wolves in the pen, though. This one was larger, reaching almost to Stella’s waist, and its fur was coal-black – the exact same shade as Shay’s own hair. When it stopped in front of them, Stella saw that the wolf had intelligent, silver eyes that seemed to glow with a faint light all of their own.
Shay dropped down into a crouch so that his face was level with the wolf’s. The animal gazed back at him with obvious affection.
‘Is she friendly?’ Stella asked. ‘Can I stroke her?’
‘Oh, she’s friendly, all right,’ Shay replied. ‘But she has no physical substance. She’s a shadow wolf, remember?’
He demonstrated by reaching out his hand and bringing it slowly towards Koa’s back. Instead of making contact with the fur, his hand just passed straight through the wolf’s body, like the animal was made of smoke. And, indeed, the next moment, Koa melted away into the shadows, as if she’d never been there at all.
‘Where’s she gone?’ Stella asked, gazing around.
Shay shrugged. ‘Who knows?’ He stood up. ‘Koa comes and goes as she pleases. I don’t always see her, but I feel her close by. She’s never too far away.’
‘What kind of things does she say to you?’ Stella asked, desperately curious.
‘Secrets, mostly. I couldn’t possibly share them. She’d never forgive me.’ Shay offered her a grin. ‘Sorry.’
‘That’s okay,’ Stella replied. The fairies told Felix secrets sometimes, and he had explained to her that it was very important to never betray a friend’s trust by sharing a confidence.
‘Were you born a wolf whisperer?’ Stella asked. ‘Or was Koa just there one day?’
She very much hoped it was the second option. If Shay’s shadow wolf had just suddenly appeared, then perhaps Stella might yet turn out to be a whisperer. Why, she might wake up in her cabin tomorrow, only to find a shadow unicorn or shadow polar bear peering up at her. Really, even a shadow caterpillar or a shadow duck would be better than nothing.
But Shay said, ‘You’re born a whisperer. Koa’s been there for as long as I can remember.’ He paused, then added, ‘She saved my sister’s life once. I have seven of them, you know.’ He gave Stella another sudden grin. ‘Sisters, that is. Not shadow wolves. My youngest sister is a penguin whisperer.’
‘How absolutely wonderful!’ Stella exclaimed.
Shay shrugged. ‘It’s okay, I guess, but her shadow penguin, Honky, is terribly grumpy. He and Koa get on famously, though. Honky likes to stand on Koa’s back and ride about on her whilst flapping his wings up and down.’
Stella couldn’t help giggling at the image. Just at that moment, though, a gigantic thunder crack overhead made both children jump. ‘I’d better go,’ Stella said reluctantly. She thought of the promise she had made earlier and added, ‘Felix said I had to go back to the cabin if the storm hit. Will the wolves be okay?’
Shay nodded. ‘I’ll stay with them,’ he said. ‘And Koa will keep an eye out. All night long if we have to.’
‘Well, goodnight, then.’
‘Goodnight, Sparky. And thanks again for your help. You were marvellous.’
*
When Stella woke up the next morning the ship was already in the harbour at Coldgate. From her top bunk she peered out of the porthole and marvelled at the beautiful white sails of the other ships.
‘Stella, why on earth are your clothes all wet?’ Felix asked from below.
Stella winced and peered over the side of the bunk. She’d been so keen to change into her unicorn pyjamas last night that she’d just left her wet clothes in a pile by the bed.
‘I was helping Shay Kipling look after the wolves,’ she said. ‘And the ship was rocking around so much that I fell into their water trough.’
It was only half a lie, after all, and there was no reason to upset Felix unnecessarily. Stella noticed that he had put on his explorer’s hooded dress cloak. It was made from pale blue cloth with a small polar bear stitched on the front, clearly marking him out as a member of the Polar Bear Explorers’ Club. Stella had seen the cloak many times before, but normally only hanging on a coat peg or thrown over the back of a chair. Felix hated it for being heavy and itchy and too formal, and was forever taking it off as soon as he got the first chance.
They left the ship and stepped onto a harbour bustling with people. Many of them seemed to be selling weird and wonderful things, from mermaid flowers and pirate pancakes, to treasure maps and telescopes. Stella would have loved to
