Frida Nilsson - The Ice Sea Pirates

This edition first published in 2017 by Gecko Press

PO Box 9335, Wellington 6141, New Zealand

info@geckopress.com

English language edition Gecko Press Ltd 2017

Translation Peter Graves 2017

Illustrations David Barrow 2017

Original title: Ishavspirater Frida Nilsson and Natur & Kultur, Stockholm 2015

Published in agreement with Koja Agency.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted or utilized in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Distributed in the United States and Canada by Lerner Publishing Group, lernerbooks.com

Distributed in the United Kingdom by Bounce Sales and Marketing, bouncemarketing.co.uk

Distributed in Australia by Scholastic Australia, scholastic.com.au

Distributed in New Zealand by Upstart Distribution, upstartpress.co.nz

The cost of this translation was defrayed by a subsidy from the Swedish Arts Council, gratefully acknowledged.

Edited by Penelope Todd

Design and typesetting by Vida & Luke Kelly, New Zealand

Printed in China by Everbest Printing Co Ltd, an accredited

ISO 14001 & FSC certified printer

ISBN hardback: 978-1-776571-45-1 (USA)

ISBN paperback: 978-1-776571-46-8

Ebook ISBNs: 978-1-776571-50-5 (epub); 978-1-776571-51-2 (mobi); 978-1-776571-52-9 (pdf)

For more curiously good books, visit www.geckopress.com

This story is about the time I went out on the Ice Sea. It was the middle of November, I had just had my tenth birthday, and there were whales resting in our bay. Clouds of spume hung above their shining backs, and a thick mist, white and beautiful, had been blanketing the horizon for days.

In Blue Bay, where I live, winters can be so cold that the air freezes the sails of ships. I found a bird on the ground once, a cormorant that had dropped from the sky when its wings went rigid from cold. It wasnt dead. I carried it home to Dad, who has such a knack with animals that we were able to let the bird go after a couple of days.

Dad has a way with everything in the natural world. Theres something on our kitchen walla thing most people dont have on their walls. A piece of a mermaids flipper. Not very big, about the size of the corner of a hankie, a little bit furry and slightly pinkish. When Dad was younger, he caught the mermaid in his net when he was fishing for cod. She was so frightened that she screamed and her flippers whipped back and forth. She obviously thought he wasnt going to release her, but he did, of course.

Because its one thing to catch cod and quite another to catch a mermaid, he said. There are some things we dont do!

Once shed calmed down he freed her gently from the net and let her go. But a small piece of flipper had been torn off and lay on the bottom of the boat. Thats the piece he mounted on a board and nailed up on our kitchen wall. Miki and I glued pebbles around it.

Miki is my sister and shes the reason I ventured out on the Ice Sea. Because, you see, there are some people who believe theres no difference between catching a cod and catching a mermaid. Or doing even worse things. Where I live, there was a time when pirates roamed the seas. Foul, wicked pirates.

Tell me about Whitehead, Miki used to say when we were lying on the pull-out sofa and it was time to go to sleep. Dad was in the bedroom snoring so hard the whole house seemed to shake.

But you wont go to sleep if I do, I answered. Youll stay awake half the night crying and youll wake me up. Well be useless in the morning.

I promise! she whispered close to my ear. I promise to go to sleep. Please tell me. Please, please, please, nice Siri!

So I told her anyway. And, as always when I told Miki about Whitehead, I started like this.

Theres a man who treats children as if theyre animals. And inside that man, in the place where other people have a soul, theres a space as empty and cold as an ice cave.

Hes the coldest man there is, Miki said. She always wanted to help out with the storytelling and, in fact, she knew the story as well as I did.

Thats right, the coldest man you can possibly imagine, I said. Hes a pirate captain, you see, and his hair is as white as snow. Its so long it reaches his waist, but he wears it up in a bun, the way ladies do.

Why?

Because he doesnt want his hair to freeze and snap off. Anyone who joins Whitehead and serves as one of his pirates becomes rich. Unbelievably rich. Do you know why?

Because Whitehead lets his crew keep all the loot for themselves.

Yes. He lets his pirates share all the gold and silver, all the iron and furs, all the money chests and valuables among themselves. He doesnt want anything. The only thing he wants I felt a shudder in my stomach as I always did when I reached this part of the story. The only thing he wants is children. Small, thin children, the smaller the better. Whenever the pirates get hold of small children they throw them straight into the ships hold.

What does the ship look like?

Its white, with three masts. On the prow, right at the front, theres a wooden ravens head with a gaping bill. The ships called the Snow Raven.

But nearly everyone just calls it the Raven.

Thats right. And in the Raven they sail all the way to Whiteheads island.

Wheres that?

Far to the west. As far as you can sail before tumbling over the edge of the world. You know theres a place called Seglen, dont you, Miki?

Yes. Mikis voice was hoarse.

And you know what kind of place it is?

Its a village. A big village with paved streets. Pirates go there to drink and brawl and

Well, Im not exactly sure about the brawling. But I do know that Seglen is not a nice place and that a lot of rough people go there. All kinds of crooks. People who want to make money by stealing it from others. And by far the worst are the ones who come looking for Whitehead so they can work for him. Probably Whiteheads island is somewhere near Seglen.

What happens to children who are taken to his island? What do they have to do there?

Whitehead has a mine, I said. A great chasm in the earth.

What kind of mine? Miki said.

No one knows. But they say

They say its a diamond mine!

Exactly.

And there are masses of diamonds in the ground. Some as big as apples, Miki said.

Thats what they say, anyway. They also say he has a prison wardena womanwho guards all the children. That woman

That woman is Whiteheads daughter and shes had all her teeth taken out and diamonds put in instead.

Thats right. And Whitehead drinks his wine from a mug carved from a single diamond. You know how valuable diamonds are, dont you, Miki?

Mm.

You could buy our whole island for a diamond no bigger than a pea.

But why why does he need children to work there? Why cant he have grown-ups? she asked.

No one really knows, I answered. But just imagine crawling round in the dark from morning till night. With a pick in your hand and your knees all bloody. Children arent likely to last long in the mine. Either their backs break from the loads they have to carry or the damp gives them lung disease. Or the darkness drives them so mad that they well, they just give up the ghost.