The Edge of the World by Kevin J. Anderson Read Free Book Online

the course and distance
     the storm blew us. I sketched the outlines of the islands. I marked the location of the undersea city here.” He held up the
     tightly rolled paper. “Would such a map be worth something to you?”
    Aldo’s eyes were wide, and his heart pounded with hope. He couldn’t entirely believe this man’s story, nor could he entirely
     dismiss it. “Let me see the map.”
    Dolicar waggled a finger. “Ah, but you’ve already revealed that you’re a chartsman. One glimpse and you’ll memorize it all;
     then I’d be cheated.”
    Aldo held his ground. “And why should I purchase something I haven’t seen?”
    Dolicar gave a quick laugh. “I like you, young man. Perhaps a bit of trust is warranted here. I’ll show you a corner.” He
     unrolled the paper just a little, displaying crude coastlines, the perimeter of one oblong island—territory that did not match
     anything he had previously committed to memory. Aldo fingered the coins in his purse. If accurate, this map was a better investment
     than any treat or trinket.
    “I have ten silver pieces,” he said. “No more.”
    Dolicar’s brow wrinkled. “A small price to pay for access to a whole new continent. Perhaps fifteen silver pieces would be
     more appropriate?”
    “This is not a negotiation.” Aldo crossed his arms over his narrow chest, trying to sound tough. “I have ten silver pieces.
     That is all I will pay you.” The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that he needed to have that map. His
     father and Sen Leo would both be proud of him. On his first day of becoming a chartsman, he could expand the wealth of Saedran
     knowledge.
    “Very well, I can see that you wouldn’t try to cheat or lie, young man,” Yal Dolicar said. “The map for your coins. And I
     promise you, every scrap of payment goes toward commissioning a new ship of my own.”
    Aldo took the map and unrolled it, staring eagerly at the drawn islands, the coastline, the estimations of distance. This
     information would be invaluable. He took a few steps along, wandering through the Merchants’ District but engrossed in the
     chart. Recalling his manners, he turned to thank the sailor… only to find that the barrel was now empty and Yal Dolicar was
     gone.
    Rolling up the map once more, Aldo hurried home.

7
Ishalem
    On the morning of the Edict ceremony, Anjine dressed in her finest court gown, which had been packed in a cedar chest for
     the trip from Calay. When she emerged from the guest room, King Korastine stared at her with a mist of tears in his eyes.
     “You look like a little queen.”
    She laughed. “I
am
a little queen.”
    Anjine had wanted to rush up the hill to see the holy Arkship as soon as they arrived in Ishalem, but the king had told her
     to wait until it was time. All the previous afternoon, she had looked out the open windows of the royal residence, watching
     pilgrims march up to behold the shipwreck.
    Now, when the ceremony was set to begin, bells rang out from the main kirk. On the opposite side of Ishalem a similar campanile
     answered from the Urecari church. King Korastine extended an arm, which his daughter took, and they emerged together from
     the residence to join the formal procession with an honor guard of lower-ranking presters hand-picked for the event.
    Mateo Bornan was already there, very handsome and looking quite mature for a twelve-year-old in a modified royal guard uniform,
     just like the one his father had worn. Prester-Marshall Baine had combed back his flaming red hair and donned midnight-blue
     vestments adorned with the fishhook symbol. Spectators waved pennants and shouted the king’s name; Anjine even heard a few
     calling out to her.
    Though crowds lined the streets below, the Pilgrim’s Path had been cleared. This meeting between the king and the soldan-shah,
     the prester-marshall and the ur-sikara, was a private matter between the rulers of Tierra and Uraba, under the eyes of distant