hecould relax and give his paws and arms a rest.
“Hey, lazybones!” shouted Esmeralda. “No slacking there! If you’ve got nothing better to do, make us some sandwiches. Treacle for me, please—and make it good and thick. I’m famished!”
With a sigh, Trundle set to.
It was a beautiful dawn. The Thief in the Night soared through a sky banded with orange and saffron and rosy clouds. Fresh, tangy air blew into Trundle’s excited face as he gazed around in pure joy. The sky was dotted with distant islands in all directions, some just dark spots on the edge of sight, others lit up by the rising sun and glittering like tiny jewels hanging in the endless blue.
It was at times like this he was glad he had given in to that moment of madness back on his homeland of Shiverstones and agreed to accompany the crazy Roamany girl on her madcap quest. The adventures he’d had! The places he had seen!
And rising up swiftly beneath them was yet another spectacular and breathtaking sight: a great island city that stretched almost as far as the eye could see. As the morning sun came out from behind the dark floating mass of Nightreef, its rays glanced on orange and terra-cotta roof tiles, glowed on yellow and white walls, and crept across wide, paved plazas and squares. It shone on marble statues and gushing fountains; it flashed off tall arched windows and lit up elegant towers and spires and domes of white and green and pink marble, where gallant silken banners floated in the breeze.
Jack put an arm around Trundle’s shoulders.
“Swallowhaven.” He sighed, gazing down at the approaching island. “Balm of the weary soul, solace to the sore eye, comfort to the aching foot! It must be five years since last I was here.”
Trundle could understand Jack’s enthusiasm. Swallowhaven was a wonderful and spellbinding visionin the early morning light. The vast city lapped up to the very brink of the island. There were even buildings that perched precariously over the outermost edge, their windows and verandas and graceful balconies staring down into blue nothingness.
Quays, piers, and jetties of white stone hemmed the outer rim of the city, while here and there, wharves and docks snaked inward, their moorings teeming with a colorful multitude of windships and skyboats.
The travelers had come to the sprawling trading city in order to pick up provisions. Although they had sky charts to guide them, drawn up by the Guild of Observators in Widdershins, they would soon be heading out into regions marked with the comment D EVOID OF SCIENTIFIC INTEREST , which Jack told them simply meant that no one had bothered exploring that far out from the sun before. And as the phoenix feather was leading them right into the Devoids—as they started calling the area—they would need totake on plenty of fresh food and water for the rest of their trip.
As Esmeralda brought the Thief in the Night down in slow loops toward the city, Trundle saw that the sky below was teeming with swallows, skimming along on outstretched wings, darting from rooftop to rooftop, diving in under the eaves and then spilling out again by the dozen, their high, trilling calls filling the warm air.
“It’s quite delightful,” he said wistfully. “So peaceful! What a pity we can’t stay here for a while.”
A cautionary voice in his head whispered: Be careful what you wish for, my lad! But he ignored it.
Just then, a small navy-blue skyboat came sailing up toward them, its mast flying a bright golden flag.
“Aha,” said Jack. “We’re due a visit from the Grand Wardens, I see.”
“Who are they?” asked Trundle.
“You have to understand that this is a very formal society,” Jack explained. “There are rules andregulations for everything you do. You can’t make landfall here without getting permission from the Grand Master President of the Harbors.” He grinned. “Everything is called the Grand this or that. It’s all very silly, of course,
“Hey, lazybones!” shouted Esmeralda. “No slacking there! If you’ve got nothing better to do, make us some sandwiches. Treacle for me, please—and make it good and thick. I’m famished!”
With a sigh, Trundle set to.
It was a beautiful dawn. The Thief in the Night soared through a sky banded with orange and saffron and rosy clouds. Fresh, tangy air blew into Trundle’s excited face as he gazed around in pure joy. The sky was dotted with distant islands in all directions, some just dark spots on the edge of sight, others lit up by the rising sun and glittering like tiny jewels hanging in the endless blue.
It was at times like this he was glad he had given in to that moment of madness back on his homeland of Shiverstones and agreed to accompany the crazy Roamany girl on her madcap quest. The adventures he’d had! The places he had seen!
And rising up swiftly beneath them was yet another spectacular and breathtaking sight: a great island city that stretched almost as far as the eye could see. As the morning sun came out from behind the dark floating mass of Nightreef, its rays glanced on orange and terra-cotta roof tiles, glowed on yellow and white walls, and crept across wide, paved plazas and squares. It shone on marble statues and gushing fountains; it flashed off tall arched windows and lit up elegant towers and spires and domes of white and green and pink marble, where gallant silken banners floated in the breeze.
Jack put an arm around Trundle’s shoulders.
“Swallowhaven.” He sighed, gazing down at the approaching island. “Balm of the weary soul, solace to the sore eye, comfort to the aching foot! It must be five years since last I was here.”
Trundle could understand Jack’s enthusiasm. Swallowhaven was a wonderful and spellbinding visionin the early morning light. The vast city lapped up to the very brink of the island. There were even buildings that perched precariously over the outermost edge, their windows and verandas and graceful balconies staring down into blue nothingness.
Quays, piers, and jetties of white stone hemmed the outer rim of the city, while here and there, wharves and docks snaked inward, their moorings teeming with a colorful multitude of windships and skyboats.
The travelers had come to the sprawling trading city in order to pick up provisions. Although they had sky charts to guide them, drawn up by the Guild of Observators in Widdershins, they would soon be heading out into regions marked with the comment D EVOID OF SCIENTIFIC INTEREST , which Jack told them simply meant that no one had bothered exploring that far out from the sun before. And as the phoenix feather was leading them right into the Devoids—as they started calling the area—they would need totake on plenty of fresh food and water for the rest of their trip.
As Esmeralda brought the Thief in the Night down in slow loops toward the city, Trundle saw that the sky below was teeming with swallows, skimming along on outstretched wings, darting from rooftop to rooftop, diving in under the eaves and then spilling out again by the dozen, their high, trilling calls filling the warm air.
“It’s quite delightful,” he said wistfully. “So peaceful! What a pity we can’t stay here for a while.”
A cautionary voice in his head whispered: Be careful what you wish for, my lad! But he ignored it.
Just then, a small navy-blue skyboat came sailing up toward them, its mast flying a bright golden flag.
“Aha,” said Jack. “We’re due a visit from the Grand Wardens, I see.”
“Who are they?” asked Trundle.
“You have to understand that this is a very formal society,” Jack explained. “There are rules andregulations for everything you do. You can’t make landfall here without getting permission from the Grand Master President of the Harbors.” He grinned. “Everything is called the Grand this or that. It’s all very silly, of course,
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