Prologue At first when the door between worlds opened, it was mostly the creatures that flew who went. Gargoyles crossed. Faeries crossed. Even a few dragonets crossed. The water things couldn''t pass as easily--except for the kelpies. They needed only a teaspoon of water at a time to slip from world to world. No logic to kelpies, shrinking themselves into a million droplets all hither and dither. Marian did not shrink.
She was what she was--no larger, no smaller. And she wasn''t willing to scrape a single shimmering dragon scale against the doorway. It was simply not suitable for anyone with dignity to behave as the kelpies did, or for that matter, as dragonets did. They were both embarrassments in their way. But then a few of the smaller ones went through the opening. And when Marian watched the flicker and flash of a hatchling darting through the door, she had to follow! None of her kind''s hatchlings would be left alone in that new world. Marian would make sure of it. The children were everything, and if they were not taken care of and adored, what was the point of anything else? Some types of creatures had nests they didn''t tend.
Other kinds of beings hovered over their own young but were hostile to young that weren''t theirs . Marian, however, was certain that all young were precious--not only dragons. She took it upon herself to collect any hatchlings without parents. Her wings were large enough to shelter more than herself. So Marian jabbed her claws into the door, and she tugged. A screech rippled through the sea. It was loud enough to embarrass Marian, but she kept moving. Opening the door so very wide meant that many more sea creatures would pass through to the other side.
Dragon hatchlings tumbled through the gate in a great whoosh . Marian watched them stretch and grow in their new home, but she reminded herself that there were fish aplenty. There was also sea grass that grew in underwater forests. Plants reached as tall as the land dwellers'' trees--and then grew higher still. Her kind would not want for food or space, despite the size they reached in this new water. The only rule she set was that they must all be careful of the creatures of the land. One never knew what they were like. Dangerous things lived on land.
Soon many sea creatures frolicked and thrived in the deep, where they had food and safety. And in the very bottom of that deep dark water were sparkling, glimmering things that Marian began to gather. Sometimes they had to topple a ship to get the golden sparklies or the stone sparklies. That was easy enough. She was, after all, a dragon. The only problem left for Marian was the Otter. The sea dragons all heard the Otter''s voice, and sometimes they couldn''t resist going splashing to the surface to seek her out. It was dangerous, but Marian understood the impulse.
She desperately wanted to be near the Otter again, too. Twelve Years Later Chapter 1 London London had every intention of buying passage out of Glass City. He carried his savings--gold coins and silver ones, a few bits of copper, and assorted gems--as well as a small bundle of clothes, as he set off toward the docks. London had been there often enough that his feet could find it even if his eyes were closed. Ships meant freedom, a new start, adventure. Who wouldn''t dream of setting sail? "This is the day!" London stepped to the edge of the dock, scanning quickly for kelpies. Getting eaten because he was careless would be a terrible start--and end--to his future. Seeing no water horses rising to nibble passersby, London relaxed.
Birds'' cries and people''s voices mixed with the sounds of water lapping against hulls. Ships of all kinds cluttered the harbor. Personal boats and tall ships mixed with barges and tugs. But when London spotted a relocation ship on the far end of the dock-- not the kind of ship he was hoping to board--he shivered. People who were a "burden on the empire" got shipped away, packed like fish in a barrel, to work in one of the wild lands the empire now owned. London remembered watching his mum being taken away on one of those. He liked to imagine her in a better place, teaching other kids in some foreign land, but he wasn''t even sure if she''d survived the journey. He''d stayed here at the docks that long-ago day, alone and hungry, until some kids found him.
They took him with them, and that''s how he ended up living underground. Now a man''s voice rang out: "You there, lad!" It was one of the kingdom''s patrol officers. They seemed to be all over lately, gathering up kids. "If there''s room, grab up three more." London hoped the soldier didn''t mean him, but just in case, he ducked behind a barrel and crept along the ground, using more barrels and giant crates as cover. It would be awful to get captured now. London had spent years avoiding being sent to a workhouse, a fate that was the usual choice for orphans these days. The crown had replaced schools with workhouses, arguing that the children of good families had at-home learning and the ones who couldn''t learn at home ought to be put to work as soon as possible, since it was their future.
It was nonsense. His mum had been a teacher, but there was no work for teachers once there were no more city schools. The crown simply hadn''t cared about teachers--or kids--for years. London thought back to that day his mother had been shoved onto the ship. Run, love. Run and hide. Mum! Go on. I''ll find you.
Only take what you need. I''ll find you someday, she said, shoving him toward a pile of cargo and running. He heard her cry. He saw them capture her. That was five years ago, and London still came to the docks, hoping she''d be here one of these days. He watched ships carry away other moms and dads, big brothers and sisters, too. He''d looked at a lot of faces, and never saw any of them come back. "No one comes back," he muttered.
His footsteps sounded too loud as he slipped between crates to try to find the passenger ship that would take him to Northland City. He''d been eyeing the sailing options for weeks, and finally there was one leaving today. He stopped at the bottom of the walkway and noticed a girl about his age shimmying up a tall pole--or whatever the thing that held the sails was called. This ship appeared to be a cargo vessel, though. No cabins for passengers here! "You, lad!" shouted a tall, bony fellow. "You one of the new ones?" What if he slipped on board this ship and saved the money he was planning to spend on a ticket? "I am," London said, deciding quickly that it was best to get on this ship while officers were circling. In the distance he could see the one who''d been pursuing him. "Help get these crates on board, and then you can go get settled into quarters," the older boy said.
London grabbed one of the largest crates and lifted. "Lead the way." "Save a bit of energy in case there''s no wind and we need to row!" The boy smiled and grabbed another wooden box. London laughed and shared a joke of his own. "Nah. Get it all on the ship so we can have a kip." The boy paused. "A kip ? You a Northlander, then?" "Heading home," London said, which was sort of true.
He did intend to make Northland his home. They loaded the rest of the cargo, and then, as they were walking away from the cargo hold, the other boy said, "Be sure to check in with Tanner if you haven''t already, Northy." When they separated, London headed back to the ship''s cargo area and squeezed into a space he''d left between crates, pulled a tarp down, and went to sleep under it. He hadn''t had a chance to buy any food, but he''d find food in the hold. He patted the bag of money deep in his pocket--stowing away on the ship meant it was all still there. The thought of the gold he carried gave him a momentar.