Naamah's Blessing_Kushiel's Legacy9 by Jacqueline Carey

Author:Jacqueline Carey [Streifer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

F or many days afterward, our company was on edge, nerves raw and frayed. We took it as a matter of faith that we remained on the trail of Prince Thierry’s expedition. We posted shifts of multiple sentries at night and avoided settlements of the Cloud People whenever possible.

But it seemed Eyahue was right. There were no further attacks. And bit by bit, we began to relax. Grumbling over the rigors of the journey, which had abated in the wake of the battle and subsequent rebellion, resumed. It seemed to be of a harmless nature, and I was content to let the men complain.

We’d been so long on the road, I almost didn’t believe Eyahue when he announced we had reached the isthmus that connected the northern land-mass of Terra Nova to its southern counterpart. But several days onward, our trail ascended into a forested mountain range, following along the shoulder of a long, winding spine that snaked southward.

And when we scaled the first peak, we caught a glimpse of the sea—not the sea we had crossed on our journey to Terra Nova, which lay to the east of us, but a vast, uncharted sea to the west.

All of us stared at it in awe.

“Name of Elua!” Balthasar murmured. “What do you suppose lies on the other side of it?” “We can’t confirm it without navigating it,” Septimus Rousse said. “But if the theories are

correct, I’d say Messire Bao’s homeland.” Pointing to the highest peak some leagues ahead of us, Eyahue informed us that if we were to climb to the very top, we would see both the eastern and western seas from its heights.

Septimus’ eyes gleamed. “I’d like to see that! Is there perchance a river that connects the two?”

Eyahue shook his head when the question was translated for him. “No. Many rivers, yes, but not one such as that.”

“A pity,” Septimus said with disappointment. “One could sail all the way around the world if there were.”

Denis de Toluard unbuckled his helmet and removed it to ruffle his sweat-damp hair. “Waterways can be built,” he said thoughtfully. “Look at what the Nahuatl accomplished with canals in Tenochtitlan, or the Caerdicci in La Serenissima. If the isthmus is as narrow as Eyahue says, it might be possible to devise one using existing rivers.”

The two men exchanged a glance.

“It would be a mighty endeavor,” Septimus mused.

“Aye, and it’s an endeavor for another day,” I said firmly. “If we live through this, you can plan it.”

It was a lush land, and a sparsely inhabited one. There were no great settlements, only small villages along the way whose denizens appeared peaceable and regarded us with wonder and curiosity.

Eyahue assured us with disdain that they were beneath a pochteca’s notice and had nothing worth trading for save food goods. They spoke myriad dialects, of which he spoke but a smattering. Whenever he was able to question villagers regarding a party of white-faced strangers passing through before us, he received blank looks and head-shakes in reply.

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