The Burglar of Sliceharbor by Jason A. Holt

Author:Jason A. Holt
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: thief, sandals and sorcery, caper, swords and sorcery, theif, buddy cop, crime, religion, race riots, amphibious people, giants, racial tension, Florida, cops, adventure, police, heroes, fantasy adventure, friendship, theives, holy scrolls, Edgewhen, cat burglar
ISBN: 9780986071768
Publisher: Jason A. Holt
Published: 2015-05-01T06:00:00+00:00

7 Yellowmonth

The next morning, Gusty Longbread got his first glimpse of the ruined Temple of the Noonday Sun.

Tisha and the Crane had been left behind, so Gusty was in the lead as the ambassador’s expedition reached the edge of the clearing. Except it wasn’t truly a clearing. The thick jungle was open to the blue sky not because someone had harvested the timber but because the ground had given way beneath it.

The earth had collapsed, creating a lake in a market-sized hole surrounded by jagged, white limestone cliffs. Trees clung to the edge with roots reaching down to the water fifteen feet below. The lake’s surface was placid, reflecting the cliffs and the blue sky above, but Gusty could not see into the depths. One part of the jagged cliff-face was interrupted by a hole at the waterline that gave the impression that a great maw had opened to drink the lake.

On the opposite side stood a wall of the temple. The view through the windows was not a glimpse into the interior; it was a glimpse out, to the jungle beyond. Gusty was looking at the inside of the back wall.

The rest of the temple had crumbled away. Chunks of tiled floor tilted on the edge of the sinkhole. Below was a trail of rubble leading down into the dark water.

Iris Daylight came to stand beside Gusty. She stared at the ruins in horror.

“This is worse than what the First described,” she said. “Much worse.”

“She said she hasn’t visited this site for many years,” the ambassador replied. “I had hoped more of the temple would be intact.”

The two porters also arrived at the edge of the gaping hole, but said nothing. They carried the digging tools that the ambassador had purchased from the village by the greathouse, but they were not prepared to excavate an underwater heap of rubble.

“It is gone,” Iris Daylight said. “It is just … gone.”

Gloria Sunrise looked at Gusty. “Not necessarily,” she said.

“Was Ruby Sunrise’s cell in the part that is left standing?” asked Iris Daylight.

“No,” said Gloria Sunrise. “Her cell had a sunward window.”

“So it is gone,” Iris Daylight said.

“I believe it is still down there,” Gloria Sunrise said. “And Gusty can swim.”

Gusty looked at her in surprise. It was true. He could swim a little. Everybody in Sliceharbor could.

Iris Daylight looked down into the water. “He will never find it,” she said. “And I am certain the water has already destroyed it.”

Gloria Sunrise smiled and asked, “Is that why you are so willing to talk about it in front of Gusty?”

Iris Daylight looked up, alarmed at the idea that Gusty might be intelligent enough to figure out she was talking about a copy of the Sun Scroll. She gave Gloria Sunrise a guilty look.

“Forgive me,” she said.

Gloria Sunrise smiled and shook her head. “You have done nothing wrong. The time has come for Gusty to know.”

She put her hand on Gusty’s armored shoulder and drew him back a few steps from the edge.

“Gusty

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