The Edge of the World by Steven Lochran

Author:Steven Lochran
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook
Publisher: Hardie Grant Egmont
Published: 2017-05-25T16:00:00+00:00

The wind was blowing in from the south, using all its strength to fight the riders the whole way to Freecloud. Joss had learned enough of skyborne traditions over the last several weeks to know that the superstitious among them would have considered this an ill omen, leaving him more on edge than he’d already been about his reunion with Tempest.

The pterosaur was as unruly as ever, its face scrunched tight as it tugged at its reins and bucked, doing everything it could short of throwing its rider from the saddle. It made a challenging flight even harder, with Joss unable to appreciate the view of the Backbone Ranges for fear that losing concentration would cost him his life.

After what felt like an eternity, Sur Blaek pumped his hand in the air to signal for attention, then gestured down at the mountain range. Joss stared where the paladero had pointed and saw nothing. Not at first. But then something shifted in his vision, and suddenly he could see what had eluded him, like spotting a chameleon on a flat rock: a jumble of lopsided stone towers and crudely built blackwood cabins, all constructed among the peaks and chasms of the mountain range. Misty clouds trawled the thin, muddy streets, while people tromped across gangplanks that had been laid over the thick sludge.

Sur Blaek led the way down, circling towards a stocky tower on the outskirts of the settlement. Here they landed on perches that had been erected for skyborne riders, Joss landing his mount with considerable effort as the beast continued to fight his every direction.

Cursed bird, he griped to himself.

‘Sur Blaek!’ someone called out, and Joss looked with his fellow prentices to see a wild-eyed boy dressed in mud-flecked rags emerging from a doorway at the top of the tower.

Sur Blaek regarded him with distant curiosity, as if searching for a name to put with the face. ‘Wilem, isn’t it?’

‘Yes, sur,’ the boy bowed his head, his mop of ashy brown curls bouncing.

‘Wilem, we’ll be needing refreshment for our animals, a quiet place to house them for a day or two, and a promise that our presence in Freecloud will go unreported.’

‘You can count on me, Sur Blaek.’

‘Good lad,’ the paladero said, pushing a pair of folded bank notes into the boy’s hand before dismounting to lead the way to the heart of the settlement, passing abandoned silver mines, empty hardware stores and boarded-up wells. From there they followed a set of rotting wooden stairs down into a stony gorge that had been fashioned over time into a haphazard street. The locals didn’t give them a second glance as they navigated through the winding passageway, though Joss couldn’t tell if that was because he and his brethren were doing a good job of blending in or if it was simply because everyone else was in the habit of keeping their eyes to themselves.

The gravelly street led them past market stalls built out of crimson tarps and reclaimed timbers, while

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