The Call of the Sea (The Grail Cycle Book 1) by Kate Schumacher

Author:Kate Schumacher [Schumacher, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black-Kat Press
Published: 2023-07-31T23:00:00+00:00

Jenyfer stood before the books, running her fingers gently over the spines, as she had done countless times already in the days she’d been on the ship. Though she hadn’t yet dared take one from the shelf.

‘You like books?’

‘My father used to read to me all the time – stories about the sea.’ She glanced at Ordes over her shoulder. ‘You offered me a book, that first night in the cave. One of these?’

He nodded and waved his hand. A book floated free of the small shelf, coming to rest in the air in front of her. ‘Take it, if you want.’

Jenyfer closed her hands around the book. It was old, heavy, the leather cover worn, the pages dry and yellowing. ‘The Magic of the Isle,’ she read, running her fingers gently over the embossed title. ‘It looks important.’ Holding the book to her chest, she took a seat on the edge of his bed. ‘Do you miss it?’

‘Avalon?’

‘Yes.’

‘You can’t miss what you don’t remember,’ Ordes said. ‘I was born there, but it isn’t my home. I’ve been on this ship since I was six months old.’ He ran a hand through his hair and sighed lightly. ‘When my father left the Isle – and my mother – he took two things: this ship, and me.’ Ordes was studying the tattoos on his knuckles. ‘I don’t remember my mother, but sometimes I think I do. Sometimes I think I hear her voice, in my dreams.’

Jenyfer bit her lip. ‘You haven’t seen her since you were a baby? That must be hard.’

He shrugged. ‘It is what it is. Now, come here and look at this.’ He motioned her over to the table, selecting a scroll of parchment from a pile, pushing the rest aside. He unrolled the parchment and spread it across the desk, weighing each corner with whatever was in reach – an ink pot, a mug, an apple, and the blunt dagger, then stepped back, inviting her to look.

Jenyfer swallowed, moving closer to the table, and the world laid before her. Her eyes found Kernou first; the village seemed so small, tucked into the Bay of Calledun. She stared at the neat script that marked her home, then let her eyes move over the map. The moor beyond her town became hills, then swept upwards to form a mountain range that stretched from one side of the continent to the other. She noted the forests and the rivers, the grasslands east of the mountains, and the towns and villages, all meticulously labelled.

Her gaze traced the coastline, returning eventually to Kernou. ‘I thought I’d spend my whole life in that place,’ she said quietly. Ordes said nothing. She swallowed the lump in her throat. ‘Did you draw this?’

‘Parts of it,’ he replied, his voice soft.

‘Avalon and Lyonesse are on here!’

‘Yes, but it’s a guess as to where they really are. Magical islands have a way of not being where you expect to find them,’ Ordes said.

‘So, where are we now?’ Jenyfer asked.

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