Havenstar Read Free

the skin and the dream became reality, he could
not believe the moment had arrived. He stared at the map in his
hands, felt his jaw dropping, and still could not believe it. A
trompleri map . One of the legendary wonders that he’d only
half-believed existed now unfolded before him in all its glory…
    ‘Where—where
did you get this?’ he stammered finally. His knees gave out and he
sat down heavily on the bed next to the Mantis.
    ‘What does it
matter? What I want to know is, are you hankering after such like?’
The man poked his lean features into Piers’ face. His nose and chin
and jaw were all sharp-edged, insect-like. A long-fingered hand
seized his arm, circling it. There was surprising power there, even
though his wrist was scarcely wider than a broom handle, and each
finger as slim as a pipe-stem. ‘Do you want to buy it, master
mapmaker?’
    Piers strove
to regain both his native caution and to avoid shuddering. He hated
to be touched by one of the Unbound, even though the man was
careful not to cause him pain by brushing against his bare skin.
‘Well, it’s not really of that much value to me,’ he said. ‘I deal
with the land north of the Wide; this appears to be some place
south of the Graven. Who in heaven’s ordering wants to go there?
That’s even beyond the Eighth Stab.’
    ‘Don’t fool
with me, mapmaker! I know the value of a trompleri map to one of
your ilk. You’d sell your soul to have one of these, in the hope
you can ferret out its secret, so you can produce the like. How
much will you give me for it?’
    ‘I don’t carry
much money with me. What need have I of money in the Unstable? I
keep what meagre wealth I have at home in the First.’
    ‘And you know
full well, you do, that I can’t go that far into a stability. Quite
apart from the fact that any stab makes me as sick as a cat with
worms, I’ve no wish to challenge Chantry, now have I? How much you
got on you?’
    ‘Hardly more
than a handful of coppers. Just enough to tip a stable boy or two
and buy me a meal or two between the kinesis chain and home.
Nothing more.’
    ‘Come now, any
shrewd-nosed mapmaker is going to travel with a little stash for
emergencies, right? Don’t take me for some newly-tainted lad who
doesn’t know his way about the Unstable and who’s never met an
Unstabler. I know what’s what. You have more than a few coppers
hidden about you.’
    ‘Well, three
silvers and a gold. That’s all. And yes, I’d part with them to own
a trompleri map, but you must know it’s worth more than that.’
    ‘I’ll take the
coins and your nag for it.’
    ‘My
pack-horse?’
    ‘No, your
mount.’
    He was
genuinely dismayed. ‘That mare and I have been together a long
time. We’ve been through a lot. Besides, it’s a crossings-horse.
Ley-lit Unstablers don’t take kindly to other folk having
them.’
    ‘There’s no
law agin it. That’s my deal. And it’s a generous one. Take it or
leave it.’
    ‘I ask myself
the reason for your, er, generosity.’
    ‘Don’t be
daft. You don’t need me to spell it out. I’m in need of cash and a
mount. My nag took a tumble and is as lame as an old man’s pecker.
I’ll give her to you, if you want.’
    He was silent,
thinking. The map was obviously stolen. He’d never be able to admit
to ownership of it, or resell it. The fact that the Mantis was in a
hurry to rid himself of it also seemed to indicate the real owner
was only a step behind him.
    But Piers’
hands itched to hold it, his mind begged to analyse it, his
mapmaker’s soul longed to solve its mysteries…
    ‘All right,’
he said. ‘I’ll buy it. And I’ll take your lame nag. Come back in
half an hour and I’ll have the money and the papers ready for
you.’
     
    ~~~~~~~
     
    By the time
the Mantis returned, Piers had retrieved his money from its hiding
place and had the horse’s ownership scrip ready. Wordlessly, he
handed them over and received the map and another horse scrip in
return. As he