The Map to Everywhere by Carrie Ryan
As the shadows raced to bring the Iron Ship to life, his gaze turned down to the deck before him, where a figure knelt, head bowed. Glowing water ran down an invisible sphere around it, a sphere that seemed to match the splayed fingers of the Master’s outstretched hand.
The figure coughed, choked, then coughed again. The Master of the Iron Ship surveyed it coldly, without emotion. As the last of the Pirate Stream water splashed against the deck, he lowered his hand. At once the figure sucked in air and clasped an arm across his chest.
“You saved me,” the man said, still coughing. Black robes sparkled with stars fanned out around him. Beneath the dark light of the growing storm, his skin was pale as death. “I knew you would.”
The Master of the Iron Ship said nothing. Thunder smashed across the sky. The sails caught the wind. The ship cut through the water.
“I knew you would come for me,” the man said. The pale face lifted. Black tears welled at the edges of his eyes, but his voice was oddly calm. “I had seen it.”
The shadows labored silently around them. The seas raged against the hull. Overhead, the storm began in earnest, lightning turning the sky a bloody red.
Serth rose to his feet. His eyes never left the cruel metal visage of his savior. “It has been a long time, old friend,” he said.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As any good captain will tell you, sailing the Pirate Stream is not something you do alone—like it or not. Fortunately for us, the many wild and magical beings we’ve encountered on our journey all helped turn our dreams into reality, and most of them have very rarely tried to eat us.
Our agent, Merrilee Heifetz, first found the pieces of the Map to Everywhere, and without her guidance and that of her assistant, Sarah Nagel, we would never have been able to assemble them. The classy pirates at team Writers House—especially Cecilia de la Campa, Angharad Kowal, and Chelsey Heller—helped spread the story to the rest of the world, and we can scarcely believe the amazing places they’ve taken us.
Kate Sullivan, editor extraordinaire, was the most capable captain we could ask for; she is a true denizen of the Stream and a dream made real. Godspeed, brave kraken! And because strange things happen out on the Stream, we had the unusual good fortune of getting a second talented helmsman in our UK editor, Amber Caraveo. With the help of their respective excellent assistants, Leslie Shumate and Robin Stevens, we sailed through perilous waters with scarcely a scratch.
Of course, a ship needs a crew, and we’re grateful to the passionate and talented team at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for hauling the ropes with care and expertise: Sasha Illingworth, Christine Ma, Deborah Dwyer, Victoria Stapleton, Andrew Smith, Megan Tingley, Melanie Chang, Adrian Palacios, Ann Dye, and Kristina Aven. And to our chief cartographer, Todd Harris, for letting us see the Stream with an unending imagination that is nothing short of inspirational.
And this list would be woefully inadequate without a special thanks to the swashbuckling awesomeness of Deirdre Jones, who swooped in at the last minute, sword in teeth, to guide the ship to ground. Just when we thought we’d run out of miracles, she showed up with a bag full and set the course for new horizons.
Then there are the many friends who helped us on our way, bailing out the Bilge Room during storms and sweeping up the piranhabats that flopped all over the deck. Huge thanks to Melissa Marr, Holly Black, Sarah MacLean, Ally Carter, Alan Gratz, Kristin Tubb (and the rest of the Bat Cavers), Beth Revis, Margie Stohl, Kami Garcia, Natalie Parker, Nancy Kreml, and Phillip Lewis. Many thanks also to Victoria Schwab for key advice that came at just the right time; to the Debs for their continued support; to Diana Peterfreund for being a steadfast first mate; to Shveta Thakrar, Ken Schneyer, and Gary Cuba for their unending encouragement; and to the hospitality of Red@28th, finest tavern in the Khaznot Quay, where much of this book was written.
Of course, neither of us could have made the trip without the unwavering love and support of our families to bring us home again. Words of gratitude just don’t seem adequate for all you’ve done for us! Thanks to Tony Ryan and Sally Green; Bobby Kidd; Chris and Andrew Warnick and their kids, Ryan, Jamie, and Audrey, for being early readers; Jenny and Jeff Sell and their kids, Corey, Robbie, and especially Alex, young reader of The Map to Everywhere, for sneaking in like Fin during the last day of vacation to snatch the manuscript and finish it before leaving. To John and Jane Davis, who put up with an awful lot of work during vacations and were always eager to help, and to Jason Davis, who set the wind right for the journey to begin, and his lovely wife, Sarah, for keeping that wind blowing.
And finally, to the readers, for stowing away with us on this journey. Writing The Map to Everywhere has been an incredible adventure, and we can’t thank you all enough for sharing it with us!
Contents
COVER
TITLE PAGE
WELCOME
DEDICATION
KANTSY’S QUAYSIDE ORPHAN PRESERVE
CHAPTER 1
The Ghost of Gutterleak Way
CHAPTER 2
The Pirate Ship in the Parking Lot
CHAPTER 3
Thieves in a Pie Shop
CHAPTER 4
Don’t Harass the Barnacles
CHAPTER 5
Guarding, and Other Ineffective Jobs
CHAPTER 6
Marrill Grows Feathers
CHAPTER 7
Dead Is Dead Is Dead
CHAPTER 8
Ardent Explains Everything (Poorly)
CHAPTER 9
The Master Thief Thieves Masterfully
CHAPTER 10
What Are You Doing Here?
CHAPTER 11
A Tentalo on the House
CHAPTER 12
Lots of Pirates and Adventures and Whatnot (Are Underappreciated)
CHAPTER 13
Someone Who Remembers You
CHAPTER 14
At the Khaznot Quay, Oh, the Things You’ll See!
CHAPTER 15
Now Is When You Run
CHAPTER 16
A Curious Tour Guide
CHAPTER 17
The Compass Rose
CHAPTER 18
The Stowaway
CHAPTER 19
Without a Trace
CHAPTER 20
Kraken vs. Kraken
CHAPTER 21
Fin Talks to a Tree
CHAPTER 22
Rumors and Secrets
CHAPTER 23
Poison Fire Whispers
CHAPTER 24
Learning to Be Supportive
CHAPTER 25
The Gibbering Grove
CHAPTER 26
An Unexpected Victory
CHAPTER 27
The Weeping Trees
CHAPTER 28
Discombobulation
CHAPTER 29
Down She Goes
CHAPTER 30
The Meressian Prophecy
CHAPTER 31
A Wasteland in Crystal and Shadow
CHAPTER 32
It’s Right on the Tip of My Tongue
CHAPTER 33
The Naysayer
CHAPTER 34
Things Fall Apart (Literally)
CHAPTER 35
A Matter of Scale
CHAPTER 36
A Ship Cast in Iron, Her Crew Cut From Shadows
CHAPTER 37
The Map to Show the Way
CHAPTER 38
The Key to Open the Gate
CHAPTER 39
That Which Was Foretold
CHAPTER 40
The Bintheyr Map to Everywhere
CHAPTER 41
A Glimpse of Things to Come
CHAPTER 42
Where You Need to Go
CHAPTER 43
Where You Need to Be
CHAPTER 44
The Sign for Friend
EPILOGUE
COPYRIGHT
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Text copyright © 2014 by Carrie Ryan & John Parke Davis
Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Todd Harris
Cover art © 2014 by Todd Harris
Cover design by Sasha Illingworth and Marcia Gilbert
Cover © 2014 Hachette Book Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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First ebook edition: November 2014
ISBN 978-0-316-24076-5
E3
Carrie Ryan, The Map to Everywhere