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Back Beyond the Burn Line Save as PDF
Chapters (66)
  1. Copyright
  2. Contents
  3. Epigraph
  4. Part One
  5. 1.
  6. 2.
  7. 3.
  8. 4.
  9. 5.
  10. 6.
  11. 7.
  12. 8.
  13. 9.
  14. 10.
  15. 11.
  16. 12.
  17. 13.
  18. 14.
  19. 15.
  20. 16.
  21. 17.
  22. 18.
  23. 19.
  24. 20.
  25. 21.
  26. 22.
  27. 23.
  28. 24.
  29. 25.
  30. 26.
  31. 27.
  32. 28.
  33. 29.
  34. 30.
  35. 31.
  36. 32.
  37. Part Two
  38. 1.
  39. 2.
  40. 3.
  41. 4.
  42. 5.
  43. 6.
  44. 7.
  45. 8.
  46. 9.
  47. 10.
  48. 11.
  49. 12.
  50. 13.
  51. 14.
  52. 15.
  53. 16.
  54. 17.
  55. 18.
  56. 19.
  57. 20.
  58. 21.
  59. 22.
  60. 23.
  61. 24.
  62. 25.
  63. 26.
  64. 27.
  65. 28.
  66. By Paul McAuley:

Two moonspans went by. It was the dead centre of winter. Another storm swept across the coast and added a full span of snow to the snow that already blanketed the ground. The tops of the towers were fringed with icicles which grew ever longer until their weight snapped them clean off and they plunged spear-like into pillowy snowdrifts. In the mornings, frigid mists erased the division between land and sky, but the skies had usually cleared by nightfall, blazing with drifts and shoals of stars and so cold that trees in the forest sometimes shattered when sap froze and expanded in their cores.

One day, Gentle returned from a visit to the town with a note that Teal Leadwood had left at the chandlers, sealed with a blob of wax as red as her fur coat.

‘She asks us to tell when we next plan to visit the beach,’ Pilgrim told Gentle, after he had opened and read it. ‘She would like to meet us there, and show us something that may be of interest.’

‘We can go whenever you like, as we’re always short of coal and kindling. If you can spare the time from your books, that is,’ Gentle said.

‘If it is something to do with her studies, it may not be of much interest to you.’

‘Oh, I’m curious as to what she thinks might interest you. And I’m hoping it might have something to do with her amber trade,’ Gentle said. ‘Seeing as we’re even shorter of money than of coal I’d definitely be willing to help her out with that, for the right consideration.’

19.