Each of the city’s floating coffeehouses has its own unique clientele. To hear the latest gossip, sell a ballad, or meet with fellow Stationers, head to the Telling Word. Or, if conspiracy theories and sedition are more your thing, try some of the other floating coffeehouses on the river. Away from the laws of the land, customers on these floating barges are allowed to speak freely. Look for the Laurel Bower, the best of the bunch.

THE GONOPHS

Beware exploring Mandelion’s back streets. Packs of young gonophs prowl these areas in search of unsuspecting tourists to rob. It is always wise to keep a close eye on your pockets in Mandelion. If someone is not actively trying to rob you, a member of the Thief Takers may try to plant stolen goods on you and claim you are a thief.

THE GRAY MASTIFF

A gathering place for Locksmiths, animal-fight enthusiasts, and those hatching dangerous plots.

Hope you enjoyed Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge. Keep reading for a sneak peek of A Face Like Glass, coming soon in May 2017!

Prologue
THE CHILD IN THE CURDS

One dark season, Grandible became certain that there was something living in his domain within the cheese tunnels. To judge by the scuffles, it was larger than a rat and smaller than a horse. On nights when hard rain beat the mountainside high above, and filled Caverna’s vast labyrinth of tunnels with the music of ticks and trickles and drips, the intruding creature sang to itself, perhaps thinking that nobody could hear.

Grandible immediately suspected foul play. His private tunnels were protected from the rest of the underground city by dozens of locks and bars. It should have been impossible for anything to get in. However, his cheesemaker rivals were diabolical and ingenious. No doubt one of them had managed to smuggle in some malignant animal to destroy him or, worse still, his cheeses. Or perhaps this was some ploy of the notorious and mysterious Kleptomancer, who always seemed determined to steal whatever would cause the most chaos, regardless of any personal gain.

Grandible painted the cold ceiling pipes with Merring’s Peril, thinking that the unseen creature must be licking the condensation off the metal to stay alive. Every day he patrolled his tunnels expecting to find some animal curled comatose beneath the pipes with froth in its whiskers. Every day he was disappointed. He laid traps with sugared wire and scorpion barbs, but the creature was too cunning for them.