Dangerous Waters

Book 1 of
THE HADRUMAL CRISIS

DANGEROUS

WATERS

Juliet E. McKenna

For Ernie

much loved and much missed

First published 2011 by Solaris

an imprint of Rebellion Publishing Ltd,

Riverside House, Osney Mead,

Oxford, OX2 0ES, UK

www.solarisbooks.com

ISBN: (ePUB) 978-1-84997-277-2

ISBN: (MOBI) 978-1-84997-278-9

Copyright © Juliet E. McKenna 2011

Map artwork by Juliet E. McKenna and Pye Parr

The right of the author to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of he copyright owners.

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

Also by Juliet E. McKenna

C
HRONICLES OF THE
L
ESCARI
R
EVOLUTION

Irons in the Fire

Blood in the Water

Banners in the Wind

T
HE
A
LDABRESHIN
C
OMPASS

Southern Fire

Northern Storm

Western Shore

Eastern Tide

T
ALES OF
E
INARINN

The Thief’s Gamble

The Swordsman’s Oath

The Gambler’s Fortune

The Warrior’s Bond

The Assassin’s Edge

C
HAPTER
O
NE

The Barony of Halferan, Western Caladhria

12th of Aft-Spring

In the 8th Year of Tadriol the Provident of Tormalin

S
HE STOOD AT
a crossroads. The lodestone twisted on the pewter chain looped around her fingers. She frowned. Until now the metallic black crystal had led her unerringly in this direction. Now it wavered between two roads.

Jilseth disliked imprecision. Furthermore, she had refined this magic herself, blending an untried combination of spells. If there was some flaw in her understanding, she must find it. She had hoped to submit her discovery to the Council of Wizards on her return to Hadrumal. Not now she wouldn’t, if there was some inherent ambiguity in the magic for other mages to seize on.

She could ignore those who’d merely seek to draw out her embarrassment, but she wouldn’t risk the possibility that someone might find a solution, claiming a decisive share in the credit for her work.

Jilseth focused on the lodestone, on the power flowing around it. Expanding her wizardly senses, she felt its connection to the damp earth beneath her feet, to the rock below the muddy track, to the elemental iron so far beneath that.