Free Happenstance Found (Books of Umber #1) by P. W. Catanese Page A

care of him.”
    Hoyle took a second look at Hap. Her jaw slid from side to side. “So you’ve fallen into Umber’s company, young man? One piece of advice: Don’t let him take you on any more of his adventures, or something horrible might happen to you.”
    Hap nodded vigorously. He was eager to agree with this formidable person.
    “Madam Hoyle!” It was Nima, calling down from the barge.
    Hoyle looked up, and somehow her harsh features formed a genuine smile. “Nima, darling! How are you, my dear?”
    “Quite well, thank you. You spoke of perfume: Is it the usual port in Andobar?”
    “Why, yes it is.”
    “And how much head start did our rivals get?”
    “Nearly two days, I fear.”
    Nima raised her face to the sky. “There is not much wind, and it is against them. Also, they will have to sail around the Straits of Maur, for fear of pirates, while Boroon can swim straight through. So I can still arrive before them.”
    “Can you really?” Hoyle said. She stroked her palm with her fingers, counting coins in mime.
    “I should leave at once,” Nima said.
    “Aren’t you a delight! Meet our agent at the usual rendezvous, and he’ll arrange for the cargo to be loaded. Captain Sandar, please have your men bring the chest of gold to Nima.” Hoyle whipped back toward Umber, and her ferocity returned for an encore. “And you , Lord Umber, will meet me in the cabin, where we shall discuss our mutual responsibilities at length.”
    Umber trudged into the cabin like a man approaching the gallows, while a small but weighty wooden chest was carried up to the leviathan barge. The sailors swarmed over the deck of the Swift and crawled aloft like spiders to drop the sails. Furls of canvas snapped into taut expanses. Lines were heaved back to the leviathan barge, and the crafts drifted apart. Nima waved, and Boroon’s sweeping tail propelled them away.
    “Are we going to Kurahaven now, Captain Sandar?” asked Hap.
    Sandar took a deep breath of salty air. “Yes, Master Happenstance. And that is a sight you will never forget, I promise you.”

CHAPTER
8
    The notion of cold, dark water below still jangled Hap’s nerves, but curiosity drove him to crouch near the prow, where he hugged the rail tight. There was another reason to stand there with his back to the crew: Nobody could stare at his eyes. After a while, Sophie came forward as well, without a word, and stood several paces away.
    The mountains on the horizon grew wider and taller as the Swift approached land. They bounded past rocky isles, and then ships of all sizes and shapes appeared as they plunged into a busy shipping lane. Suddenly there were gray-white sails all around and gray-white gulls overhead, filling the air with haunting cries. All the vessels came and went through a gap in the mountainous terrain, directly ahead. The wind gusted, Sandar barked out orders, and Hap felt the Swift earn her name. She swept past every boat on the same course while other captains frowned with envy.
    As they approached, Hap saw that the gap was easily a half mile across. When they reached the opening and passed the peaks that blocked the interior from sight, he saw the harbor of Kurahaven for the first time, a calm circle of water inside the mountains’ embracing arms. For a moment he neglected to breathe.
    The first wonder stood just inside the gap, near the shore to his left. It was an ancient castle, built on an island so low that its walls seemed to erupt straight from the sea. Surely, it was no longer inhabited, because what was left was in a precarious state. There had once been four towers around a domed keep. Now two were collapsed with their remains jutting from the sea, one was broken in half, and one sagged at such an angle that it was hard to conceive why it hadn’t already tumbled.
    “What is that place?” Hap said.
    Sophie looked around and saw that no one else was there to reply. She answered in a whisper while looking at her feet. “Those are the