The Dragons of Winter Read Online Free PDF

little late for that now. All the doors are gone.”
    “It wasn’t the doors that were important,” said one of the other Caretakers, who had been silent until now. “It was the stone .”
    William Shakespeare rose to his feet and continued. “If we can’t yet rebuild the keep of the past, we might still be able to build a gate to the future,” he said placidly. “If the council would just permit me—”
    “And the time may yet come to put your plans into motion, Master Shaksberd,” Chaucer said, dismissing the Bard’s request with a wave, “but now is not that, uh, time.” He turned to Edmund. “What does our young Cartographer say? Can you truly do this?”
    Edmund swallowed hard and stood. “I believe we can, sir,” he said, glancing at Rose. “It will take me most of the day to prepare the chronal map, but once that’s done, we can go as soon as you give the word.”
    Chaucer glanced at the other Caretakers, then at Verne, who nodded, and Poe, who simply arched an eyebrow. “The word is given,” Chaucer said finally. “May the light be with us all.”

C HAPTER T HREE
The Rings of Jules Verne

    The next order of business was the security of Tamerlane House, to prevent any further intrusions while Edmund prepared the new map. Shakespeare’s Bridge was the only substantial access point from the Summer Country, and Hawthorne and Laura Glue were both stationed there as guards, rotating in shifts with Byron and Washington Irving. There were others among the Caretakers who were willing to serve as guards—but who hadn’t the physical prowess or inclination to really be any good at it. However, there were other means of entry, and those were not so easily guarded against. The most obvious were the trumps—the illustrated cards carried by Verne’s Messengers and several of the Caretakers, which allowed them to communicate with one another, and to travel between places depicted on the cards.
    “There’s no way of knowing what trumps the Cabal has use of,” Verne said once the Caretakers had reassembled in the meeting hall, “so we must be prepared for any eventuality.”
    “They couldn’t come here anyway,” John said pointedly, “since except for the one Kipling uses, there aren’t any trumps that lead directly to the Nameless Isles or to Tamerlane.”
    “None they’d have had access to, anyway,” Verne said, frowning. “But they might have access soon. Dee knows the process, and Defoe spent a lot of time here. So the whole place could be an entry point, if they create a new trump for it.”

. . . the vehicle roared away, scattering gravel as the tires spun.

“How do we defend against that?” asked Charles. “If they can make a card for any spot Defoe’s seen?”
    “With these,” said Verne. He took a small pouch from his vest pocket and emptied the contents onto the table. A scattering of silver rings spread across the surface, glittering in the light.
    Charles picked up one of the small circlets and examined it. “Rings?” he said curiously. “How will these help protect Tamerlane House?”
    “Hold it close to the candle flame,” Verne instructed. Charles did so, and as the silver touched the flame, runes began to appear on the surface of the ring.
    “Deep Magic,” said Chaucer. “We had them made by the Watchmaker, after the method he used for the watches. But the runes are linked to those carved on standing stones, which Shakespeare is placing around the perimeter of the main island, and on either side of the bridge.”
    He pointed to the Imaginarium Geographica , which sat on a pedestal where it had rested, unused, since the fall of the Archipelago. “There is an incantation in the earliest pages, which will activate the stones, and the rings. And when it is spoken, no one without a ring can set foot on this island.”
    “How many rings are there?” asked John. “Enough for all of us?”
    Verne nodded. “They were modeled after the one that Poe wears,” he said,