To Whatever End (Echoes of Imara Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

be very much alive and in good condition when he arrives. Is that understood?”
    Number One gave another brisk nod.
    Nihil walked away, his careful stride clicking on the cobblestone. Number One reached to scratch the back of his neck as he awaited Sindre. Another new guest. If there had been any room left in him for pity, he would have felt it for whoever Nihil was sending him after.

4. HALTHAS

    Cecily awoke shortly after dawn. She stretched her arms over her head and breathed deeply. The open window let in the chill morning air, but she didn’t mind. The sound of the river was so soothing, she’d slept better than she had in months. She rolled over and curled up next to Daro. He was warm and she pressed her cold feet against his legs. He flinched a little in his sleep, but relaxed as she tucked her head against his shoulder and draped her arm across his chest. Breathing in his warm scent, she wished they could spend another day at the Float, rather than get up to board the riverboat.
    But get up they both did, if reluctantly. After a hearty breakfast in the common room, thankfully uninterrupted by minstrels or other guests, they made their way down the road to the riverboat dock.
    The dock was a bustle of activity, the dockworkers moving cargo and sailors preparing for departure. The riverboat was designed to ferry passengers and goods up and down the Bresne River. Its wide deck and deep hull had cabins and sleeping quarters, as well as a large cargo hold. At the back of the vessel, an enormous wheel towered over the deck, dripping water that sparkled in the pale light of the morning sun. Cecily marveled at the power it would take to turn the wheel. Halthas was downriver, but on the return journey, Wielders would generate the force to make the giant wheel turn and move the huge riverboat against the strong current of the river.
    Daro took care of the arrangements for their cargo and when all was set, the riverboat departed. Cecily and Daro were situated in a small cabin overlooking the water. Edson had felt uncomfortable taking a room for himself and opted for a hammock in the larger communal sleeping quarters.
    It took a week for the boat to make its way downriver toward Halthas, stopping at several port towns along the way. The large vessel slipped through the water as the river wheel turned under the clear summer sky. Cecily always enjoyed the trip more than Daro. His subtle wildness and inability to sit still for very long made him look a bit like a pacing animal as he wandered the deck each day.
    As they approached the city, Cecily and Daro stood with Edson on the forward deck, their hands resting on the railing. The wind swept through their hair as they squinted in the sun. The city of Halthas drew into view and Cecily glanced at Edson’s face, wondering what he would think of his first glimpse of the city.
    Halthas had been settled several hundred years before by Wielders and Shapers from the west, who had sought to escape the oppressive Attalonian Empire across the sea. The concentration of people with Wielding or Shaping abilities meant Halthas had grown into a kingdom where the majority of people had some degree of ability. Known across the world as the City of Wonders, the entire city had been built by Stone and Wood Shapers who were masters of their craft.
    “The palace is there on the hill,” Cecily said to Edson as she pointed toward the towering spires of the seat of the Crown. The streets flowed out from the palace in a starburst pattern, the estates of the oldest Halthian families spread out around it. “It looks even more amazing up close.” She pointed next to a hill on the other side of the city. “That’s the Lyceum. It’s a marvel in its own right. The library is incredible. You’ve never seen so many books.”
    “Cecily and her books,” Daro said. “But she’s right. The Lyceum is impressive.”
    Edson stared. “Everything is so grand.”
    “I think the Shapers who built the