Winterbay Read Online Free PDF Page A

this over with, the faster she could be on her way, safely blended into the landscape, away from crowded, dangerous places like this. Winterbay was dangerous, she reminded herself, no matter how enthralling it appeared on the surface.
    Mira studied the electric signs that pointed out the directions to the city’s many sections. What she needed was the trade district, and according to one sign, it was around the next bend, ahead on the right. Mira started moving, pushing through the crowd.
    She passed under another archway, this one made out of columns of thick, rusted chain, welded into place, and at the top hung something that took her by surprise.
    It was another giant gear, like the one at the front gate, but this one had a symbol etched in glowing blue neon in the center: a Greek letter, a lowercase delta, the δ. In the World Before it meant many things, but now it was the symbol used to designate Strange Lands artifacts, a warning of sorts. Mira had seen it countless times, but never like this.
    The bright blue δ had been turned upside down, and it was enclosed in a circle of red light, with a crimson slash crossing it out. It meant that artifacts weren’t wanted here … and neither was she. Mira again pulled her coat around her shoulders and moved through the arch, the blue and red light reflecting in the frozen puddles at her feet.
    The path between the buildings dead-ended into a larger, open area, where two huge, rusted smokestacks jutted up strangely through the city’s thick wooden deck. They were evidence of the hundreds of boats resting beneath, the ones that made up the support base for the floating city. Smoke bellowed up and out of the stacks, floating into the air, and they were each wrapped from top to bottom in bright white rope lights, lighting the trade district in between them.
    A large system of scaffolds and railings stretched between the two stacks in a roughly square shape. Ladders connected the higher levels, and rope bridges were strung between them. On each level, shops and stalls were set up and lit by electric lights, and the city’s visitors and residents alike swarmed from one to another.
    Mira sighed. She had no way of knowing if what she needed was up there. Even if it was, it could take all night to find.
    It was there, she told herself. It had to be—and she would do whatever she had to in order to get it. It wasn’t just her life she was trying to save, after all.
    Mira moved between the various stalls of the first level. It was an impressive collection: clean water, nonperishable food, candy, first-aid supplies, radios, knives, mechanical watches, maps, cable and rope, tools, clothing (both vintage and newly made), bags and packs, the occasional gun or other weapon.
    What she needed was less tangible … and much more dangerous. She had no expectation of actually finding it in Winterbay; it wasn’t something you traded for in a stall. As she’d told Olive, what Mira needed was a direction. A mark on a map. Someone who could show her where she could find it.
    The owners of the first two stalls laughed in her face, while the third, a boy who was maybe thirteen judging by his crystal-clear eyes, became instantly hostile. What she wanted wasn’t an artifact, so it wouldn’t be banned in Winterbay … but it was still tied to the Strange Lands, because it was only there where it could be put to use. As a result, some people were going to be wary here. She’d have to be careful.
    Mira climbed a ladder to the second level. More stalls, more wares, but these all had something in common. They were all electronic items from the World Before: TVs, microwaves, video games, refrigerators, window-unit air conditioners, fans, hot plates, stoves, even some run-down computers. Mira stared at all of it in confusion. In most places, these things would be worth next to nothing, but this level was almost twice as busy as the one below. It was another reminder that Winterbay wasn’t like most