Fire Sea Read Online Free Page B

time. But, if my theory holds true …” I hesitate, reluctant to speak.
    “Well, go ahead,” the king orders me. “Better to see the hole that lies in the path and walk around it than fall into it blindly, as the saying goes.”
    “I do not think we will be able to avoid this hole,” I say quietly. “First, as the ice grows thicker on the Celestial Sea, the Hemo will continue to dwindle and eventually dry up completely.”
    Exclamations of horrified shock interrupt me. I wait until these die down.
    “The temperature in the cavern will drop steadily. The light radiated by the colossus will grow dimmer and soon cease altogether. We will find ourselves in a land of darkness, a land of bitter cold, a land with no water, a land where no food will grow—not even by means of magic. We will find ourselves in the land that is dead, Your Majesty. And if we stay here, we, too, will perish.”
    I hear a gasp, catch a glimpse of movement near the door. Edmund—he is only fourteen—stands listening. No one else breathes a word. Several of the council members look stricken. Then someone mutters that none of this is proved, it is merely the gloom-and-doom theory of a necromancer who has spent too much time among his books.
    “How long?” the king asks harshly.
    “Oh, it will not happen tomorrow, Your Majesty. Nor yet many tomorrows from now. But,” I continue, my fond gazegoing sadly to the door, “the prince, your son, will never rule over the land of Kairn Telest.”
    The king follows my glance, sees the young man, and frowns. “Edmund, you know better than this! What are you doing here?”
    The prince flushes. “Forgive me, Father. I didn't mean to—to interrupt. I came looking for you. Mother is ill. The physician thinks you should come. But when I arrived, I didn't want to disturb the council and so I waited, and then I heard … I heard what Baltazar said! Is it true, Father? Will we have to leave—”
    “That will do, Edmund. Wait for me. I will be with you presently.”
    The boy gulps, bows, and fades back, silent and unobtrusive, to stand in the shadows near the doorway. My heart aches for him. I long to comfort him, to explain. I meant to frighten them, not him.
    “Forgive me, I must go to my wife.”
    The king rises to his feet. The council members do likewise; the meeting is obviously at an end.
    “I need not tell you to keep this quiet until we have more information,” the king continues. “Your own common sense will point out to you the wisdom of such an action. We will meet together again in five cycles’ time. However,” he adds, his brows knotting together, “I advise that we take the recommendation of the Farmer's Guild and make an early harvest.”
    The members vote. The recommendation passes. They file out, many casting dark and unhappy glances back at me. They would dearly love to blame this on someone. I meet each gaze with unruffled aplomb, secure in my position. When the last one has left, I glide forward and lay a hand on the arm of the king, who is eager to be gone.
    “What is it?” the king demands, obviously irritated at my interruption. He is much concerned about his wife.
    “Your Majesty, forgive me for delaying you, but I wanted to mention something to you in private.”
    The king draws back, away from my touch. “We donothing in secret on Kairn Telest. Whatever you want to say to me should have been said in the council.”
    “I would have said it in the council, if I were certain of my facts. I prefer to leave it to the wisdom and discretion of His Majesty to bring up the matter if he thinks it proper that the people should know.”
    He glares at me. “What is it, Baltazar? Another theory?”
    “Yes, Sire. Another theory … about the colossus. According to my studies, the magic in the colossus was intended by the ancients to be eternal. The magic in the colossus, Your Majesty, could not possibly fail.”
    The king regards me in exasperation. “I don't have time for games,