Sennar's Mission (41 page)
Authors: Licia Troisi
The representative from the Land of the Sea cleared his voice. “Councilors, your attention please. It’s all very well to say the Council should save itself. But then what? It’s not only the salvation of the Council that we’re fighting for here. This is an attack against all the Free Lands. If we can’t find a way to defeat the Tyrant, his evil will swallow us all. Here or wherever else we run.”
Silence filled the room.
Nihal stared into the flickering candlelight.
There’s no other way. There’s no other choice. The path is already clear, all you have to do is walk down it.
When she stood, she could feel the eyes of everyone in the room fixed on her. She turned and left without looking back.
Again, as she stepped through the doorway, Nihal was flooded with the smell of rot and aromatic herbs. The odor made her stomach churn with doubt. Rallying her strength, she pressed onward beneath the bouquets of wilted flowers hanging from the ceiling, until she noticed a shrunken figure in the corner, huddled over a piece of parchment.
The old woman’s head snapped to attention. A wry, ambiguous smile spread across her shriveled face.
Nihal stared at her for a moment or two, unblinking. “Reis,” she spoke up at last, her voice clear and resolute, “I’m ready to begin.”
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Originally published in Italy as
Cronache del mondo emerso: La missione di Sennar
Translated from Italian by Ann Gagliardi and Todd Portnowitz.
Copyright © 2011 by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, S.p.A.
English translation © 2014 by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, S.p.A.
Cover illustration by Corrado Vanelli © Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A.
Graphic designer: Stefano Moro
Art director: Fernando Ambrosi
Ebook ISBN 978-1-4804-4281-8
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