The Map to Everywhere

Wait," Fin said, puzzling through the words. "That was a seed, not a secret." "Of course it was." It sounded annoyed, at least for a tree. "Here, secrets turn to seed, good secrets take root, and the vines that grow bloom into rumors. They do that, you know," it said, as much to itself as to Fin. "Once planted, they grow. And start new rumors all their own.

You kids take your time," the Naysayer called from above them. "Me an'the oncoming apocalypse will just hang out and get to know each other while we wait.

Seriously, what does it take to get a good solid explosion around here?

What are you doing?” she shouted “Saving your life!” he shouted back. Way too far below for her comfort, the crooked streets of the Khaznot Quay waited to dash them to pieces. “You’re not doing a very good job of it!

Did all of that come from nowhere?” Ardent chuckled. “Oh, that would be a feat, wouldn’t it? Quite clever, quite clever. No, no, dear, that didn’t come from nowhere—that’s always been here. We came from nowhere.

Some things can be scary at first. And often those lead to the best kinds of experiences.

They ate mostly prollycrab, pulled fresh from the Stream. “It’s short for ‘probability crab,’” Ardent told her, splitting open an orange claw and sucking out the rich velvet meat. “Because like the Stream itself, they embrace all probabilities.” He smacked his lips. “Ooh, this one is chocolate!

Marrill swiveled toward Fin and Ardent, her eyes wide. “Skullraiders?” Ardent patted her on the head. “No need to worry about those. We keep the Kraken up to date with her vaccines and enchantings.” He stood. “Besides, with all the things on the Stream that can kill you, a bit of ticklish discomfort never hurt anyone.” He paused. “Mostly. Anyway, good night!

What d’ya think?” Fin asked, holding out a silver pepper shaker. Marrill scrunched her nose, considering the object. “Definitely something alive,” she finally pronounced. For the past several hours, the two of them had been playing a game of Drop Things into the Pirate Stream and Guess What They’ll Turn Into. So far they’d watched a shoe turn into a fish (boring), a towel morph into a small raft of tiger-roses (not boring), and a cup disappear into a high-pitched scream accompanied by the rattle of castanets and a driving bass beat (downright freaky). “I’m going with deadly,” Fin said.

It was terrifying and incredible at the same time!

You can’t fix a problem until you know what it is,” the wizard said

It should have been soothing, but Fin wasn’t used to quiet. Where he was from, quiet meant either something was very wrong, or it was about to be.

Fin tried not to wince—he wasn’t used to attention, certainly not good attention.

The wizard now looked straight at him. “No, young man,” he said. “Whatever’s wrong with you, there is no magic about it.

For example, once there was this tribe of highly ambitious tree frogs—

Any idea how long it will take to find them all?” Ardent tugged on his beard. “Somewhere between three hours and five hundred years, I expect. Which is to say, no, I’m afraid not.

Marrill wondered, for the four billionth time today, if she was losing her mind.

Then he looked at Marrill with a frown of concern. “By chance have you felt the urge to repeat everything people say to you, backward?” Yesterday she’d have thought it was the oddest question she’d ever been asked. Now she wasn’t so sure. “No?

Oh, hello!” Ardent frowned. “Look, Coll, another stowaway! Did I forget to lock the Bilge Room again?

no one evaded the pie shop pirates for long.

Fin braced himself, steeling his nerve. He’d have to take a chance and hope the vortex was kind.

Exasperated, Marrill rolled her eyes. “Probably? That doesn’t make any sense.” He grinned. “Welcome to the Pirate Stream.

Every time she thought she had a handle on what it meant for there to be magic in the world, something new shattered her expectations.

It’s a great way to meet the locals, get in touch with the city, and not get carried away and dropped to your death from an enormous height.

Great. She’d lost the Compass Rose, she’d lost her wizard, and now she had bangs.

It’s in books,” he explained, as if that made it all make sense.

Besides, Fin thought, he wasn’t the Master Thief because he gave stuff back.

And just as his lungs screamed and he gave a last little prayer that he might be part mermaid, his hand burst through the surface, his head a second behind.

Because if there were three things every orphan in the Quay knew, the best and most awesome, without a doubt, was how to skysail.

What are you doing here?” he mumbled. “Um, you asked me to follow you?” Marrill said. The wizard chuckled. “Not you,” he said, continuing downward. “I meant the Promenade Deck.” He waved his hand over his shoulder at the floor they’d just passed. “You’ll have to watch out for that one—it likes to walk off. Best to stay away from it. Never know where it’ll end up; sometimes it up and heads to another ship.” “Um…” Her words faltered. “How do I know which one’s the Promenade Deck?” He glanced up at her, forehead furrowed. “It’s the one that moves.