Lady Blackbird 3

TALES FROM THE WILD BLUE YONDER: CHAPTER I, PART III

_twç BLACKBIRD IS ON THE RUN from the Imperial Navy, and in hiding from the notorious noble huntsman Duke Winter, friend and ally to Count Carlowe, whom Lady Blackbird left at the altar on their wedding day. Arriving in disguise at smuggler's haven of Nightport aboard the skyship The Owl, Lady Blackbird and the crew of the Owl were cornered by Silas Pickett, one-time crewmember of the Owl and now the conniving ruler of Nightport. BLACKMAILED by Pickett, they have underaken a mission to steal the Brass Book explaining the operation of the Law-Clock, mechanical overseer of Sunside, the half of the planet eternally lit by the Yonder's magical sun. Though the glass eyes of the Law-Clock are everywhere on Sunside, the Clock and its Brass Book are hidden deep inside the Solarichron, the fortress-like academic retreat of the civilized worlds' sorcerers. DISGUISED as tourists and the crew of a planetbound rockjammer, they have arrived at Symyla, a luxury resort on the shores of the Sand Sea and just outside the Solarichron. Surrounded by the nobles Lady Blackbird sought to escape and the watchful eyes of the Law-Clock, the path forward is as dangerous as the path back to the Owl. WILL THE CREW STEAL THE BRASS BOOK FOR SILAS PICKETT? WHAT SECRETS AND SUPRISES AWAIT THEM INSIDE THE SOLARICHRON? WHY DOES KALE CONTINUE TO HEAR THE CALL OF THE SKY SQUID? WILL SNARGLE FLY WHERE HE'S TOLD--OR TO WHERE HIS DESTINY CALLS? WHERE CAN NAOMI HIDE LADY BLACKBIRD FROM A PURSUIT THAT GROWS EVER CLOSER AND MORE DANGEROUS? WHERE IS URIAH FLINT, AND WHAT WILL LADY BLACKBIRD DISCOVER WHEN SHE FINDS HIM? WILL THE JOURNEY OF THE OWL BIND ITS CREW TOGETHER FOREVER--OR TEAR THEM APART?