The River of Shadows (77 page)
A firefly winked on like a lamp beside her foot. She reached out: the light was gone. She heard Ramachni telling the others that she just needed a little time, and that was true. She had not been around very long, after all. Not centuries, not millennia.
Birds were chattering, somewhere. Neeps came and went and smelled of lemons. Hercól was away at the edge of the forest, seeking something, seeking always and forever. Big Skip began to talk of building a raft. And Pazel came eventually, nervous and awkward and afraid to sit down. He didn’t speak, he was terrified, and she thought he understood more than any of them. But not the main thing, so when she was ready she touched his leg and looked up at him, and smiled. Hey, she said, it’s just me.
H
ERE
E
NDS
B
OOK
III
OF
T
HE
C
HATHRAND
V
OYAGE
Q
UARTET
T
HE
S
TORY
I
S
C
ONTINUED IN
The Night of the Swarm
C
OMING FROM
D
EL
R
EY
Acknowledgments
Each book is a wrestling match with human frailty, clocked by a merciless timekeeper, in a ring surrounded by an infinity of other rings, where different, often larger, struggles go on day and night. I’m keenly aware that those who helped with
The River of Shadows
had to slip out of their own rings, bruises and all, and step into my own.
My partner, Kiran Asher, read the novel before anyone, and kept me in food, health, good humor and at least minimal contact with the outside world: the latter was the hardest task, no doubt. Along with her insights, my mother Jan Redick, Stephen Klink, Holly Hanson and Edmund Zavada all read early drafts of this book, and provided marvelous feedback.
Sincere thanks also to my agent, John Jarrold; and editor, Simon Spanton, for their immense dedication, hard work and critical reflections at every stage. Likewise to Betsy Mitchell and Tricia Pasternak of Del Rey, and Kaitlin Heller for her brilliant thoughts on the first draft.
I thank my father, John Redick; and sister, Katie Pugh, for their love and support. In addition, I also would like to thank Veena Asher, Lisa Rogers, Bénédicte Lombardo, Bruce Hemmer, Brendan Plapp, Adam Shannon, Amy Heflin, Charlie Panayiotou, Paul Park, Tracy Winn, Michel Pagel and (last but never least) all my dear fellow writers at the Cushman club.
About the Author
R
OBERT
V. S. R
EDICK’S
The Red Wolf Conspiracy
was a
Locus-
recommended read, and, according to
SFX
magazine, one of the top ten science fiction and fantasy releases of 2008. Book II of the series,
The Ruling Sea
, was rated the number two fantasy of 2009 by Fantasy Book Critic. A former international development researcher, Redick worked most recently for the antipoverty organization Oxfam. He lives in western Massachusetts.