The Shadow Master by Craig Cormick - sample chapters

of the Walled City were now starting to appear ahead of them, seeming to dance as the fog broke up around them.

But it was the maelstrom that his deck crew were watching.

They had to wait for one of the lulls in the waters as and then attempt a dash through. Hoping it would happen before the Lorraine vessel on their tail appeared, ready to fight them for their precious cargo.

But Capitano Manzoni knew it would be different today.

He strode to the small tent at the front of the ship and stepped inside. The front of the small structure was open giving him a clear view of the city ahead. He waited until the fog had nearly entirely lifted and he could see that there had been changes in the many weeks since his departure. Several Lorraine towers had been pulled down, and there were two new Medici towers standing there. He smiled. That meant at least two more Medici ships had successfully delivered their precious spice cargo to make the spice wine that warded off the plague, and none of the Lorraine ships had gotten through. Cosimo the Great would be very pleased.

And now that he could see the city, he knew that another Lorraine tower would be pulled down, and another Medici tower built. He took out a small key and unlocked the wooden case at his feet and carefully lifted out the secret implements that had been entrusted to him. The first was a set of dials and cogs that he had to assemble. It was a difficult task, but he had practiced it many times. If they had been captured by the Lorraines they would not know what they had found if they could not assemble them.

He soon had the chronometer together and then took out two glass discs. He stood them at either end of the thick ornate cloth they had had been wrapped in and then rolled it around