‘Why, Nate?’ said Eudoxia. ‘Why descend the Edge cliff into the unknown, when you could stay here with me?’
How could he explain? Nate thought.
‘Because it’s there, Eudoxia,’ he said simply. ‘Because it’s there.’
Eudoxia threw herself into his arms and hugged him fiercely. ‘Do what you have to do, Nate Quarter,’ she whispered. ‘But come back to me. Promise you’ll come back to me …’
Nate ran his fingers through her golden hair, breathing in its fresh scent of gladegrass and wood lavender. Then, gently pulling away and stepping back, he picked up the descender’s backpack at his feet and reached inside. Carefully, he took out his box of memories – with his birth parchment and silver naming spoon, his father’s epaulettes, the Professor’s splinters card and Squall Razortooth’s sky crystals; the moustache of banderbear fur and the lufwood bullet which had so nearly taken his friend’s life, and the vial of Riverrise water. He handed the box to Eudoxia and then, reaching inside his tunic, he took the portrait miniature and pulled the cord over his head. Stepping forward, he placed the portrait of Quint round Eudoxia’s neck.
‘I promise,’ he said.
Pulling the backpack onto his shoulders, Nate turned and walked slowly over to where the Professor stood waiting for him. They attached their tether ropes to the great iron spike that the Professor’s brother, Ifflix Hentadile, had driven into the rock two years earlier, and lowered themselves over the Edge.
High up in the cloudless blue sky, the bright morning sun shone down on the Edge – on the Deepwoods and the Twilight Woods, and the vast verdant Mire; on Undertown and Sanctaphrax, and on the Stone Gardens, where a golden-haired girl stood at the tip of rock looking down, her long shadow stretching back across the stone pavement behind her.
And far beneath, on the cliff face, it shone on two lone figures, slowly and painstakingly descending its glittering surface. They were heading for the top of the great fluted decline, their shadows already beginning to merge with the darkness.
Gradually, as the girl watched, the two descenders disappeared into the blackness below.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
PAUL STEWART is a highly regarded author of books for young readers – everything from picture books to football stories, fantasy and horror. Together with Chris Riddell, he is co-creator of the Far-Flung Adventures series, which includes Fergus Crane, Gold Smarties Prize winner, and Corby Flood and Hugo Pepper, Silver Smarties Prize winners, and the Barnaby Grimes series. They are, of course, also co-creators of the bestselling Edge Chronicles series, which has sold over two million books and is now available in over thirty languages.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
CHRIS RIDDELL is an accomplished graphic artist who has illustrated many acclaimed books for children, including Pirate Diary by Richard Platt and Gulliver, which both won the Kate Greenaway Medal. His book Ottoline and the Yellow Cat was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal and won a Gold Smarties Prize. Together with Paul Stewart, he is co-creator of the Far-Flung Adventures series, which includes Fergus Crane, Gold Smarties Prize winner, and Corby Flood and Hugo Pepper, Silver Smarties Prize winners, and the Barnaby Grimes series. They are, of course, also co-creators of the bestselling Edge Chronicles series, which has sold over two million books and is now available in over thirty languages.
THE EDGE CHRONICLES
THE QUINT TRILOGY
Follow the adventures of Quint in the first age of flight!
THE CURSE OF THE GLOAMGLOZER
Quint and Maris, daughter of the most High Academe, are plunged into a terrifying adventure which takes them deep into the rock upon which Sanctaphrax is built. Here they unwittingly invoke an ancient curse …
THE WINTER KNIGHTS
Quint is a new student at the Knights Academy, struggling to survive the icy cold of a never-ending winter, and the ancient feuds that threaten Sanctaphrax.
CLASH OF THE SKY GALLEONS
Quint finds himself caught up in his father’s fight for revenge against the man who killed his family. They are drawn into a deadly pursuit, a pursuit that will ultimately lead to the clash of the great sky galleons.
‘The most amazing books ever.’
Ellen, 10
‘I hated reading … now I’m a reading machine!’
Quinn, 15
THE EDGE CHRONICLES
THE TWIG TRILOGY
Follow the adventures of Twig in the first age of flight!
BEYOND THE DEEPWOODS
Abandoned at birth in the perilous Deepwoods, Twig does what he has always been warned not to do, and strays from the path …
STORMCHASER
Twig, a young crew-member on the Stormchaser sky ship, risks all to collect valuable stormphrax from the heart of a Great Storm.
MIDNIGHT OVER SANCTAPHRAX
Far out in Open Sky, a ferocious storm is brewing. In its path is the city of Sanctaphrax …
‘Absolutely brilliant.’
Lin-May, 13
‘Everything about the Edge Chronicles is amazing.’
Cameron, 13
THE EDGE CHRONICLES
THE ROOK TRILOGY
Follow the adventures of Rook in the second age of flight!
THE LAST OF THE SKY PIRATES
Rook dreams of becoming a librarian knight, and sets out on a dangerous journey into the Deepwoods and beyond. When he meets the last sky pirate, he is thrust into a bold adventure …
VOX
Rook becomes involved in the evil scheming of Vox Verlix – can he stop the Edgeworld falling into total chaos?
FREEGLADER
Undertown is destroyed, and Rook and his friends travel, with waifs and cloddertrogs, to a new home in the Free Glades.
‘They’re the best!!’
Zaffie, 15
‘Brilliant illustrations and magical storylines.’
Tom, 14
Edge Chronicles 10: The Immortals Page 56
