The Indigo King - James A. Owen [0]
THE INDIGO KING
Written and illustrated by
James A. Owen
For Sophie
SIMON & SCHUSTER BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events,
real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names,
characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s
imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or
persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2008 by James A. Owen
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or
in part in any form.
SIMON & SCHUSTER BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS is a
trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Book design by Christopher Grassi and James A. Owen
The text for this book is set in Adobe Jenson Pro.
Manufactured in the United States of America
2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Owen, James A.
The indigo king / written and illustrated by James A. Owen.
p. cm.—(The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica ; bk. 3)
Summary: When, in 1931, there is a breach between this world and the Archipelago of Dreams,
John and Jack, two of the Caretakers of the Imaginarium Geographica, must race through history using a time travel device left by Jules Verne, and discover the identity of the Cartographer.
ISBN-13: 978-1-4169-5107-0 (hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-4169-5107-5 (hardcover)
eISBN-13: 978-1-4169-9918-8
[1. Time travel—Fiction. 2. Fantasy.] I. Title.
PZ7.O97124Ind 2008
[Fic]—dc22
2008004966
Contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Part One: The Mythopoeia
Chapter One: The Booke of Dayes
Chapter Two: The Door in the Wood
Chapter Three: The Royal Animal Rescue Squad
Chapter Four: The Unhistory
Part Two: Fractured Albion
Chapter Five: Tatterdemalion
Chapter Six: The Serendipity Box
Chapter Seven: Noble’s Isle
Chapter Eight: The Infernal Device
Part Three: After the Age of Fable
Chapter Nine: The Storyteller
Chapter Ten: The Shipwreck
Chapter Eleven: The Grail
Chapter Twelve: Imaginary Geographies
Part Four: The Iron Crown
Chapter Thirteen: Betrayal
Chapter Fourteen: The Sword of Aeneas
Chapter Fifteen: The Stripling Warrior
Chapter Sixteen: The Crucible
Part Five: The Isle of Glass
Chapter Seventeen: Animal Logic
Chapter Eighteen: The Sacrifice
Chapter Nineteen: The Enchantresses
Chapter Twenty: The Good Knight
Part Six: The Silver Throne
Chapter Twenty-one: The Fallen
Chapter Twenty-two: Exiled
Chapter Twenty-three: Restoration
Chapter Twenty-four: The Bird and Baby
Epilogue
Author’s Note
List of Illustrations
…he looked down at his watch, checking his progress …
The door was sitting slightly askew within the arch.
…hanging from every available surface were badgers …
The thing that followed them resembled a motorcar …
“Whatever it is you’ve come about, Chaz, I want no part of it…”
On it sat a skull, a scroll, and a small box of a unique design.
“Please, come inside,” said Reynard.
There …sat an unusual if not extraordinary device.
The attention …was focused on the young man in the center …
“The ship ran aground …crashing violently against the rocks …”
“You know about the trials, do you not?”
Every surface was covered with maps …
“Please!” Madoc cried to her, imploring. “I’m sorry! …”…
There …was a black sword in a scabbard, covered in the dust …
“I came from high in the mountains, where it is still winter …”
One by one …six opponents fell before Mordred…
The bird flew off, and …returned with the projector …
In answer, Arthur began to raise the black sword, Caliburn …
Circe held up the golden bowl. “Choose,” she said.
…the knight …stood at the entrance of the temple …
The older dragons …almost looked as if they were grinning …
In the distance …the passenger …could make out the island …
…the door …was still standing slightly ajar.
“Gentle Caretakers,” Burton