The Celestial Globe: The Kronos Chronicles: Book II (39 page)

“It’s heavy.” Andras set the marble globe on top of the table they had brought on deck.

“Actually, so is this one.” Treb lowered the Terrestrial Globe. “I never thought about it before, but this thing doesn’t weigh like it’s made of paper and wood.”

“I bet there
is
something inside ’em,” said Neel.

“Maybe you’re right,” said Petra. “Why else would they glow like that?” In the darkness, each globe twinkled with points of light—red for the Loopholes, white for the stars. “It’s like they’ve got candles inside.”

Tomik laid a palm on the black marble. “There is a crystal!” he said excitedly. “I can sense it. It’s a sphere, nestled inside the globe.”

“What’re these?” Neel touched the three brass rings that encircled the Terrestrial Globe and gave them a spin.

“They’re called armillaries,” said Treb. “They’re used to help chart a course.”

Petra traced one brass circle. What was its history? She caught a glimpse of Gerard Mercator, long dead. He was a man who loved the world, but not the people in it. Petra looked at her friends. When she thought of her father, an aching sadness welled up within her. But Astrophil’s legs clung to her right shoulder, she saw Neel’s lopsided grin, and she felt the heat of Tomik standing next to her. Petra was not alone.

Thoughtfully, she pulled on two of the rings until they crossed over the red spark that marked the Loophole they sought.

There was a whir, and the third ring moved on its own.

“What did you do, Pet?”

“Look at that!”

On the Terrestrial Globe’s surface, the red light off England’s coast flared, and so did another light, exactly where the third ring crossed with another.

“The West African coast!” said Treb, peering at the second red flare. “That’s perfect. That’ll bring us a lot closer to India.”

“How do we find the English Loophole?” asked Andras.

“It’s somewhere close by.” Treb pointed at the darkness ahead.

“But we’re talking about a
Loophole
,” said Tomik. “You have to enter at exactly the right spot.”

“Align the Celestial Globe with the stars in the sky,” Astrophil advised. “Turn the globe until the constellations on the top match the ones over our heads.”

Neel spun the Celestial Globe.

There was a hum, and a shiver, and everyone stepped back as each globe split in half. Like eggs, they hatched. Inside the globes were bright crystal balls—one red, one white. The two spheres rose into the air and floated over the
Pacolet
, soaring over the waves. Then they came to a halt, hovering fifty yards off the starboard bow.

“It seems,” Astrophil observed, “that we should aim for the space between the two spheres.”

Treb began shouting orders at the crew, and the
Pacolet
turned. The ship sailed closer to the shining spheres.

“You ready?” Neel turned to Petra. He offered a hand.

She took it, and reached for Tomik’s as well. “Yes.”

One moment, the
Pacolet
was gliding over the dark sea. The next, it was gone.

T
HE TITLE ABOVE
is very misleading. It should say “Astrophil’s Note,” for the author has asked me to write this section. She flattered me, saying that I was a wise spider and could beautifully explain the relationship between her story and history. She is correct.

There was indeed a man named Gerard Mercator, and he crafted terrestrial and celestial globes. One was used to chart the earth; the other, the stars. A stunning set is owned by Harvard University. The globes are housed in the basement of Lamont Library, and no one ever goes to see them, but they really should.

Many of the characters in this novel had real historical lives, including Queen Elizabeth, Walter Raleigh, Madinia and Margaret Dee (although John Dee had several other children our author decided to ignore), Robert Cotton, and Francis Walsingham. Each of these people had colorful experiences impossible to describe here in any detail, but the following trivia might interest you. As Kit claimed, Francis Drake turned pirate and stole gold from a Spanish galleon called the
Cacafuego
. And yes, Robert Cotton did have a glorious collection of rare books. As for Francis Walsingham, he was responsible for creating a network of spies
who worked for England. He spent almost every penny he had on the project, and died poor. Kit Rhymer was never a real person, but he was inspired by an actual man named Christopher “Kit” Marlowe, a playwright and spy. Marlowe died in a knife fight, though some people believe he was murdered for the secrets he knew.

Whitehall Palace has long since burned to the ground, but during Queen Elizabeth’s day it had a shield gallery overlooking the Thames, much like the one in
The Celestial Globe
. A description of the palace can be found in James Shapiro’s
A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare: 1599
.

In the early medieval period, several ships were buried in the ground of Sutton Hoo, in the shape of large mounds. They were probably meant to honor the dead people who lay inside the ships, for they were piled high with treasure. Many of these artifacts can be seen today in the British Museum, though, sadly, not all of them, for grave robbers had been stealing from the mounds long before they were excavated by a serious archaeological team. In fact, we know that someone at the end of the sixteenth century dug into several mounds. According to Angela Care Evans’s
The Sutton Hoo Ship Burial
, that someone could have been John Dee, whom Queen Elizabeth might have asked to search for treasure in that part of England. There is, however, no firm evidence of this.

It is nonsense to imagine that people would have been able to walk around inside one of these ships like Dee and Petra do. The soil in Sutton Hoo is sandy and acidic, and would have eaten away all the wood by the sixteenth century. The author claims that her portrayal of Dee and Petra exploring a Sutton Hoo ship is “poetic license,” which she says means the right of a writer to change the truth in the name of what would make a better story. I think it merely means the author’s excuse to do whatever she pleases.

I could explain many more historical facts that have influenced
The Celestial Globe
, but I would hate to spoil the pleasure you would take in researching them all by yourself! I wish you happy hunting among the bookshelves of some lovely library, and remain, as ever, your

Astrophil
Spider and Scholar

A
S
I
LOOK BACK
over the writing of
The Celestial Globe
, I’m very aware of how much help I had, not least when it came to research. My friend Mark Hanna, expert on early modern piracy, pointed me in the direction of several books about the subject. I thank the Williams-Mystic Sea Program in general and Jim Carleton and Glenn Gordinier in particular. Glenn was unfailingly generous with his advice, and I’d like to clarify that any errors in my representation of ships and sailing in the Renaissance are solely due to my ignorance or willfulness. Thanks to Vic Chica, Paulo Gonçalves, and Gordon MacMullan for information about docking tall ships on the Thames. I’m grateful to Tess Bogart and the New York Yacht Club for letting me poke around in the club’s library, and to David Verchere for getting me access to it. David’s enthusiasm for sailing was infectious, and his readiness to answer questions I had about it is very much appreciated.

Andrew (AJ) Romig team-taught with me at Harvard University and I appreciate that he and our students shared my enthusiasm about Sutton Hoo. Dan Wolfe helped me on the fencing front. Tanya Pollard advised me on poison. My mother-in-law, Christiane Philippon, accompanied me to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and taught me what the explanatory placards didn’t. Sarah Wall-Randell
discussed the qualities of cotton with me. David Frankland’s covers for the Kronos Chronicles continually impress and delight me.

I owe a debt to those friends willing to read parts of
The Celestial Globe
when it was in its first draft, or to talk about ideas: Esther Duflo, Dave Elfving, Doireann Fitzgerald, Dominic Leggett, Becky Rosenthal, Larry Switzky, Steve Zoegall, and, especially, Donna Freitas. My husband, Thomas Philippon, endured many long discussions about
Celestial
, and has made me coffee in the mornings far more frequently than I have for him. I cherish him for that and more.

Thanks, as ever, to superheroes Hilary Costa, Meredith Kaffel, Marcy Posner, Lindsay Winget, and Charlotte Sheedy for fabulous literary agentry.

I’m grateful to everyone at FSG, especially Jay Colvin, Jill Davis, Jennifer Doerr, Michael Eisenberg, Margaret Ferguson, Jeanne McDermott, Lisa Graff, Katie Halata, Liz Kerins, and Beth Potter. My editor, Janine O’Malley, is nonpareil—just like those chocolates, but sweeter and infinitely better for my health.

Aimee Rupsis, my sister, inspired a scene in this novel—she knows which one! I’m so glad to have a sister, and two brothers, Andy and Jonathon Rutkoski. They’re the best presents my parents have given me.