Some men carry passengers. Captain Hopewell carries secrets.
Captain Merlin Hopewell has commanded the Seahorse One across the waters surrounding Raven’s Landing for centuries—or so some of the older island records suggest. How a man who appears no older than the captain of an ordinary ferry could have been guiding passengers across these waters for generations is one of Raven’s Landing’s lesser-known mysteries. Hopewell reads the waves as easily as others read a clock, knows when the wind is about to change, and can coax the weather into submission when the crossing demands it. The sea seems to recognize him. The wind answers him. Even the storms have been known to turn at his command.
Lately, however, something has changed. The waves no longer move as Hopewell expects. The weather shifts without warning, and the winds sometimes refuse his call. Something enormous has been stirring beneath the harbor, while a ghost ship appears where no ship should be. For perhaps the first time in centuries, Captain Hopewell is facing something he cannot control. Whatever is changing the waters of Raven’s Landing began when a new student arrived on the island from the mainland.
Some tickets take you somewhere.
This one takes you to Raven’s Landing.
Present your ticket to Captain Merlin Hopewell to board the Seahorse One. If he there’s room for one more passenger, he’ll take you across.
But remember—
the Seahorse One does not always arrive at the same place it leaves from.