Scott Westerfeld - Goliath (Leviathan)

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Also by Scott Westerfeld

The first books in the trilogy:

Leviathan

Behemoth

And the books in the Uglies series:

Uglies

Pretties

Specials

Extras

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 the product of the authors
imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons,
living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

SIMON PULSE
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Childrens Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
First Simon Pulse hardcover edition September 2011
Copyright 2011 by Scott Westerfeld
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
SIMON PULSE and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
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For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers
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Designed by Mike Rosamilia
The text of this book was set in Hoefler Text.
Manufactured in the United States of America
2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Westerfeld, Scott.
Goliath / written by Scott Westerfeld ; illustrated by Keith Thompson.
p. cm.
Sequel to: Behemoth.
ISBN 978-1-4169-7177-1 (hardcover)
Summary: Alek and Deryn encounter obstacles on the last leg of
their round-the-world quest to end World War I, reclaim Aleks throne as
prince of Austria, and finally fall in love.
[1. Imaginary creaturesFiction. 2. PrincesFiction. 3. WarFiction.
4. Genetic engineeringFiction. 5. Science fiction.]
I. Thompson, Keith, 1982 ill. II. Title.
PZ7.W5197Go 2011
[Fic] dc22
2011015892
ISBN 978-1-4424-3436-3 (eBook)

To everyone who loves
a long-secret romance,
revealed at last

Siberia, Alek said. The word slipped cold and hard from his tongue, as forbidding as the landscape passing below.

We wont be over Siberia till tomorrow. Dylan sat at the table, still attacking his breakfast. And itll take almost a week to cross it. Russia is barking big .

And cold, Newkirk added. He stood next to Alek at the window of the middies mess, both hands wrapped around a cup of tea.

Cold, repeated Bovril. The creature clutched Aleks shoulder a little tighter, and a shiver went through its body.

In early October no snow lay on the ground below. But the sky was an icy, cloudless blue. The window had a lace of frost around its edges, left over from a frigid night.

Another week of flying across this wasteland, Alek thought. Farther from Europe and the war, and from his destiny. The Leviathan was still headed east, probably toward the empire of Japan, though no one would confirm their destination. Even though hed helped the British cause back in Istanbul, the airships officers still saw Alek and his men as little better than prisoners. He was a Clanker prince and they were Darwinists, and the Great War between the two technologies was spreading faster every day.

Itll get much colder as we angle north, Dylan said around a mouthful of his breakfast. You should both finish your potatoes. Theyll keep you warm.

Alek turned. But were already north of Tokyo. Why go out of our way?

Were dead on course, Dylan said. Mr. Rigby made us plot a great circle route last week, and it took us all the way up to Omsk.

A great circle route?

Its a navigators trick, Newkirk explained. He breathed on the window glass before him, then drew an upside-down smile with one fingertip. The earth is round, but paper is flat, right? So a straight course looks curved when you draw it on a map. You always wind up going farther north than youd think.

Except below the equator, Dylan added. Then its the other way round.

Bovril chuckled, as if great circle routes were quite amusing. But Alek hadnt followed a word of itnot that hed expected to.

It was maddening. Two weeks ago hed helped lead a revolution against the Ottoman sultan, ruler of an ancient empire. The rebels had welcomed Aleks counsel, his piloting skills, and his gold. And together theyd won.

But here aboard the Leviathan he was deadweighta waste of hydrogen, as the crew called anything useless. He might spend his days beside Dylan and Newkirk, but he was no midshipman. He couldnt take a sextant reading, tie a decent knot, or estimate the ships altitude.

Worst of all, Alek was no longer needed in the engine pods. In the month hed been plotting revolution in Istanbul, the Darwinist engineers had learned a lot about Clanker mechaniks. Hoffman and Klopp were no longer called up to help with the engines, so there was hardly any need for a translator.

Since the first time hed come aboard, Alek had dreamed of somehow serving on the Leviathan . But everything he could offerwalker piloting, fencing, speaking six languages, and being a grandnephew of an emperorseemed to be worthless on an airship. He was no doubt more valuable as a young prince who had famously switched sides than as an airman.

It was as if everyone were trying to make him a waste of hydrogen.

Then Alek remembered a saying of his fathers: The only way to remedy ignorance is to admit it.

He took a slow breath. Im aware that the earth is round, Mr. Newkirk. But I still dont understand this great circle route business.

Its dead easy to see if youve got a globe in front of you, Dylan said, pushing away his plate. Theres one in the navigation room. Well sneak in sometime when the officers arent there.

That would be most agreeable. Alek turned back to the window and clasped his hands behind his back.

Its nothing to be ashamed of, Prince Aleksandar, Newkirk said. Still takes me ages to plot a proper course. Not like Mr. Sharp here, knowing all about sextants before he even joined the Service.

Not all of us are lucky enough to have an airman for a father, Alek said.

Father? Newkirk turned from the window, frowning. Wasnt that your uncle, Mr. Sharp?

Bovril made a soft noise, sinking its tiny claws into Aleks shoulder. Dylan said nothing, though. He seldom spoke of his father, who had burned to death in front of the boys eyes. The accident still haunted Dylan, and fire was the only thing that frightened him.