Gatefather Read online

  Stone kept discovering Orphans from time to time, but because they weren’t receiving any training, only a couple of them reached a level of power where they needed to be given a choice: Play nice with the drowthers, or find yourself on Westil. Everybody decided to play nice, so far.

  Danny and Pat went to all the proms, wearing clothing Veevee chose for them. They walked at graduation, and they were both happy that Danny got a huge ovation from the other students, and Pat got far less—but heard some heartfelt whoops from her real friends.

  And a week after graduation, Pat’s parents put on an affordable wedding for them at St. John’s United Methodist in Buena Vista—Pat, determined not to be a bridezilla, put her foot down whenever anyone proposed something extravagant. But she couldn’t prevent Danny from giving her an absolutely amazing, yet perfectly tasteful, ring.

  “You didn’t borrow this from some jewelry store, right?” she asked.

  “I understand that you had to ask,” said Danny, “but no. I had it made for you by a metalmage in Westil. He was very proud of his work, and it’s not like he needed a lot of money for it, since he can draw gold up out of the earth whenever he wants.”

  “So how did you pay him?” she asked.

  “A couple of amulets of healing,” said Danny. “The ring was easy for him, the amulet was easy for me. But a fair exchange, for a man still raising stupid, reckless children.”

  “You got to know his kids?”

  “All children are stupid and reckless. Just … some more than others.”

  And then they set about producing some stupid, reckless children of their own, while keeping track of their friends and making new ones and then doing a fairly lazy job of working their way through college while pursuing their real career, which was to try and make each other and their children amazingly happy every day of their lives.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  ORSON SCOTT CARD is the author of the international bestsellers Shadow of the Giant, Shadow Puppets, Shadow of the Hegemon, and Ender’s Shadow, and the beloved classic of science fiction, Ender’s Game, as well as the acclaimed fantasy series The Tales of Alvin Maker. He lives in Greensboro, North Carolina. You can sign up for email updates here.

  BY ORSON SCOTT CARD FROM TOM DOHERTY ASSOCIATES

  ENDER UNIVERSE

  Ender Series

  Ender’s Game

  Ender in Exile

  Speaker for the Dead

  Xenocide

  Children of the Mind

  Ender’s Shadow Series

  Ender’s Shadow

  Shadow of the Hegemon

  Shadow Puppets

  Shadow of the Giant

  Shadows in Flight

  The First Formic War (with Aaron Johnston)

  Earth Unaware

  Earth Afire

  Earth Awakens

  Ender Novellas

  A War of Gifts

  First Meetings

  THE MITHERMAGES

  The Lost Gate

  The Gate Thief

  Gatefather

  THE TALES OF ALVIN MAKER

  Seventh Son

  Red Prophet

  Prentice Alvin

  Alvin Journeyman

  Heartfire

  The Crystal City

  HOMECOMING

  The Memory of Earth

  The Call of Earth

  The Ships of Earth

  Earthfall

  Earthborn

  WOMEN OF GENESIS

  Sarah

  Rebekah

  Rachel & Leah

  THE COLLECTED SHORT FICTION OF ORSON SCOTT CARD

  Maps in a Mirror: The Short Fiction of Orson Scott Card

  Keeper of Dreams

  STAND-ALONE FICTION

  Invasive Procedures (with Aaron Johnston)

  Empire

  Hidden Empire

  The Folk of the Fringe

  Hart’s Hope

  Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus

  Saints

  Songmaster

  Treason

  The Worthing Saga

  Wyrms

  Zanna’s Gift

  Thank you for buying this

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  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  About the Author

  By Orson Scott Card from Tom Doherty Associates

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  GATEFATHER

  Copyright © 2015 by Orson Scott Card

  All rights reserved.

  Cover art by Getty Images; cover design by FORT

  A Tor Book

  Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC

  175 Fifth Avenue

  New York, NY 10010

  www.tor-forge.com

  Tor® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.

  The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

  Card, Orson Scott.

  Gatefather: a novel / Orson Scott Card. — First edition.

  p. cm.

  “A Tom Doherty Associates book.”

  ISBN 978-0-7653-2659-1 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-1-4299-5208-8 (e-book)

  1. Magi—Fiction. 2. Families—Fiction. 3. Good and evil—Fiction. I. Title.

  PS3553.A655G39 2015

  813'.54—dc23

  2015028838

  e-ISBN 9781429952088

  Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at [email protected].

  First Edition: October 2015