THE MIGHTY SEA monster’s tail curled around the bow of the ship, poised to crush the sturdy vessel into splinters. Crisp lines of dark charcoal outlined every tooth and claw against a background of dingy white paper.
Hendrik scowled at his drawing and rubbed his chin with blackened fingers. The creature needed more space. Sketching on the backs of old shipping orders never gave him room to draw anything properly.
He hugged his knees and gazed out over Oude Delft, the principal canal of the city. The water was as blue as the famous delft ware pottery the ships exported, and it shimmered like the expensive silks they carried home. One day Hendrik would sail away from the bank of the canal. Leaving Holland on an explorer’s ship, he’d travel to the far reaches of the earth. He’d become a captain’s artist, sketching exotic creatures no other person
