‘So you’re saying people should be suspicious of you?’

  Julietta gave him a glare. The pair lapsed into silence. Julietta squinted in the darkness at her shoes, checking for any more daring ants.

  ‘I could look for them, Dorian particularly.’ Julietta said. ‘It’s easier to locate mages than the ungifted.’ Asmara, being a shadow mage, didn’t really count in either category when it came to locating spells.

  ‘Can you do it without giving away our location to whoever might still be searching?’ he asked seriously.

  Julietta nodded.

  ‘Then it’s a good idea, as long as you don’t tire yourself out. If they’re not in danger, we don’t need to find them, if they are, there’s not much we can do for them anyway.’

  With that unpleasant thought in mind, Julietta tiredly began preparing her spell.

  They did not take the same path as the one they used when they arrived in Lakasha. They needed to find a coastal town where they could borrow a boat, so they stayed on the road as it wound towards the west and the Partagon Sea. They did not make good time. If they hadn’t been in such a precarious situation Bo should have been in bed somewhere, recovering properly from his injuries.

  Each night when her spell-bird did not return to her Julietta felt a twinge in her chest. Dorian and Asmara shouldn’t have been far from them, if they were alright, and the spell-bird should have found them quickly.

  A week after the attack at the castle, they arrived at the thriving town of Port Eliach. The port town clustered around a wide bay. The buildings were squat and square, the heavy stone and clay walls painted white. The town shone in the sun, and Julietta and Bo spotted it glinting and sparkling long before they reached it. It looked wonderfully foreign and exotic, and Julietta couldn’t help a spark of excitement, despite knowing why they were here.

  Within the town Julietta realized not all the buildings were painted white, and pale blues, greens and pinks were common. Doors and windows were painted richer, brighter colours.

  The sun was warm when they arrived, baking the streets. Striped awnings shaded doors, stalls and small gardens. The pair kept to the edges of the street, away from the thin strip of sun snaking between the shadows.

  Bo strode confidently, a friendly smile on his face. Julietta did not share his confidence, and followed close behind. At least, she thought, with all her travelling, she had developed a nice tan and did not stand out so much as a pale Manunian.

  The town was bustling and full of energy as people and carts moved this way and that. After being on the road so long and avoiding people Julietta had trouble focussing on any one thing and just tried to stay out of everyone’s way. The air was filled with strange smells and language she didn’t understand. She had studied Lakashan at the Collegium, but this rapid street talk completely evaded her.

  They made their way through the town to the docks, which they smelt long before they reached them. Along the main street as they got closer to the sea murals sprung up on the white painted houses. Julietta slowed, staring. Dancing waves, schools of fish, boats and strong fishermen and women dominated the walls. Some of the images were painted, while others were tiled mosaics. The paint was fresh and gleaming, and Julietta could feel the inscribings keeping it that way.

  Bo stopped and laughed at her expression, and Julietta nearly bumped into him.

  ‘Why are you stopping?’ she asked in Lakashan, not wanting to speak Manunian.

  ‘Seemed like you wanted to look.’

  The buildings on both sides were painted in a thousand shades of blue. The waves rolled along the tops of the buildings, while beneath schools of fish swam, their scales glittering in colours she never expected to see on fish.

  ‘I’ve never seen these paintings before, but other towns have similar ones.’ Bo said ruminatively. ‘I almost forgot about it.’

  ‘Forgot? How could you forget?’ Julietta demanded.

  Bo shrugged. ‘It was a long time ago. I don’t think about Lakasha much. We should get going.’

  Julietta nodded reluctantly. They couldn’t afford to dawdle.

  ‘I didn’t expect this.’ Julietta said as she followed Bo towards the docks.

  ‘I’m glad you found something you like here.’

  Julietta didn’t respond to the worries underlying Bo’s words. The murals were so happy and joyful. She’d always pictured Lakasha as serious, different and mildly threatening. Banse seemed plain and almost dull in comparison. It’s a bit like Allonce, she decided. Allonce was full of murals as well. Though Eliach has more of a nautical theme. Also it’s much smaller.

  Soon Julietta’s attention was turned from the murals as the smell of the docks reached her. She wrinkled her nose. The smell of the salty sea was not so bad, it was the odour of freshly (or not so fresh) caught fish she disliked.

  ‘Perhaps it would be best if you didn’t say anything.’ Bo said as they reached the docks.

  ‘I’m beginning to think my Lakashan is not very good anyway.’ she replied, suddenly feeling tired, the boats reminding her why they were really here.

  Bo shook his head. ‘It’s not that. I have not been to this town before, but it is not like the ports I remember from my childhood... the docks always used to be full of foreigners, particularly Manunians. You notice how there are not any here?’

  Julietta had noticed most of the people were Lakashan, but she had been expecting that, as they were in Lakasha, so had thought nothing of it.

  ‘I remember the docks as being busy but happy places. I always liked them as a child. There is a tension in the air I don’t like, so stay close and don’t say anything.’

  Again, Julietta was piqued at not having noticed anything unusual, however she was already feeling tense. They were here on a secret mission to aid Mance-Jolune in the war after all.

  Bo approached a man who Julietta assumed was in charge of the squat merchant vessel he was standing nearby. Bo and the man conversed in quick and flowing Lakashan (certainly it was not grammatically correct like in the Collegium), and the conversation ended with the man shaking his head.

  ‘What happened?’ Julietta asked as they walked a little further on from the man.

  ‘They are not going to Mance-Jolune right now. The news is not good. Trade has been slowing down rapidly these last few days and might soon stop all together. He does not want to take the risk. We’ll ask someone else.’

  The pair spent the rest of the afternoon asking ship captains for passage across to Mance-Jolune, but no one was heading across the Partagon Sea.

  ‘We’ll take a room at an inn tonight and try again tomorrow.’ Bo said as the light faded.

  ‘Do you think we’ll find something?’ Julietta asked in alarm. The only other way to Mance-Jolune was across Dartham, and if the war really was starting that would be an even unlikelier prospect.

  ‘I have some ideas.’ he smiled. ‘Don’t worry so much. The rumours are bad. None of the ships that have come in in the last week are going back out again, though hostilities haven’t broken out yet... I think. We are a long way from Dartham down here, so the news is probably old... Julietta, you’re a sorceress, can’t you make us a boat?’

  ‘Yes.’ she said in surprise. ‘I could manage something, but I would need to rest first, and it would be dangerous to do while I’m still helping you.’

  ‘Ah. We’ll have a proper rest tonight and try again tomorrow morning. The sooner we cross the sea the better.’

  The next morning Bo set out searching again. He returned later that evening, unsuccessful.

  CHAPTER 25

  20 Maurth, 1353

  Bo returned to the inn a little before midday. At Julietta’s grumpy expression he said, ‘I see you’ve exhausted all the enjoyments of the inn.’

  Julietta narrowed her eyes. She’d been here all morning, as well as all of yesterday. ‘I was practicing my magic.’ she replied primly.

  She didn’t want to ask if he’d had any luck with the boats. He told her anyway.

  ‘I haven’t found anything yet.’ He sighed. ‘Some strange rumours have been flying around. In the last few days most of the mages left town.’

  ‘The mages all left?’

  ‘Heading north. A lot of grumbling at the docks. Who’s going to check the weather and find the fish? You’d think no one had ever fished without magic!’ His humour faded. ‘A lot of young men left too, with the mayor’s son. Plenty of ships are undermanned now. Not that anyone’s been going out lately anyway.’

  Julietta didn’t want to think about what ‘going north’ meant. ‘Are we going to be able to get a boat?’

  ‘We’ll find something. There’s always something. Dorian and Asmara haven’t arrived yet... I’ll go out again this evening. We’re not the only Manunians stuck here.’

  Julietta pursed her lips. ‘I suppose I’ll just stay here.’ We may not be the only ones here, but surely we’re the only ones on a secret mission for the King of Mance-Jolune. She wondered suddenly whether that was true. She really had no idea if Jacques had sent other people to Lakasha.

  Bo laughed at her obvious annoyance. ‘Actually, I thought we’d have lunch here, and then we could go have a wander.’

  ‘Look around the town?’ she exclaimed in eager surprise.

  ‘I can’t keep you cooped up here forever! I’m surprised you haven’t climbed out the window.’

  ‘What?!’

  ‘You’re very well behaved, much easier than Asme. Come on, I’m starving.’

  Julietta followed Bo down to the ground floor in offended silence. Lunch was served in an open courtyard not visible from the street. The high walls of the courtyard cast long, cool shadows over the tables and benches. A tree in the middle shaded the rest of the yard. It was cool and pleasant under the tree.

  The rough wooden table they sat at was scattered with leaves. Bo brushed the leaves to the ground. A breeze stirred the leaves above, and a handful more drifted down to their table.

  ‘I see I’m fighting a losing battle here.’ Bo said as he brushed the table clean again.

  The innkeeper, a woman perhaps Bo’s age, came out with a tray laden with food. She placed a bowl of salad, a plate of fish, two mugs and some cutlery on the table. She and Bo spoke in quick and flowing Lakashan. Julietta could pick up a few words, but they spoke too fast for her to understand. They spoke for a while. When the woman laughed heartily at something Bo said Julietta guessed they weren’t discussing business. She took a sip of her juice, waiting.

  They showed no sign of ending the conversation. Julietta was starting to get hungry. She gazed at the salad. Plump olives, lumps of white cheese, and slices of cucumber were piled in a large bowl. Having eaten here already, she knew they were coated in a simple oil dressing.

  She waved her hand over the bowl as a fly approached. It drifted away, hovering just out of reach. Bo and the woman continued talking, and Julietta bit back a sigh. The salad was cold at least. The fish was a different matter. The fillet of white meat was crusted with crushed nuts and herbs. It smelt tantalizing.

  Annoyed, and having spent the last day and a half waiting for Bo, Julietta pulled the fish towards her and dug in. It was hot, tasty and fresh. It had a different taste to the food back home. The dressing was simple but full of flavour. If she was going to be cooped up in an inn, at least they’d chosen one with excellent food.

  There was a sudden hitch in the conversation of Bo and the woman. Julietta wondered if she was going to get scolded. The innkeeper suddenly disappeared inside. She came back out a moment later with a bowl of crusty bread rolls. This time, she left after delivering the food.

  Once she was gone Bo said to Julietta by way as explanation, ‘she forgot the bread.’

  ‘Oh, is that all?’

  Later, once they’d finished and carried the dirty plates back inside, Bo asked Julietta where she wanted to go.

  They stood outside the inn. Julietta looked up and down the street. What was there to see? The buildings here had no murals, though the architecture was still different enough to Mance-Jolune to be exciting to Julietta. She looked up at the skyline. On the northern edge of the town, at the highest point (which wasn’t terribly high), she spotted the tower of the mayor’s residence. She didn’t want to go there. Down by the docks another building rose above others, the dome painted bright blue.

  ‘Maybe we could just wander around.’ she said finally. It would be nice just to get out of the inn. ‘We could head over to that.’ and she pointed at the blue dome. ‘What is it?’

  Bo squinted. ‘Ah... hm, probably the Sea Temple. I should’ve known you’d want to go there.’ and he smiled at Julietta, who’s eyes had widened at the name. ‘Let’s wander over in that direction. I don’t see why we couldn’t go inside.’

  ‘I don’t look very Lakashan. Perhaps I should wear a coat...’ Julietta said uneasily.

  ‘In this heat that would only be more suspicious. You don’t look Lakashan, true, but who would be concerned about you?’

  He laughed as she predictably frowned. ‘Come, let’s go.’

  Julietta followed Bo through the winding streets. Though they were only walking alongside houses and shops, Julietta found every street had something interesting to see. At least to her Manunian eye. The sky was clear, and it was warm for autumn. They kept to the shaded edges of the streets as much as possible.

  As they got closer to the dome, Bo angled back towards the docks. ‘If it’s the same here as my hometown the sea-side entrance should be the nicest.’ he said.

  As they walked Bo regaled her with stories of his childhood in Lakasha. Julietta had never heard him talk about it before. Hearing him talk about his family, their ship, all the ports they’d visited, Julietta wondered if he missed Lakasha.

  Perhaps he hasn’t really thought about it... til he came back. He might still have family here... Julietta hadn’t seen her family in over a year. She wondered if she’d be able to resist visiting them though if she’d been away for twenty years. With a jolt, she realized Bo had been away from Lakasha for as long as she’d been alive.

  When they reached the docks they turned left and walked alongside the ocean. The piers jutting out from the seawall abruptly stopped, before starting up again a hundred meters hence, leaving an open space between the forest of masts. Julietta didn’t remember this section from her first visit to the docks.

  We must have walked along the other side of the temple and missed this part.

  As they passed the buildings a view of an open, tiled square facing the open section of the bay came into view. She turned and got her first view of the Sea Temple.

  At the far end of the square three wide steps rose to the temple. A colonnade circled the main building. Each column was wonderfully carved with scenes of waves, sea creatures and ships. The pediment above the colonnade was richly carved with a sea serpent coiling in the center, surrounded by a stormy sea. Above rose the blue dome.

  ‘Come, let’s see if it’s open.’ and Bo walked out onto the square. Julietta glanced down at the tiled square. The serpent from the temple dominated the center and was circled by four ships.

  Beneath the colonnade it was cooler. Tall wooden doors stood closed. It was too dim to see the carvings clearly. As they approached the doors opened.

  Startled, Julietta followed Bo inside. Afternoon light lit a slice of the interior, not quite reaching the center of the room. Then the doors closed behind them, casting the room into eerily dim half-shadow. It took Julietta a moment to understand what she was seeing. Blue light wavered and flickered across the interior, giving the impression they were underwater. She looked up and realized blue stained glass was set in the dome. The floor was tiled, though the colour was hard to see in the shifting light. At the other end of the room atop an opalescent case were three globular lanterns. Two were green, the one in the center was blue. A glass door fronted the case, behind which sat a crystal vial. Inscriptions swam beneath the surface of the glass and danced in the facets of the crystal vial. Though the case didn’t appear locked, it would not be easy to open.

  In the center of the room was a perfectly circular pool of rippling water. Julietta stepped forward and leant out over the dark blue water. Though she couldn’t see the bottom, she knew it was deep.

  ‘Welcome to the Eliach Sea Temple.’ A Lakashan voice rolled out of the darkness.

  Julietta started. The Lakashan was formal and slow, so she could understand it. She turned around and saw a robed figure standing in the corner near the door.

  Bo replied, ‘thank you. We have a sea voyage coming up. We wanted to see the spirit.’

  ‘I’m afraid the masters have left...’ he hesitated, and suddenly sounded quite young. ‘I’m just an apprentice. I can’t summon the spirit myself. If you really want to though, I can use the spirit water.’ And he pointed towards the vial at the end of the room. ‘That’s very expensive though.’

  ‘No, that’s alright.’ Bo replied. ‘I think that’s a bit too rich for us.’

  ‘I can open the window for you if you like. Maybe it will appear.’ the boy said hopefully.

  ‘That would be something to see.’

  With an air of relief that he could be helpful, the boy scurried off. He disappeared into the shadows clustered at the edges of the room. Julietta and Bo looked up at a scraping sound. A crescent of light appeared on the pool. It grew and grew, the scraping continuing, until the pool was entirely lit. There was a click, and the scraping stopped.

  ‘It’s the serpent.’ the boy said, coming back into the light. ‘Out front. It’s a window.’

  ‘I didn’t notice.’ Julietta said in Lakashan.

  ‘Most people don’t.’ he replied, pleased. ‘If you want to have a look at the pool...’

  Julietta did want to have a look at the pool. With sunlight shining on it, the ripples gleamed. There was no wind in the room, yet the surface was not still. Even with the light, the bottom was hidden.