She didn’t listen.

  She pulled on more magic and poured it into the body. It was easier, with a dead body. You didn’t have to be careful. When Julietta opened her eyes Bo was still dead. But the body was fixed. The body, the empty shell, was breathing.

  She glanced back at Linette, her confidence trickling away. A sudden gasp from behind and she turned back to see Bo, eyes open, gasping for air.

  ‘Bo!’ she cried in disbelief.

  The young man behind her started swearing.

  ‘Bo!’ she helped him sit up. ‘Are you alright?’

  He looked around, wild-eyed.

  ‘He’ll be ok.’

  Julietta turned to see Linette, her face slack, her features hidden by shadows.

  ‘I didn’t know you could do that!’

  ‘Only because I was here the moment it happened and I’ve met him before...’ her voice was flat and expressionless. ‘He wouldn’t have been attacked if I wasn’t here...’

  ‘I was dead?’ Bo gasped, his voice hoarse but unmistakably his.

  ‘Yes...took you long enough to fix the body...I think I got everything Bo, if not...it’s too late now... you’re not a shadow mage, so you should stay connected to your body...’

  ‘Linette, are you alright?’ Julietta asked.

  ‘What about Darcel?’ the boy demanded. ‘Can’t you fix Darcel?’

  ‘Only one at a time, and I don’t know him...’

  ‘Linette?’ Julietta pressed.

  ‘Go now. Do what I asked. Here, take your candle, Bo.’

  ‘Will you be ok?’ Julietta asked as she picked up the candle amulet by Linette’s side.

  ‘I’m just tired...’

  ‘Do you want something to eat?’ Julietta asked, remembering she hadn’t eaten anything last night.

  ‘No, I’m just...tired...’

  Julietta stood, suddenly concerned.

  ‘Go, Julietta, Bo...do what I asked....’

  Bo struggled to his feet beside her. He looked down at Darcel. ‘So long... he survived so long. He never forgave me.’ he covered his eyes with his hands. Then he looked at Linette and the other soldier. ‘Please, take care of her if you can.’

  The young man frowned, but he nodded. ‘If you say so, Bo.’

  ‘I hope you get home to see your goat again.’

  ‘I do too.’ the young man replied, tears suddenly starting in his eyes. ‘I want to go home.’ he shuddered. ‘I’ll look after her.’

  ‘I won’t die yet... I’ll live a little longer to help my friends... then...all of us...’ Linette murmured.

  ‘Linette!’ Julietta cried, taking a step forward. ‘You were so good before!’

  Linette didn’t respond.

  ‘Come, Julietta.’ Bo said. ‘Let’s go and do what she asked.’

  Julietta turned back to Bo, tears in her eyes.

  ‘I know.’ he said quietly.

  They packed up and quietly left, heading south. They walked away, out of the small stand of trees into the grey dawn. Julietta saw Bo holding his stomach.

  ‘Are you alright?’ she asked.

  Bo frowned. ‘I think... after this I will retire...’

  Slowly Julietta started chuckling. It grew into a laugh. She wasn’t sure why, but she laughed.

  CHAPTER 67

  19 Jevin, 1353

  Burrell stood near the back of the tent listening as the lords shouted and argued amongst themselves. The morning light coming through the red silk tent gave everything inside a bloody pallor. Suitable, Burrell thought, for the morning after their worst defeat in the war.

  ‘Enough!’

  Burrell was tall enough to see over the crowd and saw Silvain, Prince of Mance, jump to his feet, an angry glint to his eyes. Burrell was excited to hear the prince speak. The young prince was a renowned swordsman and had led his own forces into battle instead of waiting behind in safety with many of the other lords. Others said Alexandre would make a better King but Burrell wasn’t sure he agreed. Who could motivate men and inspire others to follow better than the golden prince?

  ‘We have lost one battle, that is clear. Yet why do I hear voices calling for retreat? The armies of Lakasha will not go away if we retreat to Mance, they will follow, and the attacks on Manus and Allonce will be nothing compared to the ruin they will wreak on our land! We have no choice but to press the attack! We must hold the Lakashans in Dartham! They will not step foot in Mance-Jolune!’

  There was a round of cheering from some of the younger men, and Burrell found himself nodding in agreement.

  ‘Your words are wise, and no one can doubt your bravery.’ someone near the front said. ‘But we need to know why, why such a vicious loss!’

  ‘Shadow magic,’ he said, ‘the Lakashan mages have more. We have candles, so they cannot peer into our minds. We must simply be cleverer than they. They may have the advantage in magic, but we are stronger and braver!’

  There was another round of cheering.

  ‘We need more shadow mages!’ someone else yelled. ‘Where can we get them?’

  ‘Why doesn’t Lady Emerré fight?’ a woman’s voice called. Burrell leaned over and saw it was a female, most likely a sorceress if she was here.

  ‘My sister does not fight as she is pregnant.’ a man responded, his voice cutting through the room like ice.

  ‘Lord Alain-’ the woman responded quickly, her discomfort clear in her voice.

  ‘Prince Silvain, do you require pregnant women to fight for you?’

  Silvain didn’t respond, to Burrell’s surprise. Surely the answer was obvious?

  Another young man piped up, ‘I think the Lakashans would die laughing if we needed women to fight!’

  The room devolved into laughter.

  The meeting soon dispersed. Burrell stayed behind, hoping to offer his support to the Prince. Many others had the same idea, and the Prince was soon surrounded by a cluster of young lords.

  ‘Alain!’ the prince cried, breaking out of the group as the heir of Monbier was leaving.

  ‘Your highness?’ Lord Alain responded coolly. Burrell noticed Lord Alain’s arm was in a sling.

  ‘You and I should speak, cousin.’

  ‘Speak about how your father is hell-bent on killing my sister?’

  ‘Alain-’

  ‘That is what it will do to her, Silvain, to every shadow mage in this fight. She bears a risk like no other soldier, no other mage. If she is forced to fight, there is no question it will kill her, there will be no hope for her.’

  ‘My father-’

  ‘The King can command her all he likes.’ Alain snapped. ‘She will not join this war.’

  Silvain sighed, ‘I’m not altogether in favour of it myself, but the King-!’

  ‘Then you are a weaker man than your brother.’ Alain turned on his heel and left.

  The tent was quiet. The men in the room didn’t make a sound. Burrell was sure Silvain would have preferred they had not witnessed that confrontation.

  The other men slowly trickled out of the room, heads down, as if they hoped the prince would not notice them.

  Burrell cleared his throat and approached Silvain, who still stood in the center of the room, staring at the tent flap.

  ‘Ah, your highness?’

  Silvain’s blue eyes snapped to his. There was a heavy pause before Silvain recognized his crest, ‘You’re the Baron of Leman’s son, aren’t you?’

  ‘Burrell Calance, your highness. I just wanted to say you made a rousing speech.’

  Silvain sighed. ‘Thank you... though it appears my cousin was unmoved. Second-cousin, really. For the first time I think I understand why father wishes there was more distance between our families, to speak to me so, and in public... We always got on as children...’

  Burrell was more than a little surprised that the prince would reveal such personal things to him.

  Silvain looked to him and smiled. ‘I’m glad to hear I inspired you, Calance! This is a terrible tent, isn’t it? Come outside, I was about to go speak with my troops.’

  ‘I’d be honoured to accompany you, your highness. I try to motivate my own troops as best I can but...’

  ‘Flattery?’ Silvain laughed, ‘well I won’t complain, not after Alain’s dressing down. He’s worse than Alexandre!’

  CHAPTER 68

  21 Jevin, 1353

  The speed of their travel whipped up spray, dusting Julietta with droplets of water. Julietta was only vaguely aware of this as she summoned magic and filled the sail with wind. The night was lit only by stars. There was little to see to distract her.

  I’ve never been so tired, she thought in mild surprise, how do I keep going?

  It had taken them three days to travel the less than 100km to the coast and find a boat. How far had they come in the day and night they’d been sailing?

  The boat itself was a sleek vessel used for sailing up and down the coasts bordering the Partagon Sea. It was not a large boat, but it could have held another three people without being crowded. The single square sail was filled with wind. Their supplies and possessions were tied up at the back of the vessel. There was no cabin, and so a canvas tent offered protection from the elements. The tent made things awfully crowded and close and was not currently set up. They’d had it up during the day to keep the sun off their faces.

  Bo had sailed the boat by natural means during the day. When evening fell, Julietta spun her magic. Her mouth and hands moved, while the rest of her body was still. They’d decided it was safer for Julietta to rest during the day and speed the boat along at supernatural speeds when it was dark and no one could see them from the coast. Despite her power, the boat did not go as fast as she’d liked. They were near the coast, and Bo had warned her to keep an eye out for hazards, such as reefs and submerged rocks. Having spent the day watching him sail she thought she knew what he meant. She was being careful, sensing the ocean around the boat while she directed wind into the sail.

  She did not want to think about what would happen when they finally landed, south of Port Eliach, and as close to the Faro Desert as they could get. She did not think she’d be able to walk.

  After leaving Linette and the others they’d headed for the coast, travelling as fast as they could. They’d had little chance to recover from the retreat from the Lakashan army. Once they’d set sail, she’d had trouble sleeping during the day, and now was exhausted. Perhaps once she got used to this new routine it would get easier.

  ‘Only a few more days!’ Bo said jocularly, coming to sit by her. ‘Here, Julietta, drink.’

  With one hand she took the waterskin while the other continued moving.

  ‘Perhaps you should rest.’ he said. ‘I think I will have to carry you anyway, once we get to shore. Not that that’s a problem, a little thing like you!’

  Julietta narrowed her eyes. She couldn’t respond while she was chanting.

  ‘We’ll have to buy more supplies once we reach Lakasha, what we bought from the villagers won’t last us all the way to Arcos.’

  Julietta didn’t respond.

  The boat sped on.

  The next day Julietta slept. When she awoke she was groggy, stiff and tired. The canvas tent wasn’t thick enough to keep out the sun, and the boat was horribly uncomfortable. Despite her discomfort, she’d been tired enough from the expenditure of magic the night before that she’d been able to sleep.

  She awoke as the sun was setting. Grumpily, she decided she’d just have to make the boat go faster so she could sleep on land again. Even if she didn’t have a bed, sleeping on something that didn’t shift and roll would be a vast improvement.

  ‘How’d you sleep?’ Bo asked as she clambered to the front of the vessel to sit beside him.

  Her tired glare was her only response.

  ‘When you’re ready you can take over. I’ll stay up a bit longer.’

  Julietta nodded and rubbed at her eyes. After nibbling at some food and drinking some water she felt a bit better. At least, she felt good enough to enjoy the view. To the east the coast of Lakasha was a dark strip. To the west only ocean was visible. The setting sun cast brilliant oranges and reds across the ocean and the waves glinted gold.

  As the sun set the sky darkened, the colours dimmed. Stars began to glimmer in the sky above. Soon, it was dark.

  ‘I think I’m ready.’ she said, pulling a coat about her shoulders. Now that the sun was down it was starting to get cold. It was only going to get colder as they went further south, further into winter.

  She pulled on her gloves and then took a deep breath, drawing magic into her. The excess magic banished the last of her tiredness. She began chanting under her breath, her hands drawing signs in the air.

  Before going to sleep that morning she’d thought long and hard about the magic required to sail the boat. Today as she drew in magic she hung signs in the air. They glimmered behind the sail, unseen to anyone without magic. She drew her chant to close and sighed.

  ‘No chanting tonight?’ Bo asked.

  Julietta shook her head. ‘I’ve created a spell so I don’t need to chant continuously. I still need to funnel the magic myself.’

  ‘And keep an eye on things.’

  ‘Yes.’

  Bo showed no signs of going to sleep. He sat on the bench, his hands clasped together, a tired cast to his features.

  ‘Are you going to sleep?’ she prompted.

  ‘Not yet.’

  ‘You’ve been up all day.’

  ‘Trying to get rid of me?’

  ‘No.’ she frowned. ‘I was just-... are you feeling ok?’

  ‘You mean am I any different after being brought back from the dead by shadow magic?’

  ‘Yes, that.’ she said bluntly, a shiver running down her back that had nothing to do with the cold.

  His smile faded. ‘I don’t know. How would I know? I’m trying to remember… I don’t know if anything is missing, and I don’t think I’d know even if something was.’

  Julietta looked away, out to the black sea sliding past.

  ‘You’ve told me stories about your life before, surely there are others who know you.’

  ‘This life doesn’t make for strong connections, with others. I’ve worked with many people I’ve lost contact with. I could ask Soleh, Asmara’s father, though it’s been a long time since we saw each other. There’s not many others...’

  Julietta wasn’t sure how to react. She wasn’t used to Bo being so despondent. It was unsettling.

  ‘You could tell me.’ she said. ‘Repeat the stories you’ve told me and I’ll see if there are any changes.’

  ‘I don’t know.’ he said thoughtfully. ‘You’ve probably memorized everything. If I don’t repeat the stories perfectly I don’t want you telling me Linette forgot half of me in the shadow world.’

  ‘I can assure you,’ she said, ‘I have not memorized your stories word for word.’

  ‘Really?’ he said, looking hurt. ‘You didn’t like them?’

  ‘No, that’s not it, I just- my memory isn’t that good!’

  Bo burst out laughing. ‘I’m teasing you Julietta!’

  Julietta stared at him then looked away, straightening her shoulders, about to be offended. She decided against it. It was nice he was laughing again.

  ‘Are you going to talk or not?’ she insisted.

  ‘Let’s see... it was in the plagues of ‘24-’

  ‘23!’ Julietta said, aghast, ‘the plagues of ‘23!’

  Bo chuckled at the look on her face. ’I was just testing you! The plagues of ‘22-’

  He was cut off again by Juliettas horrified exclamation, which was greeted again with laughter.

  The next afternoon when Julietta awoke she was disheartened to find Bo gazing out at the water moodily.

  ‘How was the day?’ Julietta asked, feigning brightness. She was worried about him, but she wasn’t sure how much more she could take. She had her own despair to deal with, not to mention the job of sailing the boat by magic.

  ‘Much the same.’ he replied. ‘Ah, this trip leaves too much time for thinking.’

  ‘Are you ok?’

  He nodded. ‘Don’t worry, Julietta. Just thinking old man thoughts.’

  Julietta frowned but didn’t press him. Instead she looked for something to eat in preparation for the coming evening.

  ‘Just wondering how this all came to be.’ he sighed, looking out over the water.

  ‘All this?’

  ‘Sailing on a boat, away from a war between my two homes, off to stop child shadow mages.’

  Julietta looked away, chewing on some dried meat. Jacques had approached them in Sontmor less than half a year ago. How things had changed.

  ‘I wonder what this war is for...’ he said softly to himself.

  ‘We have to stop Lakasha from invading Mance-Jolune.’ Julietta said slowly.

  Bo glanced over at her, surprised she had responded. ‘Why does Lakasha want to invade Mance-Jolune?’

  ‘We attacked them first.’ she said heavily. ‘You and me and Dorian and Asmara.’

  ‘But why? You don’t need to answer, Julietta. I don’t know if anyone knows, except perhaps King Theuder and Emperor Salamah.’

  ‘I should’ve asked Linette.’ Julietta replied. ‘But maybe she doesn’t know either, since they both wear candles.’

  ‘Don’t mind me, Julietta, there’s nothing we can do now but sail.’

  Julietta gazed dully out towards the horizon. She didn’t want to think about how pointless, absurdly pointless, the whole war seemed. Had it all just started because both sides were worried the other was going to attack first? She thought of Burrell, fighting even now in Dartham. Surely the King wouldn’t throw away the lives of his subjects so carelessly? Surely he wouldn’t have sent her brother and all the others to war unless there was no other way? If there was no reason for it to begin in the first place, how could it ever end?

  ‘Ah, I’ve upset you.’ Bo placed a hand on her shoulder. ‘I’m sorry, Etta.’

  Julietta shook her head. She had the spell to prepare. ‘It’s not your fault.’ she replied. ‘If anyone is to blame it’s the King and the Emperor.’ she said with sudden heat.