Page 32 of Witchcraft and Fury (Chronicles of the Divided Isle #1)

She crept forward, but no matter how much closer she got, she could catch no words of the conversation.

Only when she registered that she could hear every shift in their stance, every breaking twig, did she start to suspect that Loveday may have cast a spell to make their words unintelligible to others.

Cursing inwardly, she realised the only way to glean anything would be to get even closer and see if she could deduce more from their actions or, if the moon didn’t retreat behind a cloud, perhaps even try to lip-read.

It was a skill Muck, Pepper and Solar had used many a time in their criminal activities, and she felt a sudden pang of longing for her two friends.

They would have been useful and trusted accomplices to have at her side .

Solar stole further forwards, until she reached a bush just outside the small clearing the two men stood in.

She was very aware of her breathing, which seemed to her noisy enough to wake the dead, and she was grateful that her years of sneaking and thieving as a child meant her movements, at least, were as quiet as she could hope for.

She parted the branches and peered through them, stifling a yelp as a thorn pricked her finger.

She knelt for balance on the leaf-strewn forest floor, the rich scent of earth and undergrowth in her nostrils.

My thanks , Bayen appeared to say, and took a leather coin pouch from Loveday’s outstretched hand, its contents clinking promisingly.

What he said next was lost to her, but she could have sworn she saw the word ‘Arkundu’ repeated several times, though why they would be talking about their neighbouring kingdom she did not know.

Then Loveday shifted position, so that his back was entirely to her. Swearing silently again with frustration, Solar focussed all her attention on Bayen rather than risk creeping round.

But it was of little use. Lip-reading at night, even with the strong moonlight that had appeared, was proving harder than she’d anticipated.

Two words she did think she saw repeatedly were ‘poison’ and her own name, ‘Solar’, but she couldn’t be sure.

She furrowed her brow, wondering why she would be connected to such a thing.

Then, Bayen vanished into thin air before Solar’s eyes, repeating the same magic she’d seen him perform in Falcontop.

Loveday stood still, apparently in thought, and Solar set off at a crouched run lest he turn back for camp, darting and weaving between the trees until she was back in the clearing.

She took her seat round the fire, threw on her dragon skin gloves and, not even noticing their prickly heat, began conjuring unconvincing hallucinations with her classmates, her mind going over what she’d seen.

When Loveday returned to the camp shortly after, he sat and observed the students practising, not saying a word. Then, eventually, he announced that it was time for bed. Bear was on first watch, and Solar and Pingot lingered by the fire until the three of them were alone.

‘You spied on Loveday?’ asked Bear eagerly. ‘What did you find out?’

‘More questions than answers. But listen: Bayen, that old man, is the one who first spotted me in Falcontop and brought me to Loveday’s attention.

He’s the reason I’m here! He’s been looking out for my mother and brother back home, staying at a place called The Boys’ Inn.

And Loveday just had a private conversation with him, under cover of a spell that muffled their words. ’

‘So you didn’t hear anything? Not one word?’ Bear pressed.

‘Nothing. Although I did see Loveday hand Bayen a coin pouch, and I got close enough to lip-read some of what Bayen was saying.’

‘Lip-read?’ said Pingot incredulously. ‘What, by moonlight?’

‘It was difficult, certainly. But I’m sure he kept repeating three words: “Arkundu”, and then “poison” and “Solar”.’

‘Arkundu!’ blurted Bear. ‘What business could Loveday have with Arkundu? It’s meant to be a hostile kingdom.’

‘I don’t know. But I’m wondering if the coin Loveday gave Bayen is in any way related; Bayen said “Arkundu” several times immediately after receiving the pouch.’

‘It certainly looks suspicious,’ said Pingot pensively. ‘A private conversation, a spell cast, the exchange of gold. But honestly, Solar, you made out three words from an entire conversation. And who’s to say you even lip-read them correctly!’

‘I’ve had practice at this kind of thing. Trust me, I know what I saw.’

‘Well then,’ said Pingot, ‘for argument’s sake let’s say you did lip-read them correctly. It’s still just a few words. We have no reason whatsoever to link the mention of Arkundu with the exchange of gold. They could have just been talking politics.’

‘So you think Bayen turned up here just to talk politics?’ said Bear doubtfully.

‘No, but who knows what those two talk about to break the ice. Loveday’s important enough to have an interest in international affairs, and didn’t he once complete a mission for the Magic Circle there?’

‘He did,’ said Solar reluctantly, remembering Loveday’s anecdote about meeting the imps during his undercover mission in Arkundu.

‘There we go then. Do you want to hear my theory on this meeting between Loveday and Bayen?’

‘Not really, but I’ve a funny feeling you’re going to tell me anyway,’ said Solar, a little put out at having her hard work so comprehensively undermined by Pingot’s reasoning.

‘Loveday cast a spell of inaudibility around him and Bayen because he knows some of us – let’s face it – are insatiably curious, and he wanted to catch up with his friend with some degree of privacy,’ Pingot said, giving Solar a half-apologetic look.

‘Bayen asked for gold to help look after your family, Solar, which explains his visit here in the first place, and Loveday handed it to him. The lack of—’

‘He said to Loveday he had important news for him – that he’d been keeping his ear to the ground!’ Solar protested.

‘Announcing to the whole camp he was visiting just to collect some gold would be a bit undignified and, in Loveday’s eyes, crass – I’m sure this Bayen character would know that.

So he led with the promise of news. Anyway, as I was about to say, the lack of good light also made your lip-reading difficult, and the drama of the situation made you jump to seeing exciting words like “poison”.

My guess is Bayen was saying something more like “Boys’ Inn”, the place you mentioned he’s staying at in Falcontop. Sounds a lot like “poison” to me.’

Solar nodded glumly. ‘You’re insufferably clever sometimes, Pingot. You know that?’

‘It still leaves Solar having been mentioned repeatedly in the same breath as Arkundu,’ said Bear. ‘I for one don’t think Solar would misread her own name said again and again, would you, Solar? And “Arkundu” doesn’t exactly sound like anything else.’

The three of them were silent for a while as they contemplated this.

‘You think that’s something I should be worried about?’ Solar asked eventually.

‘I think,’ Pingot said reluctantly, ‘that anyone whose name is mentioned together with Arkundu should be worried. I wouldn’t go so far as to say Loveday and Bayen are up to something, but … maybe it wouldn’t be unwise if we kept an eye out for anything else out of the ordinary.’

Despite the lack of answers, when Solar went to bed that night and thought again about what she’d seen in the forest, she took comfort from the fact that Arkundu was very far away.

If Loveday and Bayen’s conversation did indeed link her to the kingdom, or even to poison, then there was no need for her to worry just yet.

She was safe, for now. Loveday was clearly pleased with her; she alone had received a pendant from him after Ravenbridge.

She was safe, she told herself, and soon she was fast asleep.

*

The city of Wolfport surpassed even the most fabulous tales of its opulent wealth.

Under a cold winter sun, teams of panting labourers carried up from the docks trunks and boxes overflowing with silks, spices and precious metals; women bedecked with gold and jewels lounged on litters supported by burly men; brightly coloured parrots squawked from cages; and through inn windows exotically dressed merchants could be seen sharing wine and discussing their flourishing business ventures.

The stonework of the houses was a bleached white, dazzling in the sun’s glare, and the tiled roofs an earthy red.

Many an impressive mansion lined the streets, their doors busy with the to-ing and fro-ing of servants going about errands for prosperous masters.

From these fine residences the scent of wood smoke and roasting meats wafted out to mingle with the salt of the sea breeze.

In such a city there were always youths on the streets, beginning to make their way in the world through trade or crime. Yet in Wolfport, there was not a single adolescent in sight.

‘Where is everyone our age? Surely they cannot all have gone missing?’ said Wyman, looking around from his horse with more than a hint of trepidation.

A whip cracked somewhere behind them. The students guided their mounts to one side as a score of men clothed in rags trudged past, the chains joining them ankle to ankle clanking .

Solar and her companions looked at them in horror.

‘Are they what I think they are?’ breathed Pingot.

‘Come now,’ said Loveday, ‘you didn’t think that Wolfport grew rich solely by trading trinkets and parrots, did you?’

‘But outlawing slavery was the first thing King Algar did after his father died!’ protested Bear indignantly. ‘Those slavers are lawbreakers!’