Page 51 of Witchcraft and Fury (Chronicles of the Divided Isle #1)

Solar leapt on without a moment’s hesitation as the goblins charged, taking Cal’s hand as she did so and pulling him on after her.

The carpet soared upwards, leaving the knives and axes of the goblins slashing at thin air. Their angry cries faded to nothing as they rose higher and higher.

‘Lady Faylseigh could have told us this is a flying carpet!’ yelled Cal above the howling wind. ‘I’d say that’s some fairly crucial information she chose to leave out!’

As if in response the carpet did a series of flashy twists and loops.

‘Hold on!’ screamed Solar at the top of her voice as they rolled over in mid-air. The ground, far below, tilted back and forth at a giddying speed, but they did not fall, secured by some magic of the carpet.

And then they were hurtling towards the city in a nosedive. Whereas before they had been able to make out only the largest buildings and widest streets, now the city in all its detail rushed to meet them.

‘We’re going to crash!’ Cal shouted in panic.

‘No we’re not, just trust it!’

The carpet pulled out of the dive just in time.

A fisherman on the River Sildu fell overboard as they shot past him at eye level.

They flew in and out of thronging marketplaces, drawing crowds of laughing children who tried to catch them.

They soared over the main street and caught sight of Bear, Pingot, Oswald and Wyman.

They were speaking to a patrol of the city watch, gesturing frantically at a dozen or so goblins who were running away.

‘How do we control it?’ Solar shrieked as they almost crashed into a procession of robed priests bearing effigies.

‘How should I know? Try talking to it!’

‘Up!’ commanded Solar.

The carpet rose the moment the word left her lips.

‘It heard me!’ she exclaimed excitedly to Cal, and then added to the carpet: ‘Take us to the palace!’

The carpet tore off at a whirlwind pace, every fibre of it straining forwards.

‘Slower!’ shouted Solar, feeling herself slipping. Evidently the magic that secured them in place was not constantly at work.

The carpet slowed. They were gliding now high above the River Sildu, following its course towards the River Vulnus. Solar allowed herself to relax a little and leaned into Cal’s body for balance. Below them the Divided Isle lay spread out like a Sorcery! board.

‘It’s magnificent,’ she breathed.

In the near distance stood the royal palace, high on The Rock, white and resplendent in the morning sun.

Beyond the palace was the River Vulnus, and then the opposing city of Khylfierum.

The valley was wider across the border, and Solar made out enormous public squares with monumental statues dispersed throughout the foreign city.

Numerous winding streets led off them, and Solar wondered about the homes and shops that would line them.

Did the markets heave like those in Riverhawk?

Did mothers shout after their children as they ran through the streets?

What did they think of their neighbours across the river, from whom they had been separated for over five hundred years?

Did they care for the politics of kings that kept them apart?

The royal palace of Khylfierum was built on a relatively low but steep hill on the west of the valley, overlooking the River Vulnus.

Its walls were red and boasted dozens of towers.

Solar could just make out a long caravan of men and beasts that followed the snaking path from the city up to the palace.

Perhaps they were soldiers, or petitioners, or maybe servants and merchants carrying the supplies needed to sustain a royal court.

Beyond Khylfierum the mountains rolled into the distance, the northernmost capped with snow.

The carpet took them high above The Rock and over the palace walls. The guards at the gate and ramparts did not look up, oblivious to their presence.

‘Take us down to the courtyard,’ urged Solar, ‘to the drawbridge that spans the moat.’

‘Solar, can you loosen your grip? I’ve lost feeling in my hand,’ said Cal, looking down to where Solar clasped his hand in the centre of the carpet.

‘Oh, sorry!’ said Solar, letting go hastily and blushing furiously.

She hoped Cal would put her red cheeks down to the wind and cold air.

How long had I been holding on to him for?

she asked herself. Ever since I pulled him onto the carpet?

What must he think of me? That I’m a coward, that I can’t look after myself?

I’m stronger than this! I know it, and I want him to know it too.

She was suddenly very aware of the difference between them, measured not just in age but also in the fact that Cal had his own magic staff and was therefore a fully qualified wizard in his own right, even if he had chosen to take the optional step of furthering his training as a forester. What a weak fool he must think I am !

But Cal put his arm around her instead. Solar hesitated, then leaned into his warmth.

The carpet spiralled gently downwards. On their descent Solar and Cal had views into the various rooms of the palace. A man threw logs onto the fireplace of one expansive hall. In another room servants were changing beds and dusting surfaces. And in another …

‘Who is Loveday talking to?’ asked Solar.

‘Where?’

‘In his tower, the third one on the left, top window.’

‘No idea. Looks suspicious though. Let’s take a look!’

Loveday was leaning against a window of his chambers, his golden hair catching the sunlight. He was facing into the room, towards a man cloaked in black, his face hidden beneath his hood.

Solar didn’t need telling twice. The goblins’ revelation about her instructor had brought on a desire for revenge, a need to spy and dig up dirt on him that she hadn’t felt since the night they’d observed his strange reaction to the news of his own brother’s death.

‘Carpet, change of plan,’ she said. ‘We’d like you to hover just to the left of that window, so that we’re out of sight but within earshot.

‘Cal, do you think the goblins were telling the truth? Did Loveday and Binns really gamble away our freedom?’

‘There was no lie in the goblins’ eyes that I could see. They really think we belong to them now. Loveday doesn’t own us, and he had no right to stake our freedom in the gambling den, but the goblins won’t see it that way. As far as they’re concerned, they won us in a fair game.’

Solar noted the bitterness in Cal’s voice, but for her the betrayal cut even deeper.

I left my home for you, trusted you, and this is how you reward me for it?

By gambling away my freedom? She’d had her doubts about her instructor, questioned his motives, but ultimately had allowed herself to be taken captive by his charm.

Until now. The anger she felt made her want to scream.

The carpet reached the outside of Loveday’s room and hovered to the left of the window, out of sight, just as Solar had directed. But, no matter how hard they tried, they could not hear a word.

‘Well, that’s that plan scuppered. I would’ve loved to have got him back somehow after what he did to us,’ said Cal resentfully.

Solar said nothing. She sat staring at the tower’s brickwork, chewing her lip, thinking. It could work … it could just work.

‘Solar, let’s give up. Make the carpet land.’

‘We can still spy on him,’ said Solar quietly.

‘What?’

‘We can still listen in on his conversation!’

‘How?’ asked Cal, incredulous.

‘I can enter his mind. Then I’ll be able to hear everything in that room.’

‘Enter his mind?’ said Cal. ‘You’d never manage it undetected, and there’s the added problem of him being out of sight, behind a brick wall. Have you any idea how much harder that will make it?’

‘Just trust me. I can do it. The tower wall won’t be a problem; I can feel his consciousness from here, I can even hear it.

’ And she could. Now that she was preparing to do the unimaginable, to infiltrate the mind of her instructor when she couldn’t even see him, let alone make eye contact, she discovered herself to be remarkably attuned to his consciousness.

It was so loud, so arrogant, that she couldn’t believe she had never been aware of it before. It was like a physical presence.

‘You can … feel his consciousness?’ asked Cal hesitantly, looking at Solar curiously.

‘Yes. Isn’t that what mind raiding is all about?’

‘Not exactly. At least, Loveday’s never described it in that way.’

‘Oh, it doesn’t matter!’ said Solar impatiently, and with that she pushed with her own consciousness.

She felt it merge with Loveday’s, which tasted – if a consciousness could be said to have a taste – of a distinctive mixture of practised charm and artful betrayal, and then she was through the brick wall and in his head.

In an instant Solar could see the interior of the room through Loveday’s eyes.

The man standing opposite the wizard had taken off his hood.

He was hideous. He had straw-like hair, tanned skin flecked with pearly white dots and large hoop earrings from which dangled rattling bones.

His small, watery eyes changed colour every few moments, from sea-green to vibrant purple.

This is easy. This is easier than stealing loaves on market day , thought Solar to herself.

Then, with a flash of inspiration, she used her own hand to grab hold of Cal’s.

She opened her consciousness to him and, without having known beforehand if it were even possible, invited him into Loveday’s head.

He joined her there, reluctant at first but eventually unable to resist. The two of them watched and listened, Solar only dimly aware of their bodies outside on the carpet as the next few minutes passed in a breathless, nauseating blur.