To Olivia's confusion, Rufus just stopped in front of the house entrance and stared at the roof with a frown on his face.

“Boss... your arm,” Vinnie pointed out.

“I know...” Rufus grunted.

“We should...”

“If we go together we'll attract attention. Any patrolling wizard will spot the chimera in no time.”

“Vinnie, you're in charge.”

“You can't go alone like that.”

“Someone's got to look after the younger ones.”

“But...”

Milo stepped between the two of them.

“I'll go with him,” he said, although he didn't seem to like the idea.”

“Will you carry me in your arms?” Rufus sneered. “And here I thought you hated me when actually...”

“I know a merchant who is in debt to me. He can take us in his wagon to wherever I tell him. Then we'll continue on foot,” he gave Vinnie a warning look. “If anything happens to Olivia I'll kill your boss.”

“Thanks for worrying about me too, kid,” growled Silas.

“So scary,” mocked Vinnie as the two boys disappeared down the slope.

“But how do we...?” Olivia's spirits dropped when she noticed the speedy Finn and Penn climbing up the roof, perched on the stones and without looking back began to ascend like jumping spiders escaping from the maids' broom. She even heard them challenge each other to see who could get there the fastest.

“Don't do anything rash!” warned Vinnie, whose idea of recklessness must have been very different from Olivia's.

Little Katty clung to the back of the other girl, who even with that burden managed to move with great agility. Their bodies, illuminated only by the moon's rays, became shadows concealed among the stones.

Down below, only her and Silas remained.

“What are you looking at? We won't wait for you forever!” half of Finn's body hung in the air.

The scene turned her stomach.

“But they're not even waiting for us,” Silas shook his head and offered her his back. “Hop on, Olivia.”

“Hop on?” she asked in horror.

“Your body won't hold up... Have you ever climbed with your bare hands?”

Olivia had actually tried many times to climb the castle walls without any success. She had also never been allowed to accompany her father when he went hunting in the mountains, so that kind of terrain was unfamiliar to her.

“And you do know...?”

“Of course I do,” boasted Silas, ”How do you think I survived so long in the mountains in my first form? I didn't have a choice.”

Damn it, she had forgotten about that.

“But my weight...”

“You're as light as a feather. Let's not waste time.”

He sounded so confident that Olivia ended up agreeing. She wrapped her arms and legs around Silas' body feeling a strange warmth the moment her chest pressed against his back. The memory of their faces so close only a short while before awakened the fire in her cheeks and she was grateful that he couldn't see her at that moment despite the risk they were taking in that darkness.

Though not as agile as the children, Silas' strength and skill had nothing to envy them. His bear paw dug into the cracks in the rock with ease, while his other hand and feet moved with precision.Olivia only had to worry about holding on to him as tightly as possible.

“Olivia...” Silas' voice sounded strange. “You're choking me.”

“Sorry!” she loosened her arms a little trying to get comfortable but a cold sweat covered her body when she sensed that she was swaying backwards. A terrified scream escaped her throat and her hands dug into Silas' shoulders, which almost caused him to lose his balance.

“But don't let go either!” Silas growled.

“Sorry!”

“And stop saying sorry, damnit!”

Without much thought, she rolled her eyes downward.

Despite the cold breeze crashing against their bodies, Olivia felt herself running out of air. At that height the ground was nothing but a great dark blanket dotted with flashes of the city lights. Only one mistake and her life would end right there, just a few days before she reached her destination.

Somehow, Silas guessed what she was doing.

“Don't look down!”

“Too late!”

“Why are you making this so hard?”

Olivia sank her face into his back stifling a moan.

His shoulders shook.

“Stop doing that! I'm losing my concentration!”

Several rocks came loose when Silas landed a foot but he managed to pull them to safety with one swift movement. From then on Olivia said no more. When she thought another scream was about to come out of her mouth she bit her tongue so hard that her palate was flooded with the taste of blood.

It was nothing like climbing the castle walls. She would have preferred to cross the Whispering Forest or swim across the Gulf of the Dancing Lights a thousand times over.

Despite how far they had come, she was now beginning to doubt each and every impulsive decision that had led her to that situation.

At times, to avoid false steps, Silas had to pause and grope in the darkness. Olivia didn't know how much time had passed and feared that the effort would drain the chimera's strength.

She dared to look up but failed to catch a glimpse of the summit. She could only spot the distant twinkling stars scattered across the vast sky. It was a beautiful yet terrifying sight. She felt tiny like an insect about to be trampled by a oblivious giant who couldn't care less about their suffering.

Her arms and legs were boiling with pain, unable to hold on any longer.

She was about to slip off Silas' back.

“Hold on!”

Silas pulled his right hand away from the wall to grab her clothes and give her time to adjust but because of the terror her body was not responding.

The only thing keeping them from plunging into the void was the bear paw.

“How dramatic...” Vinnie's voice murmured.

Four hands grabbed her arms and lifted her up. Moments later she felt the wet grass cooling her cheeks. She dug her fingers into the earth as if she was touching it for the first time.

Behind her she heard the grunts of Silas making the last efforts to reach the edge and when he made it to Olivia his body slumped beside hers.

“Move on, there could always be someone patrolling nearby,” Vinnie warned them and the gang followed behind her. “We'll wait for the boss at the entrance.”

Olivia stood up quickly but Silas remained lying down panting harder and harder.

“Silas... Are you all right?”

“Yes...”

“I knew I was heavy!”

“You're not heavy at all... This is... no... it's nothing...”

Olivia touched his shoulder and there she realized the strong trembling that ran through his body.

Had he lied when bragging about his climbing experience? She felt frustrated that he continued to hide his thoughts despite all they had been through together, but strangely it also warmed her heart. He had faked confidence so she wouldn't be afraid.

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She placed her hand on his back and began to caress him as her father had once done when she was a child and woke up screaming from nightmares.

“It's okay, it's all right, we're safe now.”

“I'm not a child...” he complained, but gradually his breathing returned to normal with the rhythm of her movements.

“Stupid chimera,” muttered Rufus appearing together with Milo.

Without any consideration his healthy arm pulled Silas and forced him to stand up. He staggered a little as if he was dizzy but after several strides he managed to recover.

The rest of the gang was waiting for them right next to a large pile of stones that formed an irregular circle.

“This is your famous hiding place?” Silas' voice reflected distrust.

“Not exactly,” said Rufus. “These are not just any stones. They are the remains of the old lighthouse.”

He was referring to the first lighthouse that had been built during the founding of Stormbrace and then destroyed during the Revolt of the Sea. Its ruins were located at the opposite end from the current lighthouse that had been constructed a few years after the end of the war.

“The wizards wanted to get rid of what was left of it,” Rufus continued. “But they do not want to anger the locals. The lighthouse is a symbol of struggle for us.”

“And is it safe?”

“Not the lighthouse itself, obviously. Its importance lies in the secret passage that starts here and goes through the cliff. The ancient residents used it to escape when the port was taken over by the wizards.”

Olivia couldn't say anything else as Rufus left her speechless when he himself reached out to one of the stones covering the floor to draw with his own fingers the key that activated the seal.

He did it so quickly and with such skill that she did not have time to read the symbols.

A golden circle glowed briefly in the darkness and from the center point the stones separated, opening a hole big enough for an adult to squeeze through.

“You know how to use magic!” Olivia exclaimed and Rufus covered her mouth.

They all stood still waiting for some suspicious sound but only heard the whistling of the night breeze.

The children were the first to rush down the stone stairs that had been left uncovered. The passageway was not unlike those that Olivia had used in Shadowrock Castle. At times the stairs would break off and continue through narrow, dark corridors and then descend again.

In the complete darkness Olivia bumped into Silas several times as they tried to keep up with the gang. It was impossible to estimate how high up they were as eventually they ended up covering a great distance. It seemed absurd to the girl that just a short while before they almost died climbing the cliff only to descend again to who knows where.

However, she avoided complaining and instead focused on questioning Rufus.

“How come you know how to draw a seal?”

He sighed wearily.

“I only know a few tricks. I'm no wizard, I never trained and I don't plan to in the future either.”

“Still! Not just anyone can activate a seal!”

“Anyway...”

“But how did you pull it off?”

He expressed his reluctance to answer with a grunt but gave in to Olivia's insistence.

“My father was a descendant of the first lighthouse keeper. It's just a code that has been passed down from generation to generation. He managed to teach it to me in time before he died.”

“And your mother?”

“Didn't anyone tell you, princess, that all the Children of the Port are orphans?”

“I'm no princess.”

“Well, from what I hear, you came pretty close. Stop asking silly questions. I'm beginning to feel sorry for the chimera for having to put up with someone as chatty as you.”

After a final section of uneven stairs, they were abruptly stopped by a wall. Before anyone could say anything, Rufus again drew a key over a point on the stone which opened into a wide, short corridor leading to a large room with a vaulted ceiling and illuminated by glowing stones.

The latter was what first caught Olivia's attention since those stones must not have been the original ones as they exhausted their power in the course of a few months. There were very few people who could afford them so there was no doubt that they must have been stolen, as well as a large number of objects that were scattered on the floor and also on the circular table that occupied the center of the room.

“Welcome to the lair of the Port Ghosts,” sighed Rufus who went to sit like a high king on a large, antique-looking, leather-covered chair.

There were from the simplest to the most luxurious: pieces of cakes, cheeses of various kinds, fruits, dried fish, pickles, honey, sacks with spices of all colors, some gold and silver coins, wooden toys, including a small pirate ship carved in detail, spyglasses, knives and daggers with fine handles worked in detail, compasses, pearls, jewelry of various shapes and sizes, candlesticks, sumptuous dresses too big for the girls, barrels of wine and beer... Even flasks of potions that put Olivia on alert when she remembered the explosion in the south tower of the castle.

Perhaps she should warn those children of the dangers of stealing such delicate materials.

A small shelf with about ten old books pleasantly surprised her but before she could dig into them Milo and the gang hungrily pounced on the food. Olivia's stomach was growling but she was too upset by the events of the last few hours. Silas on the other hand embraced a huge ham as if he had just caught a prey in the forest and began to chew on it as if his survival depended on it.

“Ushe a knife, beasht!” exclaimed Finn, his mouth full.

“We’ve got plenny, even shilver onesh!” added Penn.

Vinnie and Katty had sat down in front of the chimera and as they took small bites they watched its golden eyes intently.

“What is this place?” Olivia asked Rufus, who didn't seem interested in the food either.

“It's a meeting hall. This is where the old pirate leaders used to meet to discuss important matters. The network of passages still exists but very few people know about them. For our gang the entrance located in the lighthouse is the safest but there are others hidden near the docks, alleys by the market... even in some taverns. Because you know... pirates...”

“Who else knows about this?”

“Just me.”

“Are you sure?”

“No descendant of the first lighthouse keeper has shared the code. It is a secret and sacred legacy.”

“And there's no risk that wizards could break it?”

“For that...” Rufus jumped out of his chair and walked over to the bookshelf. “They would have to know how to read this.”

He carefully picked up a small but very old-looking book. Its leather cover had been blackened and had worn edges. She noticed that the spine had been repaired with stitching. When he opened it, its yellowed pages gave off a mixture of earthy and saltpeter smell. On the surface it looked like nothing more than an ordinary book until Olivia noticed that she was unable to recognize any of the symbols written there. She was far from reading the Elvish language fluently but she knew that what was in front of her was not Elvish, let alone human. They were simple lines, some pointed, others meandering or spiraling that stretched across the sheet erratically. Those letters or, rather, scribbles made no sense to her unlike the delicate calligraphy of the elves that was based on perfect and elegant geometric shapes.

No wonder she couldn't even unscramble either of the two keys he had drawn on the wall.

“And you... you can read this?” Olivia couldn't help but feel the envy that suddenly came over her. She, the Guardian of the Circle's daughter, had far less knowledge than that orphaned, thieving boy.

“My father taught me,” he continued to turn the pages gently, now showing her drawings of the ancient lighthouse in all its splendor lighting up the cliff, as well as maps of the passages. “He told me that these passages were only to be used in case of extreme necessity but... when he and my mother... well... That's when I decided to form the gang and thanks to this we have survived, even thrived. We are the undisputed rulers of the port.”

“Ha!” mocked Milo. “Wizards are the rulers of the port. Not to say the whole kingdom.”

If Rufus' eyes could shoot arrows, the other boy would have died on the spot.

“Do you want me to make you swallow my fist?”

Olivia wouldn't let him change the subject.

“You mean the pirates had their own language?” she asked.

“No. The origin of the book is unknown...” Rufus closed the book and put it back on the shelf.

Olivia narrowed her eyes.

“You're lying.”

He shook out his healthy arm.

“You should thank me for just showing it to you. I only did it to put your mind at ease. No one can get here on their own, only with my help.”

“That said...” Vinnie jumped into the conversation. “Boss, you should really really get a girlfriend and start thinking about having kids before you die a spinster and no one can use the code ever again.”

“Shut up, Vinnie!” Rufus' cheeks lit up.

“Those things take time. What are we going to do if something happens to you one day?”

“Nothing will happen to me... besides... I was thinking of sharing the code with one of you.”

“You were?” Finn, Penn and Katty's eyes widened like saucers, excited by the idea.

Rufus shuffled his feet uncomfortably.

“I don't plan on having kids. Someday I'm going to leave this lousy place and become a pirate. What's more, in a couple of years we could raise enough money to buy our own ship,” amidst the enthusiastic squeals of the little ones, Rufus turned his head to one side. “What do you say, Milo?”

“I'd rather clean the wizards' latrines than have you as my captain.”

“Well, you're a bloody fool,” Rufus sat back in his chair and turned back to Olivia. “So... what's your escape plan?”

Olivia, with Milo's help, walked him through what they had been planning step by step, although her spirits dropped when she saw Rufus' expression.

He listened to them silently and kept shaking his head.

“It's a bit tricky, though not impossible... But there's a problem.”

Olivia took a deep breath.

“What's the problem?”

“There's a storm coming. I doubt very much that your ship will be able to sail in the next few days.”

Milo snorted in irritation.

“Now it turns out you can predict the weather? There's no sign of...”

“The boss is never wrong!” Finn protested, slamming a fist on the table.

“You are very smart for many things, Milo, but you forget that we live in Stormbrace and this name was not chosen by chance or whim,” he waited for the other boy to object but Milo just kicked the ground. “A storm is coming, I said. This good weather we've enjoyed in the last few days is quite unusual, strange... Also, Finn overheard the wizards talking about some strange magical fluctuations that might be affecting the surroundings. I wonder if any of that has anything to do with you guys...”

It wasn't a far-fetched idea, Olivia thought. If the wizards could detect the fluctuations from far distances that meant that the witches' magic was spreading rapidly and was affecting the energy flows circulating in the environment.

She had never heard that elves could do that. Did Daephennya know what she was getting into when she started experimenting on her newborn daughter? She doubted it. Perhaps Dawn had been right to tell her about the danger of tampering with the Codes in that way.

“Qwimeras can’t contwol the weathah,” mumbled Silas still with his mouth full of ham. “Othherwithe, we’d’ve gothen rid of humansh by now.”

Despite the tightness in her chest, Olivia managed to answer confidently.

“And if I were so powerful, we would have escaped on our own, don't you think?”

That wasn't a lie anyway... at least not in part...

“Yeah, I guess you're right...” Rufus twisted his lips in disappointment.”

They continued talking a bit about what would happen in the coming days, and when it was time to sleep, each one found a corner on the floor and lay down among soft blankets and fluffy pillows that also looked like they had been stolen from some luxurious shop.

Olivia, however, couldn’t sleep, and it wasn’t Silas’s fault, even though he had lain down mere inches from her with the excuse of staying alert in case the children tried to set a trap for them.

Actually, he had fallen asleep the moment his head sank into the pillow.

She should have felt just as tired but she barely managed to doze off for a while, and the same happened on the following nights. Just as the gang’s leader had predicted, after two days an intense storm hit land, and from that point on, no ship could set sail. From their underground refuge, they could feel the tremors of thunder shaking the earth, and due to the strong winds, Rufus stated it would be dangerous to use the entrance located in the ancient lighthouse.

That gave them time to better plan their escape, though they knew that as days passed the city would soon be overrun by wizards arriving from various parts of the kingdom in search of the fugitives.