The room held no real interest for her, nor did sitting aimlessly in the cold. The curse of her curiosity crept into her mind, and Elvie lit the candle on the table before taking the winding stairway to the top of the lighthouse.

The foot-high gaps between each step made it a difficult climb. Hundreds of stairs spiralled up the giant tower, straight past the broken expanse of the wall which opened to the world beyond. In the darkness, with only the light of the candle to go by, she couldn’t see the landscape beyond, and Elvie didn’t waste time looking, as the wind whipped through the gap with enough force to send her scampering for the solid walls and bright light above. The unknown blackness beyond the gap was intimidating.

‘Thought you’d go to bed. Nobody follows me up here.’ He tilted his head to study her. ‘Brave, aren’t you?’ Elvie had barely moved onto the final step of the climb when he spoke. He didn’t look towards her, back into the light glowing unnaturally bright yellow but instead perched on the outer rim of the room, squatting with his arms resting on the top of his knees.

‘I thought you might want some company and some food?’

‘I do not need company. I have a purpose and my purpose sustains me.’

‘Which is?’

‘To defend the Island. None shall pass who are not wanted. That is my task and I will not fail.’ He hesitated, like he wanted to say more, but didn’t.

Silence returned, and Elvie stared out across the landscape below. As her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, the view the Sentinel had became clear. The moonlight did enough to drive off the shadows, and reveal open expanses of water in all directions, as well as the grasses and small trees of the island below. Even at night, getting past the Sentinel’s perch would be extremely difficult, doubly so if he was also using magic.

‘Wasn’t there meant to be a causeway?’ Elvie asked him quietly.

He nodded. ‘Come here.’

She moved beside him and he pointed across the water before his hand flicked towards her face. ‘Not there.’ His cold hands tingled across her brow and over her eyes and he whispered a word she didn’t catch. ‘But now.’

Like a blind man who could suddenly see, the world came alive. Despite the dark, a pale white road was visible; elevated above the water, it reflected the moonlight like a snake swirling across the ocean and into the distance.

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‘How?’ she gasped.

‘Protection spells. Nobody makes the island without an escort.’

‘It’s beautiful.’

He nodded, then focused on her with his dark eyes glittering. ‘What is your name?’

‘Elvie Harper. Do you have a name other than Sentinel.’

‘I do,’ he replied, but did not elaborate.

She sat beside him looking out upon the world. For some reason, Elvie didn’t feel the call of bed. She intended to stay up with the Sentinel, to help him to watch over the island, but after a short time of nestling herself into a nook in the wall, she woke to find herself beneath a blanket in the downstairs bed. The Sentinel sat nearby, nursing the fire to full warmth.

‘Don’t you need to be watching to see if anyone comes?’ she asked his back.

He tilted his head like an eagle eyeing its prey. ‘Wards tell me. None shall come without me knowing them.’

‘Then why do you sit up there all night.’

He pondered for a time. ‘I’ve never been one for walls.’

The idea made sense to her. The Sentinel had a fey wildness about him – a bear who would not accept metal bars. The thought of a cage around him, even one as comfortable as a room, didn’t seem like a good idea.

‘The table has bread and water; it will sustain you until you arrive at the Court. They will provide you with nicer fare.’

She grabbed the bread, broke it in half and started nibbling it. A little stale, but palatable.

‘Will I walk to the island?’

‘They send a car each Sunday.’ He didn’t elaborate any further.

It turned out she didn’t need to wait a long time for her transport. Once she’d eaten, she rejoined the Sentinel at the top of the lookout to watch the beautiful sight of the sun rising. Within half an hour a small dot was visible on the causeway, growing bigger as it ventured closer. The Sentinel didn’t say anything; he’d known of it some time.

The car trundled along the road, details forming to reveal one that was rickety and old, nothing like the sleek and well-maintained quality of Eldridge’s vehicle. As it came closer, she said to the Sentinel: ‘shall we go meet it?’

He raised an eyebrow. ‘My place is here. You will go.’

She shrugged. Niceties were beyond him it seemed. He hadn’t spoken any more words than prompted to – what made her think he would come down to greet the person who arrived?

Elvie bade him farewell to a grunt in reply and spiralled her way back down the stairwell. When she reached the bottom, a head poked through the doorway greeted her with a smile.

Elvie had always pictured magicians with flowing beards if they were men, or stunningly beautiful if they were female. But here was a magician that wouldn’t make you look twice. He had shaggy blond hair that fell onto the top of thick, black-rimmed glasses. He was small in stature, and stick thin, especially where his arms poked out of the dark brown cloak with yellow and blue trim.

‘Hello. I’m James Vermont.’ His voice was a higher pitch than she expected.

‘Elvie, Elvie Harper,’ she replied courteously.

He nodded, expecting her reply. ‘It’s lovely to meet you. I’m here to drive you over to the Island? Are you ready?’

‘I am.’

‘Then come outside and jump into the car. It’s time to show you an island of magic.’