While the wind whipped around the inn, and howls echoed at the outskirts of town, Sirius tossed and turned in his sleep. Mumbling and grunting. It finally got so bad that Amanda leaned over and took him by the shoulders gently.

“Sirius,” she whispered. “Sirius?”

He startled awake with a jerk, and then as realisation set in, he sighed.

“Bad dream?” she asked.

He nodded.

She stroked his arm. “Want me to sing you a song?”

He shook his head.

So instead she just held him and they lay awake together for awhile in comfortable silence. The howls played their own song in the background. The sound was sweet, melodic, and strangely calming. They each felt at distance from it and yet it pulled them back toward something else. Old memories and thoughts of the other’s past and things rarely mentioned.

Sirius stirred within Amanda’s arms. She glanced up at his face. She could see his frown lit up by the moonlight. He spoke before she could ask.

“That boy you mentioned. From back in high school. The one you were supposed to save by burning the thing that held him. The one the necros brought back. Did he ever get out of that place?”

Amanda pulled herself upright, although she didn’t completely extract herself from his arms. “I don’t know. After I ran away and told my parents what the place was like, they wouldn’t let me near it again.”

“You never talk much about it.”

"Well,” She sighed softly, Then gave half a smile. “It was a few weeks of shit for me. And the worst part was that it worked. I walked out of that place more in control of my powers than most full grown firestarters. Compared to what you went through though, my childhood was pretty darn swell."

He raised an eyebrow and stroked her hair with his hand. "It's not a competition."

"Well you don't talk much about your childhood either," she replied with a raised eyebrow of her own.

"Maybe I should," he mused.

"Maybe you should," she whispered back.

He pulled her in tighter and laid a kiss on her forehead. "It's hard."

"I know." She ran her fingers softly down his arm.

"And when I look at what I've got now,” He met her big brown eyes with his dark emerald ones and then glanced at the wall that separated them from the kid’s room. “Sometimes I'd rather just focus on that. Because there's nothing in the world that compares with that."

She smiled then lay her head on his shoulder with a contented sigh.

They were quiet for a bit again.

The Sirius spoke. “They sound sad.”

“The howls?”

“Yeah.”

They listened and let the emotion wash over them.

Eventually Amanda remarked, “We should sleep.”

“Can I recite you a song?”

She smiled, enjoying the warmth of his skin on her cheek. “Sure.”

He stroked her hair and in a low voice, with slightly more rhythm than the night before, he continued the same song,

“But within the waves,

Lies patience plenty.

While their hearts are full,

The beach lies empty.

The sea draws back,

Fast and hard,

It seeks to fill,

In every yard.

It drags him back,

Into the surf,

Where he is made to serve,

And serve.

And while his love,

Is left to weep.

Beneath the waves,

He sleeps, and sleeps.”

A few seconds after the last word left his mouth, the howls finally stopped for the night. At the sudden silence of their accompaniment, Amanda dared not ask him for the next verse, though she longed to hear it.

The next morning Bobby waited. And he waited.

Gemma came out and offered him a duel, but he shook his head and stayed on the seat in front of the inn, while she traded jousts with nothing but the empty air in the street in front.

Sasha appeared and then disappeared, taking off at such a pace that even the wind could not keep up.

Then their mum poked her head out the door to check if they’d eaten.

And still there remained no sign of Seraphina.

“She’s probably just not up yet,” Gemma remarked as the slowly drooping expression on Bobby’s face started to get to her.

“She was up earlier than this yesterday, feeding her cats.”

“Well maybe she’s still feeding them.”

Bobby shook his head sadly but didn’t reply.

Eventually even sleepy-headed Salem joined them. He sat down next to Bobby with a similar mopey expression on his face. “I want to play my gameboy,” he bemoaned, “But I’ve only got 15% battery left.”

“You should just use it and then you won’t have to worry about when you’re going to use it,” Bobby replied with neither enthusiasm nor interest.

Salem didn’t look impressed at the suggestion.

Gemma stopped her sword practice and stood and looked at the sorry pair of them.

To Bobby she said, “Well instead of sitting there and waiting, why don’t you go find her?”

“I don’t know where she is.”

“Well, where was she feeding her cats yesterday?”

Bobby sat up a little straighter.

With her hands on her hips, Gemma added. “Look. Why don’t we go find her together. No girl stands up my brother without a damn good reason.”

Bobby stood up and gave a slow nod.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Beside him, Salem yawned. “It’s early. I don’t know why you’re so worried.”

Katrina caught the last of his words as she stepped forth from the inn and tossed her hair in the mid-morning light. “It’s not early if you’re awake,” she told Salem with a haughty air.

He scowled at her.

She had been up before him, but then she’d spent some time in front of the bathroom mirror, pulling her dark hair up into some neat half pigtails, and lining her eyes with a dark edge.

Ignoring them and turning to Gemma, Bobby asked, “But what if she turns up here?”

Gemma paused then smiled at their other two siblings. As she started to walk away she replied, “Easy! You two wait here in case she comes by. We won’t be long.”

Happy with that arrangement and eager to find out where Seraphina was, Bobby followed Gemma up the street.

Despite his sleepiness Salem had a moment of insight, and before Katrina could register what was happening, he leapt off his seat and ran after them. “Not it,” he called back gleefully.

Katrina stood in a daze for a moment before she realised what he’d done. “Wait! I have my own things to be doing,” she called after them. But they were already gone.

She sat down and waited for a few minutes. She did want to help Bobby with his new girlfriend. She actually sort of liked the idea of helping out with the matchmaking, but on the other hand, there was a sorcerer waiting for her. One who had promised her more lessons this morning.

She sat on the bench and held her breath, trying to decide. The sorcerer won out in the end. It was a once in a life time chance after all. She was sure Bobby would find his girlfriend without her help.

She took off at a run.

Back in the inn, Sirius had just gotten a recommendation from Mary for where he might be able to find some help to move the ship. Passing Amanda in the hall, he stopped her and kissed her on the forehead.

“I’m just going to round up some help get the ship back on the water. I’ll be back shortly then we can head out there together.”

Amanda nodded. “Did you talk to Mary about the honey beer?”

“Just briefly. She mentioned they’ve got about 125 cases. I’m happy for you to negotiate price. Just don’t spend more than a 100 gold okay.”

Amanda nodded as Sirius spun and headed off to find their ship moving help.

Amanda found Mary in the kitchen. The innkeeper offered her a welcoming smile and a stool to sit on.

“Did you have a nice sleep dear?” Mary asked. “I know the howls can be a bit disconcerting to newcomers sometimes. It has been sometime since they took anyone but you can never be too careful you know.”

Amanda nodded. “Yes, it was fine, thank you. Do they do that every night.”

“Oh, most nights, but not every night. As far as we can tell there’s no pattern to which night, but we do know that music draws them in closer.”

“Mmm,” Amanda nodded but she also frowned, thinking back on how they had stopped. Mary and Brutus had explained much of the howls the morning before and she was still thinking it through. She had some other questions on her mind today as well. “Actually, I was wondering something.”

Mary raised her brows in curiosity. “Mmm?”

“My daughter mentioned some canyons-”

Mary’s eyes widened and one hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, you’ll want to tell her to steer clear of those. They’re very unstable. We generally tell the village kids to stay away from there. I probably should have mentioned before.”

Amanda nodded, although she was not too worried about Sasha falling down a cliff. They’d done caving before as a family and the kids knew what to be wary of. They were all nimble footed too, although perhaps if there was time she’d go have a look just to be safe. No, there was something else that was bothering her, although she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was. “Are there quite a few canyons out there then?”

“Oh, yes,” Mary replied. “They go quite deep as well. That’s the other thing. They can be quite a labyrinth. Easy to get lost, not that anyone goes down there. There’s nothing there to go down them for. Although one of the farmers did lose a cow down one once.” She lowered her voice. “When he found it, it’s throat had been cut, and it’s heart removed.” She shuddered then perked up. “Anyway, enough of that kind of talk. What did you think of the mead last night? And the beer? Think you and your husband might be interested in shipping some?”

Without showing too much enthusiasm, Amanda nodded. “Yeah, it wasn’t bad. Potentially something we could sell. Sirius said you have a 125 cases?”

“That’s right. 500ml bottles, 72 of the honey beer, and 53 of the mead. We sell them for the same price, one gold per case.”

Amanda leaned back with a frown. Without missing a beat she replied. “I can do 1000 silver for the lot.” The equivalent of a little under 83 gold.

Mary stifled a chuckle. “120 gold, no less.”

Amanda shook her head. “How about 90? It’s a fair offer. You said yourself, not many ships come through here.”

“I did. I also said it keeps well. 114. Final offer.”

Amanda shook her head, and made to get up from her stool.

“Okay, okay, 108?”

Amanda paused. She turned and met Mary’s gaze. “104.”

Mary gave a single sharp nod then held out her hand.

Amanda shook it.

Gemma and Salem waited in front of the butcher’s shop, while Bobby ran behind to check for Seraphina.

The sign on the front of the store read ‘Closed.’ Bobby had said it was open this time yesterday.

Gemma peered through the dusty glass but couldn’t see much. There appeared to be no one inside. She casually kicked a small stone on the dusty ground with the toe of her brown boot, and was just wondering where they should look next, when Katrina walked into view.

Katrina hesitated as she approached them, obviously not having expected to have run into her siblings there.

“I thought I told you to wait,” Gemma remarked.

“Well, you told Salem to wait too,” Katrina replied, crossing her arms and stopping next to them. She gave a hesitant glance at the bookstore next door, wanting to continue on her way but not wanting them to see where she was going.

Bobby appeared back out of the alley way with a frown on his face. “No sign of her. But the cats are there and someone’s fed them.”

While her siblings attention was diverted, Katrina took her chance and started inching toward the bookstore.

As Katrina reached for the handle on the front door, Gemma noticed. “Where are you going?”

With as much nonchalance as she could muster, Katrina replied, “Well you don’t need me for your little search party, so I’m going to look at some books, if that’s alright with you?”

Gemma gave an uncaring shrug and might have left well enough alone if it weren’t for Salem’s good memory.

Salem pointed at the book store, his green eyes widening. “Hey, isn’t that the sorcerer’s shop? The one Mara was talking about yesterday. What if he has something do with Seraphina and her dad not being here?”

Katrina scowled at him. “That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. And he’s not a sorcerer. He’s just a regular old man who happens to know some things about magic.” Before anyone could interrogate Katrina further, she disappeared into the book store.

Gemma’s mouth hung open at her sister’s terrible attempt at a cover up. She pulled her jaw up. “Oh, he’s totally a sorcerer. Come on, let’s go talk to him. Maybe he knows where she is?”

“Maybe he was the one that took her,” Salem mumbled, as he reluctantly followed Gemma and Bobby into the bookstore.

Katrina scowled at them as she realised they’d followed her inside. She had no time to tell them to get out however, for right at that moment, the old sorcerer pushed his way out through his back curtain.

“Ah, back already,” he remarked, then with a deepening scowl, “And I see you’ve brought friends.”

“They followed me in,” Katrina replied grumpily. Fates help her siblings if they messed this up for her.

The sorcerer looked past her. “What do you children want?”

“We’re not children-” Gemma started.

“We’re looking for someone,” Bobby cut in.

“Looking for someone eh?”

“Yes, the girl next door. The butcher’s daughter.”

The old man rubbed his chin. “Oh I haven't seen her this morning. Perhaps she went with her father out to the slaughterhouse.”

“The what?!” Gemma stared at him, trying to decide if they were in danger. He appeared non-threatening. He wore a loose sleeved silky green robe and black scuffed slippers. She wasn’t sure if they were his day clothes or his night clothes. Sorcerers were known for their weird casual loose clothing with lots of pockets, and robes that worked to repel various liquids and other substances used in spell-making. He certainly looked the part but somehow seemed even more grounded and disheveled than she’d been expecting. The sorcerer’s in Rambandit had at least looked sort of tidy.

The old man seemed unbothered at the alarm in her voice. He replied casually, “Where he gets his meat. He promised to bring me back a cow this time. He left last night, won't be back until tomorrow.”

“But Seraphina, err, his daughter, must have been here this morning. She fed her cats,” Bobby protested.

“Oh, no, that was me. I saw they hadn't been fed so I gave them some meat from my own fridge.”

The old man’s finger’s twitched and Bobby noticed that his fingernails were bloody.

“Err,” Bobby hesitated. The sight of the blood sent a chill down his spine. Why would they still be bloody? The cats hadn’t only just been fed. There had been plenty of time to wash any blood off from the meat the man had given them. Bobby started to take a step back.

Hearing the catch in Bobby’s voice, Gemma glanced over at him and then followed Bobby’s eye line. “Is that blood? Why is there blood on your hands?” she asked.

Off to the side Katrina gasped softly and took a step back.

Salem tiptoed toward the door, and prepared to run.

A floorboard creaked under his foot and he froze wide eyed, heart beating like a rabbit, unable to move.

The old sorcerer began to chuckle. Slowly it grew into a laugh. He looked at his hands. The red bloodstains between his fingers were obvious to all of them now.

At the relaxed tone of the laugh, Gemma frowned. Worry turned to confusion. She shot a questioning look toward Bobby, who seemed to relax upon seeing the unworried look on Gemma’s face, then he shrugged.

The old man eventually stopped laughing “Oh, this. I was working on a spell. Do you want to see?” He nodded toward the back room.

Gemma hesitated.

“Yes,” Katrina took a step forward. The draw of magic overcoming any fear. Besides he’d let her go from here yesterday.

The old man walked into the back without waiting to see if they were coming.

Katrina trailed after him.

Gemma took a step toward the curtain, wondering if they should have told someone where they had gone and if it was too late to send someone back or if they should all stick together. But quick action was important, and Gemma lacked patience even with her own mind. With one cautious and undecided glance back at her brothers, she followed Katrina.

Bobby glanced back to see Salem, still frozen, and pale-faced, stuck to the same spot. “Come on,” he encouraged gently, and jerked his head in the direction their other siblings had gone.

Salem took a breath and made his way slowly up next to Bobby. He eyed the curtain with apprehension. “You alright?” Bobby asked.

Salem nodded, now overly aware that he was being the most chicken of them all, and disliking the feeling greatly.

Luckily, Bobby was not one for mocking. He grabbed Salem around the shoulders with one arm and squeezed tight. Then he released him, and walked calmly through the purple curtain.

Salem followed right on his heels.