Katrina awoke in her bed back on the ship. She was unsure as to what had transpired or for how long she had been out. She stared at the bunk above her for a few moments, and then sat up quickly.

Gemma was seated on top of her own bed, and she glanced over when Katrina sat up. “Welcome back to the world of the living,” she remarked with a smirk.

Another head poked itself over from the top bunk. “You’re awake!” Sasha exclaimed happily.

“What happened?” Katrina asked, as she tried to rack her brain for the last of her memories.

“You nearly died,” Gemma told her. “Overused your magic and nearly became part of the spell.”

“I wasn’t casting a spell,” Katrina corrected instinctively.

“The infusement then, whatever,” Gemma replied. “You overdid it. You stopped breathing there for a sec. And both Bobby and Seraphina nearly passed out from trying to heal you. Then mum grabbed the flute and you started breathing again.”

“What happened to the dragon?” Katrina asked.

“Well, it took a little while for it to snap out of whatever you did to it and once we figured out you were gonna be okay we were gonna head back toward the ship. It started looking a little antsy though, so mum took the flute and chased it across the dunes like the pied piper. You should’a seen it. Once we got back, dad sent a message back to the village to let them know what happened. Seraphina stayed the night but we’re going to take her back to town soon.”

“The night? What time is it?”

“10am-ish, you slept for ages.”

Amanda sat at a table in the galley, staring at the flute in front of her. The breakfast crowd had long since cleared out. She’d passed it around some of the crew earlier and not a single one had failed to be impressed by it.

Neko had remarked that he’d never felt an infusement that strong. Amanda had to agree. Most infusements didn’t feel like anything. Good ones, might give you a prickly feel, like static electricity. But this, this felt like magic. Amanda vaguely recalled that it was their magical properties the cantaloupe had originally been hunted for, and although she wasn’t sure exactly how it was they had been used, what Katrina had done with the flute, gave her an inkling.

It scared her, that despite all her warnings, all her talks, Katrina had still managed to push her magic to the brink. There was the spell the kids had done and now this, this wondrously unique and powerful item. Both were no small achievement, and Amanda worried that they might just encourage Katrina further down a dangerous path. She wondered if perhaps, her attempts to limit Katrina’s dabbling, had been completely the wrong approach. But she had few ideas on how best to temper such a wild and ambitious storm, and as she stared at the well-crafted infusement in front of her, an infusement that had saved them all, a part of her wondered if she even wanted to. If she wouldn’t be keeping something for herself, something meant for better things. What was safest? What was right? For Katrina, for her family, and for the rest of the world.

She was pulled from her thoughts when Sirius came rushing into the galley, a grin plastered across his face. “I’ve got it!” he remarked as he took a seat opposite her.

“Got what?”

“I’ve figured out how we get the ship off the beach.”

She frowned before she remembered that that too was a problem that still needed to be solved.

Sirius nodded at the flute that lay on the table between them. “We use the dragon.”

Amanda looked from him to flute and then back again. It took her a moment to realise he was serious. Her mouth dropped open and for awhile she just stared at him.

He continued. “We enchant it with the flute, we slip a harness on it, tie it to the ship, and then it pulls us off the beach. Maybe with a little help from some of the telekinetics, but we shouldn’t need much. A dragon can lift a lot more than a whale.”

Her mind turned the idea over. Finally she raised her eyebrows and replied, “That’s so stupid it might just work.” Then she frowned. “What would we do with it after? We can’t just leave it here. That dragon’s what’s been killing the townsfolk. It’s why they’re so scared.”

Sirius’s grin just widened and Amanda got the impression he’d thought this all the way through. “That’s just it. It could tow us all the way north, maybe even help speed up our passage.”

“That’s a long way. And what about when we get there?”

“Set it loose in the mountains or sell it. ”

She raised an eyebrow at the second suggestion. “Sell a dragon that big?”

“Hey, there’s always the odd trainer looking for a challenge. Stockyard’s half why we’re headed there remember.”

“We’re not pretending it’s tame though.”

Sirius shook his head. “No, and we should probably keep the flute hidden actually, unless we want to sell that with it. Might raise a lot of questions though, something that powerful.”

Amanda was quiet for a moment. “It’s still a long way for a dragon to fly.”

“Believe it or not, they can fly pretty far when they want to, they just don’t usually want to. They pretty much only do it when their nest gets too big. It’s in my book.”

Amanda nodded and remarked thoughtfully, “Not that that happens much anymore. Okay, but-”

Her next question was cut off when Shiv burst into the room. “Ah, there you are. We’ve got a problem.”

Amanda looked over her shoulder at him as he walked toward them and she jovially replied, “A bigger problem than a rampaging dragon and a beached ship?”

Shiv didn’t immediately answer, but he looked worried. He pulled up a stool and sat it at the end of the table, between the two of them.

Amanda’s smile dropped away. It wasn’t like Shiv to ignore humour like that.

“Speaking of,” Sirius started, not noticing the worry on Shiv’s face yet. “I think I’ve got a way to solve those two problems.

Amanda caught Sirius’s eye and nodded her head to the side, bringing attention to Shiv’s demeanor.

Sirius’s eyes widened and after a good look at Shiv, he frowned.

But Sirius’s statement had actually distracted Shiv and he paused and raised his eyebrows in question.

“You won’t like it,” Amanda told him briefly. “What’s the new problem.”

Shiv hesitated, as if trying to decide whether or not to pursue that new line. Then he shook his head and gave Amanda a pointed look. “You incinerated Pete.”

“He tried to kill my children,” Amanda replied simply.

“And I’m not saying you weren’t completely justified in your actions, but Pete had a reputation.”

Amanda frowned, not quite understanding, but one look at the expression on Sirius’s face and she got the impression that he already knew where this was going.

Shiv continued, “I once saw him twist a guy's head clean off while keeping the body still. Rumour is he could squish a man’s arteries while they were still inside his body, cut off the blood flow without laying a finger on him or spilling a drop, then release it after and make it look like he died some other way. He’s not even telekinetic and he’s far better at it than I am.”

“You telling me you can’t rip off a mans head and keep the body still?” Sirius asked, with a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Shiv sighed and considered it briefly. “Not easily. The point is, he was very fucking good and he had a lot of friends.”

“You're saying they might come looking for revenge?” Amanda asked.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Shiv held up his hands and shook his head, then he waggled it from side to side. “No but yes. Possibly, probably, and some of them have some darn long memories so you best be watching your backs for awhile, but no, it’s worse than that. Pete’s also been known to do some work for several aristocrats.”

Across the table, Sirius closed his eyes and mumbled a, “Fuck.”

“So he’s more scum than we thought?” Amanda replied, still not making the connection.

“Get to the point, Shiv,” Sirius told him, as he lifted his head from his hands.

Shiv looked directly at Amanda. “Now, you’re one of the best, probably the best firestarter, I’ve ever seen, but the only reason you beat Pete is because he didn’t know that. In a fair fight you’d probably both be dead. Thing is I’ve seen him die before too, and then come back.”

“Felix?” Sirius asked.

Shiv nodded.

Amanda shook her head. “I thought a good borrower could get a feel for someone’s power without having to use it? And what’s Felix got to do with anything?”

Shiv shrugged. “You’d have to ask a borrower that question.”

“I think it depends on the borrower, not necessarily related to skill. Pete was arrogant, he might not have been paying attention anyway,” Sirius replied, “And Felix is a necro.”

Amanda’s eyes widened, then she frowned and shook her head. “A necro who can bring someone back without a body?”

Shiv shook his head. “Nah, I don’t think so.”

“So what’s the problem?” Amanda pressed.

“Pete had a reputation for being very skilled. He was well known, but not just high seas well known. Well known to people who have a reputation for hiring people to kill their enemy’s babies in their cribs. And you killed him. Bested him in battle and threatened an entire crew with a dragon made of fire like nothing they’ve probably ever seen before. You’ve made it damn obvious to every person on that ship that you’re not to be trifled with, so what story do you think they’re going to go spreading when they leave here?”

“Oh.”

Shiv crossed his arms. “He had a rep and soon you’ll have a rep and fates help you if the aristocrats get wind of the type of powers you have. You’ll have job offers darkening your doorstep whether you want them there or not. And a little reminder, aristocrats don’t like to hear ‘no’ for an answer. They’ll threaten your family and your children until they get the answer they want, and you definitely won’t like the work they have on offer. It’ll be like Scarlett all over again, only worse.”

“Scarlett wasn’t that bad,” Amanda replied, trying to ignore the unsettling weight in her stomach.

Sirius raised as eyebrow. Then he turned to Shiv. “We need to talk to Felix.”

Shiv’s shoulder dropped. “Talk to Felix? Right, what about all the men on his ship? You gonna convince them not to get drunk and accidentally spill the story? Because they will, even if you somehow get them to promise not to, they will.” Shiv pointed his finger at Sirius.

“So what are you suggesting? You want us to burn their whole ship down?” Sirius growled.

Shiv held up his hands. “Now now, I ain’t suggesting anything. I’m just saying, we’ve got a problem we need to deal with, and talking about it is a terrible solution.”

“We could mind wipe them,” Amanda suggested.

The other two went silent. They turned to look at her.

“Oh, you’re serious?” Shiv’s eyes widened.

Amanda shrugged. “Why not, there was a real dragon on that beach. We’ll just alter what they saw a little, and none of them actually saw what I did to Pete.”

Shiv scoffed. “Oh, yes, you’re just gonna what, get out your spell books? I’m sure that sort of magic’s very easy, no cost at all, no risk of messing it up and making things worse. Or maybe you were planning on using an infusement?” He paused and glanced at the flute between them. He pointed at it. “Now, I know that’s good magic in there, but there’s a hell of a difference between manipulating emotions, which wears off later, and permanently altering someone’s memories. After future-telling, clairvoyancy, and necromancy, it’s probably the most difficult magic you can do. In fact, I’m pretty sure time travel is easier.” Shiv got to his feet and started pacing.

Amanda raised an eyebrow at Sirius who quickly shook his head and held up a finger. “Time travel is definitely not easier.”

Amanda smiled at his reply and then turned more seriously to Shiv. “Look, I’ve done a mindwalking spell once, many years ago, to make someone do what I wanted, and yes,” she held up her hands, “it went pretty horribly wrong, but-”

“But what, second time’s the charm? And you’re going to do it, not just to one person but to a whole ship?” Shiv retorted. “And then, assuming you do all this, how do you get off the ship afterward?”

Amanda went quiet. He wasn’t wrong. Mindwalking was tricky and she’d didn’t have a lot of practice. There was the potential to permanently damage the mind of both individuals involved.

Sirius broke the silence. “I don’t think you’d have to do the whole ship, just enough of the crew, and particularly the officers and captain, just enough to make them all doubt what they saw. If the stories they tell are inconsistent...” Sirius trailed off as he saw the defeated look on Amanda’s face.

“You’re no sorcerer,” Shiv said in Amanda’s direction.

Sirius frowned at him but continued on with his own train of thought, “And, as for getting off the ship, we’ve got a way to get off this beach, they don’t, we could play the meeting like a trade.”

Amanda shook her head. “He’s right though, mind magic’s tricky. Even if we did it right, I’m not sure I could make it last.”

“I know someone who might be able to help,” a new voice said.

They all turned to find Katrina standing in the doorway.

“You’re up!” Amanda said with a touch of relief. She held out a hand to reach for her daughter. “How are you feeling?”

Katrina took that as an invitation to join their meeting. “Fine. Okay.”

“I really should pay better attention to who’s listening.” Amanda said as Katrina took a seat next to her. But she didn’t seem too worried. She gave her daughter a hug and then asked. “How much did you hear?”

“Most of it.” Then Katrina told them everything that had happened the day before. All about the sorcerer she’d met, their almost encounter with the cantaloupe in the forest, and the reclusive mindwalker. Although she didn’t mention the part where she’d tried to infuse mind magic without permission, or the bit about the spell with the bird. “So, maybe if I go talk to the sorcerer then he can help?”

“I don’t like it,” Sirius replied, frowning. “But we might as well see what he has to say.”

Amanda nodded. “We need to take Seraphina back to town anyway. And have a conversation with the townsfolk about that dragon.”

Sirius got to his feet. “I’ll tell the kids to get ready.”

Shiv shook his head and threw his hands in the air. “Well, at least it’s not my life that’s on the line.” As he walked toward the door, and Sirius started to follow him out, Shiv turned and asked, “So what was your idea for how to get us unbeached?”

Sirius clapped him on the back. “I’ll tell you on the way.”

Katrina got up to follow them out, but her mum grabbed her elbow.

“Hang on,” Amanda told her.

Katrina sat back down.

“I’ve been thinking,” Amanda started. “Maybe I should be teaching you some spells, or at least the ones I know.”

Katrina perked up. “Really?”

“Just some small ones. I only know a few myself, but if you’re going learn it anyway, I’d rather you did it with someone there, and I’d rather you learnt about the ways in which things can go wrong without having to experience it first hand.”

“So, I can keep the spell book?” Katrina asked timidly.

“You can keep the spell book, well I suppose, since you got it from the sorcerer and it is technically his, you can keep it if he says you can.”

“Yes!” Katrina squeezed her fists tight together in celebration.

“But,” Amanda held up a finger. “You’re not to do any spells unless I’m there, okay?”

Katrina bit her lip, but then nodded quickly.

Amanda sighed. “Alright, let’s get the others and head back into town.”

The kids were in high spirits as they headed along the sandy shores. They skipped along the beach, singing loudly most of the way there, no longer afraid of the beasts in the hills. Even Seraphina eventually joined in with her sweet voice. And she taught them a new song, one she had learnt when she was very young,

“Can you hear them in the walls?

With tales of love and haunted calls.

The skitter skatter left and right.

They keep my mum up all the night.

They roam throughout the house so tall,

Up and down in every room.

And when the occupants aren’t there,

You’ll even find them on the stair.

The maid she tries to trap and catch,

We even bought a tabby cat.

But these fine fiends, with coats so fine,

Are far too smart to drink that wine.

And when it’s very late at night,

We leave them cheese, so they may bite,

At something other than our toes,

But they’re actually friendly don’t you know?

They dress so sharp, in colours grand

Argente, agouti, and cinnamon,

Grey and mink, and berkshire satin!

With beady eyes they make their plans.

This house of mine, ain’t mine no more.

It’s theirs for sure. For sure I’m sure.

But I’m not one to complain,

I like their silly skitter games.

Oh can you hear them in the walls?

With tails of love and haunted calls.

The skitter skatter left and right.

They keep my mum up all the night.”

Amanda and Sirius followed along behind them. Sirius contributed to a couple of songs, his deep voice adding another layer to the sound as it combined with the higher pitched vocals of the kids.

After awhile, noticing Amanda seemed to be lost in worrisome thought, he turned to her and asked, “You’re not going to join in. It might make you feel better?”

She shook her head. “Too many thoughts on my mind.”

He nodded, and figuring she was probably most worried about how they were going to deal with the crew on the other ship, he attempted to distract her with talk of the dragon instead.

“How do you think the dragon got here? There’s not much food for it other than the cantaloupe and I know I said they can fly far, but it’s a weird place to migrate to.”

“It probably got blown down in a storm and didn’t know how to get back. You know I noticed it got more rulely as we got nearer the canyons, which I assume is where it’s been nesting. We might want to lure it out some other way before we use the infusement. Also I’ve been wondering what do we do if the infusement runs out mid journey?”

“Well, we hope it lasts long enough to get close to some other land. If the infusement runs out then we cut it loose. You scare it off with some fire. You should have enough energy back by then?”

“It’s risky. I wasn’t sure that would even work even the first time.”

“Technically you’ve done it twice now” Sirius replied with smile. “So I’m sure you’ll be fine. Besides, the empath magic took a little bit to wear off and as long as we know when the infusement’s getting low then...” He trailed off thoughtfully. “Well, I don’t think it’ll run out but it may help to have some back up plans.” He gestured to Sasha who was skipping nearby. “I noticed Sasha’s ice seemed to distract the one back in Little Rock, maybe there’s something there, and I did read that cold makes them sleepy.”

At the sound of her name, Sasha drew in closer to listen.

Amanda nodded. “Someone’s gonna have to play that flute the whole way back too.”

“We’ll take turns. Work in shifts. There’s enough musicians on the ship.”

“What for?” the inquisitive Sasha asked.

“We’re gonna use the infused flute to get the dragon to pull the ship off the beach and then tow us north, to give us some extra speed and relocate the dragon to somewhere where it’s less likely to hurt people,“ Sirius explained.

“The whole way up past the tundras?” Sasha asked.

“Yup.”

Sasha thought on that for a moment, and then she turned her big blue eyes up toward her parents and innocently asked, “But what about her babies?”