“What babies?” Amanda asked.

“The one’s in the canyons.” Sasha dropped her eyes. Her gaze traced the upcoming shoreline and took note of all the seashells that had been washed up on the beach. Then she looked back up at her parents.

Amanda turned to Sirius after a moment’s silence and asked, "How much animal tranq do we have on the ship?"

Sirius frowned and looked directly at Sasha. “How many baby dragons?”

“Did you just say baby dragons?” Bobby asked. He noticed that Sasha had stopped singing and had dropped back to see what they were talking about.

The rest of the kids noticed Bobby fall back, and that drew the attention of the small group of crew they’d brought with them from the ship. Soon everyone was half listening.

Sasha held up one hand, all five fingers spread.

“Wait! That’s what you were trying to show us out at the canyons?” Bobby asked. “Dragons?!”

“Baby dragons,” Sasha corrected with a nod. Then she stared down at the ground sadly again. “They didn’t want the milk I took them though.”

“That’s cause fire dragons don’t drink milk,” Bobby replied. “You’re thinking of water dragons.”

Sirius butted back in with a question of his own. “How big were these baby dragons, Sasha?”

Sasha held out her hands wide. “Like a horse.”

“Juveniles,” Amanda murmured to Sirius.

He nodded and then he replied, “We should have enough tranq for five juveniles for a few days. Crick can keep the temperature low and they can fit in the hold and sleep the way there. Dragons don’t need to eat regularly, but if we give them something big before we go, they’ll be focused on digesting for at least a day and it’ll keep them more placid. Maybe a chicken each before nap time.”

“I’m sure the townsfolk won’t mind donating a cow if it means solving the dragon problem,” Amanda replied.

Sirius nodded. “I’m still surprised they haven’t been more of a pest with the livestock or attacked the town directly itself. I’d have thought with a dragon there’d have been more carnage.”

“It’s not their main food supply. Not with the cantaloupe around. Though with five new ones it was probably only a matter of time. It’s not like they can eat the soil here. If it weren’t for the cantaloupe, livestock would be their next best option, but also I think most dragons have learnt to be at least a little wary of towns.”

“Mmm, what concerns me more is now we know we’re dealing with a mother with babies. You know she’s going to be extra ferocious.” He finished his sentence with a teasing tone and sly look.

Amanda snorted. “You’re not wrong.”

Sirius sent some of the crew back to the ship for some additional numbers and more gear. As Amanda and Sirius discussed with the remaining crew what the plan was, Bobby left Sasha to her obvious eavesdropping, and returned to Seraphina.

Seraphina stared wistfully out at sea.

“What’s with the long face?” he asked.

“Oh I don’t know. Just wondering if my parents even noticed I was missing. I guess dad’s probably not back yet, but...”

“You know, we went and saw your stepmum yesterday. She seemed quite worried,” Bobby told her.

Seraphina glanced up, a speck of hope in her eyes. “Really?” Then she sighed and shook her head. “But she didn’t come looking for me. She never leaves the house. And even if I’m back home really late she’s never mad. She never yells or anything.”

Bobby gave a confused frown. “And you want her to?”

Seraphina sighed and kicked a piece of sand. “I don’t know. It’s like she’s trying too hard but not when it really matters. The townsfolk all whisper about her but she won’t come out and confront them.”

“Well,” Bobby began. He watched as Salem, further down the beach, make pretend sword swings in the air, and recounted their tales of the previous night to one of the crew with fearless vigor. “People can’t help what they fear. Sometimes you just gotta give it time, and maybe a bit of friendly encouragement, or distract them with something else.”

“Mmm, maybe,” Seraphina replied.

“Hey, check that out.” Bobby pointed to a slimy white and red-tipped blob washed up on the beach.

“It’s a cannonball jellyfish,” Seraphina replied. “You know, the inn keep, Mary makes a mean jellyfish soup with those sometimes.” She laughed at the look on Bobby’s face.

They talked the rest of the way into town, chatting about all sort of things. Not one word was spoken of Seraphina’s stepmother again, until they were almost at the outskirts of the town. Then Bobby noticed a figure standing at the edge where the buildings started. He nudged Seraphina.

She looked up. "Holy shit, she's out of the house." Then Seraphina took off at a run, heading directly toward where her stepmother stood waiting with her arms outstretched.

Bobby just watched them with a smile.

Things got hectic once they got back to town. Between having to explain what had happened to Seraphina, preventing the villages from launching their own retaliation on the pirates, and alerting everyone that there was a dragon, and their plan to take it away without giving away too many details about the flute, Amanda and Sirius found themselves with their hands full. In the midst of all this madness, Katrina, who had been granted the privilege of carrying the flute at least as far as town, had no trouble sneaking out the door and off to the see the sorcerer on her own, and with the most powerful infusement she’d ever made gripped in her small sweaty hands.

Her mother had said not to go alone but Katrina did not fear the sorcerer and she disliked the possibility of her parents finding out about the bird spell they’d done yesterday.

She slipped into the familiar overly-scented book shop. This time, the bell above the door rang. She glanced up at it with a frown.

When she looked back down, the sorcerer was there watching her. Today he was dressed in a fluffy blue robe and she still wasn't sure if it wasn’t just his bed-robes.

“I told you, you didn’t get that book from me remember? You told someone.”

Katrina paused, realising she’d left the book behind on the ship. Then she frowned. “How did you know I told someone?”

“Hmm,” was all he said. Then he turned and walked back to the back counter.

She followed him.

He took a seat on the stool behind it.

Katrina approached him cautiously. Then, from the opposite side of the counter, she laid the flute between them.

“What’s this then?” he asked as his fingers reached for it. As he touched the wood, he gave a small gasp and his eyebrows shot up. “Oh, I see.”

“I get it now,” Katrina started. “What that other book I read meant, about the item of infusement being important." She looked down at the flute the sorcerer was turning over in his hands. “Music controls emotion, even without magic, so it's highly compatible with empath magic. Am I right?”

He gave a slow nod but didn’t look up. “You’re some of the way there. The way we view items changes what they are too.”

She shook her head. “But I still don’t understand something. Last night I infused invisibility into a knife, and I could feel it wanted the blade rather than the handle. I could feel it. But it was different than the flute. Why?"

He set the flute down on the counter again but his gaze never left it. “Perhaps you were asking something else of it. Magic has a will of it's own but it can also be drawn to what we want. It can be devious like that. Some even theorise there’s an intelligence behind it." He scoffed briefly at that. "But really who knows? Those are the questions a sorcerer might seek the answers to. But first we should know why it is we are asking." He studied the flute a little longer and then looked up at her with piercing eyes. "A risky infusement that one must have been eh?"

Katrina just shrugged. “I did a spell from the book too. A tracking spell.”

“With your own blood?”

Katrina nodded. “And my brother’s and sister’s.”

He looked down at the flute and then back up at her again. "You haven't learned anything have you?"

“Everything I did worked.”

“Yes, but...” He nodded at the flute. “That nearly cost you your life. I can tell.”

Katrina's face darkened. "I had no choice for that one, and I'll do it my way anyway."

He sighed. "Yes, I suppose you will."

There was a moment’s silence and then Katrina ventured hesitantly, “I need some help though.”

He chuckled at that . “Well you're certainly terrible at leading up to asking for it.”

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Eyes down Katrina said, “We need to alter some memories. Mum knows how to do a spell but...” Katrina trailed off. She wasn’t even sure about that. The spell she’d read in her dad’s book required far more blood than what the tracking spell had and it had specified fresh blood, as most spells did. Then there were the other ingredients. When she looked up at the sorcerer, she hated the grin that was on his face.

He watched her awhile longer, perhaps taking pleasure in this turn of events.

She did not look down again, nor did she turn and flee. She just stared back at him. His mocking grin made it surprisingly easy to do so. It fueled an anger that she capably redirected in to stubbornness.

Eventually his face turned more serious and he sighed again. Getting up from his stool, he remarked, “Wait here.”

Katrina watched him go, surprised that had worked. She had contemplated asking Seraphina’s stepmother for help but as her mother had said on the ship, it wasn’t just the making of the spell that was hard. There was the act of using it and Katrina had gotten the impression that Daisy’s power had lain primarily in reading minds rather than manipulating them. Still, it was possible she had misread, and as she sat on the stool waiting for the sorcerer to return, she wondered if she’d come to the right place after all.

The sorcerer returned with a small beautifully made chest. He flipped it open, pulled out a bunch of dirty rags and other junk, then he lifted out a false bottom. Coloured stones and marbles filled the bottom of the chest, in among a few other more ordinary items. He held up a pen and handed it to her.

“A memory spell. It’s not proper mindwalking, it won’t give you control. It’s probably what you want in this case. Less options means less can go wrong. But the truth is, I was trying to make the opposite.”

“Something to restore memories?”

He nodded. “Alas, it was a colossal failure. But it’s a remarkable item nonetheless. You know, when a mage is taught magic, often we give them items like this. Ones that are very specific in how they work, ones even an idiot can use. They sell well too for that reason. But they’re harder to make. The more rules you add into a spell, the simpler for the user, the more complicated it is to create. Mindwalking spells on their own are relatively simple, if you can get past the ingredients and you haven’t picked up one of those cursed spell books.” He gave her a half smirk and then continued. “What makes it hard, is the control and knowledge required to do it well, and to do it right. Proper spells, like this, they’re structured and they have safeguards built in. To make spells like this you have to understand deeply how the magic works, but to use them, it’s almost foolproof. Almost. But given you made that,” He pointed at the flute. “I don’t think you’ll have a problem with this.”

Katrina reached for the pen.

He snatched it away.

She frowned and looked up to study his face. There were so many lines there, so many years of experience, so much she didn’t understand.

“Item’s like this are not cheap. I want something in return.”

“What?” she asked.

“For this and the book, I want a little bit of blood. I need some to make the item work anyway. Not much. No more than 30ml.” He reached under the counter and pulled out a small syringe, some gloves, and a bottle of rubbing alcohol.

“My blood?”

He nodded.

Katrina hesitated. Her parents would not like that. But still, what did she have to fear really? If he’d intended on hurting her, he’d have done it already? Besides, people donated blood to the banks all the time. Surely it wasn’t that hard to get someone’s blood if you really wanted it? Right? “Okay.”

He smiled briefly and then got her to hold out her arm. He took three vials, one of which he poured into the pen. He tucked the two extra vials into his robe pocket and then he handed her the pen.

She twisted it in her fingers. She could not feel the magic yet but that wasn’t unusual, some infusements were designed to be hidden, with a trigger to start. “How does it work?”

“You take the cap off and press the tip of the pen against your finger. Apart from that, as long as you focus on the memory you’re looking for it should mostly guide you to it. It will only work for you and only for the next 12 hours.”

“What? You didn’t mention that before.”

He shrugged. “I told you it was specific.”

She looked down at the pen in her hands. It looked a lot like her dad’s fountain pen, only silver rather than black. She took the cap off. It’s nib was engraved with pretty swirls and coincidentally the letter ‘k.’ Katrina touched the nib, but only for a second, least she waste even a drop of magic. It was enough to sense the power there. She put the lid back on.

The sorcerer gave her a few more pointers. “Now, it’s a subtle manipulation but it’s still limited so don’t go all out. Small tweaks is all you need and people won’t question it. And you should be able to do several to a dozen people or so, maybe more if you’re careful with how much you rewrite.”

Katrina nodded and then she reached for the flute. “How long do you think this infusement will last if I, say, wanted to use it to make an adult dragon pull a ship?”

He stared right at her.

Katrina raised her eyebrows giving the question emphasis.

“Maybe a week, easily a few days. Hard to say for sure. It’s a loose infusement so I’d say it depends on who’s using it.”

She narrowed her eyes. It almost sounded like he was insulting the quality of her infusement.

The corners of his mouth twitched and he stared past her toward the front of the shop. A faraway look entered his eyes. “All things must come to an end eventually though.”

She got the impression he wasn’t talking about the infusement anymore. Feeling as though she’d already pushed her luck far enough she took a step away from the counter. “Thank you.” She nodded at him.

He nodded back silently and gave a soft smile.

She started to walk away but when she reached the corner of the first bookshelf, she paused and turned back one last time.

“You really didn’t know what was out there?”

“I like the quiet,” was all he said in reply.

They were singing in the streets in front of the inn. Whole groups of them. But not everyone was happy. While some were obviously celebrating, others were trying to insist to anyone that would listen that they needed to take things slower. Some loudly questioned the intentions of these visitors.

“The dragon is still out there. We need to wait until it is caught! It’s far too early to celebrate.”

“Well they’re going to catch it very soon! Soon as their crew show up with the rest of the gear.”

“What makes them think they can trap a dragon when no one here has been able to? How do we know they’re even telling the truth?”

Katrina hurried on past them. She was so distracted by the different voices that she nearly ran right into Tolly, who was coming the other way. She started to apologise but Tolly quickly grabbed her and wrapped her in a tight hug.

“Oh, isn’t it wonderful,” Tolly remarked as she released Katrina and gestured to the noisy crowd in the street. “We can sing again! And you guys found Seraphina! I need to go and tell my parents. Oh happy days! Isn’t music just like magic!” Without waiting for a reply, she danced off into the next street, singing all the way.

“One little voice, is all you need.

One little voice, as loud as can be.

One little voice, and then you’ll see.

You can pin your hopes on me!

Give me gold and diamonds and your reverie.

I’ll prey for you in harmony.

All the sinners and saints and lost little sheep.

Come and lie, bow down at my feet.

Rub them once and rub them twice.

Rub them well to counter your vice.

I’ll make you clean, as clean as can be.

So come and tell all your worries to me.

Give me gossip, give me codswallop.

Give me the name of my enemy.

Because one little voice, a voice off key.

A voice that doesn’t sing along with me.

One little voice, is all you need.

One little voice, as loud as can be.

One little voice, and then you’ll see.

This trusty old lord’s been lying to thee.”

Someone had brought out a barrel of honey beer and a band’s worth of instruments. People were drinking and dancing. Others were shouting at them to stop. A few fists were thrown, one guitar was already broken.

Amanda stood out the front of the inn, watching the chaos of the street with her arms crossed in front of her. Sirius stood next to her.

“Come on, join us in song!” on man slurred as he stumbled past, one jug of golden liquid in each hand.

"Somehow I don't think we've solved all their problems," Amanda remarked.

"Well, at least they can debate as vocally as they want about them now," Sirius told her. “You think we should be worried it’ll bring the cantaloupe and dragon down on us though.”

Amanda shook her head. “Cantaloupe are crepuscular, and the dragon’s probably worn out from last night, I hope. That said, the sooner we capture it, the better.”

Katrina pushed her way through the crowd to arrive in front of her parents.

Amanda frowned at her. “I thought I told you to wait and we’d go with you?”

Katrina shrugged and showed them the pen. “You guys seemed busy. I got it though, a mindwalking pen. And he says it’s easy to use. Only I can use it though.”

Amanda’s lips tightened.

Sirius glanced at his wife. “Might be better this way. I’ll need to focus on talking to Felix, and you need to get the dragon. No one’s going to be paying attention a small girl, and she’ll be with me the whole time. Felix might notice if I’m the one doing the spell. Even good mindwalkers get glazy eyed sometimes and if she falls over while doing it I can pass it off as the delicacies of a teenage girl’s mind.”

Amanda did not look happy.

Even Katrina frowned at his last statement. She hadn’t considered that possibility. For dreamwalking, she usually lay down and lost awareness of the surrounding world. She suddenly realised she had no idea what this magic would feel like. Mindwalkers usually stayed standing though, but that was practiced mindwalkers. In her head she vowed to herself that she would try her very best not to fall over in front of a bunch of pirates. Enemy or not, she still had her dignity.

“It’s for a good cause,” Sirius reminded them.

Amanda sighed. “Fine.” She held out her hand to Katrina and gave a nod at the flute.

Katrina handed it over.

Pocketing the flute, Amanda turned to look up at Sirius. “I don’t like this.”

“I know.”

“Be careful,” she warned.

He nodded. “You too.”

Katrina turned away to watch the crowd, while behind her, her parents kissed each other goodbye. Further down the street, she could see the crew arriving with the gear needed to capture the dragon.

She turned as her father squeezed her shoulder. “Ready?” he asked.

Katrina wasn’t sure she was, but the magic lasted for 12 hours, so it was now or never. Ignoring the knot in her stomach, and the thought of returning to that dark pirate ship, she nodded.

Amanda watched until Sirius and Katrina had disappeared among a cluster of houses further down the road, then she returned to inside the inn, where Seraphina and three out of five of her children sat gathered around a table. Seraphina’s stepmother sat at another table nearby, chatting with a couple of the crew.

“Where’s Salem?” Amanda asked.

The kids all shrugged.

Mary had just entered into the room from the back door when Amanda asked and she replied, “I think I saw him heading north, towards the docks with a few of the local kids. Would you like me to send someone to go and fetch him?”

“I can do it,” Benny, the summoner from their own ship, piped up.

Amanda nodded at him. “Make sure he stays here once you bring him back.” Then she turned to the rest of the kids. “Gemma, a word?”

Gemma slid down from her stool and joined her mother by the door.

“I want you helping with the dragons, to keep any rogue fireballs from hitting anything important,” Amanda told her.

The colour drained from Gemma’s face and she shook her head.

“There’s six dragons in total. Too many for me to watch by myself. All you need to do is just push the fire away from any handlers okay. Just like you did last night protecting Sasha.”

Gemma shook her head. “That was a fluke.”

“But you still did it. You’re capable of it. You just need some more practice. With the exception of the mother dragon, which me and Neko will handle, this is a good opportunity to practice. You were able to fight so well with those swords last night precisely because you practice all the time.”

"I lost that fight."

"You didn't lose."

"In case you’ve forgotten, I got stabbed in the stomach." Gemma glanced down at herself. She was healed up now, but as was the case often with healing larger injuries, remnants of what it felt like remained for a few days.

"You held him off long enough for us to get there. You did good. And you saved a girl. You lot still should have come to us first, but barring that, you did good."

Gemma sighed and thought about it. “Fine.”

“Can I come?” Sasha butted in.

“And me, might be good to have some healing right?” Bobby smiled hopefully.

Amanda hesitated.

“And on the bright side, you’ll know where we all are,” Bobby gave a sheepish grin and a shrug.

Amanda narrowed her eyes.

Some of the nearby crew chuckled as they watched the interaction.

“I’m the only one who knows where the babies are,” Sasha reminded everyone.

Amanda sighed. “You’ve got me there. Fine, but Bobby, you stay with Sasha and don’t let her out of your sight.”

Bobby nodded. Then he turned to Seraphina. “You want to come?”

She shook her head vigorously. “I might just find a safe place to watch from.”

“Ain’t no safe place to watch a dragon from,” remarked the strongarm, Alice, as he got to his feet along with the rest of the crew.

Beside him, his much smarter, bookish friend and fellow crewman, Thatch, nodded in agreement. With a look at Amanda he asked, “Are we ready?”

Amanda nodded. “Let’s go, before the wind picks up.”