Her eyes met Julian’s. “Go ahead,” she said hoarsely. She wiped her lip. It looked like whatever had struck her face had knocked out one of her perfect teeth, too.
Julian stared at her, either unwilling or unable to speak. He looked like he had in the days after they’d found out Gabriela was a spy, rather like someone had reached down his throat and tied his heart into knots.
Well, Noa wasn’t at all sorry to see Gabriela looking like a drowned rabbit. “Go ahead and what?” she spat.
“She thinks I’m going to kill her.” Julian’s knotted-heart look was fading and fury took its place. “Which is what I should do, given that you’ve been keeping my little sister hostage. Tell me again how you’re so different from me, Gabriela. How much nobler your side is.”
She looked as if he’d struck her. “I—I wasn’t going to hurt Noa.”
“Oh, right.” Noa poked her head out from behind Julian’s shoulder. “You were taking me to Xavier because we’re such great friends.”
Julian’s face was like the storm clouds. “You were taking her to Xavier?”
Gabriela opened and closed her mouth. “I—”
“Don’t bother.” Julian spoke to the sky, his voice like ice. The clouds twitched as if startled and wrapped their tendrils around Julian and Noa. Julian looked back at Gabriela. “If I was going to kill you, I would have done it already. Maybe one day you’ll work out what that means. Good luck rescuing your crew with what’s left of your ship. If anyone dies, you can always blame it on me.”
The clouds closed around them, but not before Noa caught sight of Gabriela’s face, which was pale and stricken, nothing like the careful mask she usually wore. Then she and Julian were rising into the sky, leaving Gabriela and her broken ship behind.
22
Mite Loses an Honored Guest
The storm that pounded Astrae with rain and sent the lava crickets scurrying to their burrows died during the night, and the morning dawned clear and calm. Sometime near sunrise, even Beauty went quiet, the wails that had echoed off the volcano and given the sentries raging headaches replaced by a few sniffles, then silence. Around that time, one of the mages saw a small creature that looked like a serpentine seal making its way across the open water toward Astrae. Whatever it was, Beauty shot out to greet it, and then both of them disappeared beneath the waves.
Mite opened her eyes when the dawn light touched her face. She had fallen asleep on one of the steps leading to Julian’s tower. After Noa left, she hadn’t wanted to go back to her room, but she also hadn’t wanted to stay in the tower, given that it was filled with angry ghosts. So she had decided to wait for Julian and Noa on the stairs, holding the book Julian had been reading to her. She must have fallen asleep.
Julian hadn’t come back. For the first time since Momma died, he had forgotten about her story.
Mite rose unsteadily to her feet. She left the book on the staircase and made her way to her room. Maybe when she woke up, Julian and Noa would be back. Or maybe she would wake to find that everything that had happened—Noa and Julian getting mad at each other; somebody stealing Beauty’s baby; Noa leaving her alone with ghosts—had been a dream.
Mite opened her door. She was so tired and heartsick that she didn’t even bother saying hello to her favorite pet, a moth named Fluffy that she had raised from a tiny caterpillar. Fluffy didn’t seem to notice—he was perched in a patch of sunlight on the floor, munching on one of her sweaters.
But she didn’t make it to her bed. Because the jar on her windowsill, the jar that had been Patience’s home, which she had left on the sill so the spider could enjoy the view, was empty.
Mite scrambled to her closet. Her collection of pet spiders gazed back at her, each perched calmly in a nest of webs in a different corner. They hadn’t been eaten, nor had the caterpillars in their cocoons, or the ladybugs marching along the stems of the giant lily she kept by the window.
Relieved, Mite set about searching for Patience. She hadn’t thought the spider was strong enough to open a jar, nor small enough to squeeze through the air holes, but it looked like Patience had gnawed at one of the holes until it grew wide enough to join up with another one, then pushed its way through. Mite would have been impressed if she wasn’t so scared. The spider didn’t realize that people were hunting it. And then there were the cats—though given Patience’s size, Mite wasn’t sure who’d win that fight.
Patience wasn’t in Mite’s bed, nor under it. Mite pulled out her drawers one by one and searched the contents, but found no enormous spotted spider crouched among her socks or underwear, much to her disappointment. By the time she’d finished searching, her room looked like it had been turned upside down and shaken, and her pets were disturbed. Fluffy was perched on the windowsill, wings twitching as if he could sense her anxiety.
Mite sat on her bed, trying to fight against the worry and fear inside her. Deep breaths, Julian always said when she got like this. Deep breaths. She couldn’t explode now—she’d kill her pets. After breathing deeply for a few minutes, she started to feel dizzy, but at least that was better than scared.
She crept out into the hall. Reckoner was waiting for her, a forlorn look on his droopy old face. Reckoner didn’t really like anyone except Julian, but he thought Mite and Noa were all right, and sometimes when Julian was away, he came looking for them. Mite scratched his ears. She was happy to have company.
Reckoner trotted at her heels as she searched the hallway and all the rooms, most of which were empty, except Noa’s. The mages lived in another part of the castle. There were no signs of the spider, and Mite was beginning to suspect that Patience had already left the castle. After all, her species usually lived on beaches and sea cliffs; they liked burrowing into the sand and then jumping out at their prey. Mite decided to go down to the beach.
She found several mages clustered in the castle foyer, deep in conversation. They had that worried, uncertain look they always did whenever Julian left Astrae, and barely glanced at her as she passed.
“—should be back by now,” one of the mages was saying. “If Gabriela—”
“She’s no match for him,” another mage said. “If she is holding the girl captive, I wouldn’t like to see what he’ll do to her.”
Mite sighed with relief. Julian must have gone to rescue Noa. He hadn’t forgotten about her story after all. Stories were important, but rescue missions were more important.
She shook her head. She had told Noa that she shouldn’t leave Astrae. But, as usual, Noa hadn’t listened.
Mite made her way down the castle stairs to the beach, her heart a little lighter. The sunshine was warm and the sky was a pretty blue. Reckoner followed closely behind her, his busy nose sniffing at everything.
She found Tomas standing on the beach with his arms crossed and a frown on his face. He had a big cart with him, the same one he’d used before to carry Beauty’s cake. Mite’s nostrils flared as she caught the scent of vanilla and pears and toasted sugar. Unfortunately, Tomas turned around and saw her before she could get close enough to peek under the cloth covering the cart.
“Have you seen your sister?” he said.
Mite found that most of the time when people spoke to her, it was because they were looking for Julian or Noa. She shook her head.
“Well, if you do, tell her I have another cake for her.” He was sweaty from dragging the cart, and he sounded mad. “It’s pear with mint. I hope she doesn’t waste this one. It takes a long time to mix everything, you know. I have to put it all in the bathtub and walk round and round it with an oar.”
Mite wanted to tell Tomas to leave the cake with her, because her stomach was growling, but she didn’t want him to get mad at her, too. He picked up the handle and began to pull the cart back up the path to the village. Mite crept up behind him and managed to tear off a piece without him noticing. She scampered away with her hands full.
After she finished the cake, she let Reckoner lick her fingers. Two salt mages were p
atrolling the beach, but apart from them, the pale crescent of sand was empty in the dawn light. Mite decided to start her search on the grassy dunes behind the dry part of the sand. They were piled messily with driftwood that she suspected would make an excellent spider lair.
Reckoner couldn’t clamber over logs, so he followed alongside her on the sand, sniffing and occasionally sneezing at the seaweed. Whenever Reckoner sneezed, he gave off a small puff of smoke. The dragon was too old to breathe fire anymore, but he still had some life left in him, as Julian often said fondly.
Mite followed the dunes to a cove just out of sight of the castle. Renne was down there, murmuring to a piece of paper. That was what it looked like, anyway. Then the paper rose into the air, and Mite realized that it was a letter, sealed with wax. Renne was a wind mage, so he could send letters to other islands, even if they were far away. The letter became a tiny dot against the blue, and then it was gone.
Renne glanced over his shoulder, and Mite was glad that she’d decided to crouch behind a big log as soon as she saw him. Renne had been in the background of Mite’s life for as long as she could remember—he was Julian’s oldest friend, and had been at his side constantly when they had all lived in the palace. Even though he had never said anything mean to her, Mite knew that Renne didn’t like her. Some grown-ups didn’t, though they pretended to.
Mite crept away, grateful for how quiet her bare feet were on the sand. “Come on, Reckoner,” she whispered. The dragon turned around, but not before he let out a big sneeze and another puff of smoke.
“Maita?”
Mite thought about running, but she was a little afraid of Renne, so she waited as he made his way up the sand. Reckoner caught Renne’s scent on the air and growled.
“Is your brother back yet?” Renne asked. He cast another glance up the beach. His face was pale and worried, even more than the other mages’.
Mite shook her head.
Renne yelped. Reckoner had bitten him on the leg.
“Bad dragon!” Mite said. She gave him a bop on the snout like Julian did whenever Reckoner bit someone. The dragon just growled again and skulked behind Mite’s legs. He never seemed to learn, but then he did have a short memory.
“It’s all right,” Renne said with a sour look. “I’m used to it.”
Mite swallowed a giggle. Reckoner had always disliked Renne in particular.
“Come with me, Maita,” Renne said, some of the sourness creeping into his voice. “Julian won’t be happy when he finds you’ve been wandering off again.”
“I’m not wandering,” Mite muttered. But Renne was the last person she would tell about her rescue mission, so she followed him back up the beach toward the castle. She sneakily walked along the logs beside the mage, pretending she was playing a balancing game when she was really looking for Patience.
They rounded the corner of the beach, and Mite stared at the horizon in surprise. An elegant sailboat was approaching. It didn’t have red sails like the king’s, but it still made her nervous.
“What’s that?” Mite said.
“General Lydio,” Renne said. “Julian has been expecting him for some time. He’s officially pledged his support for our cause.”
Mite wasn’t sure what that meant. She hoped it didn’t mean they would have visitors staying in the castle—she didn’t like visitors. They always spoke to her in syrupy voices, as if she was six rather than seven and a half.
“Are they coming to stay here?” she said, but Renne wasn’t listening. One of the mages on the beach was waving at him, and he hurried off without another word.
Mite made her way alone up the castle stairs with a heavy heart. No story, no spider, and now there were strange visitors who would take up all Julian’s time. She didn’t think things could get any worse.
23
Noa Finds an Unexpected Ally
The journey back to Astrae passed in a haze of nausea. Noa vaguely remembered touching down, because that was when she had thrown up again, and then Julian laying her down in bed. At some point, he returned with a cool compress for her forehead and, later, a bowl of plain oatmeal. “Merp,” Noa managed, waving him off. The offending oatmeal vanished, and she fell asleep again.
Eventually, her stomach calmed, and she was able to sit up. From the light, she guessed it was early afternoon. She had a bath and put on clean clothes. Her old ones smelled of seawater and something deeply unpleasant that she suspected was sea serpent slime. After tossing on a fresh black cloak, she felt like herself again, apart from her stomach, which had a scooped-out feeling, like a melon rind. She went to find Julian.
The tower was empty, though. Sunlight poured through the windows and splashed upon the floor. A few of the windows had been left open, for it was a warm day, and a salty breeze flickered over the maps and grimoires and compasses. The cats were excited to see Noa. They swarmed her invisibly, rubbing against her calves and twining about her feet. It was like wading through a purring sea.
Noa waved her hands through the cat-filled air, managing to pet a few of them. She went over to one of the windows, and was surprised to find that Astrae was barely moving. They were in an unfamiliar sea between two distant walls of volcanoes. The turquoise water frothed around a scattering of tiny islets, which were lumpy with walruses.
Noa frowned. Anchored just off Astrae was a large sailboat with gaudily patterned sails. The door opened behind her, and she turned, expecting Julian, but it was Mite.
“You’re finally up!” She skipped into the room. “Guess what? Julian read me two stories this morning. And he said he’ll read me two more tonight.” Her voice was low, as if she felt she was getting away with something.
“Whose ship is that?” Noa demanded.
Mite skipped up to the window. “That’s General Lydio’s. Renne said he came to wedge his support.”
“Pledge his support?” Noa said. “Oh! I remember now. He sent Julian a letter a long time ago, hinting about joining our side. He’s a salt mage, and he commands a third of Xavier’s fleet.” Noa chewed her lip. “I wonder if he really means it, or if he’s just hedging his bets.”
“They’re going to stay in the castle,” Mite said gloomily. “They have a big ship. Why don’t they stay there?”
“If General Lydio can get the navy on our side, he can have the entire island to himself,” Noa said. “Where are we?”
Mite shrugged. “Some place with another smelly book.”
“This is Greenwash Strait?” Noa leaned out the window, but she saw nothing but rocks and walruses. She wondered if Xavier’s mage had given Julian the wrong coordinates. “Where’s the island?”
“There’s no island. Julian said maybe the book is underwater.”
“But what about Xavier? Where are his ships? Maybe we’re in the wrong place.”
“There are two royal ships over there,” Mite said, pointing. “Julian turned the island so we’re facing away from them. When they move east or west, he turns it again. They don’t know we’re here.”
Noa looked, and sure enough, she could just make out two small red smudges on the horizon. If Xavier’s ships were still here, they probably hadn’t found the second lost language. That was good. But Noa still felt uneasy. Even if Xavier hadn’t found the Lost Words yet, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t. His mages had a big head start on Astrae. Who knew how long they’d been searching?
“Where’s Julian?” Noa said.
“In the kitchen,” Mite said. “Working on the menu with Anna.”
“Menu?” Noa yelled.
Mite’s brow furrowed. “For the banquet. To welcome General—”
“Xavier attacked us last night,” Noa said, gesticulating at the window. “His mages are out there right now, looking for the Lost Words. And Julian is off working on menus?”
“It’s just one menu.” Mite’s face brightened. “We’re having sesame coconut custard for first dessert and lava surprise cake for second dessert. Julian couldn’t decide, so I said we shou
ld have both.”
Noa let out a long groan and flopped down on the squashy couch. She couldn’t believe Julian. Imagine stopping in the middle of an important quest to throw a party! Last night, she had nearly gotten herself killed trying to save him from his own wicked tendencies. Now she had to save him from his ridiculous tendencies as well. Her head hurt.
“Go get Julian,” she said without uncovering her eyes. “Tell him he needs to come and look for the Lost Words. Tell him that strategy is more important than menus.” She paused. “Also, bring back some of that custard.”
Mite’s light feet scampered away. She returned a few minutes later with a tray laden with baked apples, urchin soup, buttered buns fresh from the oven, a neat pile of chocolate cakes, and a mug of custard. But no Julian.
“He says you’re not allowed to plot anything for a while,” Mite said. She set the tray down next to Noa and helped herself to a cake. “He says the last time you came up with a plot you ran off and nearly got yourself killed. He says you’re not allowed to do that today.”
“Oh, really.” Noa’s foul mood got even fouler. She sat up and stabbed at the soup with her spoon. “Well, that’s a nice way to thank me for saving his stupid sea serpent. How exactly are you going to stop me from plotting, Mite?”
“Um,” Mite said.
Noa swallowed her soup. She tilted her head to one side and let her gaze drift.
“Hey!” Mite said. “You’re not supposed to plot.”
“Hmm,” Noa murmured, rubbing her chin and staring vacantly at the curtains. “Hmm.”
“Stop that!”
Noa pointed an apple at her. “Look, Mite. I’m going to search for the Lost Words whether you like it or not. You have two choices. You can either tattle to Julian, or you can help me.”
The Language of Ghosts Page 19