The volcano spirits in the hollow chamber were moving. They were hunting for Carnelian and Flare, miles below us. Their movement sent power rolling from the chamber, out through the faults. I wasn’t going to ask myself how I knew, when they were so far down. Instead I lurched to saddle my horse. Oswin did the same, then strapped his saddlebags in place.

“Let’s go on the road,” I told him. “But don’t mount up. We have a little bit of a wait.”

“Is that so?” He soothed his horse. “You can tell even though it’s not right away? No one mentioned you were a seer.”

I glared at him. “I can feel them moving, that’s how. There’s a whole lot of them. They’re looking for Flare and Carnelian.”

Oswin led his horse into the roadbed. The spirits were deep under the river, pressing against the armor of stone between us and them. The earth shook. Spark wrenched against her bridle. I clung to her as stones began to rattle and move. Oswin had taken off his tunic and wrapped it around his horse’s eyes. Even so, he still had to cling to the animal’s bridle to keep him from running. Boulders crashed in the riverbed. I heard trees toppling. My teeth clacked together so hard they hurt. The spirits smashed against the sides of the fault, calling to Flare and Carnelian. I bit my lip. Could their bellows reach all the way to the quartz trap?

Slowly the great mass of them split. Most rolled on down the fault to the sea, hoping to find Carnelian and Flare out that way. The others returned to the chamber under the mountain. The ground quieted, and settled.

I looked at Oswin. “The sooner we get everyone out of here, the safer they’ll be. It’s bad to expect anything with that much power to follow a timetable.”

15

Arguments

When Oswin and I returned to the courtyard at the inn, we found a mess. People clustered around a soaking wet Myrrhtide, shouting at him. Others were carrying their things back into their houses. Azaze came out of the inn, thrusting men and women aside. Oswin shoved in to stand beside her as they cleared a space around Myrrhtide.

Azaze held a poker. She looked like she was ready to use it on someone. “Dubyine, how dare you speak to a guest this way?”

A big woman armed with a ladle faced Azaze. “How dare I, Azaze? How dare you and these outsiders take us for green kids? There’s gonna be no volcano! First they say, it’s coming any time now! Then they say, a couple more days. I’m not fool enough to be taken by such a trick! They’re going to loot the town when we go. They already got rid of the richer folk, but they’re not getting what little we have!”

“Trick?!” Myrrhtide’s face was garnet-colored, he was so furious. “I am a Dedicate Initiate of Winding Circle temple, and you call me a common thief ?”

He’d better calm down, I thought, or he’ll have a heart attack. From the look of his neck and temples, a whole lot of Myrrhtide’s veins were about to explode.

“Dedicate Initiate, do not trouble yourself with this rabble.” Azaze put her free hand on Myrrhtide’s arm. “They aren’t worth your time. I assure you, though, I will make them worth mine.”

“You and who else, Azaze?” Dubyine smirked at her. “You and Oswin here? I don’t think that’s enough.”

“I’m just wondering, Dubyine. Did you notice the earthquake we just had? What do you think that was? A whisper from the goddess?” Oswin sounded as friendly as if she offered him cake, not a bashing with a ladle.

“We’ve had a hundred earthquakes this year. Maybe you and Azaze are fools, but I know a thing or two. These false dedicates won’t help themselves to my little bits of things.” Dubyine gave Myrrhtide a small, mean smile. “Though I’ll turn a blind eye for half of the proceeds.”

“You dare!” Myrrhtide’s eyes bulged from his head. “To say such a thing to me—me—” His mouth opened and closed.

Yep, I told myself. Heart attack for sure.

“I have spent this entire day immersed in that lake.” Myrrhtide’s voice shook. “I have sent calls to every quarter of the compass, requesting ships to save the people of this island. This is how you thank me? Threats? Bribes? The council of Winding Circle will hear of this! They will remember, and you can whistle for it when you need our help again!”

“We don’t believe you’re from Winding Circle, mate.” Several men closed in behind Dubyine. The one who spoke gave me goose bumps. When I saw him I started to send heat into the rocks around the courtyard. I called them, wriggling them from the ground. I might need them for weapons. If ever someone’s looks screamed “pirate,” it was this man’s. There were tattoos on his arms—he didn’t have sleeves—and a big scar on his face. “And now you’ve rid us of our richer folk and their fighting servants,” he said to Azaze, “we see no reason why we should let you take any of the profit.”

“Karove, you’ve always been a greedy fool.” Azaze nodded to someone behind the man Karove and his friends.

The master miner and some other people walked out of the shadows. They looked just as hard as Dubyine, Karove, and the others. In their hands they carried staffs or clubs. What they might have done next I don’t know. They didn’t get the chance to do it. The ground under Dubyine and Karove sprouted vines. Rosethorn was nearby. From the thorns on the vines, I guessed she wasn’t in a good mood. Little springs of water spurted from the ground under the feet of the pirate-looking men. In a blink of an eye they were up to their ankles in mud. That was Myrrhtide’s work. The men sloshed and slipped, falling. The miner and his friends stepped in to take their weapons away.