“But if she can lead them away from Starns, the island will be safe.” Oswin shifted from foot to foot, he was so excited.

“Oswin Forest, she is my charge. I am responsible for Evvy getting off this island alive,” Rosethorn told him. “You have no guarantee that she would survive leading Carnelian and Flare out to sea. Even if they did not kill her for trapping them, what of the other volcano spirits? If Luvo won’t face them, why should Evvy?”

“Her power is not the same as theirs, Rosethorn,” said Luvo. “If Evumeimei keeps her distance from any groups of volcano spirits, she ought to be safe.”

“‘Ought to’ trims no trees, Luvo,” Rosethorn snapped.

They were still arguing two hours later. We had come out onto the flat, where the river made the long, slow turn toward Sustree. Tahar, Myrrhtide, Jayat, and even Azaze had joined in the discussion.

I lost patience. The longer I put off actually trying Oswin’s idea, the better the chances were that Flare and Carnelian would escape on their own. I wouldn’t give a wooden coin for our lives then. I had to get to work now.

I looked around for a place to stop and saw a good one. Leaving the others, I lugged my packs to some trees that shaded a cluster of boulders. The stones were stable granite. They were perfect for my needs.

Luvo came to watch me make the place comfortable as people went by. “What if Carnelian and Flare will not believe you? They may well deceive you into relaxing your guard, then turn against you. Evumeimei, you trapped them. What if they claim they accept you are their friend, then lure you into a trap of their devising? They are volcano spirits, not meat people. They have no faces or eyes that you may read.”

I asked the rocks to shift, to make a seat that wasn’t so lumpy. “Maybe they were pure spirits when I first met them. But once they got to know me, they started shaping themselves more like people. Copying me. They acted more human, too. I’ll give my magic self a look that’s more like human me somehow. I’ll shape it with stones. If they copy me in this new way of looking, I’ll know they still admire me. Stop ill-wishing, Luvo! I have to make this work!”

“I do not do anything that might be termed a wish for good or ill,” Luvo said. “Neither do I want you to end your days as charcoal.”

“I don’t plan to do that, trust me,” I told him.

Meryem came running over. She was dusty from top to toe, her and the Dreadful Doll. She carried it in a cloth sling now, just like the one I used to carry Luvo. Someone had also made a small pouch for her to wear around her neck. She kept the feldspar piece I gave her in that. I could tell because I saw the stone shining through the pouch. “Why did you stop? You look like you’re making camp. You can’t stop here, Evvy. We’re running away from the volcano, remember?”

Heibei, this is not funny, I told the god. “Meryem, go with the others. Find Nory. I’m doing something.”

“No!” The little tyrant stamped a foot at me. “You can’t do it here, Evvy. You can’t. Do it on the ship. The mountain is going to blow up, don’t you know anything?”

The longer she stood there jabbering, the more likely it was that someone would come to find her. They might try to stop me, too.

“Meryem, I don’t want you with me, all right? I’m a mage, not a nursemaid. Me and my rocks have important things to do, right now, so go away.”

She blinked at me, her lip trembling. “I thought you were my friend.”

“I’m not! I’m a busy mage, and I need quiet right now!” I snapped.

She had tears in her eyes, but what was I supposed to do? If Rosethorn noticed I was missing before I left my body, she’d find a way to stop me. If everyone got killed because Flare and Carnelian escaped, it wouldn’t help that I’d been nice to Meryem. I’d wasted too much time already. The ground was quivering under my feet.

“Go on, go!” I added for good measure.

Meryem ran away. She vanished into the group of kids at the side of the refugee caravan.

“For a human, that was hard speaking,” Luvo said.

“I’m in a hurry, Luvo. I’ll make it up to her later, if we have a later.” From one of my packs I took out my Zhanzou jacket. It was the only clothing I’d kept from home, but not because I missed Yanjing fashions. The plain black jacket had eight pockets in it. There were four outside—two over my chest, two over my hips—and two inside. I wore it when I needed to keep stones close to my body.

It was time to put my mage kit to use. I opened it up and considered my choices. I had to squint as I removed the stones. The magical glare from the spells on them always half-blinded me. First I showed Luvo the onyx globe. “This doesn’t just hold power. The spells on it will ground me and help keep me in myself. They’ll also deflect anything bad Flare, or Carnelian, or their friends might throw at me. I hope they will, anyway.”

Luvo didn’t seem impressed. “Volcano spirits will annihilate your globe. What else have you?”

“Rutilated quartz, to increase my effectiveness,” I explained. Luvo clicked at me. It was not a sound of approval. I put the crystal in a pocket anyway and went on. “Jade for wisdom and protection. Sardonyx for courage.”

“I doubt yours would ever fail, but that at least may accomplish what you wish for it.”

“Rockwater for strength and perseverance.”

“As if you ever required either of these things, Evumeimei.”