Once again Damien found himself flying out over the ocean. This time he was too focused on the mission to enjoy it. The archmage flew beside him, not bothering with her eagle for such a relatively short trip. Her shoulders were hunched up around her neck and she was clenching her fists and jaw. His master’s anxiety leached into Damien and he kept forcing himself to take deep breaths. He needed to be calm and focused, not jumpy.

Damien moved up beside her. “If you don’t relax you’ll break your teeth.”

With a visible effort she relaxed her posture. “Happy?”

To Damien’s surprise he found he was a little happy. “You know, this is the first time we’ve gone on a mission like a proper master and apprentice.”

She looked over at him and the fierce scowl eased a little. “I hadn’t thought about it. I guess I don’t make a very good master, sending you out on missions by yourself.”

Damien waved a hand. “I don’t mind. It’s just I’m interested to learn how the other students feel, watching a more experienced sorcerer work.”

The scowl returned, but with a mocking twist. “Are you calling me old?”

Damien grinned. All the tension had gone out of her. “Perish the thought.”

They shared a laugh then turned their attention to the matter at hand. The sorcerer keeping watch on the ships hung in the sky half a mile ahead, a multilayer construct in front of him. He must have sensed their approach as he turned to face them the instant they stopped. The young man bowed to the archmage and nodded to Damien. He looked of an age with Jaden and Damien, but Damien didn’t remember him from The Tower.

“Ma’am, they haven’t changed course or slowed. I haven’t seen any activity beyond what you’d expect for a sailing ship.”

“Where are they?” the archmage asked.

He pointed west and a hair north. Damien squinted, but couldn’t make anything out. The construct he saw earlier must have been the far-seer Jaden had been so eager to learn how to make.

“Keep watch and if anything should go wrong send a message to High Sorcerer Sasha in Valcane.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the sorcerer said.

“Ready, Damien?”

“Yes, Master.”

The archmage flew toward the ships. Damien strengthened his shield and his master followed suit. A minute later the four ships came into view. As they soared closer Damien made out more detail. Built from dark wood and sporting three masts like Jaden had said, the ships were bigger than the ones tied up at the navy dock back in Valcane. Men stood in the ropes and pointed at Damien and his master as they approached. In the center of each ship a big brick oven with a soot-blackened chimney jutted out. He’d never heard of such a thing on a ship and couldn’t imagine its purpose. Perhaps the sailors liked fresh bread. A little closer and the stench of rotten meat filled the air.

Standing in a raised area at the front of the lead ship, beside the unloaded ballista, a bald man in billowing white trousers and shirt waved at them. The archmage flew down until she was hovering even with the waving man.

He beamed at them. “Hello! Welcome to the whaling vessel Longshot. Please come aboard.”

The archmage landed beside the sailor and Damien joined her. If this fellow was a representative of the empire Damien would swim back to Lookout Island.

“May I offer you food, drink?” the sailor asked.

“No, thank you. Are you the captain of this vessel?”

“I am. Anton Velco at your service. Please call me Anton. You are from the Lost Colony, yes?”

“We haven’t been a colony for many years, but yes, we’re from the kingdom. I’m Archmage Lidia Thorn.” She nodded toward Damien. “My apprentice.”

He nodded but remained silent. If his master didn’t want these people to know his name Damien wouldn’t enlighten them.

“Are you representing the empire or have you crossed the ocean for your own purposes?”

Velco threw back his head and laughed. “The empire? There is no empire. A dozen factions circle and spit at each other like angry cats, leaving the rest of us to survive as best we can.”

“Then you’ve come for your own purposes. I’d be interested to know what could convince several hundred people to cross the vast ocean in hopes of finding something you weren’t even certain existed.”

Some of Velco’s good nature dried up. “I’m not certain it’s any of your concern.”

A slender woman with long dark hair and pale skin came up from the lower deck. She wore flowing blue robes that swirled in the ocean breeze. Damien detected no soul force so she had to be a sorcerer. She whispered in Velco’s ear and he nodded once. The woman stepped away, but remained on the platform.

“I apologize for the interruption.”

The archmage waved her hand in dismissal. “You were about to tell us why you crossed the ocean.”

“I’m not certain I was. What business is it of yours?”

“My king has dispatched us to discover your purpose. You may tell us or turn around. Refuse to speak and continue on your present course and I’ll be forced to consider you an enemy. Enemy ships go to the bottom of the ocean.”

Velco laughed again. “I think we have you a bit outnumbered.”

Behind him the sorcerer drew on her power, sending her robes flapping and surrounding herself with a blue aura. Power crackled around her hands and her eyes glowed. She was fairly strong, but not extraordinary.

“As you can see we have our own sorcerers.”

The archmage glanced back. “Damien.”

He knew at once what she wanted. Damien drew deep from his core. Golden power crackled around him. The deck planks vibrated and several nails popped loose. Even the ocean below trembled. The female sorcerer took a step back, her blue eyes wide.

“If you wish to go down this road I believe we can accommodate you,” his master said.

The opposing sorcerer hurried over and whispered in her captain’s ear. He said something back and she nodded. Her aura vanished and the captain heaved a great sigh. “Very well. We wish to resupply in your kingdom. Our intention is to slay the Leviathan.”

Damien gaped. Of the five dragons, all the books regarded the Leviathan as the strongest. Sailors called the mighty sea serpent the god of the ocean. Having seen how badly even a weak dragon overmatched him, Damien couldn’t imagine how Velco might harm such a creature, much less slay it. If he had another hundred sorcerers in his service it wouldn’t be enough. He absorbed his power and relaxed. He didn’t need to fight these fools. They intended to destroy themselves.

His master must have had the same idea. “If you wish to commit suicide you’ve chosen an interesting method. Your odds of survival would be better if you turned around without resupply.”

“We know some tricks on our side of the ocean that you may not. I’m convinced we can accomplish the task. Are you satisfied? May we purchase supplies in your kingdom?”

“I’ll take your petition to the king, but I foresee no difficulties. Why should your gold sink along with your ships? My apprentice will guide you to our lookout post in case I don’t return before.” The archmage turned to Damien. “Don’t let them sail on until I return.”

“Yes, Master.”

She nodded once and leapt into the air leaving Damien alone on the whalers’ ship. The captain smiled. “Are you certain I can’t offer you something to eat?”