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of hiding from me …”
    “Indeed, master …”
    “Strange then, that I cannot sense the freedom fighter at all … can that be yet another of your mistakes?”
    “No, master. He could not have sneaked past us.”
    “The others did.”
    “Yes master, but, begging your mercy, the dragons chose not to pursue the two rebels that … escaped.”
    The image of Groan flickered slightly.
    “That is because dragons, unlike yourselves, are thinking creatures: they are aware that my power to support them is earthed firmly in this continent. The oceans have their own gods … who grant me no dominion. Your ineptitude has cost me two—possibly three—souls …”
    Gordo’s empty eyes dimmed.
    “Master.”
    “… souls who will sneak back on to this continent and bring me nothing but trouble wherever and however they can. You have failed me. Both of you.”
    “We beg your mercy, master.”
    “Beg not, for I have none. Return to me … and pray that you find Spatula on your way.”
    Gordo bowed, and the image vanished.
    Effigy marched up and down the deck, muttering to himself and occasionally stamping his feet. Obegarde, exhausted, had curled up on a makeshift hammock between two half-masts and gone to sleep.
    “Can’t this damn ship go any faster?” Jimmy yelled, watching the harbor with keen eyes.
    “Not unless the wind picks up,” said the captain, evenly. “There’s no magic wand that drives this vessel …”
    Effigy cast a sidelong glance at the thief. “You think the earl will believe us?”
    “Of course he will,” said Vanya, calmly. The young aristocrat emerged from the cabin with an urn and several oddly shaped cups. “My father is a very trusting man.”
    “Not from what I’ve heard,” Jimmy muttered, suddenly smiling weakly when he saw that the girl was glaring at him.
    “Well you’ve heard wrong then, haven’t you? Spittalian tea, anyone?”
    Effigy looked at the girl in mock amazement.
    “You know, considering your age and everything you’ve witnessed today, I must say you’re managing to remain incredibly calm …”
    Vanya smiled, and turned back to the captain.
    “Could you fetch a ravensage from the cabin? I need to send an urgent message ahead.”
    “W-wait!” Effigy hurried over to the girl, his eyes alight with excitement. “You have a ravensage, here on board?”
    Vanya nodded. “Yes, indeed. We have three, in fact. Did you want to send a message?”
    Jimmy and Effigy shared a glance.
    “Yes, we do,” they both said, in unison.
    Vanquish sat on the throne of Dullitch, his red eyes gleaming in the shadowy dark. His mind was picking its way through the streets of the city, carefully searching every house, every alleyway for outlines. If his new servants couldn’t find Effigy Spatula, there was absolutely no doubt that he could …
    His vision crept onward, through Royal Road, Market Place, Oval Square, Tanner Street, through The Goodwalk, Stainer Street, Burrow Street, Sack Avenue. Infuriating … there was no sign of him … not even the merest possibility of an outline … except … there, there at the harbor … was the memory of all three. So Spatula had slipped past them …
    Vanquish let out a cry of anger, and slammed his fist onto the arm of the throne.
    They would pay for their mistake; both of them would pay … dearly.

Five
    R AVENSAGE WERE A SPECIES of bird set apart by their innate ability to locate even the most obscure of specified destinations. Once, long ago, they had been ordinary ravens. However, in common with the calling-crows of Rintintetly and the barrowbirds of Grinswood, they had, at some undisclosed point in the past, had a serious run-in with the magical arts.
    These days, they were largely taken for granted. Still, a bird that could take a random description like “the place where three Y-shaped trees meet at a crossroads” and actually find the site was a bird worth existing.
    The raven flew high over the Nasbeck Ocean. For a time it headed