Moth

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: THE BONE FLUTE

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

THE BONE FLUTE

She walked through the city streets, head lowered and throat tight. She passed by the alleys, gutters, and abandoned boxes she had spent so many nights in, shivering and hungry and scared. She stepped through puddles, over beggars, and around piles of refuse, crossing the hardships she had lived through, the grime she had waited in, the poverty that had been overtaking her soul.

What could she do now? Seek aid elsewhere? Travel east to Yintao, capital of Qaelin, the mythical city where Shenlai the dragon was said to fly? Koyee lowered her head. No. Yintao lay so far across the rocky plains even the fastest nightwolf, running like the wind, would take two full moons to reach it. Walking barefoot across the plains, Koyee would starve long before she reached that fabled city. She could sooner build a ladder to the moon.

"There's only one place to go now, Eelani," she said, eyes burning. "We're going home."

Eelani hopped on her shoulder; Koyee could almost feel the patter of small, invisible feet.

"I know, Eelani. I know we're going home empty handed. But I still have my sword." She gripped the hilt, wincing at the grime that covered its blue silk. "We'll defend Oshy ourselves, you and me and Sheytusung. It's not much, but . . . if I must, I'll die for Eloria like my father did. But I'll die with a sword in my hand, fighting for my kingdom, not starving in a slum's gutter."

As she walked through the market, she looked around at the shadows. She saw several thieves, beggars, and urchins scurrying there, but not the Dust Face Ghosts. Not the one she sought.

"Goodbye, little Whisper," she said. "You're the only one I will miss here."

For the first time in almost two moons, she reached the city gates of Pahmey, the blue archway towering, its bricks embossed with golden dragons, stars, and moons.

"I entered these gates a proud woman of Eloria, the daughter of a soldier," she said to her invisible friend. "I leave in rags, dirty and alone and famished."

Her eyes stung as she walked under the archway, stepped between the guards, and left the city of Pahmey.

She walked across the docks, worming between sailors, merchants, and beggars. A dozen ships sailed ahead in the river, and a hundred were moored along the docks. The moonlight shone on sails, figureheads, and the jewels of wealthy captains. Fishermen sorted their catches upon the boardwalk, and the scent of fish filled the air.

"Goodbye, Pahmey," Koyee whispered and looked over her shoulder, giving the city of crystal and glass a last look.

She approached the dock where she had moored Lodestar. She walked past cogs, junk ships, and a fisherman's raft. She reached the peg where she had tethered her boat . . . and froze.

Lodestar was gone.

Koyee rolled her eyes and blew back a strand of hair. "Oh, Eelani, you're so silly. You chose the wrong dock."

She returned to the boardwalk and walked along the river, scanning the rows of vessels. Yet still she could not see her boat.

"This isn't funny, Eelani!" she said, her pulse quickening. "Do you see our boat?"

She walked faster. Soon she was running. She raced along every dock, scanning every boat. A hundred were moored here, and she passed by each one a dozen times. She raced along the boardwalk, searching for missing piers, but found none.

She fell to her knees.

"Lodestar is gone," she whispered. "It was stolen."

Of course. Of course it had been stolen! Most other ships here were guarded or secured with chain and padlock. Yet Koyee was from Oshy, a village where nobody ever stole a thing.