Chapter fifteen
Mal sent Caspian and I to the market for supplies a few days later. We walked leisurely through the market, buying what we needed. By chance I saw a man with Lord Fitch’s tattoo on his neck. Instinctively, I ducked.
“Merry? What’re you doin’?” Caspian asked in confusion.
My cheeks burned when I remembered that I no longer needed to fear Lord Fitch capturing me. I rose, starting to explain, but then trailed off, glancing at the tattooed man.
He followed my gaze.
“Oh.” He put an arm around my shoulders comfortingly.
I entered the tailor’s shop where I ordered some cloth for Mal.
“That’ll be a while,” the shopkeeper told me. “You can wait here while I fill your order, or we can deliver it to your house for extra.”
“We’ll wait,” I said.
I walked outside where Caspian waited for me. The conversation of two men standing nearby caught my attention.
“You know that camp o’ gypsies on the far side o’ town? Well they gotta seer lady what insisted on comin’ here. Said there’s a young one who needs her help. Says the kid is immortal?”
I nudged Caspian, but he was already listening.
“Mad ol’ hag,” the other commented. “Why’d they listen to her?”
“They don’t seem to think she’s mad. Anyways, they gonna leave tomorrow, I think it is. They ain’t found the kid yet.”
“I doubt they will. She sounds crazy to me.”
“Speakin’ o’ crazy, how’s the wife?”
Caspian and I looked at each other. My heart beat fast. Could it be she wanted to speak to Caspian and me?
By the time I had picked up the cloth, the men were gone and Caspian and I could talk freely.
“We’ve gotta see if they can help us,” I said.
Caspian did not seem as excited. “Merry, somebody tracked me down because I’m…” he did not finish the thought. “This could be another plot for revenge.”
“Sure, but this could also be our only chance. Besides, they can’t really kill us.”
He nodded. “Yeah, but not dyin’ hurts pretty bad.”
We argued about different possibilities, but by the time we made it back home we had decided to see if the gypsies could help us. We told Mal where we were going. She said nothing to prevent us from making the trip, but she gave both an extra squeeze before we left.
When we arrived at the gypsy camp, fires had been lit to combat the coming darkness. We tied the horses a little way off and continued into the camp on foot. Laughter, conversation, and music sounded throughout. A man approached us as we came to the first of the fires.
“What do you want?” he asked.
“We heard that your seer is lookin’ for someone,” Caspian said. “We might be able to help.”
His expression changed from one of mild annoyance, and he became suddenly attentive.
“Follow me.”
We followed him to a large tent. He pulled the flap away from the entrance and looked at us expectantly. We hesitantly entered. The few candles inside illuminated an ancient woman with braided grey hair. A cloth band covered her eyes, and she sat alert upon cushions. I got the impression that she expected us. She tilted her head when the flap closed.
“I sent out the call for one immortal, and two have answered,” she said. “That is just as well. I have a message for you.”
When she paused I asked, “From who?”
She ignored me. “There is hope for you to reverse the immortality if you wish it. Return to the island where you found the fountain, and you will meet the one who can help you.”
“The island was covered by fire,” Caspian spoke. “How could anyone have survived?”
“I have given you the message I was entrusted with. I know no more.”
“Who gave you the message?” I inquired.
“I do not know.”
“How are we supposed to get to the island?” I asked.
“I told you, I know no more,” she repeated.
My heart sank.
“Is there a time by which we need to get there?” Caspian asked.
“I know no more,” she said again, sounding irritated.
My heart sank. We would gain no more information from her.
“Thank you,” I managed.
We left the camp. We had many obstacles before us, and first on the list was our lack of funds. We owned no ship of our own, so we would have to hire one. Almost worse was the fact that we had not the faintest idea where in the great expanse of water the island laid. Those who knew could be anywhere by now.
“Maybe it’s a good thing we won’t be able to go anytime soon,” I said. “Who knows how long it’ll take us to get to the island, even if we find somebody to take us. Our families could be dead by that time. Wouldn’t you rather spend time with them than spend their lives trying to find a way to shorten ours?”
Caspian nodded. “You’ve got a point.”