He stepped to the edge of the road, checked to see if there was anyone else around, then opened his bag and pulled out three rectangular dark gray stone tablets. The tablets were each a little larger than a man’s hand and almost two inches thick. Each had a different mark carved into it. The marks reminded Amber of the scars on the beastlings. They were smoothly cut, as if they had been pressed into the stone while it was soft. Amber knew little of stone-carving, but the marks’ smooth, continuous lines seemed unnatural, beyond the abilities of mortal hands.

“They’re magical,” Simeon confirmed.

“What are they?”

“Remember what I told you about the islanders? It’s an ancient culture, going back thousands of years. Virtually unchanged since the time of the old gods. Well, they believe that when the old gods created the world, they spoke it into existence. The gods said, ‘rocks!’ and there were rocks. ‘Trees!’ and there were trees. ‘Sunrise! Eating! Death!’

“According to the islanders, the words the gods used are still around—and they still have power. When these words are spoken or written correctly, they have the power of the gods themselves to shape the world.”

“The beastlings’ mark,” Amber said, understanding. “They wrote the word…beastling or something and the magic changed the ones they wrote it on.”

“I think the word is ‘beast,’” said Simeon. “I saw it happen once, before they discovered I was there. It’s a big ritual; the whole village gets involved.”

Amber picked up one of the tablets and turned it over in her hands, examining it from every angle.

“So what word is this?”

Simeon gently but firmly took the tablet from her hands.

“The word is ‘fresh’ or ‘keep’ or something like that. It’s used to preserve food.”

Amber looked less than impressed.

“What’s this one do?” she asked, pointing at the second tablet. She touched it lightly, just to irritate Simeon.

“This one?” Simeon frowned and bit his lip. “I don’t know. Once they had my scent I just grabbed what I could and ran for the boat. I thought I’d figure it out later, but so far…” he shrugged.

“But this one,” Simeon held up the third tablet proudly. “This is why I took them. This is how I know the islanders’ magic isn’t just ancient superstition.”

He held the tablet flat on his left hand and turned to face the sea. With his right index finger, he slowly traced the shape of the stone’s mark. The first time he did it, nothing happened. But part way through his second pass, Amber could feel a tingle of magic in the air, and the mark began to glow a dull red. As Simeon traced the mark the third time, Amber smelled smoke.

And then he was done, and there was a fifty-foot pillar of flame standing before them. It was easily fifteen feet across, a giant bonfire without fuel floating three feet above the grass.

Simeon ran his palm along the tablet as if wiping it clean. The fire vanished, leaving only a column of smoke to drift apart on the breeze.

“All right,” said Amber. “That was pretty amazing.”

Simeon grinned like a schoolboy. “I know. I’ve been waiting for months to show that to somebody.”

Amber turned back towards the road and Simeon followed. He wrapped the tablets and put them back in his bag as he walked.

“You should show that fire trick to the headmasters,” Amber said. “They might be so impressed, they would forgive you for knocking up one of their students.”

Simeon said nothing, and the troubled look on his face revealed nothing of his thoughts. Amber considered asking what was on his mind, but thought better of it.