Despite his impatience, Silas had no choice but to wait. The storm had been raging for four days with no sign that it would abate any time soon. He doubted that the port would still hold any longer by then but Rufus assured him that Stormbrace had been built to withstand the most atrocious weather. They just had to wait calmly.

  Meanwhile, despite the tempest, the Port Ghosts continued to move in and out of the meeting room conducting their business as usual. While their movements were limited by the weather, that hadn't stopped them from using the tunnels to enter some homes and businesses to steal whatever they could.

  Once again Finn had gone back to spy on the wizards and returned with the news that Olivia's magical trail had been detected in the old stone house, so she decided not to go outside until the day of their departure. From now on they would have to carefully measure every step they took as there was no doubt that even the ships would be inspected before setting sail.

  With the gang away, Silas took advantage of those moments to try to change form with no apparent results while Olivia did not take her eyes off the old book that had belonged to Rufus' family. Every now and then she exhaled a sigh of frustration as none of those strange lines had any relation to what she knew of the Ethereal Codes.

  Milo had tried to go back out to work despite the storm but had returned crestfallen and empty-handed. Both the port and the market were at a standstill due to the strong winds and the only jobs available at the inns and taverns had already been taken.

  The hours dragged by and they only found some distraction when the gang returned to the hall with bags of loot and food and then sat down to talk about their escape plan while eating.

  “So... Isle of Demons...” said Rufus as soon as Olivia had revealed their destination.

  “They also call it Fellowship of the Island,” she corrected him.

  “Whatever. Why so far away?”

  “Silas can't go back to the mountains,” actually she couldn't go back home either and that thought made Silas realize that now he and Olivia had much more in common than it seemed at first.

  Neither could return home because in one way or another they were both different from their respective races.

  “Aren't you scared of the hybrids?” Katty asked anxiously.

  “From what I've read they are peaceful creatures,” Olivia stroked her little head of messy locks. “We're not sure if they'll accept us but at least they won't hurt us.”

  “Then why go there?” Vinnie asked.

  Olivia sighed.

  “It's the only place out of the wizards' reach,” as she said this the children looked at each other and nodded.

  “I wouldn't mind living with beasts as long as I stay away from wizards,” agreed Rufus.

  Silas had no idea what a hybrid was supposed to look like. He assumed they would be similar to when he tried to transform and his body became deformed between one form and another. Though perhaps that comparison wouldn't appeal to the hybrids at all.

  Since the only way to get there was by boat, the new escape plan suggested by the gang included causing a large disturbance in the upper areas that would hopefully draw attention away from the wizards while Olivia and Silas were led to the ship.

  “I had raised quite a sum,” Milo puffed out his chest as he rested his money bag on the table.

  Rufus laughed at him.

  “You think that pocket money will convince a captain to act against wizards' orders? I don't understand how you've survived on the streets so far, Milo.”

  The latter gave him an icy stare.

  “At least I can say I'm not a thief.”

  “Is there an award for the most decent child? Please. Nobody really cares about the Children of the Port. Only people who pity us but they too lose interest when we gain a few inches and start to see us as a pain in the ass. Have you thought about what will happen when they stop seeing you as a cute puppy?”

  Milo did not answer and tightly squeezed his bag of coins.

  “At best,” Rufus continued, “you'll become a sailor under the orders and whims of some tyrant captain. If not, you'll have to accept any lowly job, no matter how hard and poorly paid it is. In the worst case, you will be kidnapped and sold into slavery in the kingdoms beyond the Freedom Sea.”

  “But that's...” Olivia protested.

  “Forbidden?” scoffed Rufus. “No, my innocent lady. Maybe in Terrarkana things look one way but if you dig deep enough you'll find nothing but shit.”

  “What's that supposed to mean?”

  “Didn't your father ever tell you about criminals being sold like cattle? Maybe there are no slaves in Terrarkana but certainly both the wizards and the nobility have no problem making money from them. They even sometimes trick buyers into thinking they can get some magic from their purchase. Come and see! A slave brought from the distant, mythical lands of Terrarkana! Sometimes you don't need to be a criminal, just look close enough.”

  “My father would never...” Olivia's voice trailed off as if she had run out of air.

  Rufus looked at her with pity.

  “There is little to be gained by following the rules, and I will not bow my head to anyone,” Rufus said.

  “You'll get caught someday,” Milo warned him.

  “Maybe. But if that day comes, I'll have my mates to help me escape,” Rufus raised his head proudly towards the other members of the gang. “You're a fool if you think you can survive on your own. We're all in the same boat and we'll only get through this by being an united crew. Join us and you'll see. Someday we'll get a ship and become pirates. We'll start a new Sea Revolt and free the port from the wizards' control!”

  Rufus' words were followed by claps and cheers from the younger members of the gang.

  Humans were so weird, Silas thought. Despite being a single race, they divided among themselves out of pure greed. When he decided to leave the mountains behind, it never occurred to him that during his journey he would meet humans who hated wizards as intensely as he did or that these same detestable beings would hunt their own kind in the same way they had hunted chimeras before.

  Even the unity that Rufus spoke so much about reminded Silas of his time with the pack. Survival was possible in a group, though he hadn't done too badly when he had to manage alone on the mountain. Except for the time when Leander had captured him, he'd done pretty well. And if it weren't for the fact that he'd lost his shapeshifting power, he wouldn't be so dependent on Olivia.

  If only he could turn into an eagle and fly away that would have made it a lot easier for him but the bear paw remained unchanged despite all his efforts. He had not even managed to mutate the color of his fur. Just when he thought he was making progress, he ran into an impregnable wall again.

  That made him retrace his steps and think about what had happened during Eldrin's ambush for the bear paw to appear out of nowhere. He hadn't felt anything special that time, except for the tingling in his hand moments before it took that form. Other than that the only thing he remembered was the rage and frustration he felt at being so helpless in front of the wizard.

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  Rage... the same rage he had felt in the mountains after being abandoned by the pack. The same rage that had helped him become a fox and then again when in the castle he had managed to adopt the cat form while planning how to take revenge on the humans.

  Rage... Yes! That was the secret!

  “Olivia!” Silas jumped out of his chair startling everyone. “Make me angry!”

  The girl blinked in confusion.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I know how to activate my power! I need you to make me so angry to the point of making my blood boil.”

  “And how can I...? Wait...” Olivia wrinkled her eyebrows. “Why do you think I can make you angry?”

  “Because you can be very annoying when you set your mind to it!”

  That statement left all the children's mouths hanging open. Milo put a hand to his forehead and Rufus pursed his lips, looking away.

  “I'm annoying?” Olivia slammed both hands on the table and glared at him angrily. Silas even thought he saw a vein swelling in her forehead.

  “Why are you getting mad? I'm the one who needs to be angry. You see... I have a plan...”

  “I'm not mad!” she exclaimed ironically. “I'm so glad I have the power to get on your nerves!”

  Silas remained stiff-armed.

  “So... are you going to...?”

  “Where to start?” In an exaggerated gesture Olivia put a finger to her mouth as if she was thinking. “You're an unbearable grump! You're always criticizing and you can't come up with ideas to escape! I have to think of everything myself!”

  Silas waited for her words to have an effect but for some reason he didn't feel anything. He clenched his fists anyway to try to channel his power.

  “Go on.”

  “Ever since we left the castle I've always been there to cheer you up, I've done everything I could to make you trust me and yet you continue to keep things from me!”

  No, that wasn't enough.

  “Just keep going.”

  “To think of all the time I protected you when you were just a mouse and all that time you could take the form of a human!”

  “First form,” he corrected her. That should have made him angry for sure but nothing happened.

  “And all the times you got mad at me for no reason but I put up with it because I knew you were going through a bad time!”

  That was... No... He shook his head. He couldn't get mad when she mentioned something that was true.

  “And now, after all I've done for you, you come to tell me that I'm the only one who makes you angry? Do you even care about my feelings? Your greatest enemy is not the wizards or your uncontrollable powers, it's you! Your temper and your pride are sabotaging you. Thalassa was right about the knot! You are the knot, Silas!”

  Despite everything he was saying the only thing the chimera felt at that moment was disappointment and not because he couldn't change form but because of the hurtful way Olivia was looking at him. Actually, now that he thought about it better, Silas realized that she had stopped bothering him quite some time ago and he didn't understand how that happened.

  But he didn't have the courage to say it at the time, let alone in front of those kids they barely knew.

  She pointed her finger at him.

  “You're a bad friend!”

  That simple sentence took him by surprise and wounded him like an arrow through the very center of his heart.

  Damn witch, what kind of dark magic was that?

  After venting, Olivia kept quiet holding her gasping breath.

  “Is that all?” Vinnie asked bored.

  “What else you expect?” Rufus scoffed. “She's a noblewoman born in a cradle of gold.”

  “I'm tired of being called a noblewoman!” Olivia burst out with such fury that the gang leader instinctively recoiled, perhaps fearing she would jump on him or summon another whirlwind. “Of course I am, but I never asked to be born in a castle! I didn't choose to have the parents I have or the expectations they imposed on me! The very people who should have protected me betrayed me! I didn't choose any of this! I didn't choose to be a... a...!”

  She was about to say the word “witch” but stopped herself in time before continuing in a broken voice.

  “Whatever! I've given up my old life! I'm here hiding from the wizards I once trusted! I've gone out of my way to do the right thing, to prove I'm more than my past and no one seems to care! I don't deserve to be treated like this! I could be reading in my quiet library right now but I had the terrible idea of rescuing an ungrateful chimera who didn't want to be saved!”

  At that rate, it was Olivia and not Silas who was more likely to become a raging lioness.

  “Feel any different?” Rufus asked Silas as Olivia backed away into a corner to calm down, and Silas shook his head.

  Katty raised her hand.

  “Can I try?”

  “And me!” Penn exclaimed.

  “Me too!” followed Finn.

  “Don't let me out of the fun!” added Vinnie.

  Even Milo, acting in Olivia's defense, joined the gang, which for a while got busy making up insults for Silas.

  “Bitter raccoon ears!”

  “Wet fox face!”

  “Donkey's nose!”

  “Worm brain!”

  “Port rat!”

  “Deformed hedgehog!”

  “Pissing eyes!”

  “King of failures!”

  Despite all the gang's efforts, none of them succeeded in angering Silas, who was becoming increasingly discouraged as Olivia refused to look him in the face while sitting with her back to him and dipping her head back into Rufus' book.

  “This is boring...” said the boss. “Why don't we make a bet? Maybe, Milo, that little bag of yours can do you some good.”

  The other members of the gang welcomed the idea.

  They began boat racing, the brothers Finn and Penn's favorite game, which consisted of nothing more than grabbing a toy boat and running as fast as they could from one side of the room to the other with their hands in the air. While the two boys raced the others only participated but as mere spectators betting gold coins, even jewels.

  “This is silly,” mocked Milo after winning three bets in a row.

  “Let's stick to cards then,” suggested Rufus.

  That's how Silas learned to play cards when the group introduced him to one called the Black Market. It consisted of all the players being smugglers except one who was the undercover inspector. If the others failed to guess his identity before the game was over, the inspector could confiscate the others' goods.

  “You have a very suspicious face, Milo” smiled Rufus.

  “He has the face of an inspector,” Finn interjected.

  “Please!” exclaimed Milo, offended. “This is Rufus' strategy to divert attention away from him.”

  “What an inspector would say to mislead,” Rufus narrowed his eyes and scratched his chin. “I vote for Milo.”

  “Exactly!” Silas shouted, banging the table. He was so immersed in the game that he had even forgotten about his unsuccessful attempts to transform, as well as Olivia's anger. “I vote for Milo too!”

  “What?” Milo glared angrily at the chimera. “You're a fucking traitor! Who was the first to help you when you arrived at the port!” But seeing that the rest also voted against him, he sighed showing his cards. “All right... yes... I am the inspector...” he dragged the coins he had lost to the center of the table.

  The next afternoon, while still under the storm, that gaming session was repeated again, only this time, instead of cards, it was a game invented by Rufus called the Kingdom of Dice.

  Olivia, having gotten over her grumpiness and tired of staying out of the fun also joined in, although she avoided at all costs addressing Silas and only spoke when it was her turn to move her pieces.

  As the name suggested, each participant had to roll the dice to advance along a cloth board where Rufus himself had drawn the crooked lines that divided the kingdoms to be conquered. Depending on the sum of the dice, one could win or lose his territory. If one wanted to conquer the other's territory, they could start a war to see who could get the highest score. But on the way they could also encounter monsters and magic traps that could only be obtained by getting the same number on all sides of the dice or by paying a large sum.

  “That magic sword costs six gold coins,” Vinnie replied, blinking in Silas' direction. “But for you I can let you have it for half.”

  “That's cheating!” Penn complained. “You sold me the thunder hammer for twice as much!”

  “I can sell my weapons at any price I want.”

  After that Penn took revenge on Vinnie by annexing his glowstone mines and tripling their price.

  “Here, Olivia,” said Milo. “I offer you my western territories, rich in precious metals, if in exchange you accept my marriage proposal.”

  “No political alliances are allowed!” Rufus protested. “Olivia must pay like everyone else.”

  None of the games were free of bets or exchanges that did not include real money or jewels and Silas, guided at first by an innocent curiosity, was prompted to try his luck when Finn handed him a small bag of coins as a courtesy so that he could participate. However, the chimera was unable to win a single game and was again left as poor as it had started and the coins returned to Finn's hands who smiled with pleasure as if that had been his plan all along.

  But instead of simply giving up, this awakened a competitive streak in Silas. He asked Finn for another chance but the boy refused, saying that he was no charity.

  Vinnie and Katty took advantage of the occasion and offered Silas a new bag of coins, proposing a deal: if he lost again, he would owe them a simple favor.

  Silas, confident that he could reverse his bad streak, fell into the trap and after a new defeat he had to pay off his debt. So it was that both girls, their eyes moist with joy, set to work to brush his long, unruly mane from roots to ends.

  They did not set him free until his hair had become an elaborate weave of braids that he couldn't untie by himself. It was Olivia, probably guided by pity, who was left in charge of the tedious task of undoing them one by one in complete silence, which made for an awkward situation for both of them.

  After that first experience, the chimera concluded that gambling was just another dishonorable human habit that he would never try again.

  However, when Rufus announced that the winds had begun to die down, signaling the eventual end of the storm, Silas regretted that those gaming afternoons had to end so soon.