her, talking about something of his own. His pocket vibrated strangely, as if a fish were hiding in it.
“I cut off a kraken’s claw with a harpoon,” the fellow drew out and pointed. So that was what was moving in his pocket. The claw was creepy, and it crawled up on its own, trying to claw at Lilophea’s feet.
“And the Morgens didn’t tear you to pieces for it?”
“They have no right to crawl on the bridge. It is the decree of the master of the bridge.”
“Is it Seal?”
“I don’t know.”
A severed claw was biting him, and he didn’t even notice. Lilophea wanted to console him, but all she could think of was false bravado.
“Come on! I will get you out of here. I know the way. Or someone will show me the way.”
“They won’t!”
“They wouldn’t dare. The Water King owes me for my company.”
“I cannot leave here.”
“Why is it not?”
“I’m looking for the princess. She’s definitely here. I saw her on this bridge from the shore, so I jumped on it myself, bypassing the kraken. I’m not leaving until I find her.”
He looked at the compass. The device was as useless here as the kraken’s severed claw.
“I love the princess,” he groaned.
“Which one is it?”
“Lilophea. I am looking for her.”
“But she is in front of you.”
“No, you’re a spirit woven out of thin air by the local jokers.”
So it is true that they do lose their minds on this bridge.
But it’s a good way to get to Shalian and Etar. So the winged fish were talking to each other as they hovered over the parapet. Lilophea listened to them. She spotted the jester spirits the boy had been talking about.
They were fighting, hovering over the bridge. There was a whole flock of them. Only one spirit, sat on the parapet of the bridge.
“Look, the queen is coming,” he proclaimed as he spotted Lilophea from afar. “Let us sing to her our hymn to all the kings of water and earth.”
And they sang, so she had to cover her ears. Their voices rumbled in her head.
“She is a queen, not a king.“Sing gently,” the same spirit urged. “Don’t frighten her. She has not come to maneuver us. The wives of rulers are much nicer to talk to than the kings themselves. And through them you can control their husbands. We usually do that. We know a lot of serenades to titillate women.”
He fluttered over and plucked a ribbon from her hair.
“Give it back!”
“And will you kiss me in return, Queen of the Seas?”
He looked like a teenager, but his eyes were wise and old. He looked as if the ancient philosopher had been trapped inside a child’s body, and now it was too small for him.
“Are you sulking? Well, you’re not the only one. There’s the lady of the oceans.”
“What do you mean?”
The spirit laughed back.
Lilophea felt an object drop suddenly against her leg. So that’s what the jokers were fighting about. It looked like the simplest shell, but inside it was like fire.
“Don’t touch it!” warned the spirits together, but Lilophea had already touched and burned her hand.
“What shell can burn the queen of the sea?”
“This is no ordinary seashell. It’s from the ocean,” the spirit explained.
“It is a magic shell,” the other jokers sang along. They grasped hands and twirled in a motley circle over Lilophea.
“It comes from lightning that strikes the ocean,” they chattered.
“Look!” One of the jokers grabbed Lilophea by the arm and led her to the parapet of the bridge. He pointed to a distant shore. It was an island in the middle of the sea, and pirates had just landed there. They were trying to collect glittering seashells from the shore and were falling into a kind of trap. Their hands began to burn when they touched the unusual shells.
“You see how hard it is for the easy bounty hunters.”
“But I am not a hunter of easy profits.”
“You came to the bridge without a guide, not knowing the way. You want to swoop into some rich country and steal all the treasures from the royal palace. A friend of Urun, a pirate, used to do that. He drowned her for that.”
“For once he drowned someone for a cause. He usually does it for nothing.”
“Right,” the spirit smiled at her like an old friend. “You don’t like Urun either. You’re nice. Come, I’ll be your guide.”
He looked like a court jester. Lilophea followed him for a long time before she realized he was deceiving her. The jester spirit hovered over the bridge and led her in circles.
“Do not be angry, I can tell you where to go,” he noticed how she clenched her fists with annoyance.
“I’d better look for it myself,” the joking spirit was of no use anyway.
“Orange Bridge is for Thyoria, platinum for Etar, onyx for Shahilan, pearl for your own Aquilania, quartz for Sultanite, and no bone bridge for the other side. If you want to go back under the water, you’ll have to choose the jade bridge.
“Thank you!” Lilophea didn’t know if the spirit was being honest with her, but she thanked him courteously anyway. The joker gave her a slight bow. He hovered over the bridges and watched her go.
In some ways he was right. The Onyx Bridge did lead to Shalian, and she had already checked the direction of the Orange Bridge.
Her legs were numb with fatigue. How long had she been walking here? Lilophea decided to take a little break. Below is only the sea surface. Above is only the sky. It’s crazy up here. A quiet, melodious song came from somewhere. It sounded like there was an island down there. Lilophea listened to the words of the song. There was something familiar about them.
And then she noticed a cave from the bridge. No, it was not a cave, but it was the open mouth of a whale, and beside it a beautiful girl was fussing as if nothing had happened, picking up shells. The whale was about to swallow her.
Lilophea wanted to shout at her, but the girl suddenly lifted her head and intercepted her gaze. How sly her eyes gleamed! They were black as agate. And the pastel dress and headdress were something reminiscent of the fashions of the court
