‘Not in the hold,’ Amy had pleaded. ‘You can’t keep her in the hold again.’

‘All right. As long as she stays below decks.’

Zoltan had led Amy up through the winding medieval streets of the city to see the cathedral. The whole of its floor was covered in an extraordinary mosaic showing the tree of life surrounded by strange animals and mythical creatures, but Zoltan wanted to show her something else. There was a small chapel off to one side, the walls of which were decorated with hundreds of yellow skulls and human bones.

‘They are martyrs,’ he explained. ‘The city was attacked by corsairs – Muslim pirates. The eight hundred survivors were offered their lives if they converted to Islam. They refused and were beheaded. There are many things worth dying for, but God is not one of them.’

‘Why have you brought me here?’ said Amy. She felt light-headed. The cathedral smelt of incense and burning candles and there was a gloomy, oppressive atmosphere.

‘I thought you would find it interesting,’ said Zoltan.

‘It’s horrible,’ Amy said angrily. ‘Why did you think I would like this? You are horrible. What do you want with me?’

‘You are valuable, Amy,’ said Zoltan. ‘You will be useful to me.’

‘So, I’m just like all the things you smuggle on your ship, am I?’ said Amy. ‘An object to be bought and sold?’

‘I have contacted your family to arrange a ransom,’ said Zoltan.

Amy didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know if she should be pleased by the news with its hope of returning home, or upset that she was to be bartered.

‘My grandfather won’t pay,’ she said. ‘He will come after you. He will hunt you down and kill you.’

‘He would never find me,’ said Zoltan. ‘He wouldn’t know where to start. The trail is very complicated. It will take time, but I will get my money. The first thing he will ask for is proof that I have you. What do you think I should send to him? A finger? An ear? The tip of your nose?’

‘You’re disgusting,’ said Amy, and Zoltan laughed.

‘I was teasing you, Amy,’ he said. ‘I would not harm you. I like you. I want to talk with you. I am bored with the company of men. You are a civilised person. Talk to me.’

And ever since then, at any available opportunity, Zoltan had brought Amy to his cabin, like today, and sat across his table from her, drinking wine and talking.

‘I believe you were sent, Amy,’ he said. ‘You are my fate. Do you think maybe I am dying? Do you think you killed me after all, with your knife?’

‘I hope so,’ Amy said, and Zoltan smiled.

‘I am not scared of dying,’ he said. ‘I am not scared of anything – except the sea.’

‘The sea?’ Amy said. Despite herself she was intrigued.

‘Yes. When I think of you, Amy, I think of you coming out of the water like a mermaid. Like a sea sprite, sent to claim me. You are a spirit of the water, and I have always known that the sea would be my death.’