“Get on with it!” snapped Talon’s daughter.

The man straightened in surprise, his face reddening. “I am a visitor to your island and will perform with pleasure although, on my island, patience and good manners are held to be more valuable than magic.”

Talon’s daughter is spoilt! Her mind-voice was scathing.

She doesn’t know any better, Storm replied. Go away! I want to watch this. Water-magic was tricksy, like the Dolphin. She needed to concentrate.

The young man dropped his hands to his sides, lifted his head and began to sing a wordless song. The notes rippled and danced in Storm’s head. The witch drew a circle in the air. Immediately, the water in the fountain began to rotate, swirling faster and faster. He pointed to the sky, and a long, thin snake of water leapt into the sky where it circled, writhing and dripping.

The crowd cheered. The Water-witch gave an involuntary smile, full of confident joy. Storm felt a twinge of envy: she still had to force herself to trust the Dolphin. Now the young man raised both hands high in the air and fluttered his fingers. The tempo of his song increased; notes trilled from his throat. The water snake split into ten snakelets.

Watery serpents twirled and danced over the square, meeting and disengaging, pairing and parting. The witch began to whistle, a series of playful notes. The ten snakelets flowed into each other and formed… Storm gasped. It was the Dolphin itself! Lithe and sleek, the sun shimmering on its waterspun skin, the Elemental sported overhead, leaping and diving.

The crowd screamed its appreciation as the water-image swooped low, straight at Storm. She flinched. The apparition floated over her head, just out of reach. She could smell the mossy taint of the fountain, see the water swirling and shifting, contained by a magic skin. The Dolphin caught her eye and grinned. It lowered an eyelid in a slow, sly wink. Then leapt into the sky and plummeted towards the empty fountain. Water hit stone with a dull boom. The backwash drenched them all.

The crowd screamed its delight. Even Betaan and Mer were laughing and clapping. Storm saw Talon’s daughter order a guard to pay the witch. The woman tossed a handful of bright silver at the Water-witch, but the man ignored it. He stood, motionless, soaked to the skin, his eyes fastened on Storm’s face.

“Beware!” She could not possibly hear him over the noise of the crowd, yet the witch’s voice was close and clear in her ear: “There is danger for you here. The Salamander sends its most powerful agent against you. Beware the Fire-witch!”

Talon’s daughter spent the rest of the morning buying gifts for herself. Soon the guards were laden with packages: silk scarves; earrings of gold and silver; leather belts and shoes; a fighting stick of precious ebony inlaid with silver.