Free The Crystal Clipper by B. Roman Page A

I can hear you.”
    “Good. Wonderful. Now, carefully, go and look for Saliana.”
    Stealthily, David moves further ahead into gleaming hallways of the Tower, each surface as slick as the Palace wall. Were it not for his sturdy boots, he surmises, he surely would go slipping and sliding across the floor as though it were an ice arena.
    Then, he hears it, something oddly familiar. But he cannot connect it to any recollection. A few more steps and the sweet sounds of Saliana playing the harp and singing fill the air:
    “I know a place where the Moon Dancers waltz
    In gossamer gowns and slippers of stardust.
    On velvety royal blue carpets of nighttime
    They step light as air to the music of wind songs…”
    He tiptoes into the room behind Saliana. She does not hear him and continues singing:
    “Moon Singer, Moon Singer, take to the sea,
    Fly on the wind where the sky used to be.
    Moon Singer, Moon Singer, take me along.
    Keep me safe in your light till I find my way home.”
    Entranced with her singing, David clumsily trips on something underfoot. Startled, Saliana turns to see him. Her breath catches in her throat.
    “Who are you? How did you get in here?”
    David stares at her, blankly, captivated by her fragile loveliness. If he had not heard her angelic singing for himself, he would never have believed that this delicate girl's music held such divine powers.
    “That's the most beautiful song I've ever heard,” David tells her, still not connecting her music to the song he heard the day Sally disappeared. Recognizing the questioning look in her large brown eyes, he announces, “Your father sent me.”
    At once alarmed and elated, Saliana moves toward David. “My father sent you? Is he - is he all right? Nothing's happened?”
    “No, no. He's fine,” David assures her. He wonders why he can't stop staring at her. Then he notices the rose crystal pendant she wears around her neck, and it hits him.
    “You look so much like Sally. Just like Sally.”

Fourteen
    Saliana's puzzled expression asks, “Who is Sally?” But she voices a more personally pressing question. “Did you come to take me home?” David reawakens to the mission at hand, which is rescuing the frightened young damsel in distress who stands before him.
    “Your father seems to think I can. I'm not sure how.”
    “It will be impossible.” All hope seems drained from her, perhaps long ago. “Even Father could not rescue me from
him
.”
    Remembering her song lyrics, David shifts the subject again. “How do you know about the Moon Singer?”
    A thoughtful expression crosses Saliana's face. She considers this question a moment. “I don't know, really. I began singing the song when I was first imprisoned here. It just came to me one night. I feel it has a special meaning, so I continue to sing it. Do you know the song?”
    “No. I don't know. There's something familiar about it. But I know the Moon Singer itself. That's the name of the clipper ship that brought me here.”
    “You sailed here?” She is at once bemused and contemptuous. “Why would you want to come to our island? It's such a terrible place.” Her tone then becomes wistful.
    “But it wasn't always. Once there was a lot of music and singing. Everyone was so happy, so alive. But now…
    “Who is Sally?” she asks, focusing back on David's earlier comment.
    “It's a long story. I'll tell you after I get you out of here.”
    “But how?”
    “The same way I came in. The rope hanging down the Tower wall. Come on, quick.”
    David takes Saliana's hand and leads her out of her chamber to the hallway, then to the window he entered from. He steps out onto the ledge, ready to assist her over and down to freedom, but he stops short.
    “Holy cow - wait!” David pulls up the rope and it's only a few feet long. It's been cleanly cut. “I thought it was too good to be true.”
    “So did I.”
    “There must be some other way out,” David surmises, hoping there truly is, “or your