season avatars 01 - seasons beginnings (5 page)

offer to swap me for the secret to making portals like the one we’ll use.

I realized then if I wanted to get away from Eldhid, I’d have to do it on

my own. But I also knew I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life re-

pairing boats and nets. I wanted to learn more about magic, but I didn’t

know how to get to the Magic Institute. And from what I overheard, I

knew neither magician would take me there, since then they would have

to turn me over to the other magicians so I could be trained properly.”

Kron got up to search for another suitable pole for the portal. Some

loose branches were piled behind the henhouse, so he borrowed one.

“What did you do then?” Bella asked.

“I listened to Milas’ instructions on how to make a portal, but I soon

realized it would only take me to a place I knew well, not somewhere

I’d never been before. All I knew from what I overheard was that the

Magic Institute had the most powerful magic and magicians in the

known world. If I could only figure out the direction with the strongest

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sense of magic, I could find my way there on my own.” Kron took a

deep breath. “That’s when I created my first finder. Then, when they’d

passed out from the wine, I stole some supplies, enchanted a cloak so

no one would notice me, and ran away.”

“How brave!” Bella said. “I’ve never even been out of Vistichia.”

Kron, busy fusing the branches together, couldn’t respond at first.

He supposed it had been brave for an inexperienced youth to travel all

the way up the Chikasi River on his own, but at the time he hadn’t

known how long the journey would take. He didn’t want to relate to

Bella everything he’d done on that trip either.

“Well, as soon as the portal is ready, you’ll see the Magic Institute,”

he said. “It’s not something many Nils—I mean, people without

magic—get to see. Do you think Phebe will go through the portal on

her own?”

Some of the excitement left Bella’s eyes. “She won’t even come out

from under the table. I hope Troge and the boys don’t see her like this.

They won’t believe what happened. I’m not sure they would have be-

lieved it even if they were there.”

“I don’t know how long we’ll be gone,” Kron said. “Travel will be

quicker than anything you can imagine, but healing her mind may be

difficult. If we’re not here when Phebe’s family returns, they won’t

know where she is. That could be a problem.”

Bella chewed her lip for a moment before saying, “I guess we’d bet-

ter wait for them, then. I’ll finish supper.”

Kron decided it would be better to finish charging the portal when

they were ready to leave. Otherwise, stray animals—or children—

might find themselves in the Magic Institute. He followed Bella inside.

While she baked the flatcakes and fried slices of cured ham, Kron ex-

amined Phebe again. Still acting like a chicken, and still no sign magic

was causing this. Maybe taking her to the Magic Institute wouldn’t be

helpful, but this wasn’t something an herbalist or surgeon could cure.

Besides, the fewer questions raised locally, the sooner he would be free

to resume his journey.

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Bella draped the blanket over the table, creating a shelter for her

sister. She had just finished cooking the last flatcake when a heavily

muscled, bearded man tromped in, followed by a pair of youths who

were obviously his sons. All three of them dropped carpenters’ tools by

the door. “Phebe, is dinner ready?” the man asked. “We’re starving.

Bella? Where’s your sister?” He turned his head toward Kron and

merged his bushy eyebrows. “Who are you, and what are you doing in

my house?”

Sweat trickled down Kron’s back as if to point out how dry his

mouth was. This man, though not much taller than him, possessed

enough bulk to make two of him. “I’m...I’m Kron Evenhanded.” His

voice retained its normal pitch, but it wavered. “And I’m here...”

“Because Phebe isn’t feeling well,” Bella continued. “She needs a

healer. He’s going to help me take her to one.”

“You mean Galia? Is Phebe with child again?”

“I don’t think so. This is different. She needs another healer.” Bella

peered into a jug. “Troge, could you get more beer? We’re out.”

As soon as he left, Bella ducked under the table and grabbed Phebe.

Kron copied her, and they pulled her out. “Mother?” one of the boys

asked. “What were you doing under there?”

She clucked at them and tried to gather them under her arms.

Bella, pressing her lips together, gestured toward the courtyard.

They had to haul Phebe there, as she didn’t move no matter how much

they coaxed her. Once they were outside, Kron left Bella to handle her

sister while he activated the portal. He grabbed the supports, closed his

eyes, and brought up the memory of the receiving area: a square with a

fountain in the center surrounded by walls with a mosaic of the sun,

moon, and stars. It was an image that was meant to be easy to remember,

so magicians could always return. Not all of them used portals the way

Kron did, but everyone who could transport themselves needed land-

marks.

Once the fountain was visible through the portal—the bright sun in-

dicating it was still mid-afternoon, not early evening—Kron stepped

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back. “This portal is too small for all of us to go through at once. Do

you want me to go first, or are you willing to try it?”

Bella walked around to the other side of the portal without answer-

ing. Many people did that the first time they saw a portal, as if they had

to see for themselves that the portal only worked from one approach.

She bit her lip again when she returned. “I’m sorry, Kron, but could you

please go first? I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

How sweet she made his name sound. “Many people feel that way

at first, Bella.” Did she like it when he dared to use her name? “There’s

nothing to fear. It’s just like walking through a door.”

To prove it, he stepped through. Warm sunlight made him realize

how cool Vistichia had been, and as he approached the fountain, the

water shifted to pour over chimes, an alert that a magician had arrived.

Kron turned back to see if Bella had followed him. She and Phebe were

still on the other side of the portal. Bella stared at him with a curious

look on her face, while Phebe pecked at the ground.

Kron approached the portal and extended his arm through, hoping it

wouldn’t startle her. “Come on, I’ll help you through.”

Taking a deep breath, Bella grabbed her sister with one hand and

took Kron’s with her other one. He guided her through first, then, before

Phebe could struggle too much, helped Bella pull her into the courtyard.

Once there, Phebe shook herself before continuing her hunt for food.

Bella walked to a mosaic and traced the pattern of stones.

“Kron Evenhanded?” a familiar deep voice said from behind him. “I

thought you were returning to your family. What brings you back

here?”

Kron turned to see Pagli, one of his teachers, striding toward him,

wearing the traditional lavender tunic over black wool leggings and

boots. It had only been a few moons since Kron had left the Magic In-

stitute, but Pagli’s red braids had faded slightly, and his smile didn’t

match the rest of his serious expression.

“This dame here,” he gestured at Phebe, “was the victim of a magic

prank. I did what I could to reverse the spell, but she’s still not acting

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like herself. I thought maybe Valadia or Utho might be better suited to

help her.”

Pagli hesitated for a few heartbeats before saying, “Neither of them

are here, but I’ll summon another healer to examine her.” He gave Kron

a heavy look. “In the meantime, you’ll have to tell me more about what

happened—and who did it.”

He beckoned all three of them past the fountain into one of the In-

stitute’s private nooks. Bella had to urge her sister to sit on a stool next

to a fireplace. Pagli poured a handful of a blue powder into his palm

and tossed it into the fire, which flared for a heartbeat before returning

to normal. Bella flinched, but Kron told her, “It’s a way of passing a

message through the chimneys. A novice will come here soon to find

out what we want and who we need to see.”

Pagli didn’t bother to sit. “And while we wait, Kron, tell me what

happened.”

This was the moment Kron had been dreading. He had to tell Pagli

about Salth and her son, but part of him wanted to protect the boy. It

occurred to him that perhaps Pagli would blame him for not reporting

Sal-thaath’s existence sooner, or doing more to control him. While he

didn’t fear censure or loss of his gift, he didn’t want his former teacher

to think less of him.

“The tale would be easier to tell with a flagon of wine and some

cheese,” he said. “I’ve performed a lot of difficult magic today.”

Pagli nodded slightly. “Have you come all the way from Delns?”

“No, I wasn’t able to portal home, so I’ve had to sail down the

Chikasi. I met these women in Vistichia while earning passage to

Delns.”

“And what have you seen?” Pagli asked. Unvoiced was the question,

“How are the lands recovering from the recent spate of disasters?”

Kron shrugged. “Farmers farm and traders trade, though there’s less

of the latter these days, and more robbers. That’s why I’d rather sail up

to Delns than make the overland passage north to the strait.”

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Pagli glanced at Bella. “And what do you think of your city’s king?”

When she didn’t speak, he added, “His ears don’t stretch this far. You

can speak freely.”

She stared at the floor and whispered, “I want to sing, but not for

him. He’s cruel. Why can’t you magicians do something about that?”

“Rulers? How do you change their nature?” Pagli threw up his

hands. “Some things even magic can’t fix, Dama.”

“Well, someone should try.” A fierce light gleamed in Bella’s eyes.

“If I had your magic, I would do something.”

“Knowing what is the best thing to do is always harder than finding

the power to do it.” Pagli spoke with authority, as if he’d told this to

many other magicians before.

A novice arrived with refreshment, followed in a few heartbeats by

a woman in blue robes and a collection of crystals. “You summoned

me, Pagli?” she asked.

He gestured at Phebe, who hadn’t touched her bread or wine. “This

one was enchanted in body and mind. Kron broke part of the spell, but

apparently not all of it.”

The healer asked Kron and Bella a few questions before taking one

of her crystals and passing it in front of Phebe. She repeated the process

with crystals in different colors before saying, “Fear is keeping her

mind imprisoned, but I think I can soothe her.” She looked at Bella.

“Are you her sister? Will you come with me? I’ll need your help.”

Bella nodded and urged Phebe to follow the healer.

When they had left, Pagli said, “Now that the Nils are gone, you can

tell me what really happened.”

Bracing himself, Kron summarized how he’d first met the women,

his encounters with Salth and Sal-thaath, and the disaster in the market-

place. “I don’t know what disgusts me more,” he said. “Salth’s raising

of the boy, or her insistence she can harvest magic from non-magi-

cians.”

“A harem-raised woman like Salth would have grown up wild her-

self,” Pagli said “It wouldn’t matter as long as the children were

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secluded. I’m sure spending time with you would only help Sal-thaath,

Kron.” Pagli leaned forward. “Anyway, I want to hear more about what

she told you. What does she think is about to happen? Why is she watch-

ing the sky?”

“I don’t know. She didn’t give details.”

“Could you find out and report back?”

Kron tensed. “Why? Do you think there’s something to what she

says?”

“I might not have thought so before, but if she’s discovered a way

to create a child with magic, she needs to be watched. Power on that

level can only cause problems.”

Kron wondered if that applied to the Magic Institute. Some magi-

cians left the institute to serve kings—or to try to become rulers

themselves. Many other magicians remained at the institute to teach or

study magic, each one as independent as a cat. Even getting them to

work together to build something like the Magic Institute required much

persuasion. If they all banded together to work in concert, how much

power could they wield, and what would they do with it? It was a ques-

tion Kron didn’t want to consider.

“Salth has always been one of those to study magic for magic’s

sake,” he replied. “Even if there is some magical event about to occur,

why would she change?”

Pagli shook his head. “Think, Kron. She’s the mother of a half-mag-

ical being.”