season avatars 01 - seasons beginnings (19 page)

test it with a magic-finder.”

“But we can’t make magic-finders, Kron,” Domina said. “And I

can’t touch the wind.”

“Really? Then how did you make it die just now?”

She furrowed her forehead. “I...felt it. In my head. It was...loud. And

angry.”

He’d never experienced magic like that. But angry? Maybe Salth

had been behind the wind after all.

Carver, Janno, and a few other Avatars leaned forward, listening to

Domina. “Was it alive?” Carver asked.

“How can the wind be alive?” Janno asked. “It doesn’t grow.”

“What else did you feel?” Kron asked Domina. “Did it seem like

another person was controlling the weather?”

“I don’t know. All I know is that the wind didn’t want to die down.”

Caye hadn’t spoken during their exchange, and even when Kron

looked at her, she looked away. Bella slid next to her and asked, “Did

you feel the same thing Domina did?”

Caye fiddled with the fronds of a half-eaten carrot. “Well, I know I

definitely didn’t feel Winter behind this weather. He has strength be-

hind Him, a certain presence.” She gestured with the carrot. “It wasn’t

there.”

“Then where is He? Where are Spring and the others? When will

They return?” Galia asked.

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The others looked fearful. They needed a distraction. Kron clapped

his hands to get their attention. “How about while we wait for Them,

you show me your new magic and help restore the marketplace?”

Bright smiles all around showed their support for his idea.

As they fanned out, stall owners returned to collect scattered goods

and set them up again. A barrel-chested man hurried over to the chicken

cart, complaining about a broken wheel and axle. Kron headed over to

him. “I can help you with that,” he said.

The man chuckled as he looked at him. “How? Are you going to

help me pull it? You don’t look strong enough.”

“You may not believe it, but I work with my hands. Just help me

hold the pieces together.”

Kron carefully joined the wheel spokes and rim, then repaired the

axle. By the time he was done, the man nodded as if he’d known all

along what Kron was capable of.

“Now I recognize you,” he said. “You’re Kron Evenhanded, the ma-

gician who fixes things. What are the other people doing? Are they

magicians too?”

The Avatars flitted from stall to stall as a group, looking for things

to do. The Winter Avatars hung back, though they studied the sky as if

expecting the wind – or some other type of foul weather – to return. The

Spring and Fall Avatars seemed the busiest, while the Summer ones

eventually broke away to descend on the produce stalls. A few of the

stall owners watched with open mouths as the Avatars tried to heal what

could be healed. However, the worst damage was to nonliving things

that only Kron could mend.

“They’re magicians, but not like me. Some of your chickens are in

the warehouse,” he told the cart owner. “I need to see what else I can

repair.”

Once word spread that Kron, and only Kron, could repair things, he

found himself the center of attention. Local sellers and foreign mer-

chants alike pulled on his sleeves, demanding his immediate attention

or offering him so many goods to offer for his services that he didn’t

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know what to accept or where to go first. By the time he was done, it

was mid-afternoon. Kron gratefully accepted a flatcake filled with beef

and onions and devoured it as he searched for the other Avatars. How-

ever, he didn’t see them. Their cart was gone too.

Did they leave without me? Even Bella?
Kron had worked more

magic in a short period of time than he was used to and would have

appreciated a ride home. Fortunately, one of the farmers he’d helped

gave him a ride.

Kron entered the courtyard to find the Avatars gathered around

Janno as he knelt by a garden bed, touched the sprouts, and made them

grow to full height. Bella broke away and ran to Kron. “I was wondering

when you’d be done,” she said. “You had more to fix than the rest of us

put together.”

“Then why didn’t you wait for me?”

“We were hoping the Four would return here.” Although Galia

hadn’t lost any of her years, she walked more easily than she had that

morning. She didn’t squint as she looked at him. “Did you see Them?”

Kron shook his head.

“Then, what do we do? Are They coming back?”

“I can’t answer that,” he said, “but since you’re all still new to

magic, I think you should keep testing what you can and can’t do.

Maybe start with small tasks and try harder things as you gain confi-

dence.”
I hope you don’t make any mistakes you can’t fix, especially

since your magic works on living things, and mine doesn’t.

As the rest of the Avatars scattered to practice on plants and birds

and puddles, Galia drew Kron aside. “Spring said yesterday we are sup-

posed to go with you the next time you visit Salth. Is she the magician

who challenged the Four?”

Kron didn’t answer. Instead, he watched Bella summon finches and

other small birds to perch on her head and arms. She laughed, making

her seem even more lovely than usual.

“Kron, did Salth challenge the Four earlier?” Galia asked again.

He sighed. “Yes.”

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“But how could she, when she’s just a magician like you, not a god-

dess?”

Because I’m supposedly not just a human magician anymore either.

“She’s more powerful than anyone realizes.”

“But she can’t be more powerful than the Four.” Although Galia’s

voice started out strong, it wavered at the end. “She’s not on Their level.

No one can be.”

Kron tore his gaze away from Bella and stared northwest. Some-

where far away past the courtyard wall stood Salth’s crystal castle.

Thinking of it made the air feel colder. “Galia, it doesn’t matter what

exactly Salth is now. We have to find a way to destroy her crystal

house.” He stomped his feet, trying to gain warmth. “It lets her steal

magic she shouldn’t have.”

“So, if we destroy her house, it will help the Four defeat her?”

“Something like that.”

Galia straightened herself to her full height. She still didn’t reach

Kron’s shoulder. “Then, how soon do you think we’ll be ready to

travel?”

Shouting broke out in the corner where the Winter Avatars stood.

Ice coated the walkway, and the plants there had turned a sickly brown.

“It’s your fault!” Domina shouted. “I told you I was going to make

it rain! Why did you make it so cold?”

Caye balled her fists as she breathed heavily. Then she raised her

gaze to meet Domina’s. “I started first. You should wait your turn.”

“I don’t need to wait for you! I’m a councilman’s daughter! I out-

rank you!”

The third Winter Avatar stepped forward. “You’re an Avatar now,

Domina. Your old rank doesn’t mat—”

He slipped and fell, taking Caye down with him. Domina smirked.

Kron glanced at Galia. “The Avatars have had magic for less than a

day. How well do you think they’ll fare against someone who was born

with her magic and has access to a power reserve?”

Galia’s dismayed expression spoke for her.

C H A P T E R F I F T E E N

Spring Returns

Three days later, Kron paced up and down in the courtyard as the

Avatars watched him. “Before you’re ready to face Salth, you need to

know how to defend yourselves with magic,” he said. “There are too

many dead bodies by her crystal house to be a coincidence.”

Several of the Avatars widened their eyes or turned pale. However,

none of them, even Domina, fled. Perhaps the Four had chosen them

not just for their natural talents and interests, but for bravery—or stub-

bornness.

Kron continued, “So you need to find ways to use your new magical

talents for both attack and defense. Go ahead and start.” He deliberately

stared at Domina. “And try not to freeze the other Avatars.”

Galia opened her mouth to say something, but he quickly added,

“Galia, you’ll be supervising the others while Bella and I discuss strat-

egy.”

He hadn’t intended to say that, but once he did, it made sense. Bella

had met Salth before and knew what she was capable of. Perhaps, since

they were both women, Bella might have some insights into Salth that

Kron lacked.

He took Bella by the arm and drew her away. For a moment they

stood together and stared at the trees, which had put out buds and baby

leaves despite the chill in the air.

“Any idea who did that?” Kron asked.

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“I don’t think it was one of the Summer Avatars. They all worked

on flowers and weeds.” Bella crinkled her nose. “Except Janno. But he

tried to make a tree grow taller and straighten out, not bud. And he was

working in another corner anyway.”

“Then either his reach is longer than we realized, or else this is

Salth’s work again, mixing up the seasons.”

“An insult to the Four,” Bella said. She looked around as if hoping

for Fall to reappear and tell them all was well. At this point, Kron would

have been happy to see Her too, even if She hated him for being a man.

All of the Avatars were dispirited from the Four’s continued absence.

No matter how often he told the Avatars that the Four were too powerful

to work with mortals and that was why They needed the Avatars, the

new magicians wanted to work with the Four, not Kron. He was a poor

substitute.

Kron sighed. “Bella, unless the Four assist us, I don’t believe this

plan of Theirs is going to work. It doesn’t matter how much magic They

gave you or how many Avatars They make, Salth is one of the strongest

magicians I’ve ever known—and that was before she turned her house

into a crystal trap. I don’t see how taming animals and killing weeds

will stop her.”

“It must, Kron.” She looked up to him with such hope in her eyes he

was loath to contradict her. “We don’t even know yet how much we can

do, but when we all join together, our magic will be stronger than

Salth’s.”

He didn’t speak, but he raised an eyebrow.

“Well, maybe not that strong. But definitely strong enough to take

down that crystal house.” Bella shivered. “I hope she’s not sacrificing

more people in there.”

No, because they’re dying before they get there.
Kron brushed her

hair away from her eyes. “Don’t be in such a rush to face Salth, espe-

cially if you don’t feel ready. You need years of practice and study to

master magic.”

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“But what about the changing seasons?” Bella pointed to the bloom-

ing tree. “What if more than one tree blooms or ripens at the wrong

time? What if they all do? People will starve!”

“Then maybe you and the other Avatars should focus on keeping the

Fours’ seasons straight instead of destroying Salth,” Kron said. The Av-

atars would be safer in Vistichia than in Salth’s domain. “If you can’t

counteract her magic here, how do you expect to face Salth on her own

territory, when her power’s not stretched thin?”

“What do the Four want us to do?” Galia asked as she came over to

them. “That’s what we need to ask ourselves.”

Couldn’t she give them a few heartbeats to themselves? He should

have led Bella back into their quarters and let the others think they were

making love in the middle of the day. Maybe then they would have had

some privacy—and a lot more pleasure than discussing Salth.

Caye wandered over, her hands clasped together as if she held a

spark. “Maybe if we pray to the Four, They’ll return and tell us if we

should stay in Vistichia or destroy Salth’s crystal palace.”

“I wish there was a way we could do both,” Bella said.

Galia perked up. “What if we split the group? Half of us could stay

here and guard the city, while half of us travel with Kron to tear down

Salth’s house.”

“Because six of you won’t be enough,” a familiar voice said from

behind Kron. “All of you will be needed to defeat Salth.”

“Spring!” the Avatars shouted at once. The ones who were still prac-

ticing their magic halted and raced toward the Goddess. Kron turned

around with less enthusiasm. When he saw Spring, his eyes widened in

surprise. Normally She bubbled over with energy and magic, but now

She seemed diminished. Her hair lacked luster, and Her face, while still

unlined like a maiden’s, showed signs of strain under Her eyes. Kron

couldn’t smell the spring flowers the Goddess used as perfume. But Her

smile was as warm as ever as She greeted each Avatar by name. She

saved him for last.

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“And thank you, Kron Evenhanded, for leading the Avatars during

Our absence.”

“What happened?” Janno asked. “Why didn’t You return to us

sooner?”

Galia raised her hand as if she meant to chastise her son, but he