season avatars 01 - seasons beginnings (30 page)

Janno swayed as she reached him. Silently, she touched her hand to his

throat. Then she drew back and smacked his face. He gave her a hard

look and rubbed his red cheek, but otherwise he didn’t protest.

Bemused by how rapidly and effectively the travelers had been dis-

armed, Kron hurried over to Galia and Janno to offer his assistance.

Galia, pale and out of breath, leaned on his arm as he escorted her back

to the ship.

“What did you do to them?” he whispered. “How long will it last?”

A couple of the swordsmen shouted and strained to pursue them, but

the plants gripped them securely.

“I only put Lammar to sleep,” she replied. “I didn’t do anything to

the rest of them.”

“Then what—”

A fierce cry from behind them made Kron turn around. One of the

swordsmen was clever enough to slash the weeds holding him with his

swords. He had to twist and bend at impossible angles to do it without

injuring himself, but although more grass clutched at him, he mowed it

down easily. He paused for a moment to grimace and slap at something,

then he took a couple of steps toward them, sword pointed at one of

Janno’s kidneys.

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At last, here was Kron’s chance to use his own magic. The sword

was the same strong metal that had baffled him earlier, but the hilt was

weaker. A couple of magical pushes in the right spots, and the sword

fell off the hilt. The swordsman stopped to stare at it. Kron couldn’t

understand the language he used, but the words had to be foul.

Bella scurried up the ladder to give them space to climb. Galia and

Janno went next, followed by Kron. Domina posed at the side of the

Avatar
as if she meant to hurl lightning at the strangers. As soon as

everyone was aboard, Caye sent a burst of wind to drive them away

from the bank. The boat lurched, sending everyone sprawling. Kron

barely had time to throw the pearls and gems at Lammar before they

sailed out of range.

With a groan, he sat down on the deck as his energy faded away.

The rest of the Avatars copied him. Galia stared at Domina for several

minutes before the Winter Avatar finally brought them beer and bread.

They ate in silence for a few heartbeats before Janno asked, “What

made them twist and stomp around like that? That wasn’t my doing.”

“It was mine,” Bella announced with a smug smile. “All the fleas in

their furs suddenly woke and bit them.”

Kron bit back a laugh, then toasted his wife.

* * *

Bella used birds to watch the travelers in case they decided to pursue

the
Avatar
, and Caye and Domina pushed themselves to melt the ice

and sail upriver even faster than they’d already been traveling. A few

travelers did pursue them on horseback, but by the time both of the

Winter Avatars collapsed from exhaustion, the
Avatar
had outpaced

them. The Western Mountains were visible in the distance, a sterile

landscape made all the more astonishing by the number of animals flee-

ing from it. Herds of wild goats and deer trotted past as if unconcerned

by the wolves and mountain lions trailing them. Flocks of birds—Bella

reported they contained everything from songbirds to seabirds to birds

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of prey—darkened the sky overhead. Bella clung to the side of the boat

and stared at all the creatures as if she meant to gather them with her

gaze.

Kron came over to join her. “It seems as if our friends from this

afternoon had reason to leave.”

After a few heartbeats, Bella nodded.

“Are they still following us?”

She shook herself. “Who, the travelers? They could be. The last I

noticed them, two horses were still traveling upstream.” She smiled,

and her eyes shone with light. “Forgive me, Kron. All these animals,

unlike anything I’ve seen before…they’re beautiful.”

He couldn’t scold her when she was this excited. He hadn’t seen her

like this since the first moons of their marriage. “Never mind about the

travelers. I’m sure they’ll give up and return to their caravan when they

realize we’re so far ahead.”

Some of the joy left Bella’s face. “So, what did you take from them?

Was it worth the trouble?”

His face grew warm. “It’s a fire starter made of a metal I’ve never

seen before. It might be useful against Salth.”

“But why did you take it?”

Kron sighed. “It’s hard to explain.” He did his best to describe what

had happened, not sparing either Janno or himself in the details. “I’m

not sure why they’re so protective of something non-magical, though.

It wasn’t even their only sample of the metal. The swords were made of

it too.”

“Could it be sacred to them?” Bella asked. “Or something that’s im-

portant to their tribe?”

“Perhaps.” Kron leaned forward, studying the living landscape in

front of them. “It was well done with the distraction you created this

afternoon.” There was more he longed to tell her, how he’d worried

about her having magic at first but now couldn’t imagine her without it,

that he’d still feel the need to protect her no matter how powerful she

was, that he wished they could stay in this peaceful moment forever,

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S a n d r a U l b r i c h A l m a z a n

without worrying about Salth or Sal-thaath or the caravan. He even

wished he could be a better husband to her and give her the children she

craved. But no words could show her everything in his heart. Even a

kiss seemed inadequate, but he swept her into one anyway. The taste of

her sweet mouth made him pull her closer to him. She wrapped her arms

around him, and their kiss deepened….

“If you two keep that up, you’re going to be making a child right in

front of us all.” Galia cackled as she brought out a big bowl of boiled

grains and vegetables. “When are you going to show this magical new

artifact to us, Kron?”

He glared at her for spoiling the mood, but she ignored him and por-

tioned out their meal. The other Avatars crept over to join them, all

except for Domina and Caye. They collapsed at their stations and re-

fused to budge. Galia brought each of them their portions and urged

them to eat.

Kron waited until everyone was satisfied before bringing out the fire

starter and passing it around. “Notice how hard the material is,” he said.

“I haven’t had a chance to test it yet, but I expect it will be less likely

to rust or go soft over time than bronze. That means it will be able to

resist Salth’s time magic.”

“Really?” Galia played with the loose skin on her hands. “I didn’t

think anything could resist time.”

“Well, some things last longer than others. I’ve made some artifacts

that will protect you. Bella, could you fetch them, please? We’re close

enough to her domain that you should never take them off.”

Kron had designed the Avatars’ protective artifacts as snug bracelets

with miniature sundials and clasps enchanted to stay shut until the

wearer pinched it. To invoke the Fours’ protection as well, each bracelet

bore an oval piece of glass colored to match the God or Goddess the

Avatar served. He’d guessed at the sizes, but most of the bracelets fit

well. Only Janno’s was too small, but Kron was able to coax it to ex-

pand. He set aside the last four bracelets for the quartet still in Vistichia.

He’d bring them along when he fetched them.

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Bella helped the other Avatars figure out how to open and lock the

clasps. Domina sat up and spun the bracelet around her wrist. “Do we

need to do anything to make this work, Kron?”

“No. The spell is always active.”

“You could have added a few more gems to mine,” Domina said.

Galia glared at her, but Magstrom chuckled and said, “When we re-

turn to Vistichia, I’ll give you all the gems you want.”

Ah, so the wind blows that way, does it? Better you’re with her than

me, Magstrom.

Janno and a couple of other Avatars grinned and made sly com-

ments. Kron let it continue for a few heartbeats while he activated

another artifact, a wooden eye. He’d scratched out the pupil to keep

them hidden from Salth. Although she might guess they were here by

the presence of foreign magic, the artifact would make it harder for her

to learn what they were discussing or doing. Once he was sure the eye

was working properly, he cleared his throat. “If we keep sailing as

quickly as we did today, tomorrow will take us so far up the Chikasi

that the river will be too shallow for this boat. Although Salth does live

close to the river, it’ll be another couple of days to journey there on

foot. But before we do that, I need to return to Vistichia and collect the

rest of the Avatars, as well as any more supplies I can buy.” He looked

at Bella. “Dearest, is there any animal that can take a message to

Vistichia faster than I can portal? A hawk or crow would be less likely

to catch Salth’s attention than my opening of a portal.”

“Maybe a falcon, but they can’t fly at night. Even if I summon one

at dawn, it wouldn’t get there until the following day.”

“I should have asked you to send one sooner. I might have, if the

travelers hadn’t distracted us.” Kron glanced down at the artifact in his

hand. “I’ll use this to disguise the portal. While I’m gone, it would be

wise to hide your magic. Don’t use it unless you have to, and if you do,

try to keep the effects from spreading over a wide area.”

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“Kron, how big of a portal are you planning to create?” Bella asked.

“Will you be able to bring our wagon and ox through? We would get

there faster.”

He hesitated. It would have been a good idea under other circum-

stances. However, they would have to bring fodder along for the beast,

since it wouldn’t be able to find anything to eat in Salth’s domain. And

while his magic didn’t limit the size of the portals he could create, larger

ones would attract more attention than one a person could slip through.

He shook his head. “No, I’m afraid that’s too risky. We’ll all have

to walk.” He avoided glancing at Galia. Despite the health and vigor

Spring had given her, she was most likely to slow them down. That was

also a risk, but Kron thought he could manage to conceal a small, slow

group better than a larger, fast-moving one.

“Anything else we need to know about Salth or her house?” Galia

asked.

“You’ll have to prepare yourselves for pitiful corpses and possible

monsters.” Kron omitted the part about them possibly being the same.

“We should set a watch, starting tonight.”

Kron and Janno wound up sharing the first watch. Everyone else

spent the night in the cabin and hammocks, since this might be their last

opportunity to do so. Even the animal migration had stopped at sunset.

Now the stars shone down on the ice and snow, with the white expanse

broken up by dark mounds where herd beasts huddled together.

“Kron, are you sure we can’t use this portal thing to go straight to

Salth’s house?” Janno asked. “It would be much easier on my mother,

and it would give us a chance to sneak up on Salth.”

“You expect to sneak up on the world’s greatest magician by using

magic? That’s like scattering gold and jewels behind you and hoping

thieves won’t trail you home.”

“Well, can you use magic as a trap? Set it off in one place while

we’re somewhere else?”

“Maybe.” Kron scratched his chin. “But then she’d definitely know

I’m here, if she hasn’t sensed us already. We’ll see in the morning.”

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“Then I suppose I should let you rest.” Janno winked. “Or not,

maybe.”

“Maybe would be more of a yes if there weren’t so many of you

around,” Kron said. “Or maybe you should find yourself a wife of your

own, so you don’t have to poke your nose into my business.”

Janno’s expression sobered. “I’ve had two wives. First one died try-

ing to give me a son and a daughter at the same time. I lost the second

one during the last plague.”

That had taken place a couple of years before Kron had arrived in

Vistichia, plenty of time to mourn and move on. “You must have loved

her very much,” Kron said.

“She was fair, but perhaps too quiet for me.” Janno sighed. “Mother

tells me all the time how much she’d like a grandchild. I suppose when

we’re done with Salth and go home, I should find a new wife. That

shouldn’t be hard now that I’m an Avatar. Hopefully the next one will

be a love match, like what you and Bella have.”

Kron smiled. “If I was the master of time like Salth, I’d spend it all

with her.”

With that, Kron focused on creating more protective amulets for the

rest of his shift.

* * *

Caye and Domina still looked weary when everyone rose at dawn,

but they pushed off without complaint. The morning’s sailing brought

them a better view of the Western Mountains, grey mounds with tops