Curse of the Night Witch

by Alex Aster

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  Books. Change. Lives.

  Copyright © 2020 by Alex Aster

  Cover and internal design © 2020 by Sourcebooks

  Cover art © Fiona Hsieh/Shannon Associates

  Internal design by Danielle McNaughton

  Internal images © Shutterstock

  Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Published by Sourcebooks Young Readers, an imprint of Sourcebooks Kids

  P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567-4410

  (630) 961-3900

  sourcebookskids.com

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Aster, Alex, author.

  Title: Curse of the Night Witch / Alex Aster.

  Description: Naperville, IL : Sourcebooks Young Readers, [2020] | Series: Emblem Island ; book 1 | Audience: Ages 8-14. | Audience: Grades 4-6. | Summary: After changing the fate he has known since birth, twelve-year-old Tor Luna, accompanied by his friends Engle and Melda, must visit the notorious Night Witch to break the curse he now faces.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2019052808 | (hardcover)

  Subjects: CYAC: Fate and fatalism--Fiction. | Blessing and cursing--Fiction. | Quests (Expeditions)--Fiction. | Witches--Fiction. | Fantasy.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.1.A882 Cur 2020 | DDC [Fic]--dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019052808

  Contents

  Front Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  17

  18

  19

  20

  21

  22

  23

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Back Cover

  To JonCarlos and Luna.

  And to my grandma, who told me the story

  of the girl with the star on her forehead.

  1

  The Wish

  Tor Luna often studied his little sister’s lifeline. Today he ran a finger across Rosa’s tiny hands, and she squirmed, laughing. “Look at all of those peaks,” he said, tapping the rainbow-colored lines winding up and down her palms.

  “More than the Scalawag Range, even,” Rosa said with a smug grin. She had never seen the Scalawag Range, Tor knew—and neither had he. But the famous mountains were rumored to dwarf the ones that surrounded their village like fences.

  He closed Rosa’s hand gently with his own, satisfied. Though it was rare, lifelines could change overnight, so Tor always checked, just in case. He found the ritual comforting. Seeing Rosa’s destiny printed out in front of him, across both palms, was like witnessing her future unfold: the challenges (valleys), the trials (loops), and, of course, the accomplishments (peaks). Her lifeline was longer than average, dipping down almost all the way to her right wrist. And Tor was grateful for that.

  His mother was most grateful of all. Eight years earlier, the day Rosa was born, Chieftess Luna had studied the little girl’s hands and breathed a sigh of relief. Then, surrounded by all of their village and the hollow echo of beating drums, the Chieftess had carefully examined every inch of her newborn, searching for an emblem. The crowd moved like a wave—rocking forward in anticipation, their sharp whispers like cracks of fire. The Chieftess had not needed to look for long.

  “There!” Tor yelled, pointing at his little sister’s throat.

  A small red heart sat on the left side of her neck, directly between her jaw and collarbone. Tor’s mother smiled, and the crowd cooed approvingly. “A singer,” she said, pressing a gentle finger to the baby’s skin.

  It was a good gift. Not as rare as others, but a good emblem nonetheless. Some were born with nothing at all, the Chieftess was quick to remind her children. Markless, they were called.

  “More than the Scalawag Range,” Tor repeated with a small smile, then shot a glance at his own hands. Just like Rosa, his lifeline had never changed.

  Sometimes, he wished it would.

  The colorful lines on his palms ran steadily—boringly—straight. No high peaks, or even low valleys, to speak of. “A nice, comfortable life,” his mother liked to say, her eyes smiling like that was a good thing.

  Tor was always very quick to point out that it was not. A steady lifeline meant no pain or complications, that was true. But it also meant nothing to look forward to. No adventure.

  What was life without a dash of danger?

  There was one thing out of the ordinary about Tor’s lifeline, however. A tiny knot on his left hand, where all of the lines tied together in a small speck of a twist. It was so tiny, so unnoticeable, that the village’s elderly palm reader had squinted at it, glasses perched on the second bump of her nose, and shrugged. “I don’t see any knot,” she had declared.

  But Tor saw it. And he hoped that it meant something.

  A sliver of pink swirled across the sky, and Rosa’s dark brown eyes widened. “I’m late!” she yelled, running out of their home, built, like all of the others, into the base of a large tree.

  Tor sighed. Rosa was always late, and she always looked surprised about it.

  Moments later, a perfect melody broke through the dawn. A chorus of voices that never cracked or faltered were performing their morning song. There was shuffling outside as the village woke up, each member shedding layers of sleep, dreams, and possibly nightmares.

  The tune went on, then seamlessly transitioned into a simple song only performed once every twelve months, on New Year’s Eve. The island’s most important holiday.

  Each new year was a new opportunity to make a wish—and the Emblemites wrote theirs on leaves. On the night of December 31, each desire was thrown into a glorious bonfire.

  A wish was a sacred thing. It had to be born from the heart of true desire. And there were rules. No vengeance or violence allowed. And there were risks. Crafting bad wishes could end in the wisher being cursed.

  And, as with all things, there was luck. Of the many wishes submitted, only a few of the island’s inhabitants would find theirs granted in the new year, along with a gold star on their skin, to remind them of the gift they were given.

  Tor had written his own wish months before and had carried the worn leaf in his pocket ever since…waiting. Hearing the Eve song finally playing, he smiled and da
nced his fingers across it.

  Today’s the day, today’s the day, today’s the day, he chanted in his head until the words bled together.

  “Happy day,” his mother said from behind him. Tor jumped, quickly pulling his hand from his pocket.

  He nodded in response, then walked toward the kitchen, mumbling about finding their tin of canela tea. Just then, his father walked in, holding a tray with four clay mugs of the traditional Eve drink. Of course he’d already made it. His talent was cooking, and he had the knife symbol on his index finger to prove it.

  “Happy Eve,” his father said, planting a kiss on top of Tor’s head.

  Tor smiled, but only one side of his mouth pulled up. His father eyed him for a few moments too long. Could he tell that Tor was sweating? Was his wish sticking out of his pocket?

  Then, his father smiled back. At the same moment, Rosa crashed through the front door, black braids swinging behind her. She was humming a tune as sweet as emerald pudding, soft as the gentle ping of wind chimes. Tor’s parents looked at each other in a loving way that made him half nauseated and half happy.

  “School,” he mumbled, grabbing his lunch pack and heading out of the kitchen.

  His mother’s head turned with hawk-like speed. “This early?”

  Why couldn’t his mother be bad at her job, just this once? Care just a little less? He wouldn’t mind having an absentee mom; his friend Engle turned out just fine without having his parents around all the time. Tor swallowed and tried not to look at his feet. That would certainly give him away. “Leadership board meets before class starts.”

  He froze, waiting for his mother’s eyebrows to twist in suspicion. But that didn’t happen. She smiled, and her eyes filled with something dangerous—hope. Tor felt a knife of guilt twist in his stomach.

  His mother’s smile dropped as quickly as it had formed. “Go on, then,” she said calmly, like she believed that sounding too excited would make Tor suddenly realize he did not, in fact, want to be on leadership board.

  He backed out of the room, then ran out of the house, carefully closing the heavy front door behind him. Nervous sweat spotted his forehead as a few leaves sprinkled down from the branches that stretched above his home like welcoming arms. The leaves were purple. A powerful color, the shade of a Chieftess. Tor swallowed. He didn’t like the color at all, or what it symbolized. Unfortunately, he had the hue printed right on his skin. Two purple rings around his left wrist.

  Tor took one look at his leadership emblem and wondered if his mother would ever forgive him for what he was going to do.

  The Charmed Necklace

  Once upon a shooting star, a girl named Estrelle was given a necklace by her grandmother. It looked like a bubble and held tiny charms, crafted from glittering gems.

  That same day her grandmother put her into a boat and pushed it out to sea. The war had found their home, and escape was the only hope of living another day. Estrelle screamed for her grandmother to join her, but she could not.

  So Estrelle floated through the ocean with just her necklace, a canteen of water, and a single bag of food for ten days and ten nights.

  She was asleep, curled up in the small boat, when its bottom dragged roughly ashore.

  This was a very different land from the one she had left. The sea held just a hint of blue. The beach was a stretch of gray.

  Estrelle held her necklace tightly in her palm as she took her first step onto her new home.

  The rest of the island was just as plain. Trees wore pale leaves that fell easily with the wind, and the dirt was too dry, like the ash from her family’s hearth. Plants grew folded over, if at all. Fruits were born spoiled.

  She fought to survive in this soulless wild, filled with colorless animals and fanged, frightening beasts. Each day was harder than the last, the land barren, as if a storm had ripped right through it, taking all of the good parts for itself.

  For a while, Estelle roamed the island as though she were a ghost trapped among ruins, never speaking and forcing her memories away, knowing such happiness was not welcomed in such a gray place. Until one night, when she looked up at the sky and finally cried, missing her old life…wondering if her grandmother had survived. And, if she hadn’t, if she was looking down upon her.

  A tear fell upon her necklace; the glass cracked, and the rainbow charm fell onto her arm.

  She watched in awe as the charm sank into her skin, printed there forever. When Estrelle touched a finger to the ground, it exploded in glorious green. When she dipped her hand into the ocean, blue spiraled through the waves, until the entire sea glowed lapis lazuli. Everything she touched, from the fruits, to the trees, to the animals, to the beasts, were gifted color…until she had painted all of the island to her liking.

  When, months later, she happened upon other inhabitants on the far side of the island, she gave them each one of her magical charms, understanding very well that she could not wear them all.

  A fish, for one who found he could breathe underwater.

  A moon, for another who discovered she could control the sea.

  And a tiger, for a girl who found she could speak to animals.

  Before long, children were born with their own markings, and the original necklace was lost to time.

  And so emblems began.

  2

  Eve

  The beach was empty, save for three noisy, single-legged birds that hopped about and a mess of giant pale shells, waiting to be collected by villagers hoping to find equally large pearls inside. The tops of the shells were starting to gray, which meant they were ripe and ready to be cracked open.

  Tor flung off his shoes, socks, and school uniform with relief. When he was down to his swim trunks, the first rays of the day’s sun danced across his tanned arms, down his back, all the way to his toes, which he curled into the damp sand.

  It was a routine he had practiced for years: sneaking out at night or early in the morning, taking back roads so no one in the village would see him making his way to the ocean, just to swim. He had become an expert at walking quietly on the tips of his toes, stepping on the floorboards in his house that didn’t creak, and ducking underneath candlelit windows.

  A wave dove forward, and Tor raced to meet it, a chill pirouetting down his spine as the water worked its way through his dark hair. He moved his legs and arms in sync—forward, out, and back—just like he had seen frogs do when he was younger. He cut through the sea quickly, not only to get to his favorite reef, but also to rid himself of anger and frustration that only seemed to disappear when he swam. The water absorbed it all, taking his worries and fears and beating them until they were smooth as his father’s whipped cream. He kept going until his limbs were limp with fatigue and relief.

  Only then did he take a deep breath and let himself sink.

  A stream of bubbles trailed out of his mouth as he descended to the ocean floor. Eyes closed, faraway ringing in his ears, he felt completely at peace.

  His grandfather used to speak of the calming effects of meditation, along with the benefits of eating raw grass, which, Tor admitted, made anything else he said a bit less credible. Still—though it made Tor cringe to think he had much in common with his strange grandpa—swimming was, in a way, his meditation…the only time he felt completely whole.

  Completely happy.

  He thanked the wish-gods that he lived near such a glorious sea. The ocean off the village of Estrelle was famous, mostly because many of the sea creatures that lived there had gigantism. Starfish the size of rugs carpeted the seafloor in shades that ranged from purple to gold, and large shells often produced pearls so big they would have to be carried inland by five villagers with a net. He had even seen a crab with claws like tree trunks once.

  But it was also glorious because Sapphire Sea was indeed sapphire blue—a hue that seemed unnaturally bright, too pigmented to exist. H
e had only ever seen the rich color one other place: in the eyes of a classmate he didn’t particularly care for.

  When Tor finally reached the bottom, he blinked.

  Maybe it was because he was used to it, after swimming every day for most of his life, or maybe it was something else entirely, but Tor didn’t feel the sting of salt in his eyes. He watched the ocean world as easily as he watched life on land, and he could swallow a mouthful of seawater without feeling a single twinge in his throat.

  It wasn’t normal, he knew, not to be bothered by the salt. His friend Engle never went in the ocean for that exact reason; his eyes were more sensitive than most. On the mornings Engle joined Tor on the beach, Engle would forgo swimming entirely, instead climbing to the top of a palm tree to use his emblem to watch out for sharks and man-eating squids.

  Though his own eyes remained unbothered, Tor did feel the shudder of his lungs that meant he had been underwater too long. Still, he stayed, studying the bouquets of coral to his left. Spike, a red sea urchin Tor had watched grow from just a speck into the size of a human head, had moved, and now sat underneath the shadow of a veiny sea fan. Engle said Spike would live a hundred years, which Tor wouldn’t have believed if anyone else had told him so. But Engle knew more about the creatures of Emblem Island than even Theodora, a girl in their year whose emblem allowed her to talk to animals.

  Something in his chest contracted; his lungs officially felt like they were shriveling into raisins. Begrudgingly, Tor kicked off from the bottom, foot barely missing a starfish, shooting for the surface and gasping for air as he finally broke through.

  Hair plastered to his forehead, Tor took five big breaths. After years of swimming, he had turned it into a sort of science. Five full breaths equaled approximately two good minutes underwater.

  He was back in business.

  This time, though, Tor dove forward, not down. He was going to the Bone Boat.

  A hundred years before, a ship carrying enchanted objects sank just short of reaching shore. Before learning how to evade a shark, and even before being taught how to swim free of a riptide, Tor knew that touching the Bone Boat’s treasure was strictly forbidden. Doing so would unleash a fury-storm of repercussions: a hundred years of curses, teeth falling from the sky, the sea turning gray, blah blah blah, the same old tales Tor liked to roll his eyes at.