by Elise Allen
“Yes!” Flissa said. “That’s what I thought too. But what if it wasn’t sleep terrors? What if Raya actually cursed her? When Loriah woke up, she didn’t even remember Zinka had a cat. I had to remind her.”
“What did she say when you reminded her?” Sara asked.
Flissa shook her head. “She didn’t care. Even when I said she’d thought the cat was Raya—she blew it off. But maybe that was part of the curse—that Loriah wouldn’t remember it, so she wouldn’t believe it was possible. Maybe she would if she saw Teddy again, but she hasn’t, not since that night.”
Sara reached up and twirled one of her earrings. “But if you think Teddy—Raya—cursed Loriah and it wasn’t sleep terrors, how come we didn’t see blue sparks then?”
“The curse wore off by the time anyone tried to get the signature out,” Flissa said. “That meant there wasn’t any evidence of a curse, but there were lots of reasons for Loriah to be having terrible nightmares. The sleep terrors made the most sense.”
“And since you and Zinka lied about the fight,” Sara said carefully, “Amala didn’t have a reason to look at Zinka, and maybe find the cat.”
Flissa opened her mouth to object, but she stopped herself.
“You’re not wrong,” she admitted. “I don’t know if they would have found her, but maybe if Amala had gone right into Zinka’s room and Teddy was surprised…We should have told the truth. I just didn’t want Zinka to get in trouble. I knew she didn’t curse Loriah, and I knew it would seem like she did.”
“I get it. I’m just saying.” Sara looked up at the ceiling, thinking. “Biggest question: How can Raya be Teddy? You said it before—even powerful Mages can’t change their shape. How could Raya do it? And how would she have gotten out of the Twists?”
It was exactly the question that had thrown off Flissa, but the way Sara said it made her think about it in a new way. She whipped her head around so fast, her braid smacked her in the face. “That’s it! What if how she got out of the Twists is how she became a cat?”
“Um…that’d be really amazing…if I had any idea what you were talking about.”
“Okay, stay with me,” Flissa said. “What if Raya escaped the Twists, but just barely. What if she was in the Brambled Gates right when all the Mages hit it with their blast? We know the magic that escaped was incredibly powerful and did all kinds of unexpected things. It made the ring tree, it blew orange grass and plobquats and other plants into Kaloon, it turned regular bushes into moving animal topiaries…what if it also changed her shape?”
Sara’s eyes lit up. “So maybe, just like the plobquats and the grass and stuff, Raya was blasted out of the Twists…but all the mixed-up Mage magic in the explosion changed her. So she’s not a lioness shape-shifted into a cat at all. She’s an ex-lioness who’s now in a cat’s body!”
“Yes!” Flissa said. It would have sounded completely crazy if she’d come up with it on her own, but working through it with Sara, it made perfect sense. She couldn’t believe she’d shut Sara out for so long. Nothing was as good as the two of them together.
“So Raya comes back, and she has the same personality and the same magic, but in a much smaller and less powerful body,” Flissa said.
“And she’s probably angry, right? I mean, she did well in the Twists. It was her kind of place. But once everyone decent was rescued, it was just a bunch of seriously bad Mages. She wouldn’t have had prisoners like Loriah, she’d have been one.”
“That’s why she’d have tried to escape,” Flissa agreed, “and got caught in the big magic blast.”
“I’m with you through all that,” Sara said. Then she tapped a finger against her mouth. “But that brings us to the Zinka of it all. Why did Raya find Zinka and become her pet? How does that help her?”
Flissa twirled her braid around a finger. She really wasn’t sure why Raya would want Zinka.
“I’ve got an idea,” Sara said. “But you won’t like it.”
“That’s okay, tell me.”
“Maybe they worked together in the Twists,” Sara suggested. “We never saw Zinka there, but maybe that’s because she wasn’t Raya’s prisoner; maybe they were more like friends. So when Raya got to Kaloon, she found someone she knew would help her. That’s why I found both their signatures in the curse; they were working together.”
Flissa knew it was a good theory, but it didn’t sit right with her. It just didn’t track with the girl she knew. She realized it was possible Zinka had been lying to her, but if she was, she was the best actress in the universe. And Zinka had done things that wouldn’t make sense if she was trying to blend in and secretly work with Raya. Like after the hoodle game, when Flissa found her in the closet, crying her eyes out because her fingers wouldn’t stop bleeding.
Her fingers wouldn’t stop bleeding.
“Sara!” Flissa cried, grabbing her sister by the arms. “Sara-Sara-Sara—I’ve got it!”
“What? What’ve you got?”
“Zinka’s fingernails! They’re horrible. They’re cut to bits. Her knuckles too, they’re always raw and bleeding, and I thought it was because she was stressed and the worst nailbiter in the history of nailbiting, but what if she’s not?”
Sara looked at her uncomprehendingly. “I don’t know…what if she’s not?”
Flissa shook her head. She needed to back up. “What would Raya have needed to put a curse on all of Kaloon?”
“A bunch of really strong Mages,” Sara said. “Or a blinzer stone.”
“Exactly,” Flissa said. “And on our first day in Magic Lab, where did Amala say the blinzer stones might be in Kaloon?”
“First she said they might not be in Kaloon at all,” Sara said, “but if they were…” Sara ran her tongue over her teeth, trying to remember. “If they were, I think she said they could have been blasted anywhere. Like in a tree, or…”
Her eyes got wide, and Flissa smiled as she put the pieces together.
“Or deep underground,” Sara finished. Then she gasped. “You think Raya’s getting Zinka to dig up blinzer stones! That’s why her nails and knuckles are thrashed!” Then Sara frowned. “But they still could be in it together. Just now that Raya’s tiny, Zinka’s the one with the strength. Not that Raya would’ve dug anything up even as a lioness. She’d’ve made Loriah do that for her.”
Flissa smiled wider. Sara had figured out Flissa’s next point all on her own, and she hadn’t even realized it yet. “Exactly what you said,” Flissa said. “She wouldn’t dig on her own, even as a lioness. She’d have magicked Loriah or someone else. She’d have taken over their body and made them do it. That’s why Zinka’s nails and knuckles are a mess, and it has to be why she always has dark circles under her eyes. Raya’s making her dig at night, so she doesn’t get any sleep.”
Flissa folded her arms, proud that they figured it out. She didn’t understand why Sara still looked skeptical. “What?” she asked.
“I’m with you a hundred percent,” Sara said, “but we still can’t say for sure if Raya’s taking over Zinka, or if Zinka’s in on the plan.”
“Maybe this will help,” Flissa said.
She told Sara all about Zinka’s breakdown in the closet. She knew Zinka would see it as a betrayal, but she had to show Sara the digging and the sleeplessness were tearing Zinka apart. It proved she was doing it all against her will. Besides, it’s not like she was sharing Zinka’s secret with just anyone. It was her sister. She and Sara might not have really been the same person anymore…but at the same time, they kind of were.
Flissa was sure that when she finished the story Sara would be convinced, but instead, she frowned again. “Yeah, she was crying, but you said the cat was in her lap. If she didn’t want to do Raya’s dirty work, why was she cuddling with her?”
“There’s no way Zinka knows Teddy is Raya,” Flissa says. “She adores that cat. We’ve been under Raya’s power; we know how it feels. Zinka probably just gets that horrible feeling that her body isn’t her own, then she
walks off and spends the whole night digging for blinzer stones. She probably has no idea how it’s happening or why.”
Thinking about it made Flissa feel horrible. At least when Raya took her body over she knew the source. It had to be unimaginably terrifying to feel yourself manipulated by a force you couldn’t even see or understand.
“I hear you,” Sara said, “but if you’re right, why wouldn’t she tell somebody? She’s close with Amala. She’s close with you. She could say something. I mean, if someone’s taking my body over, keeping me up all night, and making me dig until I bleed and I don’t want to do it, I say something.”
“You’re not wrong,” Flissa said. She sat down on her bed and started playing with her braid again. “I don’t really have an answer for that. Maybe Raya’s threatening her? You remember how hard it was to even turn our heads when Raya had us under her curse. She could stand right behind Zinka and talk to her, and Zinka would have no idea it was her cat. So maybe Raya’s threatening her, and Zinka’s too frightened to say a word. Maybe she’s afraid that if she tries to speak up, this invisible thing that’s already taking her over will do something even worse to her.”
“Maybe,” Sara said, “but I’m still not convinced they’re not working together. Can we agree it’s a possibility?”
In her heart Flissa knew it wasn’t, but Sara didn’t know Zinka the way she did. She was following the facts, and her conclusions were understandable. “Yes, as long as you agree it’s also a possibility she’s totally innocent and just being used.”
“Deal,” Sara said. “So now Raya—with Zinka’s willing or unwilling help—cursed all the Genpos…but why? Why go after the Genpos?”
“No idea,” Flissa admitted. “But if she wants to hurt them, she won’t stop at a curse that just knocks them out for a while then fades away. She’ll do something else.”
“So what do we do?” Sara asked. “Do we tell Mom and Dad?”
“That a lioness from the Twists is now a tiny cat, which is something not even considered within the realm of possible magic, and that tiny cat is controlling or working with an Untwisted to dig up blinzer stones and curse Genpos?” Flissa asked. “I don’t think they’ll ever believe us. They’ll think we caught Loriah’s spell terrors.”
“Then we need some kind of proof…” Sara said. “A blinzer stone! We sneak into Zinka’s room, find where she’s hiding them, and bring them to Mom and Dad and the Council.”
“Raya’s in Zinka’s room,” Flissa said. “She won’t let us take the stones. She’ll kill us first.”
“She won’t know we’re looking for them,” Sara said. “We won’t let on. And we’ll sneak them out.”
“But if we find the stones, that’s not proof Raya cast the curse; it’s proof Zinka cast the curse.”
“Not true,” Sara said, “because Raya’s magical signature was the one everyone saw me get out of Mom. We sneak out the stones, we show the Council, they surprise the cat, take her away, and see her magical signature…then boom!” Sara threw herself backward on her bed before popping her head back up. “Problem solved.”
Flissa laughed. She wondered how much faster she’d have figured everything out if she and Sara had been talking this whole time. “I like it,” she said. “There’s still just one problem: Zinka won’t let us go through her room. Not if she’s afraid of Raya. She won’t want us to find the stones.”
“She won’t know we’re doing it, because I have a cunning plan.” She fixed Flissa with an impish grin. “How would you like to be the same princess again? Just for old times’ sake.”
After they’d planned everything out, Flissa and Sara went back into their parents’ room. The two of them, Katya, and Rouen were still busily wrangling bubblegrams, but they said they’d be heading out soon for an emergency meeting of the full General Council.
“That’s okay,” Sara said. “We were thinking we’d head to school.”
Their mother looked surprised, then she smiled sympathetically. “I’m sorry, girls. I thought you realized—with everything that happened this morning, classes were canceled. I know the school hasn’t sent out the official scrolls yet. They’ve been busy checking on all the Genpo students on dorm—”
“We weren’t thinking it was a school day,” Flissa said. “We wanted to go and show our support.”
Sara nodded. “We know you’re busy, but we thought someone from the royal family should be at Maldevon Academy to let them know we’re standing with them, and we still support their mission.”
Flissa had written that speech; the two of them had rehearsed it several times before they came into the room.
It had the desired effect. Their dad stopped listening to his bubblegram, and he and their mom gaped at their daughters, completely delighted and impressed.
“That’s precisely what we should be doing,” their dad said. “I can’t believe we didn’t think of it ourselves.”
“And you want to do it together,” their mom said, her voice a warm hug. “Yes. Go. Send a bubblegram when you’ll be back. Thank you. And be safe.”
“That’s right,” their dad said. “Any sign of trouble, don’t be afraid to use your magic. In self-defense,” he added when their mom looked at him askance, “only in self-defense.”
Flissa and Sara left the room, holding in their giggles until they were out of earshot.
When they got outside, Flissa looked longingly toward the stables. “Can’t we take Balustrade?” she asked.
Sara shook her head. “You know we need the carriage. That’s part of the plan.”
Flissa sighed and the two climbed into a carriage.
“Maldevon Academy, please,” Sara said.
The carriage started off, and they’d only been on the road for a moment when two winged scrolls flew into the open windows. Sara and Flissa opened them at the same time, and Sara’s eyes scanned quickly down the page.
Sara,
Due to the recent attack on Genpos, Maldevon Academy is hereby suspending operations until further notice. Dorms will remain open, but there will be no classes or extracurriculars. In addition, the Kaloonification Ball is postponed indefinitely. Another scroll will arrive when and if these circumstances change.
“‘If’ the circumstances change?” Flissa said. Clearly her scroll had said the same thing as Sara’s. “They might close the school for good?”
Sara was much more concerned about another part of the scroll. “They’re canceling the ball?”
“Well, yes,” Flissa said. “If they’re closing the whole school, of course they won’t have a ball. It only—”
“No,” Sara said. “Unacceptable. We have to fix this. We’re having the ball. Next step of the plan, let’s go.”
Flissa tilted her head. “Why are you so concerned about the ball?”
Sara blushed. This wasn’t the time to go into it. “Who doesn’t like a good ball? Come on, next step.”
Flissa raised an amused eyebrow, then pulled out her message milk. She unscrewed the top, tapped off the excess fluid, and spoke into the wand. “This message is for Zinka.” The wand turned blue, and Flissa recorded her message. “Zinka, it’s me, Flissa. I’m coming over; I want to check on everybody. Are you around? End.”
The bubblegram broke off and flew out the window.
“She’ll say she’s around, right?” Sara asked. It was the only part of the plan that made her worry.
“She’ll be on campus,” Flissa said, “so she’ll want to hang out.”
“Unless she’s busy covering up for a Genpo attack,” Sara said.
“Especially if she’s busy covering up for a Genpo attack,” Flissa said. “If she worked with Raya on purpose, she’ll want to make sure she acts as normal as possible. Which doesn’t mean that if she wants to hang out it means she worked with Raya on purpose.”
“Got it,” Sara said. She was sure Flissa was right, but she was still fidgety, and she knew she would be until Zinka sent her response.
“So, the b
all,” Flissa said, giving her a knowing smile. “Sounds like you really wanted to go.”
Sara smiled. She couldn’t help it. “I was looking forward to it.”
“I see,” Flissa said. She looked out the window and didn’t say anything for a while. Then, as if it was just something random she’d pulled out of thin air, she asked, “Heard any good ball-posals lately?”
“All right!” Sara cried. “I’ll tell you. Yes. Someone asked me to the ball.”
She stopped there. She didn’t know why it was so hard to just spit it out to Flissa. Probably because she wanted Flissa to approve and didn’t want to know if she didn’t.
“Someone, huh?” Flissa said.
Sara rolled her eyes. “Galric, okay? Galric asked me to the ball.”
She meant to sound like it was no big deal, but she could feel the loopy grin on her face.
“That’s perfect!” Flissa cried, and her words came out in a giddy rush. “When? What did he say? I want to know everything. Every word.”
Sara loved how happy Flissa was. It made her feel all fluttery, and she wanted to tell her every single detail, but then a large blue bubble flew in the window and popped in front of Flissa’s face.
Immediately they both heard the sound of Zinka sobbing.
“Flissa, yes, please come see me…” More sobbing, then a big wet sniff. “I don’t know what to do. Teddy’s gone. She ran away…” Lots more sobbing. “I looked everywhere, I went out with her favorite snacks, I tried everything…” Uncontrollable sobbing that turned into hiccuping, then Zinka took deep, shuddery breaths. “I’m—sorry—I just—Please come—Bye.”
Flissa and Sara looked at each other, wide-eyed.
“What do you think it means?” Flissa asked.
“What do you think it means?”
“I think maybe Raya got what she wanted out of Zinka, then ran away. I think maybe she’ll find someone else to take over for whatever comes next,” Flissa said.
“And leave her blinzer stones behind with Zinka?” Sara asked. “I don’t think so.”