Boroda pushed the Celestine away into the infinite darkness. Fritz watched it shrink in the distance.
“The Czar is a very wealthy man,” Boroda said. “Most of his wealth comes from the mines in the Central Mountains.”
“We heard about those,” Fritz said. “We used to tell new orphans that if they didn’t behave, they’d get sent there and fed to a troll.”
Boroda grimaced. “There is a seemingly endless supply of precious metals and gems, but the rock is very difficult to cut through. There are natural tunnels that make the metals and gems more accessible, but an average-sized man can’t fit in there. A small boy, however …” His voice trailed off.
Fritz went pale.
“A small boy can fit with relative ease.” Boroda ground his teeth. “By the time I discovered they were using child labor in the mines, Czar Nicholaus was already addicted to the wealth and beyond my council. I began to look for allies to help, but the Czar is an arrogant, paranoid man who will kill at a whim, so looking for help within the Czar’s ranks is a slow, dangerous process.”
“Can you stop him?”
Boroda paused.
“I am trying, but there are many forces at work that prevent me from just killing him.”
“Like what?” Fritz demanded more harshly than he’d intended.
Boroda ignored the tone. “Every leader of the Five Kingdoms has a Life Bond, of sorts, with their wizard.”
Fritz was stunned.
“It’s not as restrictive as the one we share, but it’s similar,” Boroda explained.
“Also, there’s the question of succession, as well as The Order’s response to unsanctioned regicide,” he added.
“So, you built the Celestine to figure out where the Czar was getting his slave labor from?” Fritz said, confused.
Boroda laughed softly. “No. I could have figured that out on my own, though I do watch the orphanages regularly.”
He looked at Fritz warmly. “That is how I found you. I’ve been monitoring Ivanov’s for quite some time and happened to be watching the night you snapped.”
Fritz gasped at the sudden realization that the other boys at Ivanov’s were not adopted but carted off to the mines. He clutched his stomach and wished he was on solid ground. “Why did you build the Celestine, then?”
Boroda paused, deep in thought. He finally faced Fritz and spoke in a calm, resolved manner. “I built it for the eventual war I will wage on the Czar.”
Fritz inhaled slowly, swallowing halfway through the breath. “Boroda, I have to confess something.”
Boroda looked at him. The light of the Celestine was growing dim, and the blue pallor of this world darkened his features.
“I traveled to the Czar’s palace to figure out where my brother lives,” Fritz began. “I only wanted to keep an eye on him after the meeting with the Czar. I nearly got caught, but I overheard the Czar talking to Borya and another wizard about killing someone named Klazinsky.”
Boroda flinched.
“The Czar ordered the Black Wizard to kill him and also to be his protection at an upcoming party.”
Boroda’s eyes flashed with anger. “Why didn’t you tell me this immediately?”
“I thought you’d be mad at me for going there,” Fritz stammered. “I’m sorry. I should have said something.”
“You’re positive it was Borya?” Boroda gripped Fritz’s arms tightly.
Fritz nodded.
“Tell me the whole story. Leave nothing out,” Boroda commanded.
Fritz told him the story and included every detail, from his hiding place to the rat perched on the Black Wizard’s shoulder. When he finished recounting the ordeal, Boroda said nothing.
They continued to glide through the air until they touched down on a hard floor; the blackness faded away, and the training room appeared in its place.
“Never speak of this to anyone,” Boroda said and disappeared in a flash.
Without hesitation, Fritz traveled to his room.
As he dressed for bed, he thought about all the boys at the orphanage who had been “adopted.” He felt sure they were sent to work in the mines and wondered if any still remained alive.
He pushed the dark thoughts from his mind and traveled to the library. He needed to clear his head. He gathered the books he’d been studying and muttered about the cleaning spell that reshelved them every night.
Next, he traveled in his wooden doll and sat it beside him in the window nook.
“Hello, Drosselmeyer,” it said flatly, the rubber vocal folds vibrating with help from an enchanted brass ring around its waist.
“Hello, Doll,” he responded. “Ready to test more spells tonight?”
“Yes, Drosselmeyer,” Doll responded.
Fritz leaned back, opened a book on physical transformation and laid it next to the book on anatomy. He began tweaking the facial patterns of his doll.
“Smile,” he commanded, and the doll responded but with an unnerving effect.
“Yikes!” Fritz recoiled. “It’s your eyes. Why aren’t they squinting?”
“I am unsure, sir,” Doll responded mechanically.
Fritz turned to the section on eyes and read until sleep forced his own eyelids shut.
He dreamed about eyes that night, but not the penciled drawings in the anatomy books. He dreamed about Marzi’s eyes. Deep pools of brown that sparkled with the warmth of a thousand suns every time she smiled.
Her eyes turned dark and slowly faded into the sad, searching eyes of the boys he’d known in the orphanage. They were trapped underground and reached out for him. He tried to grab their outstretched hands but couldn’t grasp them.
The mountain cave opened, the narrow gaps turning into teeth. The boys screamed as the newly formed, stony troll ground them in its maw.
Fritz jolted awake, sweaty and shivering. He dressed and sat in his chair by the fireplace until it was time for breakfast.
Boroda was absent, so he traveled in his own food and left the dishes on the table.
When he stepped out from the secret hedge near the school, the sunlight peeked through the clouds like a pleasant surprise. He basked in the warmth and thought of Marzi’s eyes from his dream last night. He meandered toward the school, soaking in every ray of warmth.
Chapter 15
That Monday, Fritz arrived first. He settled down, pulled out his books, and started on his first assignment when Marzi rushed in.
She emptied her bag frantically and pulled out a box. She slid it to Fritz and beamed. “Try it!”
Fritz opened the lid, cautiously at first, then tossed it back and grabbed a cookie from the stack.
“Did you lose another bet?” he asked and bit off a large chunk.
“What do you think?” Marzi asked.
“It’s very chewy,” Fritz said. “But it’s still good. What flavor?”
“I invented them after I made your cookies,” she said excitedly. “I’ve had to work in secret, so it’s taken me a bit longer than I wanted, but I’m almost there.”
“Almost where?” Fritz swallowed and took another bite. “I think you should know by now that I’m not great at reading your mind, so unless you like our game of twenty-one questions, you should just tell me.”
Marzi ignored him. “I felt horrible about leaving Toby with just a sweet roll. It’s hardly filling and has no nutritional value. Ever since then, I’ve been working on a recipe that will keep someone full for up to a week.”
Fritz stopped chewing and looked down at his half-eaten cookie.
“I finally worked out the spell, and it hinges on enchanting iron and adding it to the recipe.” She put a vial of powder on the table. “We need iron anyway, so why not piggyback on it and use it to hold an enchantment?”
Fritz set his cookie down. He was feeling much fuller.
“Full is good, but you can still die from lack of nutrition,” he added.
“I know.” She frowned. “And there is no enchanted substitute for nutri
tion.”
“So how did you solve it?” Fritz pushed his homework back and shifted uncomfortably. His stomach felt like it was going to pop.
“I want to go back to Minerva Mooncup’s and see if she has any herbal blends that I can add to this to make it nutritionally effective for a week.”
“No!” Fritz said with unexpected force. “We are not going back there.”
“Come on, Drossie,” she begged. “It’s for a good cause. Besides, if we go back there to buy something, maybe she’ll tell us some information.”
“Or maybe she’ll stay true to her promise and feed us to her gilly worms.”
“Do you have a better plan for helping the starving children?” she fired at him.
“No,” he shot back.
“Then my idea is best.”
“Except for the part where she kills us.”
“We’re wizards, Drossie. She’s just a hedge witch. If we get in any trouble, we can travel out of there.”
Fritz scowled.
“Think of all the kids we can help,” Marzi said. “You can figure out how to get them all coats, and I can make sure they’re full and properly nourished.”
“Why do I have to get them coats?” Fritz complained.
“Because I’ve already figured out the food … mostly. Are you going to come with me or not?”
Fritz growled and slammed his book shut. “Fine! I’ll go, but the minute she starts yelling and those mushrooms do that glowing thing, we travel out of there, got it?”
“Got it.” Marzi smiled.
Fritz formed the wizard’s promise in a silent but forceful question.
Marzi returned the promise and, without warning, hugged Fritz tightly around the neck. “Thank you so much.”
He stuttered a quick, “No problem,” and quickly slid his book bag over his lap.
“How do I keep the kids warm, Doll?” Fritz asked the toy that evening.
“I am unsure, sir,” Doll replied.
“I wish I could just buy coats, but not everyone wears the same size,” he mused. “And who has that many coats?”
“I am unsure, sir.”
He opened a book labeled Practical Spells and Enchantments for the Busy Wizard. He’d found the book while researching mind control, and the cartoon illustrations of a smiling housewife creating various spells and enchantments had caught his eye. The book had a section in the back of patterns to make clothing, and Fritz wondered how to manufacture the number of coats needed to clothe all the beggar children in Anadorn.
Fritz found a spell in the book to keep children warm by enchanting a brass button and sewing it on an undergarment in case the child lost their coat.
“I guess I could make them all shirts, but they’d have to be different sizes.” Fritz fell back on the cushioned pillows in his library nook. He stretched out his finger and traced Doll’s outline absentmindedly. “What has buttons but doesn’t need to be worn?”
Doll rotated his head. “I.”
Fritz waited for Doll to finish his statement. He sat up and made sure the enchantment was still working.
“Doll, what has buttons but doesn’t need to be worn?” he asked again.
Doll blinked. “I.”
“I … am …” Fritz coached the toy through the scripted response, checking the spell for a glitch. “I am … unsure.” He finished and reiterated the question.
“What has buttons but doesn’t need to be worn?”
“I,” Doll answered again and blinked.
Fritz bolted upright. “Doll, you’re a genius.”
Doll had no learned response for that.
“Dolls!” Fritz said and jumped up from the seat. “I can make a doll for each child and enchant the buttons to keep them warm. One size fits all, and if you don’t want to carry a doll, you can put it in your pocket.”
He danced around the room, singing “Pickety Wickett sailed over the sea to find a rare gift for Rosamund Lee.”
He stopped dancing long enough to put an enchantment on Doll that would make him tap his feet in time to the music, then continued to jump around the library. When the clock struck midnight, he saw his books disappear from his window nook and materialize back into their slots.
He hurled an epitaph at the cleaning spell, just for good measure, and traveled back to his room for the night.
Fritz shared the good news with Marzi before first period.
She shushed him and glanced around. “Stop saying ‘enchant’ so loudly.”
Fritz grimaced. “Sorry. I’m going to … sew the buttons?”
“Tell me in the library,” Marzi said and turned toward the classroom. Her long hair whipped out as she spun, and Fritz watched it fall back into place.
He trotted to catch up with her.
During lunch, Edward approached the apprentice’s table. “Drossie, may I speak with you?”
“Sure.” He followed Edward into the hall.
“I just found out my brother is going to be here this weekend. We’re going to have a State’s Dinner for all the Southerners next week. Mom said I can invite someone,” he said. “I figured I’d ask you.”
“Thank you. Tell your mom I accept.” Fritz clapped his hand on Edward’s shoulder.
Edward gave him the date and time to be there.
“What have you found out from your brother so far?” Fritz asked him.
“Nothing.” Edward dropped his head. “I don’t know how to find out.”
“That’s ok,” Fritz said through clenched teeth. He figured it was better to keep Edward in the dark anyway. “If you can make the introduction, I can try to get some information.”
Edward promised he would and even shook hands on it. They parted and Fritz sat back down at the table.
“What’s going on with Edward?” Faruk asked casually.
“Nothing,” Fritz replied.
“Southern Kingdom, huh, Drossie? Central Kingdom not enough?” Vivienne said, just loud enough for the table to hear.
Gelé slapped Vivienne’s hand. “Shh.”
Andor grinned and glanced back and forth, confused.
“Giving up on Central Kingdom already?” Faruk asked and winked.
“Faruk!” Marzi warned. “You shouldn’t talk about this in the open.”
“It’s just us,” Vivienne cut in. “No one can hear us.”
“Marzi’s right,” said Gelé. “Save it for the garden.”
“Speaking of which,” said Vivienne, “full moon is in a couple days, and I’m getting a new dress!”
“I’m getting a new one, too!” said Gelé.
“What?!” Vivienne nearly shrieked. “What does it look like?”
“It’s so beautiful. It’s made of a metal weave with blue gems,” her twin said. “The tailor said he will have it finished tomorrow. I can’t wait!”
“What happens at the full moon?” Fritz asked.
“That’s when our ‘aunts and uncles’ meet,” Faruk hinted with an obvious wink.
“Ah!” Fritz said, suddenly understanding.
They continued to chat until the bell rang then left for their classes.
That afternoon in the library, Marzi finished her work shortly ahead of Fritz and began making plans for the next day.
“Let’s go to Minerva’s tomorrow right after school. I hope it won’t take longer than two hours, so I don’t have to tell Hanja where I’ve been.”
“Same,” Fritz agreed. He traced the bone structure of the barn owl’s wings on some paper and checked his work. Satisfied, he folded it up and put it in his bag.
“If I can get the herbs I need, I’ll bake the food Thursday and Friday night and then we can meet on Sunday to distribute them.” She picked up her bag from the floor. “Can you have the dolls ready by then?”
“I will,” Fritz said. “I think there might even be loose buttons in our storage. Wouldn’t be surprised. Everything else in the world is stored in there.”
Marzi stood up. “Thank you so much for
helping me do this. It really means a lot to me.”
Fritz joined her. “Glad to help.”
She stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. She walked ahead, and Fritz stood there, frozen. She turned to see what was wrong.
“Seriously, Drossie. You have to stop smiling like that.”
Fritz dropped from the bar where he’d been doing pull-ups and walked in a circle, waiting for the burning in his muscles to subside.
“Do we have any buttons in storage?” Fritz asked.
Boroda frowned. “Probably. Why?”
“I would like to use them for an experiment,” Fritz said.
“What kind of buttons?”
“Brass would be ideal.”
“Let’s see.” Boroda disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Fritz hurried after him.
When he stepped into the hallway of Anadorn Market, Boroda had just finished unlocking the door. They walked down several aisles, searching for the accessories.
Bolts of cloth lay stacked in neat piles. The material was thick, yet very soft to the touch. Several packages of batten sat nearby, and a few shelves down, near some ornate masquerade costumes, was a trunk filled to the brim with buttons of every conceivable shape and size.
“Will these do?” Boroda asked.
“Yes!” Fritz exclaimed. He ran his palms over the buttons and let them cascade through his fingers.
“Good. I have a meeting to attend. I will stop by the shop and have them deliver some needles and thread.”
“Oh! Thank you,” Fritz said, then looked around. “I can’t believe we don’t have any up here.”
“We may, but it would be a tragic case of both literally and figuratively looking for a needle in a haystack. You are welcome to use any of it you want.” Boroda motioned to the trunks of buttons.
“I’ve been called away to an emergency meeting. Enjoy your evening, and we will continue training tomorrow.” He bowed slightly and disappeared.
Fritz memorized the locations of everything and traveled back to his room. He traveled in the cloth, buttons, and batten, and while he waited for needle and thread, sought out a pattern for a doll.
Practical Spells and Enchantments for the Busy Wizard had several patterns. Most were too difficult and too time consuming for Fritz, but one pattern in the Crafts to Teach Your Children chapter was extremely simple.
Drosselmeyer: Curse of the Rat King Page 16