Wicked As You Wish

by Rin Chupeco

  “Alex was only five when Maidenkeep was overwhelmed, and there’s no one who knows its secrets.” Zoe paused, thinking hard. “There’s a reason you and the Dame are so invested in meeting with us. Are we gonna win this? Are you predicting that we can free Avalon?”

  “I can say this much: If you had traveled here without the young Makiling in tow, you would have failed, and the whole of Avalon would have been condemned to a perpetual winter.”

  A chill took hold of Tala. “I can’t—you can’t put all this on me. How can my being here change things so much?”

  “Your curse does more than just negate magic; it clouds the destinies of those around you. I am sorry that you are the one who must bear this burden. For all her wisdom, I sometimes wonder if Maria Makiling made a mistake to allow her descendants to become children of chaos.”

  “You say we’d lose if Tala weren’t here with us,” Zoe said shrewdly, “but you didn’t say that her being with us now means we’ll succeed either.”

  “Yes,” the priestess agreed. “I did not.”

  “Are you serious, Zoe?” Tala exclaimed. “You’re not put off by her saying you might have died if I hadn’t gone through the looking glass with you?”

  “Of course I am. I’m damn frightened, is what I am. But if I let everything that scared me also get to me, then I’d still be hiding out at that gingerbread cottage. Heck, I’d still be in NYC, ignoring the Cheshire’s summons. My mother sure as hell tried to keep me from leaving. You might think it’s a curse, Tala, but to me you’re a good piece of luck, because you’re giving us a fighting chance. The Dame told us there was something we needed to find here.”

  “Yes, you do. I am why she asked you all to come to this small, unassuming town.” The priestess glanced outside her window, where the sounds of merriment wafted through. “My granddaughter is not looking forward to the marriage as much as my daughter is.” She laughed. It was a rich, vibrant sound.

  “But destiny, sometimes, is easier to change than desire. Would you like to know of your doom, young Makiling?” The words should have sounded horrifying to Tala, if not for the kindly, friendly way she said them.

  The woman opened a large cupboard. Inside were bottles of different sizes and shapes. No two liquids, it looked, were even of the same color. Some of these she poured into smaller flasks, which were then placed into a pouch. “Some are doomed to prick their fingers on their sixteenth birthday, or turn into stone, or become king. But your spellbreaking makes you unpredictable, young Makiling. I only know of one way to foretell a Makiling’s doom, would you like to hear it?”

  Tala faltered. “I’m not sure I want to know what my doom is.”

  “You are not ready,” the priestess said, nodding. “There will be time enough later. For now, it is important that you do what you feel, rather than what you know. When you are ready for answers, you must come to me again.” She turned her head to regard Cole, who had suddenly gone pale, his eyes wary. “And what of your doom, Nicholas of Nottingham?”

  “That’s none of your business.”

  The old woman laughed again. She glanced at Zoe.

  “My mother had mine told when I was born.” The girl’s face was even whiter than Cole’s. “She insisted. I don’t believe in any of it.”

  “Yours is not a pleasant doom, it is true. Perhaps that will change with time. Fear has never been your enemy, Zoe Fairfax; it has always been doubt. Now, I have a boon to ask. There is something I would like you to bring to Maidenkeep, something that could aid in the prince and the Duke of Wonderland’s war against the Beiran queen.”

  “Why not bring it yourself?” Cole countered.

  “Because I cannot leave this village.” The woman set the pouch onto the table nearest to where they sat. “Ikpe comes from a long line of Aesopian warriors. They were valiant fighters, yet their descendants have long since forgotten the darker arts of war in peacetime. Now, they have embraced the art of life, and this I will not change for anything. To leave now would sentence Ikpe to death.”

  “You could be lying,” Zoe said.

  “All seeresses speak what they know to be true, Lady Fairfax. It is why people fear us, and hate us.”

  Their gazes locked for several seconds. “I do believe you,” Zoe said, if a little reluctantly.

  “Will you accept my request, then? Naturally, I will pay for the trouble.”

  “Oh, but you don’t need to pay us any—”

  The priestess tipped over one of the small pouches on the table, and small silvery spheres the size of marbles rolled merrily across the surface, effectively silencing Zoe. Cole’s eyes widened, and he whistled low.

  “Those are glyphs.” Zoe’s hands trembled as she picked one up. The small gem sparkled against her fingers; one could almost look straight through it. “Silver-marked glyphs.”

  “Silver-marked?” Tala asked.

  “Gray-marked are the most common. Blue-marked are used for mostly defensive spells like those cast on the walls, and green-marked have some elemental properties, like mine does.” Zoe indicated her whip. “Fire, ice, lightning, and so on. But silver-marked spellstones are those forged specifically for binding segen. They’re so rare that no known sword’s been forged with it in the last three hundred years.” Zoe’s voice trembled. “One of these alone would be almost priceless. I can’t accept something so—”

  “You will take these with my gratitude and my blessings.” The priestess was firm. “Along with a bag of my medicine charms. You will need them long before you reach Lyonesse. What I ask of you in exchange is worth a hundred times as much.”

  The firebird lifted its head and growled. Without warning, it stretched its wings, leaped, and flew out the cottage door, angry snarls blistering the air in its wake. From somewhere farther away, Tala heard the unmistakable sounds of howling, coming from the direction of the village.

  “Ah. The butterflies.” The priestess closed her eyes, resigned. “Your Makiling curse is a good lesson in humility, Tala. Even my precautions have failed me. You will find my granddaughter at the tower.” She swept the rest of the stones back into the small sack, depositing it in turn into the larger bag. “She isn’t supposed to be there, though she thinks I don’t know. Look after her for me. Take this bag with you, with my thanks. It might be of use to you soon enough. Quickly, now. My people will take care of what Deathless are left, but you all must leave before the ice maiden comes. I can keep the frost at arm’s length, but not if it is the Snow Queen directing her full malice our way.”

  The words took some time to sink in, but the color drained from Tala’s face when they did. Zoe had reached the same conclusion a few seconds earlier. She sprung up from the chair, accepted the pouch with a hurried “thank you,” and raced out the door, taking off down the path at a dead run, Cole catching up to her quickly.

  Tala moved to follow, but the priestess blocked her path, laying a hand on her arm. “I cannot predict your doom, but of this I am sure. You will make a difficult choice at Maidenkeep, young Makiling.” Her eyes bored into Tala’s with an intensity she found frightening. “Choose wisely, Spellbreaker, and may the promise of spring guide your path.”

  She let go, and Tala, shaking, stumbled out the door and into the small secluded road leading back to the village, leaving the old woman and her secrets behind.

  * * *

  A wolf waited for them along the small path.

  Despite what the others had said, Tala had always thought of wolves as majestic and elegant creatures. That illusion was immediately dispelled. The creature barring their way was growling fiercely. It had rows of yellow canine teeth, red beady eyes, and ghostly white fur.

  It was also as big as a lion.

  The firebird was already facing off against the beast, flames bubbling up from its beak. Zoe stepped back, her whip raised. The wind seemed to pick up on her mood, whipping threateningly
around her. Tala swallowed a squeak and retreated several steps back. The wolf rumbled, its eyes following their movements, but did not attack.

  Then Cole was there, pushing his way past them.

  “What’s he doing?” It was difficult to force her voice steady, but Tala tried.

  The growling stopped as Cole approached, but the wolf showed no signs of withdrawing. The expression on its face was now strangely curious.

  “It’s all right,” Cole said to it quietly, his usual harshness leaving his voice. He sounded gentler now, the words oddly formal. “Let this one and his companions pass.”

  The wolf grumbled.

  “This one knows, but his pack mates remain inside the village and are in danger. They are not one of those made of ice that you hunt.”

  The wolf grumbled again, strangely disapproving, but moved out of their way. It sat on its haunches by the side of the path, and continued to stare at them with its shining red eyes. The firebird stuck a tongue out as it passed, and the creature’s jaws twitched, annoyed.

  “You owe us an explanation, don’t you think?” Zoe’s voice was testy.

  “It wasn’t important.”

  “You don’t consider bringing wolves to the village important?” They maneuvered past the suddenly silent animal. Zoe’s voice was still raised slightly as they ran. “How many wolves are here right now?”

  “A dozen or so. And I didn’t ‘bring’ them. They followed us.”

  “A dozen?” Zoe was not a soprano by nature, but her voice climbed several octaves into that territory.

  “They run in packs. They’re not going to hurt anyone.”

  “Do you really expect me to believe that?” The sounds of baying were growing louder.

  “They’re warning the villagers to hide. There are Deathless nearby.”

  “How would they even know that?”

  “I didn’t have time to ask.”

  “If you’d told me there were wolves around in the first place…” Zoe trailed off, stopping so abruptly that Tala nearly crashed into her from behind.

  The butterflies were now a bloody shade of red. They hovered in and out of view among the trees like eyes blinking up at them from the darkness. Trails of rosy sparks followed them, spinning threads around the village until they strung from rooftop to rooftop like a giant-sized cobweb, glowing an unearthly maroon.

  There were no longer people dancing and laughing. The men had discarded their masquerades and taken up swords and spears, but the women were already wielding weapons as effortlessly as they wore their costumes. It appeared that most of the fighting was already over; they were herding bound Deathless into the center of the plaza. Quite a few of those Deathless, Tala was quick to observe, were prone on the ground, and she wasn’t sure from where she stood if they were dead or injured.

  The innkeeper was leading their horses toward them, his wife beside him armed with a metal pan. Ken, Loki, and West were already there astride their steeds, and Alex was gesturing urgently at them to do the same. There were faint bruises along Loki’s jaw. A shallow gash on Ken’s face ran from temple to jawline, and he was no longer wearing his coat.

  Zoe took one look at West and groaned. “West.”

  “I didn’t have time to get my clothes back.” The boy wrapped his fur cloak tightly around him. “There were guys swinging axes at me.”

  “Deathless are in the village.” Ken was more shaken than Tala had ever seen him. “An ice maiden’s been here. She converted some of the villagers, and they cornered us, demanding the firebird. We didn’t have much choice. They were ready to kill us.”

  “Did you…” Tala felt sick at the thought, still staring at the unmoving figures.

  “We only knocked them out. It took some time. She…they were pretty resilient.” Ken winced and touched the side of his face, then looked down at his hand, surprised to find it shaking a little. “All this howling is making my head hurt. What’s going on?”

  “We’ll talk about that later,” Zoe said, with another glance at Cole.

  “The village has been breached, milords,” the innkeeper said urgently. “Something has gotten into the butterflies. The spells woven within them have been negated somehow, and the loss allowed some of the Deathless entry. If you are to accomplish what the priestess has decreed you must accomplish, you must leave now.”

  Tala’s mouth fell open. “No. Oh no.”

  “We grabbed your things from the rooms,” Loki chimed in. “If those Deathless were sent here to stop us, we’re putting these people in danger if we stay longer.”

  “We can’t leave you guys like this,” Ken protested.

  The innkeeper laughed. “We come from a long line of warriors, youngblood. We can handle a few nightwalkers. But now you must leave. We will pound our drums and lure the ice wolves out to give you a chance to escape their notice. Hurry now, quickly!”

  “Thank you!” Zoe dug her foot into her horse’s sides, and it went off at a brisk canter toward the gates, the others following her.

  “It’s my fault they got in,” Tala choked. “The butterfly on my hand. I changed it, somehow. The priestess didn’t predict that—she was just as surprised.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Alex said fiercely. “She knew the risks. For all you know, this was part of why we’re here in the first place.”

  “We’re not leaving just yet,” Zoe said.

  “Zo, there could be more of them around,” Loki argued.

  “There’s something we need to pick up before we leave.”

  “Why didn’t you do it earlier, then?” Ken asked irritably, laying a reassuring hand on his stallion’s mane.

  “I didn’t know we had to until about ten minutes ago.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “The tower.” Zoe shook her head in disgust. “I knew they were hiding something in there.”

  “What is it, then?”

  “The granddaughter.”

  “The one getting hitched tomorrow?”

  “Yup.”

  Ken paused, mulling that over. “Well,” he finally said, “we’ve accidentally lured Deathless in and ruined their festival. May as well kidnap the priestess’s granddaughter while we’re at it.”

  24

  In Which Pepper Is the Most Powerful Spice

  The tower looked even shabbier up close. The cracks and crumbling brickwork lining its walls had been resealed with piebald patches of mortar. In the darkness, the place looked abandoned, with only glimpses of moonlight guiding them through the snow-strewn path. The guards were now conspicuous by their absence, no doubt back in the village assisting the others in rounding up the last of the Deathless.

  “How are we getting up there?” Zoe asked, tilting her head back to take in the tower’s height. “I don’t see any stairs, and scaling walls isn’t one of my better skills. And Deathless could still be following us—they might not have gotten them all.”

  “I’m more concerned about the ice maiden responsible for turning them,” Alex said. “If she’s lurking around.”

  “Not while the wolves are here,” Cole said quietly.

  Zoe glanced at him, like she was about to say something else, then shook her head and turned away again.

  “We could use the firebird,” Loki suggested.

  But the creature had retreated behind Alex, shaking its head.

  “What’s wrong?” Alex asked.

  It shook its head again and buried its face against his shoulder, trembling.

  “Swell,” Ken said. “Now that we actually want it to fly off and explore, it refuses.”

  Alex scowled. “It’s not its fault!”

  “Miss Ayanti mentioned that the tower had the strongest of Ikpe’s enchantments,” Zoe said. “Firebirds are creatures of magic too. It could be affected by it.”

  “I’v
e got an idea.” Ken cupped his hands around his mouth. “Hey! Rapunzel, Rapunzel!” he hollered. “Let down your hair!”

  “That’s your bright idea?”

  “I said I had an idea. I didn’t say it was a good one.”

  “How’d you know her name?” West asked.

  “Girl in a tower, raised by an enchantress; Rapunzel’s as good guess as any. I’m guessing she’s dragging around forty-foot-long hair too.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “You’ve never heard of the Rapunzel story?” Tala asked him.

  West shook his head. “I always thought it was about some kind of cabbage.”

  Talking to West sometimes, Tala learned, was like trying to walk up a down escalator.

  “Maybe she’s so hideously ugly she scares people away,” Ken suggested.

  A sudden scraping noise echoed from inside the tower. Then, without warning, something was chucked out its window, bearing down on them with breakneck speed. Ken only barely managed to dance out of the way before being brained by a large metal basin that clattered noisily to the ground.

  “I heard that!” a girl’s voice, cross and irritated, floated down at them.

  “A basin?” Ken spluttered, staring down at the offending tool. “A basin? You could have hurt someone with that! You could have hurt me!”

  “Oh, get over yourself. If I really wanted to hurt you, you’d be out like a light.” An orange glow appeared by the window, like a candle had been lit from within. “Who’re you?”

  “Your grandmother sent us,” Zoe called up. “There isn’t much time to explain, but she wants you to come with us!”

  There was a pause. “All right,” the voice said. “I’m heading down.” The light disappeared.

  “Well, she was strangely easy to convince,” Zoe muttered.

  “Something’s wrong,” Cole said, almost to himself. He peered out into the darkness, frowning.