by Rin Chupeco
After Cole proved he could stay upright in his saddle despite his injury, they had ridden harder, traveling a considerable distance by the time daybreak broke through the horizon.
Alex was ignoring everyone. After a few tentative questions by Zoe and Loki, they’d given up the attempts. Tala didn’t even bother to try. Alex had never exhibited any other magical abilities beyond his unfortunate frog curse, and his evasiveness about just how connected he was with the firebird was worrying. Otherwise, why refuse to explain himself? About the only thing Tala was certain of was that Alex’s dislike for Zoe stemmed from the fact she was dating his ex. That, at least, explained Alex’s passive-aggressiveness.
“Shouldn’t you be mad?” she’d asked Zoe, in a burst of frustration. “It’s clear he knows more about using the firebird as a weapon than he’s letting on.”
“Technically, that is a good thing,” Zoe pointed out. “It’s supposed to be Avalon’s most powerful weapon. Knowing how to use it works to our advantage.”
“But you’re not the least bit curious how he knows that? And why he’s being so ridiculously secretive about it?”
“I’m not going to be the person he confides to, though. If he refuses to tell you, he won’t be telling anyone else.”
Tala’s shoulders slumped. “He’s made it clear that I’m not important enough to be told.”
“I’m sorry I can’t help much,” Zoe apologized. “I think he feels responsible for Avalon, and it might be that he doesn’t want to shift that burden on you too.”
“He’s going about that through the asshole route, though.”
Ken was still having issues as well. “Nee-ya?” he asked incredulously. “Your name is Nee-ya?”
“It’s spelled N-y-a.” Like many of the other Ikpe women, the girl had smooth skin and long dark lashes. She wore a dark gray dress too coarse to have been made from anything other than rough gunny, and the bag she kept her herbs and medicine in was slung carelessly over one shoulder, along with the large broom she had insisted on bringing along.
She sat behind Loki, arms wrapped around their waist. It was obvious she was unused to riding; while not in pain like Tala had been, her gold and brown eyes kept drifting repeatedly to the ground with clear misgivings. They had no spare mounts, had been too pressed for time to purchase more in the village, and Zoe had very firmly put her foot down when it came to theft, much to Ken’s chagrin.
“You have a problem with my name?” the girl demanded.
“Of course not! It’s just—”
“Are you still hung up on my not being named Rapunzel? Do girls in towers have to go through some strange naming ritual I don’t know? Sage, or Coriander, maybe? Maybe at the next village we’ll find a girl named Nutmeg or Bok Choy.”
“I just thought it was hilarious,” Ken said, sounding injured. “And what’s with the broom?”
“You have something against brooms too?” Nya hugged its handle to her chest.
“Never mind.” Ken nudged his horse closer to Zoe. “I hope she’s worth what her grandmother gave us,” he grumbled.
“A million times worth it.” Zoe laid a palm protectively against a dress pocket, where she had stored the valuable glyphs. “We’ll talk about that later, since you’re in a foul humor this morning. What happened at the dance last night?”
“It’s not important,” Ken said sourly. “We ought to do the villagers a favor and spend a couple of days rooting out the ice maiden that made those Deathless, you know. It’s the least we could do.”
Several of the horses, including the normally docile Lass, neighed their assent.
“We’re supposed to be avoiding trouble,” Zoe reminded him. “I’m not going to forgo speed in favor of you seeking revenge. I want to get to Maidenkeep before we lose any more months outside Avalon.”
“Why does logic always have to get in the way of a perfectly good plan?” Ken grunted.
“And you!” Zoe directed her next question at Cole. “I’m going to ask you again. Why didn’t you tell us about the wolves?”
“I didn’t know they were going to be there,” Cole said calmly, like that explained everything.
Zoe’s eyes narrowed. “I recall Count Tintagel saying you’d been skulking about outside his castle. Did you know you were going to find them then?”
A muscle flexed in Cole’s jaw. “Yes.” Zoe looked triumphant. “I let them know we were traveling through their territory. Wolves can’t be forced to do anything they don’t want to.”
Zoe frowned, turning that over in her head, trying to find something wrong with his reasoning. “You should have told us, anyway,” she said stiffly.
“They’re gone. We’ve passed the boundaries of their territory some time ago.”
“Do ice wolves make it a habit of following y’all?” Nya asked. “I think I ought to be warned about that. We’ve never had them infiltrate the village before.”
“I’m sorry,” Tala blurted out. “It was me. I broke one of your grandmother’s spells.”
“You’re a Makiling, right? I’ve never seen any of Grammy’s magic dispelled before.” Nya caught the distraught look on her face and added hurriedly, “Please don’t be sad; there’s nothing to blame! Grammy wouldn’t have asked for you if she hadn’t been willing to accept all the possible outcomes. For all we know, this was supposed to happen.”
“Have you had other nightwalkers attacking beyond ice wolves?” Zoe asked her.
The girl shook her head. “Not at the village, as far as I know. The tower had been enough to keep them away. But I’m certain Avalon’s got shades and ogres and jabberwocks all up in its trousers.” She contemplated the firebird curled up inside Alex’s saddlebag, its little beak sticking out. “What is it, by the way?”
“It’s my firebird,” Alex said absently.
“Oh.” Nya blinked, and then almost shrunk away. “Oh. Oh no.”
“What’s wrong?” Loki asked.
“Grammy says it’s the firebird that’s going to lead me to my supposed corpse husband. She didn’t tell me y’all actually found it!”
“That’s probably exactly why she didn’t tell you,” Loki noted.
“Is it too late to return me to Ikpe? I need to have words with my grandmother.”
“No take backs,” Ken said merrily. Nya glared at him.
“How is it even the firebird? It doesn’t look anything at all like the pictures I’ve seen.”
The firebird growled.
“What exactly is up with this corpse-husband business?” Zoe wanted to know.
“I’m not too clear on the details, because Grammy doesn’t know either. All I know is, I’m not getting hitched to a dead guy, no matter what she foretells. It’s why I was in the tower. Grammy’s library collection is in there, with a list of every prediction she’s ever made. I was hoping to find more clues, but I was interrupted before I could…” Her voice trailed off, getting a little choked up. “Oh. She knew I was gonna be up in the tower. She was so solemn and formal when she was bidding me good night. I thought she was actually starting to get emotional about the wedding, even though she criticized Mama for it in the first place…”
Tala couldn’t tell her. What was she going to say? You just happened to be in my dreams a few nights ago sounded plain creepy—she didn’t even know what the dream meant, when it felt like a series of worst-case scenarios dredged up by her nervous subconsciousness.
“Are you looking at my eyes, Miss Makiling?”
Tala floundered. The girl was far too observant. “Well, I…”
Nya pointed to her right, golden eye. “The matrons were convinced it was proof I was meant for better things, waxing on and on about how lucky my future husband was, though I could see they were relieved their daughters weren’t the ones saddled with the undead spouse. They were sure it wasn’t a literal interpretation, but
they couldn’t explain what kind of metaphor corpse was supposed to mean, though…”
She shrugged. “Mama’s been in denial ever since. The wedding was her way of rejecting it. Figured I can’t be married to the dead if I’m already married to someone else.”
“Can you do magic with your eye?” West asked.
“No, but tell that to the others.” Nya couldn’t quite hide her bitterness. “Not all the villagers think it’s good luck to have eyes like mine.”
“And you’re not worried?” Tala asked. “That you might wind up marrying a corpse, anyway?”
“Way I figure it, I’ll have better chances making my own way out here than back there. They all mean well, but in the end, it’s my decision to make. And why should I be limited to anyone in the village? Why marry at all if I don’t want to?”
“Is a doom all that important?”
“It’s not uncommon among the nobility,” Zoe said. “Mainly because a lot of seeresses charge an arm and a leg for those readings, and they’re the only ones who could afford the price.”
“What would they do with an arm and a leg? Why not two arms, or both legs?”
“Loki. Figure of speech.”
“One of my ancestresses did lose a hand over it,” West said, shuddering.
“Not everyone has a doom, though, but for those with exceptional, or even infamous, predictions, a certain privilege comes with it. The right kind of doom can open doors for an average commoner. Sometimes it leads all the way to the crown, like morganatic marriages. Aladdin did it, and the Maiden Bay-tree, and Ye Xian of the Glass Slipper.”
“The first Ivan Tsarevich’s marriage to Queen Vasilisa,” Alex supplied softly.
“That too. I’ve heard of mothers inventing some for their children so they could get more chances at finding better work, at living better lives.” Zoe squinted at the horizon, trying to gauge how long they’d been riding.
“What was your doom, Zoe?” West asked.
Zoe paused. “It’s not an exciting one.”
“Liar,” Ken challenged. “You have to tell us. Or is it too embarrassing to say? Like you’re doomed to have permanent nose zits or a back hump?”
“Great-Aunt Elspen said something about a hawk,” West said.
“That has nothing to do with it.” Zoe’s hands trembled slightly. “Anyway, West’s the one with the ancient family lineage. He’s probably got all the creative ones.”
“Well,” West said, looking sheepish. “Great-Aunt Elspen did mine when I was born. She says I’m getting married.” He paused. “That’s it, really. Mum was disappointed, of course…she expected something grander, like rescuing a princess or slaying a monster.”
“Better than mine,” Ken said, regaining some of his usual cheerfulness. “They said I was gonna marry some kind of horrible sea monster from the deep. Scales running through her veins and stuff like that. I don’t really remember most of it. Mum laughed it off, but I think it’s been worrying Dad ever since. And when the Dame told me I had to learn to swim a few nights ago, on top of everything…I gotta admit, it made my hair stand on end.”
“I’m glad my bag’s waterproof, then.” Zoe patted her sling bag, earning her a huff from his direction.
“At any rate, Rapunzel, I don’t think it’s likely we’re gonna find any corpses along the way to Lyonesse, unless you consider the Deathless as one of the undead.”
“Stop calling me that,” Nya protested.
“I’ve never had anyone tell me my doom,” Loki said thoughtfully. “What the Dame Tintagel said was the closest I’ve ever gotten to one.”
“The Ikpean priestess mentioned dooms too,” Tala said, with a wince. “I didn’t understand much of it either.”
“That’s what dooms are supposed to do—drive you up the wall with all the things you think they’re saying, except it usually turns out to be the exact opposite of whatever it was. You still think it’s a good idea to come along?” Ken asked, turning to Nya. “That might not be the last time we encounter ice wolves—or worse.”
“I’ll follow you all to the ends of the world if I have to,” Nya said happily. “Anything to get out of that wedding.”
“It must have been lonely,” Zoe sympathized.
“A little. We searched for survivors for a couple of months after the frost, but…” She lifted her hands helplessly. “I did learn from the best healer in the land, though.”
“Zoe,” Tala said. “Nobody can foretell dooms for the Makilings, right?”
“Yeah. I think the whole point of your curse is to be unpredictable so no one can ever get the upper hand of you, even when they have the sight.”
“No, I mean if we Makilings could do the same thing? Make predictions?”
“I’ve never heard that before, but don’t take my word for it. You’re going to want to talk to an Avalonian or Filipino historian. Why?”
“Just wondering out loud,” Tala said hastily.
“When anyone has a vision of us finally arriving in Lyonesse, let me know,” Ken said. “So I can count down the days till I finally get a nice hot bath and some rich greasy food horrible for my health, just the way I like it.”
They rode on. Despite having spent most of her life in a village, or possibly because of it, Nya couldn’t keep the wonder out of her voice as her eyes took in the vast brittle forests that seemed to stretch on for leagues. “I’ve never been this far from Ikpe before,” she said.
“Don’t even think about exploring on your own,” Zoe reminded her.
“I won’t. Maybe when the spring thaw finally comes. Most of us haven’t been allowed outside of Ikpe since the frost. Being cooped up in the village for a year has made me a little claustrophobic.”
“But why would that make you afraid of Santa Claus?” West asked.
“West,” Zoe said. “West, no.”
“You’re still looking at me funny,” Nya said to Tala, without turning her head around.
Tala flushed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”
“It’s more than just my eyes, isn’t it? Did Grammy say something to you?”
“She said there was only one way to predict a Makiling’s doom. I didn’t want to know, and now I’m regretting it.”
“Maybe there’s a reason she decided not to tell?”
“Are you a seeress too?” It was practically a whisper.
Nya shook her head. “I’m sorry. I never inherited her sight, nor did Mama. You grew up in the Royal States, right?”
“Yeah.”
The girl’s tone grew wistful. “A dozen years have passed outside of Avalon. I can’t help but wonder what I’ve been missing. Whoever cast that spell was a lifesaver. And yet…”
Before she knew it, Tala found herself telling Nya all about the outside. About 4G smartphones and virtual reality and the explosion of social media. Nya hung on to every word, eyes wide. “Everything sounds so complicated now,” she mused. “You’re saying spelltech is making a comeback?”
“It’s more in demand than it used to be ten years ago,” Tala explained. “Ease of use, convenience, all that.”
“But your king hates magic?”
“Technically he hates magic because he doesn’t have the spelltech he wants, and he hates Avalon for having it.”
“What kind of spelltech?”
“The ones that can force people to do as he wants,” Loki said soberly.
Alex shook his head. “We don’t even have those. Mind control as a magic requires more sacrifice than what most people would give up. That’s Snow Queen and Deathless territory.”
“Which is why ICE agents using Beiran spelltech is worrying,” Zoe added bleakly.
“But Avalon used to have a hold on most of those spells. You said America’s getting a sudden influx of new tech. Did they change the laws?”
“It’s
what stayed the same that had more impact,” Tala said, with a wince. “With Avalon under ice, a lot of spelltech patents went uncontested.”
“There’s a new law being passed,” Loki said grimly. “The Emerald Act. It’s primed to introduce stronger spells into everyday tech, taking out oversight and accountability. Dad says some loopholes in it might allow for some potentially dangerous spells, but no one’s putting in enough restrictions because of all the profit to gain.”
“I’m not sure that sounds like a world I’d like to step back into,” Nya said bleakly. “It’s one thing to free Avalon from the damned queen, and another to hear the rest of the world getting their hands on some of Avalon’s most powerful magic. Can’t we do anything about it?”
“The Cheshire’s trying. It’s the reason he’s in hiding too. The strongest of Avalon’s legacy are in his keeping, and he’s been one step ahead of those out to find him so far. Did your grandma predict that?”
“She never mentioned it. The only thing she was certain about was that the boy with the firebird will be at the center of everything. But that was okay because she said you’ll need a firebird and a sword to put out the coming fires.”
Tala felt another cold chill run down her back at the words. Memories of her dream, nearly forgotten in all the excitement, returned in full force.
“That’s a weird way to put out fires, isn’t it? A firebird and a sword?” Nya made a face. “Grammy always likes acting mysterious when she talks about her visions. It’s like she deliberately muddles it so you can’t understand what she’s trying to say until it happens.”
“A sword.” Ken looked thoughtful. “The Nameless Sword, you think? They say the firebird can find it. Maybe it’ll tell us where it is if we asked it nicely.”
The firebird stuck out its tongue and blew a raspberry.
“It doesn’t know where the sword is,” Alex said. “Not yet.”
“I’m not really sure I believe in foretellings,” Tala admitted.
Nya nodded understandingly. “I probably wouldn’t believe them either, if Grammy hadn’t been my grammy. She said I had to stay close to you guys, that there was something important I had to do. I don’t know what that is yet.” She paused, suddenly looking stricken. “I’m not being a burden to the rest of you, am I? I know she asked, but…”