Love Charms and Other Catastrophes

by Kimberly Karalius

  Hijiri grabbed him by the elbow, digging her nails into his sweater. “I knew it,” she whispered. “You’re the bait.”

  “Femke needs time to craft a stronger charm. She asked me to think of you, to feel every sharp edge of my broken heart.”

  “Like pouring salt on a cut,” Hijiri said.

  Ken raised his fingers to her lips, silencing her. He closed his eyes and listened. The faint sound of heavy splashing and gears met their ears. “See? It’s coming back. You have to go.”

  No way, she thought, gripping his elbow harder. I’m not leaving him and Femke alone with Stoffel. I need to stick a bandage on his heart, however temporary.

  Hijiri wanted to kiss him. Kisses were miracles. They solved problems. But the last time she had tried, Ken pushed her away; the memory was like a scorch mark on her heart. So she hugged him instead. Her arms snug around his waist. Her nose buried in the crook of his neck.

  This wasn’t like the last time she had hugged him, sobbing with relief when they met Sofie and Lars after the first challenge. Hijiri focused on him, finding him as real in that moment as she ever thought with her body pressed against his. He smelled of boy and evergreen. His skin was soft at his neck.

  Ken rested his chin on her head with a shaky breath. They soaked in each other’s warmth for a few precious seconds. Hijiri felt their heats beating together through their coats. His sounding as healthy as it could be with the break she had given it. Just enough.

  Stoffel’s wet footsteps stopped. Its head creaked as it turned. After a few seconds, it started walking back to the bank again.

  “I think … that worked,” Ken said, letting her go.

  Hijiri shivered when the chill came rushing back, but she knew they needed to keep going. Through the thick cloud, she heard Bram and Mirthe goading Stoffel from the bank.

  Femke’s green eyes flashed. She stopped whispering and the cloud started losing its sticky thickness. “I can’t do this alone.”

  “What can we do?” Hijiri asked.

  Femke bit her lip. “The fog is only obscuring the robot’s vision. Without another weather charm, it won’t do much more than that.”

  “What will you use?” Ken asked, looking through the twin’s backpack.

  Femke let out a humorless laugh. “I didn’t pack anything but cloud and fog charms. I thought I’d show off and finally impress my sister, but Stoffel’s charms guard him from water. I’m stuck.”

  Hijiri stepped toward her. “Do you need Mirthe?”

  Femke’s face crumbled. “We’re still fighting. She’s not going to help.”

  “Mirthe would have flown here to save you if your moped had wings,” Hijiri said.

  “Really?”

  Hijiri nodded.

  Femke dragged her fingers through the foggy air, collecting it in thick bunches. She threw it over her shoulders like a cloak. “I need my sister,” she said with new determination. “Let’s go.”

  They ran for the shore. Femke’s charmed cloud thinned, revealing the struggle onshore. Mirthe’s tornado had torn the grass and clods of dirt from the bank. The material covering Stoffel’s chest had a few more tears than before. Fallon and Sebastian had arrived, both of them helping Bram and Ms. Ward to their feet. Meanwhile Mirthe tried to distract the robot by taunting it with wind charms that pushed at its metal frame.

  Stoffel’s head creaked as it turned this way and that. Hijiri noticed that it had lost one of its red eyes. She wondered if Bram’s gun or Mirthe’s tornado had been responsible.

  Mirthe saw Femke coming. “It’s about time,” she yelled. “You’re okay?”

  Femke tugged the fog around her tighter. “Fine. Pay attention to what you’re doing,” she snapped.

  Mirthe frowned and was about to spit back a reply when Stoffel grabbed her around the waist. The charmed bracelet activated, pushing girl and robot apart with unseen force.

  Femke raced to her sister and helped her up off the cobblestones. “Listen,” she said, “I was trying to craft something big to stop this robot, but I can’t do it without you.”

  Mirthe dusted off her knees. “So you’re going to change your specialty?”

  “Absolutely not,” Femke said. Then she smiled. “But fighting about it is ridiculous. We should be supporting each other’s decisions.”

  Stoffel got to its feet as well and scanned the rebels for its next victim.

  Mirthe grabbed her sister’s hand and shook it. Then she drew Femke into a hug. “Let’s blow this robot to pieces,” she said, her voice muffled in Femke’s shoulder. “Together.”

  The twins ran back into the water while Hijiri turned to the robot. We have to protect the twins long enough for them to craft whatever powerful weather charm Femke has up her sleeve, she thought.

  Stoffel scanned the rebels a few times over, its head gliding back and forth. One red eye piercing their hearts with its inhuman gaze.

  Ken inched forward, intent on shielding Hijiri.

  Bram’s hand hovered over his gun.

  Stoffel’s head and body started spinning. The charms and wiring within hummed.

  “What’s it doing?” Sebastian asked.

  Stoffel’s red eye dimmed slightly. It started walking back into the water with a different course in mind.

  “Is it … retreating?” Ken asked.

  Maybe it sensed the shift in their hearts; none of them ached strong enough for it to stick around. “We can’t let it get away,” Hijiri said.

  “When our charm’s ready, we’ll find you,” Mirthe yelled from the water. The fog had thickened again, this time with tendrils of lightning tangled inside.

  “Stoffel’s entering the Tunnel of Love,” Fallon said, squinting.

  “Then why bother chasing it?” Sebastian asked. “The tunnel loops. Stoffel will just come out on the other end.”

  “Not necessarily,” Nico said, arriving just in time with Martin at his side. They were both panting from having run across town. Nico fished a ring of keys out of his pocket and dashed to the control box. He jammed the key in and twisted, awakening the Tunnel of Love. The lights flickered on and the music began mid-note.

  The bank showed signs of their earlier struggle with the torn-up grass and cracked cobblestone on the street. Bram jogged down to the water and bent down on his knees. He dragged something heavy out of the water. The thoroughly ruined electrician’s guide.

  Ms. Ward clasped her hands together, looking as if she might cry. “My book.”

  Bram wiped droplets off the ruined cover and handed it to her. “Figured you’d still want it.”

  “I do,” she insisted, opening to the first page and surveying the smudged type. Ms. Ward sniffed and choked out a laugh.

  Hijiri nearly jumped when she heard the sirens. Three police cars pulled up across the canal, clogging the road with flashing lights and disgruntled police officers.

  “Oh no,” Ken said.

  “We can’t let them stop us,” Hijiri said, “not when we’re so close to stopping Stoffel.”

  “Some of us need to stay behind, then,” Sebastian said.

  “And if Stoffel does come out the other end, we’ll be here,” Fallon added.

  “This is my family’s attraction. I have to go in,” Nico insisted.

  “I’m going too,” Martin said.

  They quickly decided that Fallon, Sebastian, Ms. Ward, and Bram would stay behind to deal with the detective.

  Detective Archambault ran to the edge of the bank, looking angrier than Hijiri had ever seen the cool, stern woman.

  Good thing Fallon’s staying behind, Hijiri thought as they took off running. She’ll be able to keep her cool with the detective much better than I would.

  Nico led the way into the water. They stuck to the right side of the tunnel where a narrow path had been built in, hidden by the mood lighting, googly-eyed stuffed animals, and walls covered with enlarged love letters.

  Stoffel had chosen the left side of the tunnel. Its legs kept getting caught by
the soft fur of the bow-tied bears and cats. Nico let out a low whine when he saw the destruction the robot had already caused. Without a path on that end, it smashed whatever it walked through.

  “Dad’s going to kill me,” Nico said. He looked ready to plunge across the water.

  Martin grabbed Nico’s shoulders. “Stay focused. It’s going to be okay.”

  Hijiri felt for him. There was nothing they could do to stop the robot from breaking the items in its path; it was still a robot, charmed or not, without any care for stepping around the delicate heart-eyed plushies and toys.

  When the tunnel curved, she lost sight of Stoffel.

  “There,” Ken said, pointing over her shoulder.

  Stoffel had ripped open the tunnel’s ceiling—no, it was a door—and was pushing itself up.

  “We’re going to lose him,” Hijiri said.

  “There’s an emergency door on our side too,” Nico said. “And a ladder. We can follow it.” Nico pushed back the dark pink curtain on the tunnel wall to get the ladder hidden behind it for the emergency door.

  Hijiri’s boots slipped on the ladder’s rungs as she climbed. The cold air bit her skin when she reached the top. The door led them behind the tunnel where a bicycle path separated the backs of houses from the Tunnel of Love’s unmemorable stone outside.

  “Hurry, he’s going north,” Nico shouted.

  Hijiri took a deep breath and hoped her lungs could hold out for another chase.

  With nothing blocking Stoffel’s way, the robot practically glided up sidewalks and across empty streets. Nico and Martin slowed down after a few blocks, having run farther than Hijiri and Ken had throughout the night. Nico unzipped his windbreaker and tugged off his scarf. Martin wheezed. Hijiri passed them, her eyes never leaving the robot. I know this street, she thought. We’re so close to Heartwrench.

  “Why are we here?” Hijiri whispered. “Gage is already behind bars. He can’t be controlling Stoffel from his jail cell.”

  “Someone is,” Martin whispered back.

  “Someone who’s still trying to get Heartwrench pulled from competition, perhaps,” Ken said.

  “Sabotage,” Hijiri murmured. It’s possible. Clea and Sanders certainly seemed capable of it.

  The robot slowed its steps as the love charm shop came into view. The lights were on inside Heartwrench, oil stains from the car repair shop next door illuminated on the concrete. The electric sign flickered.

  The door opened, revealing a tired-looking Ryker. His slicked-back hair and glasses absorbed the colors from the neon sign.

  “Watch out,” Hijiri warned. “Don’t let it hug you.”

  Ryker startled at her voice. Far away, sirens started up again.

  Stoffel came to a stop in front of Ryker, arms slack and head bent forward.

  “Stand back, Ryker, while it’s not moving,” Hijiri said. “We have to destroy it to end the charm Gage put in it.”

  Ryker’s eyes slid from the robot to the charm in Hijiri’s hand. His expression hardened. “Don’t you dare touch my creation.”

  Hijiri gasped. Did she hear right?

  “Stoffel,” Ryker said coolly. “That girl’s heart is in terrible pain. You didn’t do your job.”

  The robot trembled and spun around, red eye trained on Hijiri. It wiggled its big, gloved hands and reached for her.

  Ken pushed her out of the way. They both fell onto the cobblestones.

  Hijiri’s fingers searched the cobblestones for anything to throw at the approaching robot. Ken groaned beside her and shook his head.

  Then she heard a battle cry come from behind the robot.

  Chapter 22

  AIM AND FIRE

  Anais and Bear, late but still right on time, came charging. Anais sat on Bear’s shoulders, cheering and whooping like a victorious army general. Bear held tight to her ankles and tried not to laugh.

  “Pick on someone smaller,” Anais said. When they came to a stop, she climbed off his shoulders. “I’ll pull that other eye out of your face!”

  “You can’t do that yet,” Bear muttered.

  Anais didn’t hear him. She ran at the robot as if it were made of straw. She dug her fingernails into Stoffel’s torn middle and attempted a foot sweep. Her boot collided uselessly with the endoskeleton, pinging loudly.

  Bear wrenched her away by grabbing the back of her coat. He ducked under Stoffel’s hands and used his weight and momentum to perform a sweeping hip throw. With years of practice under his belt, Bear succeeded in knocking the robot to the ground.

  Stoffel landed facedown, its arms and legs creaking and groaning as it struggled to pull itself up.

  Bear rolled away, only to have Anais kiss him soundly and declare she had it covered.

  “The charm’s still working,” Hijiri said, scrambling to her feet. Stoffel could find a way to get back on its metal feet again, even with Bear’s throw.

  Ken had his slingshot, aiming at the other eye. The marble he had notched glinted under the streetlamps. “Love is blind,” he whispered.

  “That’s it,” Hijiri said. She lowered his arm so that she could pluck the marble from him. “Stoffel’s attracted to heartache. Its scanners must be in those eyes.” She rubbed the marble between her palms, drawing strength from the hug she had shared with Ken. The marble grew hot, glowing a soft, rosy pink, when she handed it back to Ken.

  As Ken notched the charmed marble, she saw Ryker lunge.

  Ryker slammed into Ken, knocking them both to the ground. Ryker landed a punch on Ken before Bear and Nico were there, pulling Heartwrench’s assistant off of Ken. Ken’s cheek was already starting to bruise from the punch. Ken winced and crawled to his knees, reaching for his slingshot and the rolling marble.

  Hijiri pulled her Blinded by Love charm from her bag. Opening her compact mirror and tossing the glitter on its surface, she blew—Bear and Nico were smart enough to close their eyes when the blinding flash of light lit up the area like a lightning bolt.

  Ryker screamed and struggled against the boys’ holds.

  Still kneeling, Ken turned, notched the marble, and shot Stoffel’s remaining eye.

  The hairs on her arms stood on end when the robot’s eye shattered; a wave of charmed magic rising, then melting, covered the area. Stoffel’s neck sparked like a dying breath but its limbs kept moving, grabbing and reaching with aborted movements.

  Hijiri covered her mouth with her hands, feeling ill. Ryker hadn’t been lying when he said that Heartwrench married technology and charms—the fact that the mechanics still worked after the charms were gone was baffling and more than a little creepy.

  “Incoming,” Femke and Mirthe called in unison, raising their hands to the swirling night sky above. A rumbling cloud formed and hovered over the Tunnel of Love. The twins pressed their foreheads together and it began to rain.

  The rain was soft and translucent, ice crystals and liquid merging in a soft fall to earth. Hijiri felt the snow and warm rain hit her skin. The rain and snow seeped into every nook and cranny in the robot. Without the charm to protect it, Stoffel became a collection of broken parts. Its movements slowed, the cogs underneath grinding to a halt. It stopped moving completely. The twins ensured that no one would be able to salvage the remains. Mirthe uncorked a bottle, releasing a hot, tropical wind that felt delicious and dried their cold, wet bodies.

  “Freeze,” Detective Archambault called out, arriving on the scene with two police officers in tow. Her eyes flickered from Stoffel to Ryker and the rebels.

  Officers replaced Bear and Nico in holding Ryker down. Ryker started crying, tears mingling with the rain as he rocked back and forth. “What have you done?” he demanded. “My Stoffel, my creation. You’ve ruined it.”

  Detective Archambault slowly approached Ryker, stepping over one of Stoffel’s hands. “Am I to understand,” she asked, “that your uncle didn’t make this?”

  “My uncle doesn’t have the skills,” Ryker spat. “He tried making a hugging machine, but it was now
here near operational. I had to step in and make Stoffel my own. Heartwrench would fail without our success in the competition.”

  Detective Archambault frowned. “Why did you do it?”

  Ryker seemed almost eager to tell her. “I was supposed to go to college, but my uncle persuaded me to use my funds to start this business with him. It’s my business more than his.” His jaw tightened. “We were losing the challenges. Heartwrench was empty most days without profits to even cover the rent. He was holding us back. Holding me back.”

  Hijiri curled her hands into fists. “How dare you call yourself a love charm-maker,” she said to Ryker. “Stoffel had nothing to do with love.”

  “Love doesn’t solve everything,” Ryker said, his handsome face marred by a sneer.

  She’d seen so many broken and bruised hearts these past few months. It would take more than just love to fix some of them. But love was a spark in the darkness. It was a beginning.

  She hoped that there was still a beginning for her and Ken.

  * * *

  As Detective Archambault had the police shoving Ryker in the back of the police car, Hijiri saw that her fellow rebels had gotten a ride with the other police cars from the Tunnel of Love.

  “You’re okay,” Fallon said, jogging over to them with Sebastian in tow. Bram and Ms. Ward followed.

  Hijiri tried not to flinch when Fallon hugged her hard, oblivious to her sore muscles.

  “I missed all the fun again,” Sebastian said, crossing his arms. He didn’t seem too upset about it when he saw the darkening bruise on Ken’s face. “What happened to you?”

  “I came between a love charm-maker and his creation,” Ken said, grimacing.

  “Yeah, you should have known better,” Sebastian said, snorting.

  Anais chatted animatedly with the twins about the charms and judo moves she had used. Bear shook his head and insisted she needed to practice more before she put herself in danger like that.

  “Danger?” Anais laughed. “I knew you were with me. I didn’t have a reason to be scared.”

  Bear blushed furiously.

  The twins walked side by side. At some point, Femke had tucked her hair into her cap, exactly the way that Mirthe wore hers. Their clothes were still different. But the smiles were the same. Perfectly alike. Looking at them, Hijiri felt another imbalance start to melt away.