by Julie Abe
I closed my mouth and nodded numbly. I nearly collapsed onto the leather seat, my mind spinning and my hands sweating as I clutched my broomstick. She couldn’t possibly mean… Stella took a fast turn, and my stomach dropped further.
Was it the—no, no, it… it couldn’t be. It was too early for the Culling.
I stretched my fingertips. Unlike the little bubbles of magic that usually fizzed inside, I felt only the tiniest flickers of magic, like a dying fire. I swallowed, turning to look out the window at the darkening sky.
With Stella’s speedy driving and her eyes glued to the muddy road, we whipped through the farmlands. At the edge of the peak overlooking the town, she grimaced and slowed the car. “Are you buckled in?”
I nodded, patting the leather belt strapping me to the seat. “Secure.”
“This is a fate-blasted hill. All the water means no traction.” She pulled a lever and gears ground as they shifted.
Dense mist had rolled in, burying the buildings in thick gray clouds. I shuddered. It looked like Auteri was underwater. I wondered if the festival stands might float out to sea. Yet again, I hadn’t done enough to help my town.
We rattled down the muddy hill, cutting through the fog and rain, and Stella’s knuckles whitened as she strained over the wheel to see through the sheets of water gushing down. “The rain’s making it slippery,” Stella muttered under her breath. “I told Mayor Taira to pave it.”
Finally, the automobile rolled onto the cobblestone streets of Auteri. She yanked at a lever with a quick shake of her head. “Lost too much time there. Hold tight, Eva.”
Stella pressed on a pedal, and the car shot forward with a screech that echoed through the metal frame. We wove past the buildings in a flash and slid to a stop in front of the town hall, spraying the puddles of rainwater in arcs.
“I don’t think we can park here,” I said, as we got out. “Mayor Taira might get upset.”
“Ordinarily, I wouldn’t, either.” Stella smiled, rummaging in the trunk. She drew out a thin circlet and slipped it onto her head. “But in times of need, anyone should be able to, including princesses.”
My jaw dropped. The circlet glimmered with diamonds and sapphires, with thin gold vines braided into a delicate circle. Stella—Princess Stella—was the Queen’s Advisor for Auteri and the surrounding region. No wonder she seemed familiar; there was a portrait of her in one of the corridors of the town hall.
She smoothed down her wrinkled, dripping dress. “You wouldn’t have a spell for ironing out clothes, would you? No, never mind. We haven’t got a second to waste.”
I trailed behind her in stunned silence as she strode up the stairs. What is happening? It can’t be.…
The princess knew exactly where to go. She pushed open the doors to Kyo’s receiving room. Townspeople waiting to talk to him murmured in surprise.
Kyo startled and shoved his chair back quickly to bow. He rapped on the gilded door behind him and pushed it open, calling, “Announcing Princess Stella.”
The crowd broke into a clamor.
“I knew she looked like a princess—didn’t I say so?” A merchant crossed his arms and nodded knowingly.
“Isn’t she the princess who races automobiles? Didn’t she try to fly an airplane or something, too?” a sailor said, craning to catch a glimpse of her.
Deep in the adjacent office, Mayor Taira looked up in the middle of her conversation with a sailor. Her hands shook when she saw the princess.
“Princess Stella, honored Advisor to our region.” Mayor Taira dipped into a curtsy.
Stella bowed in return. “Thank you for seeing me so suddenly, Mayor Taira of Auteri.”
Mayor Taira noticed me over Stella’s shoulder. Her thin eyebrows lifted and my stomach curdled. “To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit? You’ve traveled a long way from Okayama, haven’t you?”
“With my speed, it was a short drive—until my tire busted on a rock. Nevertheless, I’m here now.” Then she took a deep breath and raised her voice. “I’ve brought news for the town of Auteri.” Her voice rang against the walls as the townspeople hushed. “As the Queen’s Advisor for this region, I came here as soon as the Council warned me.…” She swallowed, scanning the crowd, as if she was searching for her next words.
“No… no…” Mayor Taira’s pale hands curled into her dress, crushing her skirts in her fists.
Princess Stella creased her forehead, like lines in sand. “As soon as we found it was brewing, the weather witches and wizards worked for hours on end trying to scry its path—and once I heard the news, I came here straightaway.”
She faced the receiving room; her circlet sparkled as bright as her fierce eyes as she spoke to us. “The Council’s scryers foresee a typhoon will hit the coast by Okayama.”
The townspeople buzzed. Okayama was hours away by boat—it was far enough that—
“Citizens of Auteri, this is not just another storm. After Okayama, it’s going to change paths.…” Stella turned, her gaze locking with Mayor Taira’s. “The Culling is aimed straight for Auteri.”
CHAPTER 24
THE STORM
The door rattled as Kyo rushed in, pushing through the crowd gathered in the main hallway. His gray hair was plastered to his face. “Mayor Taira.” He bowed low, but she quickly motioned for him to speak.
“How does it look, Kyo?”
“The water’s rising like nothing I’ve ever seen before. The Culling is definitely on its way.” His eyes were dark. “The fog is getting thicker, too.”
Lines etched into the mayor’s forehead. An attendant handed Kyo a towel, and he wiped at his dripping hair. “Most of the festival stands have washed away.”
The crowd let out a sad, disappointed cry, but Mayor Taira held up her hand. They hushed, waiting for more news.
“And the ships?” she asked.
“I told the traders to send their goods in. The skiffs are anchored up at the docks, as safe as they can be. Most of the captains are choosing to try to outrace the Culling. It worked for some of the ships during the past tsunami. If they can make it into Constancia’s territory, they might have a chance.”
“Constancia?” Princess Stella croaked. “Is that any better than the storm?”
He swallowed, bowing his head. “They understand the risks.”
Mayor Taira turned to Princess Stella, lips thin. “How much time do we have?”
“Only a few hours,” Princess Stella said. “The Culling will hit Okayama around sunset. The typhoon will make its way down the coast by midnight. And the storm surge will hit soon after.”
Hours. Auteri had only hours before the storm would hit.
I tried to speak, tried to find some words to ask more, but my throat sealed up. My breath still felt shallow, as if I hadn’t been able to properly breathe from the moment Princess Stella had announced the Culling. Inside me, a cyclone of doubts raged. I haven’t finished fortifying the buildings. I need more time.
The crowd swelled into an uproar of voices, strong as the waves hitting the shores.
“Here? Now?” shouted a dockworker.
“Can’t the witch fix it? Zap the clouds away?” a shopkeeper asked.
“We’re all likely to die before she can help us,” one of the gray-clothed sailors snickered, from where Soma and his friends leaned against a wall. “She’s too weak. Doesn’t deserve magic.”
I narrowed my eyes at Soma and his friends, but Soma’s forehead was puckered as he stared down at the ground, as if deep in thought. I wanted to accuse the pirates of meddling with my letters. Out of anyone, they were the most likely to want to cause me trouble. But they were right—I was drained after getting Princess Stella here. The walls spun around me at the thought of stopping a typhoon.
Stella shook her head. “When the Culling first happened, one weather wizard tried to stop it. Magicking the earthquake caused the abyss in the land and weather patterns, making it more volatile. That’s the year it destroyed half the capit
al. We need a shield like the kind Grand Master Evergreen creates, or the barriers at the Constancia border.”
As I had learned, one of the scariest parts of the Culling was that the Council had tried, year after year, to scry it before the onset. Each time, the Council’s attempts had been blocked—by something, or someone—until hours before the Culling. Or, sometimes, when it was too late.
“We can do something, right, Eva?” A whisper came from my side. Davy ran his hand through his wildly tousled hair, trying vainly to tame it.
I pinched my lips together, my stomach sinking.
It felt like a storm was growing inside me, too. Filling me with doubt, with certainty that I wouldn’t be able to help Auteri.
On Davy’s other side, Charlotte crossed her arms, listening intently. She had her messenger bag slung over her shoulder and her belt heavy with pouches tied around her waist. It looked like she’d stopped midway during her work.
Charlotte was focused on Mayor Taira and Stella, her eyes flicking between the two of them as they talked. If Charlotte had been the witch instead of me, I bet she would’ve found a way to save the town instantly. I bet she would’ve had more than a pinch of magic. I stared at the ground, my eyes burning like seawater had sprayed into my face.
Then a thought occurred to me, draining my worries and replacing them with a new horror. “Where’s Ember?”
“At your cottage,” Davy said, his face pale. “I thought he’d be safer there; everyone was running about trying to disassemble and bring in the stands for the festival.”
Oh no. My flamefox probably thought I’d left him to face the storm alone.
“Keep your head up.” Charlotte nudged me. “The Culling’s just beginning.”
Davy and Charlotte slipped closer, and I followed them. “Would it be safer for the townsfolk to go up to the farmlands?” Mayor Taira asked Kyo and Stella.
Mayor Taira spotted me behind Charlotte and Davy, and she crooked one long finger, beckoning me forward. “Evalithimus.”
I dreaded every step toward her. I curtsied, with a slight tremble, in front of Princess Stella and Mayor Taira. “At your service.”
“Witch of Auteri,” Mayor Taira declared, and I suppressed my urge to wince as her sharp voice echoed through the hall. “We need your magic now.”
My legs buckled under me, but Davy and—to my surprise—Charlotte were at my side, holding me up.
“I… I’m not strong enough to enchant a protection shield out of thin air. But… I’ve been spelling the walls of the buildings ever since I got here, so those will hold strong—I think.”
The stares of the townsfolk focused on me, and I ducked my head.
“There’s nothing else you can do?” Mayor Taira asked. Her cold eyes pierced me, as if she saw who I actually was—a shadow of a true witch. “Nothing, when the water spills over the docks?”
“I have a waterproofing potion,” I said, and one steely eyebrow rose.
“Oh?” She finally sounded interested. “And is this potion enough to cover the entire town?”
I was too ashamed to speak. If I explained that I only had a frying pan filled with my potion, sitting on my stove, Soma would laugh and laugh, and if Auteri somehow managed to survive, I’d never hear the end of it.
Slowly, I bowed my head. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.
The mayor turned away.
Stella threw me a sympathetic look, yet she too turned to talk with Kyo and Mayor Taira.
I stumbled backward, letting the crowd push past as they tried to catch word of what was happening. Some of them shook their heads as they passed me.
Princess Stella, Mayor Taira, and Kyo murmured to one another rapidly and broke apart minutes later with a plan.
Kyo would lead the townsfolk who could make it over the cliffs to the farmlands on foot—before the typhoon and torrential rainstorms hit the coast. Princess Stella and I had made it back to Auteri just before the pass had turned too muddy and dangerous for automobiles.
Kyo looked around the town hall. “Pack lightly and spread the word—I’ll lead us up. We’ll go as soon as possible.”
Mayor Taira stepped up next to him and nodded. “Anyone who can’t make it up the cliff will stay here. And we’ll need a few volunteers who’ll help us board up the windows and set up sandbags. That’ll be our plan.”
My hands fell at my sides helplessly. I wasn’t part of their plan because no one—not even me—could count on my pinch of magic.
“We’ll stay,” Charlotte said to Davy, and then they caught a glimpse of my face and looked guilty. Even Charlotte and Davy were making plans without me. I tucked my head down. I couldn’t look into their pitying eyes.
When Soma pushed off the wall and opened his mouth to speak, I couldn’t take it—he’d just laugh and laugh at how weak I was. I was really no better than a seaweed witch.
Tears stung as I turned away and pushed past them, out into the rain.
CHAPTER 25
ONLY ME
Rain lashed against my skin as I slipped out of the town hall. I couldn’t see the edge of the bay or the cliffs that were supposed to protect us from the brunt of the waves. I shuddered. The storm was only going to get worse.
I peered up at the cliff. My cottage was hidden by the rain, but Ember waited there for me. My heart twisted. “I’ll get you after I help secure the town,” I promised, even if he couldn’t hear me. I had let Ember down, too.
Boarding up each building felt like nailing Auteri into a coffin. The glimmering town was slowly turning into an ugly mess of brown. Even if I didn’t have enough magic to do anything helpful, I would use every remaining bit of my energy to help board up the windows.
Through the rain, a trail of townspeople holding lanterns made their way up the slippery cliff. In the farmlands, they would be protected from the brunt of the typhoon’s waves, if not from the torrential rains that pounded down.
I hammered down nail after nail, the rain soaking through my clothes, making me feel like I’d never be dry or warm again. I boarded up the windows of Corn and Cloudberries and Ami’s flower stand. The town looked abandoned without the usual bustle and the smiling shopkeepers to invite me inside.
“Ouch!” I cried out. I’d hammered my finger. A thought bubbled up in my mind. I hastily tucked the hammer into my belt loop and ran to the town hall.
More than a hundred townspeople swarmed around inside—those who couldn’t make it up the cliff in the limited time remaining, like Ami, or those set on staying in Auteri to help in whatever way they could, like Mayor Taira.
Princess Stella was one of those who had stayed. She was hammering boards over windows on the town hall. I cleared my throat. “Excuse me, Princess Stella?”
“Ah, our witch.” Those words burned. She added gently, “Yes, Eva?”
I lowered my lashes. “Will anyone from the Council come here?” My heart buzzed with hope. Maybe, just maybe, since I couldn’t do anything, a real witch or wizard could.
A shadow flickered on her face. “The realm has too few witches and wizards as it is. We don’t have enough to spare.”
I knew too well that magic was hard to come by. “Did you happen to meet a witch named Nelalithimus Evergreen?”
“She’s up north, protecting Okayama. Since our weather witch said that the typhoon will first hit our coast up there, she’s one of seven witches and wizards creating a shield. The capital city has ten times the population of any town within the realm. Still, we couldn’t find enough of you to protect it in time.” Stella paused. “Your last name—Evergreen—are you related to her?”
“She’s my mother.”
“Ah, she mentioned that Auteri was in good hands—I didn’t realize the two of you were related.”
My heart plummeted and lifted at the same time. “That sounds like her.”
“Then you must be strong.”
I hung my head. “I’m just a girl trying to pass my Novice Witch quest. And I only have a pinch of magic comp
ared to her. That’s… that’s why my magic ran out.”
The faint scent of roasted tea and jasmine wafted from Stella. Her warm finger lifted my chin and her gaze locked onto mine. “And I’m only a princess, I’m no queen.”
I swallowed.
She held me by my shoulders and spun me around to face the town. I spied Davy, Charlotte, and a handful of shopkeepers hammering in boards or piling up sandbags to do anything they could to save Auteri.
“Look. Look at your fellow townspeople. They’re trying to survive, like me and you. And they trust you, too.”
“But… I can’t put up a shield. I… I don’t have enough magic to do that.”
“And I’m only a princess. I couldn’t do anything in Okayama, but I could drive fast—short of my car breaking—as a messenger. The Council had sent letters, but I had a bad feeling that they might not make it through the storm, and I was right. I did what I could with what little power I have. And I know you’re doing the same, too.”
My heart beat quicker, louder than the rain drumming against the cobblestone streets. The reason I had chosen to stay in Auteri wasn’t because I was trying to help in the way that Mother or other witches or wizards could.
I didn’t have their magic. But I was clever and resourceful. I would help by doing whatever I could—whether magical or not.
I raised my chin. “I’ll do anything I can.”
CHAPTER 26
A TINY HOPE
Charlotte and Davy were lugging sandbags from the beach to Seafoam Sweets, skirting around Davy’s father, who was standing at the end of the dock. They nodded at me, wiping away the rain and sweat dripping down their faces.
I grabbed a sandbag from Charlotte and helped by piling it against the edges of the shop door. In the window, the sugar-spun boat sliced through the translucent, cresting waves. Behind me, real waves rumbled and water crashed into the docks.
“I’ll have to drag him in soon.” Davy looked bleakly at his father. “It’s going to be tough.”
A piece of paper dropped out of my pocket and into a puddle—it was the turtle I had waterproofed. Charlotte picked it up, brushing off the water droplets.