“I knew you liked Roslynn!”
“What? Who told you that? Some people will say anything.”
He propped Estrella against his shoulder and walked faster. I jogged to keep up with him.
“I hope those good for nothing cobblers are miserable as servants in the palace. If Estrella doesn’t recover, I’m holding them personally responsible.”
He clenched his fists.
“Does this happen to her often?”
“No, not often.”
William shifted Estrella to his other shoulder.
“Ready for your turn to carry her?”
I stared at him. He winked, and I laughed.
“But seriously, she isn’t light. Do you mind carrying the gold?”
“Of course not.”
I regretted agreeing as I stuffed the bag of pirate gold into my apron. Gold was heavy.
We entered the forest. The salty stream rippled beside us. At least I had socks this time.
I stopped suddenly, staring. William stood beside me and stared as well.
It was as if autumn had come for half the forest. I stood in the summer side covered in green, leafy trees. But across a line, brittle leaves covered the ground. Bare branches stretched to the sky like skeletal hands.
I knelt and examined the ground.
“Salt,” I told William.
He nodded.
I ran my finger across the blackened ground. A single green blade of grass on the edge turned brown and crumbled to dust. I gasped.
“It’s spreading.”
“Obviously.”
“No, I mean it is moving right now. Watch.”
William leaned over the best he could without disturbing Estrella.
“I don’t see anything.”
I traced the line between life and death in the ground. William shifted Estrella in his arms. I adjusted my apron, making the coins jingle.
“William, I saw it move.”
“We need to go.”
Estrella remained unconscious as we walked through the dead forest and blackened fields. Larger plants looked charred. Grass and flowers had disintegrated to dust that swirled in the wind like gray snow.
“Gerta may have to send the orphans to the docks to look for work,” William said. “If this keeps up there won’t be any food left to buy.”
“Were you one of her orphans?”
William laughed.
“Hardly. My parents have a farm by the Weeping Mountains. Out in the middle of nowhere, but there’s a mining station nearby that buys lots of food.”
“Are they alright without you?”
“I have six older brothers. I’m not sure they know I’m gone.”
“Why did you leave?”
“I wanted an adventure. Shadow showed up one night clearly in the middle of one. I packed a bag and followed him.”
We reached the valley where the sleigh ride had been. I thought of myself in a carriage with Sir Gilbert and felt sick. It had been magical, but at what cost? Would this land ever grow food again? I turned to William, desperate for a distraction.
“How did you meet Estrella?”
“Oh, she knew Shadow from before.”
“Before what?”
He shrugged.
From the top of the hill overlooking Gerta’s farm, the ground was black as far as I could see. Thomas stood on a ladder, repairing the roof. He waved and called to us. I caught the word “angel.” Gerta looked up from mending a shirt and smiled when we entered the house, but her face fell when William laid Estrella on her bed.
“William, not again! I don’t have anything strong enough for this.”
“Can you send someone to buy a crystal?”
William nodded to me, and I pulled the sack of gold out of my bag and put it on the table. A few orphans crowded around to examine it.
“Of course, but there isn’t time. She needs something now.”
I stared at Estrella. Her normally tan skin was pale. Except for a faint movement in her stomach when she breathed, she looked like a statue.
“What does she need?” I asked.
“A healing charm,” Gerta said. “Something powerful. Her energy has been drained.”
“I have this.”
I pulled out the flat silver disk Lady Alma had given me. Gerta took it and placed it over Estrella’s heart.
Nothing happened. Gerta shook her head.
“Not enough.”
I reached out to retrieve the charm. As my fingers brushed the silver, a wave of dizziness swept over me. Something cold stabbed my heart. My vision faded, and I saw two children playing in a moonlit garden. The girl was tan with long blond hair. The boy’s pale skin glowed in the moonlight, and his hair blended into the darkness.
I opened my eyes and pulled my hand back. Estrella opened her eyes and gasped. Our eyes locked for a moment. She took a few deep breaths, and I leaned against the wall until my head stopped spinning.
“What just happened?” William said.
“Rook saved me.”
“You could have done that before I carried her across the country.”
Estrella glared at William.
And at me.
“You said you couldn’t do magic.”
“I can’t! I’ve studied techniques, but I’ve never been able to do a spell!”
Gerta picked up the charm and handed it to me. I slipped it into my apron.
“Questions later,” she said. “You need to rest. Everyone, let’s go to the barn and give Estrella some quiet.”
She picked up the bag of gold coins on her way out. Estrella sank back into the pillows and closed her eyes. The orphans glanced at her with interest but followed Gerta.
“We need to get some of this money to Roslynn’s farm,” Gerta said. “They can help people without raising suspicion since their farm is larger. Thomas can deliver it.”
“I’d rather stay here,” Thomas called down from the roof.
“I’d better take it,” William said. “The bag is heavy. I don’t want Thomas to pull a muscle.”
“I’m plenty strong enough!” Thomas said. He poked his head through the door and grinned at me. “I just want to make sure they have enough muscle around here. Some jobs take a man, you know?”
Gerta winked at me and handed the bag to William. He measured half the coins into his pack and handed her the rest.
“I carried that bag the whole way here,” I said. “He didn’t worry about me pulling a muscle.”
“I had some weighty matters to attend to. Don’t tell Estrella I said that. She’d kill me.”
He left the barn. Gerta motioned to Thomas.
“Will doesn’t know his friends are here,” she said. “Can you tell him? Come back by nightfall if you can’t find him.”
“Tell him not to go back to Elsie and Edsel’s,” I added. “We’re no longer welcome.”
“Then they’re crazy,” Thomas said. “You know you’re always welcome here. Can’t you send Samuel, Gerta?”
“Samuel has other chores,” Gerta said. “You can take the owl eyes charm. Will is probably in the tunnels.”
“Really? I get to use the owl eyes?”
Thomas ran to the door then turned.
“You’d better not leave until I get back.”
He winked at me and left. The rest of the orphans trailed after him. Gerta and I went back to the house.
Estrella sat at the desk writing a note. When she saw us come in, she folded it and snapped her fingers. A sealing charm glowed on the paper. Only the intended recipient would be able to open it.
“Estrella!” Gerta said. “You shouldn’t be using magic right now.”
“No, I shouldn’t.”
She glared at me.
“I don’t know what I did.”
“Well I do, and it doesn’t happen by accident. Have you studied Castanian magic?”
“Of course not. Something just happened when I touched the healing charm.”
Estrella raised an eyebrow.
I pulled the charm out and showed it to her.
“It looks like a typical healing charm,” Gerta said.
“Something is wrong,” Estrella said. “Who made this?”
“Is it defective? It was all we had. I brought it with me from the palace.”
“Only a master of the Castanian style can make this sort of charm.”
“Rook saved your life, Estrella,” Gerta said.
“I know.”
She handed the charm back to me.
“Don’t use that again. Castanian magic can be very unpredictable. My mother once used it to heal my cat, and-”
She shook her head with a sad smile.
“I sent Thomas out to find Will,” Gerta said. “And William took some coins to Roslynn’s farm. All their crops have been ruined.”
“How’s your well?” Estrella asked.
“A bit salty, but don’t you dare try to fix it!”
“I fainted before I could repair the village well. It will be salty again in no time, and this is the nearest place people can go. I want to at least look at it. I’ll bring Rook.”
“Estrella, you were unconscious for hours!”
“And now I’m fine. Rook can revive me again if I faint.”
“You said the charm was dangerous,” I said.
“I was joking. I’ll be fine.”
She didn’t look like she was joking. Gerta shrugged.
“Don’t let her do anything too reckless.”
I ran out the door and followed Estrella to a well behind the barn. The ground crackled under our feet.
“The village well is more complicated than this one because of the fountain,” she said. “All the gold in the world won’t do any good if they have no drinking water.”
“How are you going to fix it?”
“I’m hoping you can help me. Apparently you have a natural knack for soul magic.”
“For what?”
I tried not to look worried. Estrella tried not to look disgusted.
We both failed.
“Not every country is full of residual fairy magic waiting to be harvested and put into charms. Certainly not Castana. We use our life energy, our souls, to power spells.”
“You’re Salarian,” I said. I couldn’t think of anything else.
“My mother is Castanian.”
Gerta’s well was a hole in the ground surrounded by a rock wall. Estrella dipped her finger in the water, sucked it, and made a face. She rested her palms on the surface and inhaled. Her palms glowed white, and the rippling surface became still. The light pulsed, then turned red and disappeared. Estrella gasped.
“I’ll definitely need help. Have you ever worked magic at all? Any kind?”
“No.”
“Lovely. Got any fairy salt in your bag?”
“No.”
“I was afraid of that. Listen carefully. When you’re using soul magic, never push your life force into the spell directly. Do that, and you’ll die.”
“I don’t know what you think I’m going to do, but I’m not going to do it.”
“I need you to act as a secondary power source. I’ll make a loop in your soul. All you have to do is stay still so it doesn’t break.”
I crossed my arms and glared at her.
She sighed and snapped her fingers. A handful of water rose from the well and formed a ring.
“You have energy in your body keeping you alive, but if you use that energy in your charms you’ll be weakened and die. Instead, you focus it and move it like a water wheel. That movement powers your spell, and you get to keep your soul.”
She picked a withered blade of grass and stuck it in the loop of water. The grass rippled in the current and became green again.
“The water powered the spell. But all the water is still in the loop.”
She pulled the green blade out and handed it to me.
“So, my soul is made of water? Or is it the grass?”
Estrella threw her hands in the air. The circle of water fell back into the well.
“This is the basis of the Castanian style. You use your soul, the energy keeping you alive, to create magic indirectly. It is complex, but I’ll be doing all the work. All you need to know is that I’ll be moving your soul in a loop. If you interfere and push your energy directly into the spell, you’ll die. Understand?”
“I don’t like how often you keep saying I could die.”
No wonder Lady Alma had refused to teach me Castanian magic.
“I’ve had years of training. I know how to control the loops and ration the magic. You’ll be fine.”
“But you fainted last time.”
“I made a mistake. I tried to create a charm I didn’t have enough energy to sustain. With both of us helping, that won’t be a problem.”
“You are not going to mess around with my soul!”
“I just need to move it around a bit!”
“You’re insane!”
“Do you want people to die? Because that’s what will happen if we can’t fix this well. You think I want to pry around inside you? Normally I wouldn’t even try. But we’re already linked.”
“We’re already what?”
“When you healed me, you should have seen a flash of memory.”
“I saw two children in a garden at night.”
“That was me and Shadow. A memory from my childhood. You established a link between our souls. I’m just going to reopen it. This is a normal procedure in Castanian magic.”
“I really don’t want to do this.”
“Rook, this is important.”
She held out her hand.
I took it.
Her palm tingled with magic. The cold stabbed my heart again, and my insides churned. An internal whirlpool swirled from my head to my toes.
“You’re just backup power,” Estrella said. “Stay still.”
The late afternoon sun faded into darkness. I saw a young girl being carried by a man in a naval uniform. Their hair gleamed the same golden hue. They smiled at each other, and a woman, unmistakably Castanian with her dark hair and tan skin, kissed the man and smoothed the girl’s dress.
I snapped back to the present. The water in the well shot up like a geyser. Estrella and I jumped back. Most of the water fell back down into the well.
“What was that?” I asked.
Estrella’s eyes were wide. She gasped for breath.
“Power surge. Apparently you have a very strong soul.”
A green beam of light shot up from the well. Estrella traced lines on the water's surface, leaving glowing symbols.
“It is working,” Estrella said. “Give me your hand again. I’ll be more careful this time.”
I thrust my hand into hers without giving myself a chance to think about it.
The green light faded. Estrella and a young man kissed under a tree in her garden. He had unnatural bright red hair. It flickered like flames and reflected red light onto her face. He pulled away from her, knelt, and held up a ring. Estrella clapped a hand over her mouth.
I came back. My cheeks burned as red as the man’s hair.
“Almost done,” Estrella said.
She snapped her fingers. The light became purple.
And then black. As black as the dresses Estrella and her mother wore. They each tossed a rose into the sea and walked away. Estrella wore the ring the man with red hair had given her. Her mother spoke, but I couldn't hear the words. Estrella shook her head. Her mother put a hand on her shoulder, but Estrella pushed it off, shouted, and ran away. Rage distorted both their faces.
I gasped and stared at the well. White light streamed from the water. Estrella snapped her fingers, and the light disappeared. I glanced at her hand, but she wore no ring now. My insides stopped churning.
“Don’t touch it,” she said as I reached for a drink. “It needs to sit undisturbed for a while.”
“So do I.”
She chuckled.
“We were at some of the sa
me parties in the palace.”
“How do you know that?”
She shrugged.
“Wait, did you see my memories? What did you see?”
Panic edged into my voice. How much had she seen? Enough to learn my true identity?
“Wow, you have that many embarrassing moments?”
“What did you see?”
“A few parties at the palace. I didn’t notice much but Princess Salara. Always the center of attention. Even in someone else’s memories.”
My shoulders sagged with relief.
“I don’t remember you from the palace,” Estrella said.
“To be fair, I don’t remember you either.”
I really didn’t. How long had she been my companion?
We both laughed. Estrella with amusement. Me with relief. We walked back to the house with the setting sun behind us.
“Do you want to know what I saw?” I asked.
“No, I don’t. But thank you for helping. I couldn’t have done that alone.”
I opened the door. Gerta’s sobs filled the air.
“Gerta, what happened?”
Estrella put her arms around Gerta’s shoulders. Gerta shook her head.
“The Dragon stole another shipment of fairy salt. The warehouses are empty now, and the King reinstated the salt tax. Anyone who can’t pay will be sent to the mines for a year.”
Estrella pounded her fist on the table.
“Who told you that?” I asked.
“One of my girls just sent word from the city. And they’ve raised it! Two gold coins per person. I have twenty orphans living here. There’s no way. I still need to buy food for the winter!”
She raised her head and met my eyes.
“How do I decide who has to go to the mines? And if I go, who will feed them?”
“No one is going anywhere,” Estrella said.
“She’s right,” Shadow said.
We all jumped. As usual, I had not noticed him come in.
“I thought the King was for us,” Gerta said. “When he canceled the salt tax before, I thought-”
“Estrella, is Captain still in port?” Shadow asked.
“He usually stays about a week to buy supplies and things to sell. With the salt patches spreading, it might take him longer.”
“We need to send him a message. If he can wait two days, we’ll bring him our biggest haul yet. At least two hundred coins worth. Probably more. Tell him to have the gold ready.”
“And we’ll count it first even if we have to go through a naval blockade,” Estrella muttered.
Rook and Shadow (Salarian Chronicles Book 1) Page 15