Twinchantment

by Elise Allen

  As they crouched behind a chimney and caught their breath, Flissa’s heart quickened. They were almost out. Two more cottages and they could make a break for the woods.

  Galric pointed to a doghouse up ahead, and Flissa and Sara nodded. Then he signaled to run, and they all sprinted forward. Flissa thought she’d picked out the perfect path, but somehow a root found Sara and she tumbled forward, smacking into the doghouse. A large dog came bounding out, barking at them at the top of its lungs.

  “Aaaa!” Galric shuddered and ducked behind Flissa and Sara.

  “Seriously?” Sara laughed as she whispered. “Its tail is wagging. It just wants to play.”

  “That doesn’t help matters,” Flissa said through gritted teeth. “He’s loud and he’ll wake people up. Calm down, boy,” Flissa cooed softly to the dog, hoping to channel some of the same animal mojo that had allowed her to tame Balustrade. “Quiet now.”

  She was still making eye contact with the dog when Sara grabbed her arm in a vise. “Get down!” she hissed.

  Flissa heard the desperation in Sara’s voice and obeyed immediately. The last thing she saw before she disappeared behind the doghouse was a swish of bright yellow fabric coming around the corner of the next cottage.

  A Keeper!

  Flissa, Galric, and Sara huddled together, not daring to breathe. Flissa was sure she heard the pounding not just of her own heart, but of the others’ as well. Would the Keeper hear it too?

  “What is it, Rufus?” the Keeper asked the dog. “What do you hear?”

  Rufus stopped barking, but his snout was pointed directly at them. Only a corner of the doghouse kept them out of the Keeper’s eyeshot. They heard her feet crunch over the ground. Closer…closer…

  Sara looked plaintively at Flissa, but Flissa knew there was nothing they could do. If they ran, the Keeper would see them, and even if they could run faster than her, they couldn’t outrun her magic. Depending on her strength, she could make a tree fall in their path, or open up the ground to swallow them. She could even just freeze them in their tracks, and it would all be over.

  “You’ve found something there,” the Keeper mused, “that’s for sure.”

  Five more steps, Flissa calculated. That’s all it would take before the Keeper would see them.

  Four.

  Three.

  “MEOOOOOOW!”

  Nitpick leaped out of Galric’s shirt and raced around the corner of the doghouse. Galric lunged for him, but Sara and Flissa both held him back, and Sara smacked a hand over his mouth so he wouldn’t call out. Rufus the dog started barking the second he saw the kitten, and zoomed after Nitpick.

  “A black cat!” the Keeper called. “Get it, Rufus!”

  She chased after Rufus and Nitpick, leaving the pathway to the woods completely clear. Only then did Sara remove her hand from Galric’s mouth.

  “We have to save him,” Galric said. “He’s just a kitten!”

  “A smart kitten,” Flissa shot back. “Nitpick did that on purpose. To protect us. And if we don’t get away immediately, his gesture will be in vain.”

  “He’ll be okay, Galric,” Sara assured him. “Nitpick’s fast, and small, and he’s a black cat in the dark. He’ll get away.”

  Galric nodded, but his eyes watered and he turned away so he could wipe them with his sleeve. “Okay. Let’s get out of here.”

  They ran full speed, and Flissa and Galric each grabbed one of Sara’s hands to keep her on her feet. They sprinted until they were deep inside the woods, then trudged on until they were well beyond the villages and out toward the very edge of Kaloon, where there was nothing but scrub and dust.

  Flissa’s feet hurt, but of course she would never complain. She could only imagine how Sara felt—she wasn’t used to this kind of exercise. For the first time, Flissa was actually looking forward to reaching Galric’s mysterious friend. It would be nice to sit for a moment before they continued on their quest.

  Just when they’d traveled so far Flissa was sure there was no mysterious friend, she saw a ramshackle home that looked like it had been cobbled together from bits of barns, old carriages, and sculptures gone awry. It had no lawn, but instead sat on a large, uneven patch of raked dirt. Despite the predawn hour, chickens waddled around clucking and pigeons perched on the drooping clothesline. As Galric led them to the door, Flissa saw it was practically falling off its hinges.

  “Does someone actually live here?” she asked.

  “I did,” Galric replied. “When I was very small.”

  “The woman who took you in?” Sara asked. “She’s the one who knows how to get to the Twists?”

  “If anyone does, she will,” Galric said. He walked up to the door, but as he raised his hand to knock, Flissa’s palms started to sweat.

  “Wait!” she said. “Sara and I need to hide. We can’t let anyone else in Kaloon know about us.”

  Galric shrugged. “You can hide if you want, but it won’t matter. You surprised me, but I bet you won’t surprise her at all.”

  Flissa doubted that very much. “Hoods up, Sara.”

  As Galric knocked on the door, Flissa pulled up her hood. Sara tried to do the same, but she still had branches in her hair from their roll down the big hill, and the hood snagged on its way up. She struggled with it as Flissa heard a scrape of something heavy, then thumping footsteps. Flissa tried to pull Sara’s hood down herself, when the door opened to reveal the silhouette of a woman so large and formidable it was impossible to think there could be another just like her. Flissa’s brain completely stalled out as she struggled to force this vision to make any kind of sense, but Sara just blurted, “Katya?!”

  “Keep it down,” Katya hissed. “You want all of Kaloon to know you’re here? Get inside. Hurry. And don’t you even think about waiting to flip that coin, Flissa. Your mother doesn’t have that kind of time.”

  Galric scrunched his face, confused. “Their mother? The queen?”

  Katya rolled her eyes and lurched out of the house, freeing the door for them. She pointed back at the entrance. “In. Now.”

  Flissa was completely baffled. She looked at Sara, but she only shrugged and walked in. With no idea what else to do, Flissa followed.

  Inside the house was just as much of a mishmash as the outside. The single living space was stuffed with chairs, sofas, and daybeds of every color, fabric, and pattern, and the kitchen just off to the side emanated a stranger variety of delicious food smells than the palace kitchens could ever dream up.

  Katya lumbered in, then called back to Galric. “Boy, shut the door behind us.”

  He did, while Katya plopped into an overstuffed rocking chair.

  “Sit,” she said. She waved an arm, and two puffy chairs slid across the floor and into Flissa’s and Sara’s backs, sweeping the girls off their feet. A chirp of birdsong rang out, and Sara sat up straighter in her chair.

  “Primka?” she asked.

  “Sounds like her, doesn’t it?” Katya asked. “It’s how we first became friends. I needed a bird to cover up my magical signature, and she needed someone to disguise her as a pet.”

  “And she sounded exactly like your magical signature?” Sara asked. “That’s amazing!”

  Katya laughed, rocking her chair so hard its joints squeaked. “Sweet merciful heavens, no! You should have heard the unearthly squawk on her before. Like fingernails on a slate. She had to practice for ages to chirp like me, I promise you that.”

  Now Sara laughed too, but Flissa’s eyes goggled out of her head. She jumped to her feet. “How are you laughing?” she exploded to Sara. “Katya knows magic. Real magic. Far more than we ever suspected!”

  “And all you saw me do was move some chairs around,” Katya said lightly. She waved her hand, and with a Primka chirp, Flissa’s chair slid into her, knocking her back off her feet.

  “There’s plenty about me you don’t know,” Katya said. “And I’m not tellin’ you about it now because time is short.” She waved a hand toward the kitche
n, and in a flurry of birdsong, a rickety tray of tiny sandwiches, scones, and tarts rolled across the room to them. Galric quickly grabbed a tart and popped it into his mouth.

  “Mmm, lemon,” he said. “My favorite.”

  “Wait-wait-wait,” Sara said. “You grew up with this? And you freaked out when you saw we were twins?”

  “Well, sure,” Galric said as he plopped down on the nearest couch. “This stuff is basic magic. Twins…that’s just creepy.”

  Only now did Flissa notice the wallpaper. It wasn’t on every wall. In fact, each wall seemed to have its own decorations, none of which had anything to do with one another. One was painted blue, in a pattern of crashing waves, and the pattern was so convincing Flissa almost thought she heard the roar of the ocean. Another wall was papered in a geometric pattern of circles that seemed to move every time Flissa looked away, then go still whenever she looked at them head-on, which had to be an optical illusion. But the other papered wall…it showcased row after row of carousel animals—horses, monkeys, even lions, each with its own animal rider, but the animals actually moved along the wall, lazily bouncing up and down.

  “Katya?” Flissa asked. “Are you aware that your wallpaper is in motion?”

  “Of course!” Katya said. “Gives me something fun to watch when I’m here. Look—I can turn up the surf sounds and smells. It’s very relaxing.”

  She waved her hand toward the blue wall. A single chirp rang out; then the waves undulated faster. Their crashing sound was more evident now, and sea air filled Flissa’s nose. It was a scent she normally enjoyed, but right now it made her slightly nauseous. She met Katya’s eye. “I have a vast number of questions.”

  “No doubt. And as I said, we have time for almost none of them. But I’ll get a few things out of the way. I do have more magic than can safely be performed at the palace, and I have activities that are more wisely practiced elsewhere, hence this home, which I’ve maintained while serving the royal family loyally since your father was small. As for this boy,” she said, waving dismissively at Galric, who grinned as if she’d just given him the greatest compliment of his life, “it was obvious to me the instant I saw him that he couldn’t summon up magic to save his life, and I couldn’t bear to see him sent to the Twists.”

  “So it was you who saved me,” Galric said, the grin even stronger. “I always knew it.”

  Katya rolled her eyes. “Yes, it was a big mystery, with me taking you in and all.” She leaned forward and spoke conspiratorially to Flissa and Sara. “Not very bright, this one.”

  Flissa frowned, trying to connect the dots in her head. It wasn’t working. “So many things don’t make sense,” she said. “If you’re Galric’s friend who has information about the Twists, why didn’t you just tell us? And why in the universe did Galric act so surprised by our secret when clearly he would have known the truth from you?”

  “Bite your tongue, my dear princess, because you are mistaken. I have never breathed a word of your secret to anyone, including Galric. As for telling you about the Twists, I didn’t bring them up in front of you as a hint. I wasn’t trying to tell you to go there. It’s far too dangerous. But after what happened, when I got word through the grapevine that a nameless someone approached Galric and needed help getting into the Twists, I put the pieces together. I’m pretty smart that way.”

  “Okay,” Flissa said, still puzzling it out, “so why didn’t you come to us then?”

  “Did you not hear the part about this idea being very, very dangerous? You needed room to change your mind. And in the meantime, I was looking into alternative plans. I can’t go to the Twists myself because your mother needs my care to buy her time—”

  “Buy her time?” Galric echoed, his eyes wide. “What happened to the queen?”

  Katya held up a finger. “In a moment.” Then she turned back to the girls, and her face clouded over. Her voice lost its dancing lilt and went solemn. “Unfortunately, so far all my ideas have come up short. So while the last thing in the universe I want to do is send the three people I care about most into danger…right now I really don’t see a better way. And I’m very proud of all of you for being willing to do it.”

  Flissa glowed. Despite all her misgivings about this new side of Katya, the woman’s pride warmed her, and she couldn’t help but smile. They’d made the right choice.

  “Um…did you say we’re all going into the Twists?” Galric asked.

  Flissa blushed. Sara gawped at her. Katya looked amused.

  “You didn’t tell him?” Sara asked.

  Flissa fidgeted in her seat. “I thought I did—didn’t I?”

  “No,” Galric said. “You said you needed me to get you to someone in the Underground who could get you there.”

  “That’s what you said?” Sara said.

  “I didn’t mean to leave it out! And I did mention the Twists, but then I heard Blakely shouting and I had to leave, and there just wasn’t another really good time to bring it up, and…”

  Flissa’s voice petered out as she reached up and played with her braid. Finally she looked sheepishly at Galric. “Think you might want to accompany us to the Twists?”

  Katya pursed her lips, fighting off a smile, then shifted her enormous girth to lean forward in her seat and look at Galric. “Allow me to lay things out as clearly as possible. The queen was cursed. The magical signature was your father’s, and both my logic and Kaloonian rumor points to him escaping back to the Twists. The king, however, thinks otherwise. He believes Gilward’s escape is the rallying cry for a second Dark Magic Uprising, which he thinks will take place on Princess Flissara’s Ascension Day.”

  Galric’s eyes were so wide Flissa thought they might pop out of his face.

  “A second Dark Magic Uprising?” He gawped. “Is that what you think?”

  “I do. That’s why I believe he’s still in the vicinity. But unlike the king, I don’t think your father would be foolish enough to stay in Kaloon itself while he waits for it to start. I believe he took refuge back in the Twists, where he’s lived for so many years. I believe he hopes to stay safely tucked away there while the queen perishes, making the king so weak with grief that he’ll be completely ineffective against your father and his magical allies in Kaloon, whoever they may be.”

  This was clearly a lot to take in, and Flissa could see Galric’s mouth working as he tried to figure out where to start.

  “You said the queen would…perish,” he finally said. “Is the curse that bad?”

  “She will die in approximately twenty-nine hours unless the curse is removed,” Katya said so matter-of-factly that it made Flissa ache. “And since a curse can only be removed by the mage who cast it…”

  “You need to get my dad back from the Twists,” Galric said. “But I don’t know anything about the Twists. Or my dad. I have no idea how to find him.”

  “I believe I can take care of that,” Katya said. “At least, I hope so. Your main purpose is to stop your father from killing the girls on sight. And to help them convince him to come back to Kaloon and remove the curse.”

  Galric’s face darkened. “Why would he listen to me?” he asked dully. “He doesn’t even know me. And it’s not like he cares what I think. If he did, I’d have told him not to cast a stupid curse and get thrown in the Twists in the first place.”

  Katya smiled sadly. “He made bad choices where you’re concerned. And he missed out on a wonderful son.”

  Galric looked up, shocked, when she said the word “son,” and Flissa wondered if she’d ever called him that before.

  “But I believe you’ll have more sway over him than you think.”

  Sara reached out and put her hand on Galric’s arm. “Will you please come with us? I know it’s a lot to ask, but I don’t think we can do it without you.”

  Galric looked at Flissa. She nodded, though in the back of her mind she was already trying to work out plans without him, just in case. Next, Galric looked down at Sara’s hand on him. He gave a
long exhale and hung his head. Then he smiled.

  “Yeah, I’ll go,” he said. “Honestly, I was gonna offer anyway. I thought maybe you could use some help. But seriously,” he added, looking straight at Flissa, “you’ve gotta tell me things. We’re a team. For real now. Right?”

  Flissa wasn’t sure they were actually a team, but she and Sara certainly could use his help, so she nodded. “Yes. I understand.”

  “Oh!” Katya exclaimed like she’d been bitten. “Your mother is stirring. Stay right there.”

  “Our moth—” Flissa began, but the words dried up in her throat when she saw Katya’s massive rocker somersault in a stationary circle, then pop back into place, completely empty. Katya was gone!

  Sara’s mouth dropped open. “She just went back to check on our mom, didn’t she? Magically!”

  Galric smiled. “Ask her.”

  WHOOSH! Katya’s rocker spun around again, righting itself with Katya back in place.

  “Whoo!” she said, fanning her face with her hand. “Always quite a journey.” Then she looked lovingly to Flissa and Sara. “Your mother’s resting comfortably. I’m keeping the pain away. That’s all I can do.”

  “Amazing,” Sara said, beaming. “You traveled back to the Residence in that chair, didn’t you?”

  “In the chair isn’t exactly accurate, but yes, I did. You saw how far away we are. You don’t think I can lug these big ol’ bones back and forth to the palace all the time on foot, do you?”

  Flissa looked at Katya as if seeing her for the first time. “Does Mother know how magic you are?” she asked. “Does Father?”

  Katya laughed so hard her chair creaked at the joints.

  “No,” she said emphatically. “Though I don’t think he’d mind if he did. His parents, though, they’d have had me executed a million times over.”