breeze, and the clouds overhead were slowly breaking up. Perhaps one
or more of the Winter Avatars was doing it. Winter Himself would have
restored good weather in a heartbeat. He glanced over to where Caye
and Domina had been standing, but he didn’t see them. Ocul, however,
stared up at the sky. Was he using magic? Kron didn’t want to interrupt
him if he was, but he did want to know what had happened to the
women.
Bella closed her eyes for a few heartbeats. When she opened them,
she said, “Caye and Domina are with Galia and some of the other Sea-
son Avatars. They took shelter in one of the marketplace booths. I think
it sells spices; there are a lot of strange scents.”
Kron looked around, but he didn’t see a spice merchant. “Strange
smells? I can’t smell anything with the wind blowing so hard.”
“There’s a cat close to the Avatars,” Bella said. “I’m getting the
scents from her.”
Kron gaped. He’d never heard of a magician who could manage that.
“How?
Sea so n s’ Be gin n in gs · 1 3 1
“I ... I don’t know. If I try, I can see what she sees, hear what she
hears, and even smell what she smells.” Bella wrinkled her nose. “But
I don’t think cats and humans enjoy the same types of smells.”
“Never mind that. Can you take us there?”
Bella spun around in a circle, then led him to a section of the market
he seldom visited. He followed her, watching to see if she displayed any
other animal traits. He hoped the Four would return so They could ex-
plain exactly what type of magic They’d blessed—or maybe cursed—
the Avatars with.
Caye, Domina, Galia, and the other Avatars weren’t actually in a
spice stall, but they were next door to one. They sat in the middle of a
vegetable stall. Caye and Domina devoured carrots and beans, shovel-
ing them into their mouths as if they hadn’t eaten in a moon.
Galia smiled apologetically when she caught sight of Kron. “We
were all so hungry,” she said, “and I don’t know where the stall owner
is. Maybe we can barter our magic later to pay for the food.”
“I’d say we earned it already, getting rid of the wind,” Domina said.
“You did it, and not the Four?”
Caye nodded, looking away before he could encourage her to speak.
Domina reached for a dirt-covered turnip, scowled at it, and bit into
it anyway, dirt and all. “Caye and I struggled with the wind on our own.
We couldn’t feel anyone else interfering with the weather.”
Kron frowned. “No one? No one at all?” Too many people already
occupied the stall, so he paced in front of it. “But it didn’t seem like a
natural storm.”
Caye glanced up. “Maybe someone set it in motion, then stepped
back.”
“That might be possible,” Kron said. “Could you feel any magic in
the storm?”
“How would we know what magic feels like when this is the first
time we’ve experienced it?” Domina asked crossly.
1 3 2 · S a n d r a U l b r i c h A l m a z a n
Kron had to acknowledge she had a point. He wasn’t sure if their
magic worked differently from his, but he had to attempt to teach her
anyway. He grabbed a potato to illustrate.
“For me at least, when I try to tell if an object has already been en-
chanted, I can learn a lot by touching it. Sometimes it seems to quiver
under my hands.” He shook the potato back and forth. “But touching an
enchanted object can be dangerous. If the enchantment is really strong,
I can feel the energy coming off the object before I touch it. I can also
test it with a magic-finder.”
“But we can’t make magic-finders, Kron,” Domina said. “And I
can’t touch the wind.”
“Really? Then how did you make it die just now?”
She furrowed her forehead. “I...felt it. In my head. It was...loud. And
angry.”
He’d never experienced magic like that. But angry? Maybe Salth
had been behind the wind after all.
Carver, Janno, and a few other Avatars leaned forward, listening to
Domina. “Was it alive?” Carver asked.
“How can the wind be alive?” Janno asked. “It doesn’t grow.”
“What else did you feel?” Kron asked Domina. “Did it seem like
another person was controlling the weather?”
“I don’t know. All I know is that the wind didn’t want to die down.”
Caye hadn’t spoken during their exchange, and even when Kron
looked at her, she looked away. Bella slid next to her and asked, “Did
you feel the same thing Domina did?”
Caye fiddled with the fronds of a half-eaten carrot. “Well, I know I
definitely didn’t feel Winter behind this weather. He has strength be-
hind Him, a certain presence.” She gestured with the carrot. “It wasn’t
there.”
“Then where is He? Where are Spring and the others? When will
They return?” Galia asked.
Sea so n s’ Be gin n in gs · 1 3 3
The others looked fearful. They needed a distraction. Kron clapped
his hands to get their attention. “How about while we wait for Them,
you show me your new magic and help restore the marketplace?”
Bright smiles all around showed their support for his idea.
As they fanned out, stall owners returned to collect scattered goods
and set them up again. A barrel-chested man hurried over to the chicken
cart, complaining about a broken wheel and axle. Kron headed over to
him. “I can help you with that,” he said.
The man chuckled as he looked at him. “How? Are you going to
help me pull it? You don’t look strong enough.”
“You may not believe it, but I work with my hands. Just help me
hold the pieces together.”
Kron carefully joined the wheel spokes and rim, then repaired the
axle. By the time he was done, the man nodded as if he’d known all
along what Kron was capable of.
“Now I recognize you,” he said. “You’re Kron Evenhanded, the ma-
gician who fixes things. What are the other people doing? Are they
magicians too?”
The Avatars flitted from stall to stall as a group, looking for things
to do. The Winter Avatars hung back, though they studied the sky as if
expecting the wind – or some other type of foul weather – to return. The
Spring and Fall Avatars seemed the busiest, while the Summer ones
eventually broke away to descend on the produce stalls. A few of the
stall owners watched with open mouths as the Avatars tried to heal what
could be healed. However, the worst damage was to nonliving things
that only Kron could mend.
“They’re magicians, but not like me. Some of your chickens are in
the warehouse,” he told the cart owner. “I need to see what else I can
repair.”
Once word spread that Kron, and only Kron, could repair things, he
found himself the center of attention. Local sellers and foreign mer-
chants alike pulled on his sleeves, demanding his immediate attention
or offering him so many goods to offer for his services that he didn’t
1 3 4
· S a n d r a U l b r i c h A l m a z a n
know what to accept or where to go first. By the time he was done, it
was mid-afternoon. Kron gratefully accepted a flatcake filled with beef
and onions and devoured it as he searched for the other Avatars. How-
ever, he didn’t see them. Their cart was gone too.
Did they leave without me? Even Bella? Kron had worked more
magic in a short period of time than he was used to and would have
appreciated a ride home. Fortunately, one of the farmers he’d helped
gave him a ride.
Kron entered the courtyard to find the Avatars gathered around
Janno as he knelt by a garden bed, touched the sprouts, and made them
grow to full height. Bella broke away and ran to Kron. “I was wondering
when you’d be done,” she said. “You had more to fix than the rest of us
put together.”
“Then why didn’t you wait for me?”
“We were hoping the Four would return here.” Although Galia
hadn’t lost any of her years, she walked more easily than she had that
morning. She didn’t squint as she looked at him. “Did you see Them?”
Kron shook his head.
“Then, what do we do? Are They coming back?”
“I can’t answer that,” he said, “but since you’re all still new to
magic, I think you should keep testing what you can and can’t do.
Maybe start with small tasks and try harder things as you gain confi-
dence.” I hope you don’t make any mistakes you can’t fix, especially
since your magic works on living things, and mine doesn’t.
As the rest of the Avatars scattered to practice on plants and birds
and puddles, Galia drew Kron aside. “Spring said yesterday we are sup-
posed to go with you the next time you visit Salth. Is she the magician
who challenged the Four?”
Kron didn’t answer. Instead, he watched Bella summon finches and
other small birds to perch on her head and arms. She laughed, making
her seem even more lovely than usual.
“Kron, did Salth challenge the Four earlier?” Galia asked again.
He sighed. “Yes.”
Sea so n s’ Be gin n in gs · 1 3 5
“But how could she, when she’s just a magician like you, not a god-
dess?”
Because I’m supposedly not just a human magician anymore either.
“She’s more powerful than anyone realizes.”
“But she can’t be more powerful than the Four.” Although Galia’s
voice started out strong, it wavered at the end. “She’s not on Their level.
No one can be.”
Kron tore his gaze away from Bella and stared northwest. Some-
where far away past the courtyard wall stood Salth’s crystal castle.
Thinking of it made the air feel colder. “Galia, it doesn’t matter what
exactly Salth is now. We have to find a way to destroy her crystal
house.” He stomped his feet, trying to gain warmth. “It lets her steal
magic she shouldn’t have.”
“So, if we destroy her house, it will help the Four defeat her?”
“Something like that.”
Galia straightened herself to her full height. She still didn’t reach
Kron’s shoulder. “Then, how soon do you think we’ll be ready to
travel?”
Shouting broke out in the corner where the Winter Avatars stood.
Ice coated the walkway, and the plants there had turned a sickly brown.
“It’s your fault!” Domina shouted. “I told you I was going to make
it rain! Why did you make it so cold?”
Caye balled her fists as she breathed heavily. Then she raised her
gaze to meet Domina’s. “I started first. You should wait your turn.”
“I don’t need to wait for you! I’m a councilman’s daughter! I out-
rank you!”
The third Winter Avatar stepped forward. “You’re an Avatar now,
Domina. Your old rank doesn’t mat—”
He slipped and fell, taking Caye down with him. Domina smirked.
Kron glanced at Galia. “The Avatars have had magic for less than a
day. How well do you think they’ll fare against someone who was born
with her magic and has access to a power reserve?”
Galia’s dismayed expression spoke for her.
C H A P T E R F I F T E E N
Spring Returns
Three days later, Kron paced up and down in the courtyard as the
Avatars watched him. “Before you’re ready to face Salth, you need to
know how to defend yourselves with magic,” he said. “There are too
many dead bodies by her crystal house to be a coincidence.”
Several of the Avatars widened their eyes or turned pale. However,
none of them, even Domina, fled. Perhaps the Four had chosen them
not just for their natural talents and interests, but for bravery—or stub-
bornness.
Kron continued, “So you need to find ways to use your new magical
talents for both attack and defense. Go ahead and start.” He deliberately
stared at Domina. “And try not to freeze the other Avatars.”
Galia opened her mouth to say something, but he quickly added,
“Galia, you’ll be supervising the others while Bella and I discuss strat-
egy.”
He hadn’t intended to say that, but once he did, it made sense. Bella
had met Salth before and knew what she was capable of. Perhaps, since
they were both women, Bella might have some insights into Salth that
Kron lacked.
He took Bella by the arm and drew her away. For a moment they
stood together and stared at the trees, which had put out buds and baby
leaves despite the chill in the air.
“Any idea who did that?” Kron asked.
Sea so n s’ Be gin n in gs · 1 3 7
“I don’t think it was one of the Summer Avatars. They all worked
on flowers and weeds.” Bella crinkled her nose. “Except Janno. But he
tried to make a tree grow taller and straighten out, not bud. And he was
working in another corner anyway.”
“Then either his reach is longer than we realized, or else this is
Salth’s work again, mixing up the seasons.”
“An insult to the Four,” Bella said. She looked around as if hoping
for Fall to reappear and tell them all was well. At this point, Kron would
have been happy to see Her too, even if She hated him for being a man.
All of the Avatars were dispirited from the Four’s continued absence.
No matter how often he told the Avatars that the Four were too powerful
to work with mortals and that was why They needed the Avatars, the
new magicians wanted to work with the Four, not Kron. He was a poor
substitute.
Kron sighed. “Bella, unless the Four assist us, I don’t believe this
plan of Theirs is going to work. It doesn’t matter how much magic They
gave you or how many Avatars They make, Salth is one of the strongest
magicians I’ve ever known—and that was before she turned her house
into a crystal trap. I don’t see how taming animals and killing weeds
will stop her.”
“It must, Kron.” She looked up to him with such hope in her eyes he
was loath to contradict her. “We don’t even know yet how much we can
do, but when we all join together, our magic will be stronger than
Salth’s.”
“Well, maybe not that strong. But definitely strong enough to take
down that crystal house.” Bella shivered. “I hope she’s not sacrificing
more people in there.”
No, because they’re dying before they get there. Kron brushed her
hair away from her eyes. “Don’t be in such a rush to face Salth, espe-
cially if you don’t feel ready. You need years of practice and study to
master magic.”
1 3 8 · S a n d r a U l b r i c h A l m a z a n
“But what about the changing seasons?” Bella pointed to the bloom-
ing tree. “What if more than one tree blooms or ripens at the wrong
time? What if they all do? People will starve!”
“Then maybe you and the other Avatars should focus on keeping the
Fours’ seasons straight instead of destroying Salth,” Kron said. The Av-
atars would be safer in Vistichia than in Salth’s domain. “If you can’t
counteract her magic here, how do you expect to face Salth on her own
territory, when her power’s not stretched thin?”
“What do the Four want us to do?” Galia asked as she came over to
them. “That’s what we need to ask ourselves.”
Couldn’t she give them a few heartbeats to themselves? He should
have led Bella back into their quarters and let the others think they were
making love in the middle of the day. Maybe then they would have had
some privacy—and a lot more pleasure than discussing Salth.
Caye wandered over, her hands clasped together as if she held a
spark. “Maybe if we pray to the Four, They’ll return and tell us if we
should stay in Vistichia or destroy Salth’s crystal palace.”
“I wish there was a way we could do both,” Bella said.
Galia perked up. “What if we split the group? Half of us could stay
here and guard the city, while half of us travel with Kron to tear down
Salth’s house.”
“Because six of you won’t be enough,” a familiar voice said from
behind Kron. “All of you will be needed to defeat Salth.”
“Spring!” the Avatars shouted at once. The ones who were still prac-
ticing their magic halted and raced toward the Goddess. Kron turned
around with less enthusiasm. When he saw Spring, his eyes widened in
surprise. Normally She bubbled over with energy and magic, but now
She seemed diminished. Her hair lacked luster, and Her face, while still
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