season avatars 01 - seasons beginnings

by sandra ulbrich almazan

  as if trying to flush game from its hiding place.

  If he thinks I’m going to run away, he’s very much mistaken. That

  never worked with my cousin. Only standing up to him made him leave

  me alone, even if we both wound up with bloody faces.

  Kron squared his shoulders, smiled, and stepped forward. Overhead,

  a bolt of lightning fractured the sky and disappeared. “Since you’re so

  confident, Janno, I’ll let you throw the first punch.”

  That made him widen his eyes, but Janno took the opening and

  stepped forward, his fist seeming to come at Kron with the speed of a

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  snail. Kron dodged and countered by grabbing Janno’s arm and throw-

  ing him to the pavement. His defense teacher at the Magic Institute

  would be pleased that he’d remembered that move.

  Janno grunted as he rose, his tunic ripped. Then he rushed Kron

  again. This time, Kron let him collide with him. The force knocked him

  back a couple of paces, but his tunic and outer robe absorbed most of

  the blow and turned it back on Janno. He staggered backwards. While

  he scrambled for balance, Kron stepped forward to tap him with the

  second pebble, allowing only a little bit of magic to escape. Even so,

  the jolt made Janno yelp and his mother hurry to his side.

  “Are you hurt? How badly?” She glared at Kron and said to him,

  “That last bit wasn’t necessary.”

  “Better from me than from Salth. She won’t hold back.”

  Galia turned away and touched Janno’s shoulder, intent on healing

  minor scrapes and burns. Kron noted wryly the other two Spring Ava-

  tars didn’t come forward to check him. Bella took a couple of steps

  toward him, concern shining in her eyes, but he waved her away. “I’m

  not hurt, dear. My clothes are enchanted to protect me.”

  Galia glanced in his direction. “Then you should do the same for us

  before we set out on our journey.”

  “You still believe you’re ready to face Salth?”

  She sighed. “Maybe not. But we have to do something, and I think

  we’ve learned all we can in Vistichia. Maybe your portal idea is a good

  one, Kron.”

  Pride that she agreed with him warred with his worry for Bella. He

  didn’t want her exposed to the dangers of the trip, but he hated the

  thought of leaving her behind—especially if Janno stayed with her.

  “Who’s going to stay behind?” Bella asked, her eyes dark.

  “Not me,” Janno said as he stood up. “You might need me out there

  on the river.”

  “Your talent is for wood, not water,” his mother reminded him.

  “At least you know the boat won’t leak.”

  Galia and a few other Avatars smiled at that.

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  “Are you still planning to stay in your quartets?” Kron asked. “Galia

  might prefer to travel by portal. It’ll be easier on her.”

  “Nonsense. I feel at least ten years younger now, maybe even

  twenty.” Galia straightened, but she still appeared hunched over.

  “And if there are two of us Springs, we can take turns healing each

  other if need be,” Magstrom said.

  And two to take care of Bella if she needs it. Kron sighed as rain

  clouds formed above the courtyard. They still had a lot of preparation

  to do before they could leave Vistichia, and Salth wasn’t going to make

  it any easier for them.

  * * *

  Now that they’d decided it was time to go, it turned out that there

  were no boats available in Vistichia that could sail upriver in the middle

  of winter. After more discussion, Carver suggested they hire a boat

  builder to make them a boat. “If we help him, it won’t take long,” he

  said. “We can shape and harden the wood.”

  “Are we going to collect it ourselves?” Janno asked. “It’ll take a lot

  of trees for a boat big enough for all of us—and supplies.”

  A couple of people laughed at that, as all of them had larger appetites

  now. Kron, however, took the matter seriously. Normally they would

  be able to barter for food along the way, but during the winter, supplies

  would be more precious and people less willing to part with them. For-

  aging would also be more difficult, though perhaps the Summers and

  Falls would be able to help with that, just as the Winters would have to

  make sure the Chikasi wasn’t impassable with ice.

  “Let’s start with the boat first,” he said. “We’ll need a lot of wood,

  so let’s collect it.”

  Carver and Janno, along with the other Summer, a woman named

  Flilya, led Kron into the forest near Vistichia. The Avatars had been lax

  about tending this area, and it showed in the snowdrifts high enough to

  swallow Kron. Cold ate away at the protections on Kron’s clothing,

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  leaving him with a dripping nose and chunks of snow inside his boots.

  Animal tracks showed them the best path, but breaking through the

  snow slowed them down. Kron’s ox struggled through the deeper drifts

  and almost got stuck. Too bad they hadn’t thought to bring a Fall with

  them to make the animal more cooperative.

  “How far are we going in?” Kron asked. “And how are we going to

  bring the wood back? Our ox won’t be able to haul it all in a single trip.”

  “We’re almost there,” Carver said.

  It felt more like a season had passed by the time Carver halted in the

  middle of a grove. It must have been impressive at one point, with trees

  taller than the city-king’s palace. Now several of the giants lay toppled,

  some having taken their neighbors with them.

  Carver turned to Kron. “How many trees do you need again, and

  how big do they have to be?”

  Kron paced off twenty strides. “They should be this long. Are we

  using oars or sail?”

  “Sail, of course, since the Winters can summon the wind,” Janno

  said. “Or are you going to enchant the oars so they work without us?”

  “I’d rather not rely on magic when Salth’s storms could interrupt it.”

  Janno narrowed his eyes. “You mean, Salth’s storms could prove

  stronger than three Winters?”

  “Only two Winters. And yes, they could. Better gather wood for oars

  too.”

  Janno and Carver grumbled as they conferred with Flilya. She pro-

  tested that she knew more about herbs and healing plants than trees.

  However, the three of them went to the fallen trees and put their hands

  on the trunks. Most of the trees were still sound, but the Summer Ava-

  tars judged a few of them to be too rotten to use. They decided to harvest

  some of the standing trees too.

  “Do we cut and shape the trees now, or do we just bring them to the

  boat makers?” Janno asked.

  “They’ll probably want to cut the planks themselves.” Kron rubbed

  his hands together, trying to coax warmth back into them. The sooner

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  they could return to the city, the better. “I say hitch them up to Brownie

  so we can go.”

  Flilya busied herself with weaving fallen branches into a makeshif
t

  sled. Janno and Carver downed the selected trees, secured them with

  ropes they’d brought along, and dragged the trees over to Brownie.

  Flilya came over with her sled and tried to tell Janno that it would make

  hauling the wood easier, but he refused to listen to her.

  The pouch at Kron’s waist grew warm. The only artifact in there that

  would react like that was a magic-finder, but he’d fine-tuned it to ex-

  clude the Avatars. “Magic’s coming,” he announced. “Be prepared—”

  A portal opened in the middle of the clearing, big enough for a per-

  son to step through. Salth, dressed in white, pointed a finger at him. A

  bolt of red energy writhed toward him but bounced off the portal. She

  grunted and stepped forward, only to halt before passing through the

  portal.

  Kron couldn’t help but grin as he reached into his pouch for a pro-

  tective artifact. Maybe Salth’s power was limited after all, or maybe the

  Four had managed to prevent her from traveling to Vistichia again.

  “What do you want, Salth?” he asked.

  “Besides your head? Or your wife’s?”

  It took all his effort not to flinch at the threat to Bella. “Our deaths

  won’t bring Sal-thaath back to life, Salth.”

  “If you hadn’t interfered, your death would be unnecessary.” As if

  noticing the Avatars for the first time, Salth glanced at Janno. “You

  jumped-up Nils should be careful of Kron. They call him Evenhanded,

  but he causes more problems than he solves.”

  Janno snorted, but Flilya, who hadn’t spent as much time with Kron,

  glanced back at him as if she was seeing him through a broken far-seer.

  She wouldn’t believe Salth over him, would she? Salth was a stranger,

  and someone who’d confronted the Avatars’ gods. But Flilya asked, “Is

  that true, Kron?”

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  The familiar feel of rejection strung for a moment until he reminded

  himself that Bella loved him, Galia asked for his advice, and even the

  Four respected him.

  “I never wanted Sal-thaath hurt. I just wanted him—and his

  mother—to leave everyone else alone.” Anger surged through Kron as

  he spoke. Why let Salth stir up further trouble? She had no right to open

  a portal to Vistichia, even if she remained on her side of it. He turned

  to her. “Close this at once, before I do it for you.”

  “Then go ahead and try, if you’re able.” Her mouth twisted in a

  smirk.

  Kron ignored her to focus on the portal. No matter how powerful

  Salth was, she needed something physical to anchor her portal. Would

  he be able to reach it on his side? Crossing over would be suicidal, but

  if he could break one of the items Salth was using for the portal, the

  entire opening would collapse. Using a magic-finder as an aid, he tried

  to identify the portal anchors, but he couldn’t sense them.

  “Something wrong, master of artifacts?” Salth asked in a tone that

  made him want to slap her. She must have done something to stop him

  from closing her portal, but what? Even if the anchors were invisible,

  he should still be able to sense them. No matter what magic she used,

  he ought to be able to sense it. Could she have moved the portal so that

  it wasn’t on its anchors? Kron didn’t think that was possible, and his

  reach into Salth’s domain was limited. Unless...Salth supposedly had

  the magic of time now. But how could she use time magic to make a

  portal?

  Kron frowned and let his shoulders droop. “What did you do, mis-

  tress of time?” Hopefully the flattery would distract her so that she’d

  actually tell him.

  Her grin widened. “Ah, you can’t figure it out?”

  A pity she had to be too clever to fall for his trick. The Summer

  Avatars didn’t speak, but disappointment showed in their eyes. If word

  got back to the rest of the Avatars that he wasn’t as intelligent as Salth,

  they wouldn’t accept him as their leader, no matter what the Four said.

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  Besides, what if Salth figured out a way to send her magic through the

  portal? She had to be stopped here and now.

  Kron brought out one of his sundials and ran it up and down the

  edges of the portal. When he reached the apex, the entire portal wavered

  for a few heartbeats. Salth stretched her arm over her head as if to touch

  something Kron couldn’t see.

  He stepped away from the portal so Salth wouldn’t overhear him.

  “The three of you can make plants grow, yes?” he asked. “What about

  making something decay?”

  The Summer Avatars exchanged glances. “We can try it,” Janno

  said. “What do you want us to work on?”

  “I think Salth’s concealing the physical supports of the portal by

  moving them in time.”

  “In time?” Flilya creased her forehead. “How is that possible?”

  “She’s an expert in time now,” Kron said bitterly.

  “But, time’s what we measure with a water clock or a sundial, or the

  moon. What is it that you can move in it?”

  “I don’t know. All I can tell you is that she’s using time on that por-

  tal, and the only way we can destroy it is by using time against her. So

  if there’s any wood in that portal, you can break it down and break the

  portal as well.”

  Janno crossed his arms. “And if it’s not wood, or anything we can

  work with?”

  “Then it’ll have to be an artifact, and I can handle that.” Kron

  sketched a triangle in the dirt. “Portals are normally made with two or

  three sticks. See if you can magically contact them without crossing

  into Salth’s territory.” Only the Four can save you then. “I’ll keep her

  distracted.”

  He broke away from the Avatars and charged toward the portal,

  brandishing one of his protective devices. As he advanced, it glowed.

  Had Salth managed to send some of her magic through the portal? If so,

  it might prove dangerous to the Avatars, since none of them were pro-

  tected.

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  “You won’t get away with this, Salth!” He willed the device to pull

  in Salth’s magic.

  “And who’s going to stop me, gods under my control?” Salth casu-

  ally extended her hand toward the portal. It didn’t pass through, but the

  surface rippled as if something had. The Avatars halted. Flilya bore an

  expression of fear on her face, as if she expected to be struck down by

  Salth any heartbeat.

  “The Four are not under your control, stupid woman!” Janno yelled.

  Kron winced. Salth would make Janno pay for that comment. How-

  ever, he used the distraction to check if any of Salth’s magic had indeed

  escaped into Vistichia. There was just a trickle winding its way around

  a tree. Perhaps she intended to make it fall on them. Kron nudged Flilya

  and pointed at the affected tree. She blinked a few times before stagger-

  ing forward to check it. Meanwhile, Salth had sent more magic through,

  this time directed at Janno. Kron stepped in front of the Avatar and in-

  t
ercepted the magic with his artifact. The sundial burned in his hand

  until he was forced to drop it. Kron shook his damaged hand about and

  twisted to take another artifact out of his pouch with his good hand.

  A sudden cry from Salth startled him. During the confusion, Carver

  had managed to grab the portal—Kron would have to remind him later

  about the risks of grabbing magical objects with bare hands – and had

  broken it. The window through which they could see Salth shrank, then

  disappeared. Kron stood on guard for several more heartbeats in case

  she decided to return. Perhaps she’d decided she’d given them enough

  trouble for one day, for nothing happened except for his hand throbbing

  hard enough to make him long to cut it off.

  “The Four didn’t come,” Flilya said sadly, hugging the tree Salth

  had enchanted. At least no traces of her magic remained.

  “They didn’t need to come because They knew we could handle

  her,” Janno said. “That’s why They shared Their magic with us.”

  “But is it true what she said about Them being under her control

  now?” Carver asked.

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  “They can do things Salth can’t—or won’t.” Kron scooped up snow

  with his burned hand. The snow provided some relief until it melted and

  ran through his fingers. “She’s just trying to trick us.”

  Flilya came forward and peered at his hand. “I think I can find some

  leaves that will soothe your hand until a Spring Avatar can heal you.”

  “Thank you, Flilya. Carver, Janno, can you hitch up my ox without

  my help? I need to let Galia and the others know what happened.” And

  make sure Salth isn’t attacking them.

  “Of course, Kron,” the men answered.

  While the Avatars busied themselves, Kron nudged fallen tree

  branches into a portal. Unfortunately, he couldn’t make it large enough

  for the ox and his burden, but it would allow him to return home and

  check on the other Avatars. Too impatient to wait for Flilya, Kron

  dashed through the portal as soon as it was active. He arrived in the

  courtyard. “Bella? Galia? Anyone?”

  Bella hurried out of the kitchen a few heartbeats later, cornmeal

  sticking to her skirt. “Kron? Where are the others?” She gasped. “Your

  hand! What happened? Galia, come quickly! You’re needed!” she

  called over her shoulder.

  “Is there any cold water? I can use that to soothe my hand.”