Bella, Galia, Janno, and all the other Avatars followed him to the
boat. Each of them carried some last-minute necessity. Tylan led the
final three Avatars down to the dock, but they didn’t step on to it.
“When will we see you next, Kron?” Tylan asked.
Normally it would take them at least two weeks to travel all the way
to the Western Mountains via the Chikasi, but that was in summer. Kron
wasn’t sure yet if Caye and Domina would be able to keep the river
clear of ice and provide a steady wind to push them, despite their assur-
ances they could do it. Perhaps they would fail to leave the city, or even
the dock. He wouldn’t be upset if this voyage came to an early end, as
long as everyone was safe. Especially Bella.
“I’ll return once we’re ready to leave the boat,” Kron replied. He
extended a hand to help Galia and Bella on board. Janno leaped in, then
took Caye’s baskets from her. Despite being short, she managed to
climb aboard the ship without assistance.
Kron moved away from the side to give the rest of the Avatars space
to board. He poked his head into the cabin. Hammocks were stacked
one above another above yet another, and there were two more sets of
hammocks beyond the column by the door. By the Four, were they re-
ally all going to share the same quarters? How was he supposed to get
private time with his wife? She’d be upset if they couldn’t attempt to
conceive a child. The only good thing about this arrangement was that
Kron could poke Janno without leaving his bed whenever the Avatar
snored.
“I hope this will turn out to be a short trip,” he told Galia as he re-
turned to the deck.
“I don’t.” She softened her tart voice with a smile as she gazed
around her. “I’ve never left Vistichia before and can’t wait to see what
it’s like outside the city. You’ve traveled this way before, haven’t you?
Are there any more cities along the river?”
“Nothing as big as Vistichia.” He leaned against the railing, watch-
ing Ocul and Tylan struggle with the knots on the lines. None of the
Avatars coming on this journey knew anything about sailing. The Four
1 8 2 · S a n d r a U l b r i c h A l m a z a n
would have to work a miracle for them to make it out past the city walls
without tipping over.
“But you said there were trading villages where we could pick up
fresh supplies, right?”
“During the normal travel season, yes. Now, I don’t know if anyone
will be willing to empty out their larders for us in the middle of winter.”
“Don’t worry so much, Kron,” Galia said. “The gifts we Avatars
have will stop a lot of unnecessary deaths this season.”
“I hope you’re right. But if we’re going to save lives, we should do
it by stopping Salth.”
Flilya finally took pity on her fellow Avatars and unraveled the
ropes with a touch. The ends slithered into the water. The Avatar listed
to one side for a heartbeat, but before Kron could add his weight to the
other side, Caye took up position behind the sail and raised her hand.
The cloth billowed above Kron, but not a breeze stirred his hair. Not
enough force in the wind, he guessed. Caye kept their speed slow as she
maneuvered them away from the dock and the last four Avatars waving
and shouting advice.
Galia sighed. “At this speed, I’ll die of old age before we reach
Salth.”
“Give her time to learn this, Galia. If she’s ready, she’s ready. If
not—”
The boat came to a halt as they reached a part of the river that was
more frozen than free.
“I’d better see if she needs me,” Kron said before going back to
check on Caye. Domina raced past him to the front of the boat, grinning
as she directed her magic against the ice. For all of her faults, she han-
dled her weather magic as if she’d been doing it all her life, not just a
couple of moons. She would be very useful in the battle against Salth—
if they made it there in one piece.
* * *
Sea so n s’ Be gin n in gs · 1 8 3
The Four Gods and Goddesses must have been watching out for the
Avatars. Despite their lack of sailing or navigation experience, Caye
and Domina managed to keep the wind constant and the river clear.
They came dangerously close to the river’s edge a few times, but
Domina called up an opposing wind each time, loudly calling to Caye
each time that she would take care of it. By sunset, both Winters trem-
bled with exhaustion, but Caye seemed more drained than Domina.
“Bring the boat in over there.” Kron directed them to a small bend
in the river not far from where he’d shared a lunch with Sal-thaath.
“We’d better tie up for the night so the Winters can rest.” Perhaps he
and Bella could find a private spot to sleep. Surely the two of them
could keep warm enough if they shared a single blanket.
“Are you going to sleep on shore?” Galia peered at the bushes as if
already picking her spot.
While Kron searched for a way to gently discourage her from joining
them, Caye, looking even more pale than normal, said, “Please, I want
off. The boat...”
She sagged. Janno caught her before she hit the deck.
Galia and Magstrom pushed through the staring Avatars in a strug-
gle to be the first to reach her. Galia, accompanied by Bella, won. She
laid a hand on Caye’s forehead.
“Is she all right?” Bella asked.
“She’s exhausted from using her magic all day. She needs meat and
a chance to rest.”
Bella nodded and entered the cabin. A few heartbeats later, thump-
ing sounds emerged. Kron guessed she was searching for a basket of
dried meat.
The Avatars’ magic seems to be especially draining. It had been a
long time since Kron had had to push himself as much as Caye had done
today, so perhaps it wasn’t fair to think of the Avatars as being weaker
than him. But they hadn’t traveled as far today as he’d hoped they
would. What if Caye didn’t recover overnight but required extra rest?
Then their trip would take even longer.
1 8 4 · S a n d r a U l b r i c h A l m a z a n
Maybe she and Domina can take turns with the wind. Or is melting
ice just as draining? Kron glanced around for Domina. Fear rose in him
when she wasn’t immediately visible, but he finally found her curled up
by the stern, her head touching her knees.
“Domina?” He shook her arm. “We’re stopping for the night. Come
rest and eat something. You’ll feel better.”
She raised her head to glare at him, but the weariness in her gaze
muted her ferocity.
“Magstrom!” Kron called. “Domina needs you!”
The Spring Avatar detached himself from the group surrounding
Caye and hurried over. “Domina! Did you faint?”
“I don’t faint.” Her words came out under her breath.
“Here, take my hand.” Magstrom smiled tenderly at her as he sent
more energy into the Winter Avatar. A blush returned to her cheeks, but
Kron suspected that had more to do with Magstrom’s attention than his
magic.
“I hate to interrupt a private moment,” he said, “But By All Four of
your Gods and Goddesses, Magstrom, why didn’t you do that sooner?
The Winters are going to need all the energy you can give them if we’re
going to reach Salth’s domain before the summer solstice.”
Magstrom rounded his shoulders. “I thought she could handle it. She
said she could handle it.”
“But did you check?”
Instead of answering, he gave Kron a dark look, as if questioning his
right to doubt an Avatar.
“See that you do so tomorrow. If we need to halt to let the Winters
rest, we’ll do so.”
Kron left them so he could instruct Galia to do the same thing. She,
at least, nodded and looked rueful for not having thought of it herself.
“It’s the excitement of being out of Vistichia,” she said. “I’ll keep a
close eye on Caye tomorrow.”
“Do you think she’ll be ready to travel tomorrow?” Kron asked.
Sea so n s’ Be gin n in gs · 1 8 5
Caye looked up from the bowl of dried meat Bella had prepared for
her. It didn’t look appetizing, but she’d already eaten most of it and
seemed to have more energy. “I’ll do my best, Kron. I don’t want to
disappoint the Four.”
The Avatars may have been united in their devotion to the Four, but
they seemed divided in their feelings for Kron. When Galia and Caye
decided they would sleep on shore with Kron and Bella, Janno followed
suit, leaving Magstrom and the rest of his quartet in the ship’s cabin.
“Maybe we should return to the boat,” Bella said as she glanced at
the snow-covered riverbank. “The cabin will be warmer than this.”
“Not to worry, dear. Our blanket will keep us warm.” Kron exam-
ined the campsite, then laid out their bed near a small hill that would
shield them from the others. Not as much privacy as he’d hoped for, but
still better than what they could find on board.
“But what about Galia? And Janno and Caye?”
“I can enchant their blankets as well.”
While he did so, Janno lit a fire and hauled water from the Chikasi.
Galia and Bella cooked a stew, waving aside Caye’s offer to help. The
other quartet of Avatars didn’t join them for dinner, taking some of the
flavor away. Carver came out once to wave to them, but he didn’t speak.
“Magstrom needs to learn who’s leading this frozen trip,” Kron
grumbled.
“You may be leading this trip, but we Springs lead the Avatars,
Kron.” Galia drew herself up straight. “Let him worry about managing
Domina’s magic. I have to focus on Caye, and I can’t link directly with
Domina anyway.”
“I’m sure by morning things will be better between you and Mag-
strom,” Bella said.
He ran his hand down her back and murmured into her ear, “And
how shall we make the time pass until then?”
The other three Avatars grinned when Kron and Bella retired to their
bed as soon as they’d eaten, but even Janno refrained from crude com-
ments.
1 8 6 · S a n d r a U l b r i c h A l m a z a n
After making love to Bella—and struggling to keep it quiet—Kron
said to her, “Close your eyes. I bought you something.” He sent protec-
tive magic into the necklace before draping it over her head.
Bella didn’t wait for permission before examining it. She smiled.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Not as much as you.” He pulled her closer to him, enjoying the feel
of her plump breasts against his chest. “Bella, I know you’re an im-
portant part of our plan to destroy Salth’s house of death, but please,
protect yourself. Don’t hesitate to flee if she attacks, even if I or the
other Avatars are in trouble.”
“How can you ask that of me? Do you think I could live with myself
afterward, knowing I was too much of a coward to save my friends or
my husband?”
“Do you think I like knowing the person I love most is also the one
Salth is most likely to hurt?” He touched the necklace. “I’ve put as
much protective magic into this necklace as I can manage, but against
Salth’s power, that may not be enough.”
“Salth may be powerful, but she’s not half as clever as you.” She
brushed her fingers against his chin. “You saved me once from her. I
have faith you’re as important to this task of stopping her as I am,
maybe more. Let’s forget about her for a while and enjoy being to-
gether.”
Kron pleasured her again, and afterward, she fell asleep in his arms.
Her drowsy warmth and the hushed murmur of the river nearly lulled
him to sleep too, but first he hauled himself out of the blanket—a tricky
thing to do without waking his wife—and set wards around the
campsite. Then he boarded the Avatar and set a ward there too. Mag-
strom might be angry at him, but they couldn’t afford to be enemies
when they ventured close to Salth’s territory.
* * *
Sea so n s’ Be gin n in gs · 1 8 7
Kron started awake, unsure at first what had startled him. Then a
spark flashed by the river. One of his wards had gone off. He raised his
head, searching for whatever triggered the ward. Nothing moved, not
even tree branches laden with snow. The ward winked again, as if it was
trying to trick him. The boat creaked, and something splashed in the
water. Maybe an animal was wandering around in the night, but it
shouldn’t have triggered his ward, especially twice. With a sigh, Kron
pried himself out of Bella’s embrace and left their bed, tucking the blan-
ket around her to keep her warm.
Unwilling to use a light and scare off whatever had triggered the
ward, Kron waited until his eyes had adjusted to the darkness before
heading toward the ward by the boat. They’d tramped around enough
while setting up camp to make trails in the snow. He followed one now,
letting his feet find the path while he scanned the campsite. None of his
other wards had gone off. Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe he hadn’t
been as careful in setting up the wards as he’d thought, and this one had
gone off accidentally. But he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep unless
he checked first.
When he reached the boat without further signs of activated wards,
Kron took a stone from his pouch and tapped it. The stone glowed with
enough light for him to see two or three paces in front of him. Kron
examined the ward he’d set on the boat’s hull near the bow, as high as
he could stretch. He’d made this ward using a strand of hair from
Bella’s head, a magic-finder, and a hunk of misshapen copper. The cop-
per had melted and the hair had snapped, both signs that the ward had
been triggered by magic and not accident. Could it have been one of the
Avatars? Kron thought he’d set the ward to recognize the four types of
magic the Avatars used, just as the ward would recognize his own magic
and not react to it. But even if he’d omitted that step, Magstrom’s quar-
&nbs
p; tet had been inside the cabin since dusk. They shouldn’t be close enough
to the ward to set it off.
If magic happened around here, then what did it do? Frowning,
Kron reached for the ward again, but his fingers didn’t touch it. He
1 8 8 · S a n d r a U l b r i c h A l m a z a n
swung the glowstone around to make sure the ward hadn’t fallen into
the water. No, there it was, just above him. But he didn’t have to extend
his arm so far to touch it.
By All Four, what’s going on?
He touched the ward again to confirm that was indeed closer to him
now, then brought the glowstone closer to examine it. As he did so, he
noticed the wood planks no longer ran parallel to the river, but tilted at
an angle.
The Avatar was sinking.
C H A P T E R N I N E T E E N
A Sinking Boat
Kron tilted his head back and roared as loud as he could, “Mag-
strom! Domina! Carver and Sylva! Wake up! The boat is sinking!”
He took the glow stone between his teeth and placed both hands on
the hull. Now that he searched for it, he could tell that magic had been
used to breach the hull on the bottom. The hole was smaller than his
hand, but it resisted his first attempt to seal it.
I need to get as close to it as possible. Since he wasn’t going to wade
into the icy river, Kron needed to get onto the Avatar. But when he
sprinted for the ladder, it had been drawn back onto the boat.
He spit out the glow stone and called again, “Magstrom! Domina!
Wake up and get off the boat before you drown!”
“Kron? What’s going on?” Janno yawned as he approached him.
“The boat—there’s a hole in the bottom. Can you fix it with your
magic?”
“A hole? Now? Which one of the Winters did it?”
“It wasn’t them! It must have been Salth!” Kron grabbed Janno’s
arm and dragged him to the Avatar. “Can you feel it? Better yet, can
you get the ladder? It’s on deck, and I need to get on board.”
“Only you would be crazy enough to board a sinking boat,” Janno
muttered. But he laid his hands on the wood.
“Can you feel it?” Kron asked.
1 9 0 · S a n d r a U l b r i c h A l m a z a n
“What, the ladder? No. But I can feel the hole.” He grimaced, his
face looking monstrous in the low light. “It’s like the wood rotted away.
But I cut that tree myself. I know the wood was good.”
season avatars 01 - seasons beginnings Page 21
