Crowned

by Christina Bauer

  “Everyone thinks I can still cast magick. They’ll assume I transported away.”

  “But what if they cast a tracking spell to find out where you went?” asked Jicho. “They’ll know you’re here.”

  “I don’t think they will.”

  In truth, I figured that there was a good chance they would try to cast a tracker spell, but this was the best plan I could conjure with in all of three seconds. It wasn’t the best plan in the universe, but it was better than standing around. And palace mages were often raised in comfort and luxury. They wouldn’t know about storage spaces in towers.

  Probably.

  Hopefully.

  Eh, this was insane.

  Jicho slid out the floorboards and began to scoot under the subfloor. “Well, I won’t hide and wait while they take you away.”

  “Agreed.” I did the same as Jicho, pulling up enough boards so I could shimmy into the sub-floor. Lying on my back, I maneuvered the wood slats back where they’d been before. The moment the last board snicked into place, the door to the tower room slammed open.

  A long pause followed. My heart thumped so hard in my chest, I thought it would be audible to the mages.

  “She’s not here,” said an elder woman’s voice. “Thank the Lady.”

  “We should cast a tracking spell.” This time, it was a young man who spoke. I’d seen a pair of mages heading across the grounds. These must be the same two.

  “No, we should not.” The elder woman’s voice deepened with conviction. I made a silent vow that if I got through this alive and retook my role in the palace, I was definitely awarding her property. By the Sire, she could have her own temple named in her honor.

  “No, you heard Prince Kade’s orders.”

  My teeth locked with frustration. The younger mage was most definitely not getting a temple.

  “Yes, and I recall Genesis Rex saying that if we harm her, he’d want a full accounting.”

  My heart soared. I had heard Rowan’s “I want a full accounting” speech many times. That was his way of telling the mages that he didn’t want me harmed unnecessarily. Perhaps he was remembering more at last.

  “That warning meant nothing,” said the young mage.

  The elder mage sniffed. “You ever seen a man defend his mate?”

  “You can’t believe that witch is truly the mate of our Genesis Rex.”

  “That witch told the king she was his mate. And she’s a follower of Viktor, who is a master of enchantments. Who knows what kind of spells she’s cast on our king? And if she can trick our Genesis Rex? She’s a mage unlike anything we could fight. Rex would want us to go back. He’s far better prepared to track and fight her than we are. If we go off and get ourselves killed, we’re of no use to our king.”

  It was official. This woman would get two temples.

  “I hadn’t thought of it that way.” The younger mage paced the floor. The movement of the boards sent bits of dust cascading into my mouth and nose. I stifled the urge to sneeze. Jicho didn’t do as well. He let out a sound that sounded like a high-pitched squeak. My heart sank.

  We’ll be caught for sure.

  “Did you hear something?” asked the young mage.

  “It’s an old room; it makes noises.” The older woman’s voice dripped with frustration. “Are we returning to the palace or not?”

  Three temples.

  “Fine,” sighed the younger man. “We’ll leave.”

  It seemed to take an eternity for them to march down the tower stairs. A low murmur of voices sounded from outside. I couldn’t tell what they were saying, but I recognized Kade’s voice in the mix. Next there came one of the most beautiful sounds I’d ever heard.

  Three short whistles.

  Kade was giving the code to retreat. They were all leaving the tower grounds. Jicho whispered to me from under the floorboards. “Should we get out Elea? This dust itches my nose.”

  “Not yet, Jicho. Let’s give it a few minutes.”

  “This is the part I saw in my visions, Elea.” Jicho’s happy, sing-song voice carried under the floorboards. “Once they’re gone, I’ll lead us on our very own adventure.”

  Jicho was so excited I couldn’t help but chuckle. “And how will you take me there?” No sooner did the question leave my mouth, than I knew the answer. “This is why you’ve been helping Amelia with the boat, isn’t it? We’re escaping on the river.”

  “Of course,” said Jicho. “I’ve seen this coming for ages.”

  “I’m glad one of us did.” Because if anyone had told me yesterday that I’d be hiding in the subfloor of one of Rowan’s towers, I’d have said they were crazy.

  Instead, it seemed like the world had gone mad.

  Chapter Twelve

  After the palace mages left, Jicho and I waited under the floorboards. Around me, thin shafts of moonlight broke through the wooden seams above my head. My thoughts kept returning to Rowan.

  My miserable mate. When I last saw him, his green eyes had brimmed with pain. What a weight of loneliness he now seemed to carry.

  I’ll be back with you soon, my love.

  After a while, the silence became deafening. Even the distant rumble of voices from the festival had died out.

  “We can get up now,” I said.

  “That took forever,” called Jicho.

  Setting my hands flat against the boards above my head, I pushed until the wood flipped open. Standing up, I found my black Necromancer robes were now covered in a thin sheen of dust and dead bugs. I hadn’t noticed the insects before. Thanks to my mage training, a single thought appeared in my mind.

  Insect husks. What a nice source of death magick.

  Then, I remembered that I couldn’t cast any spells right now. The trickster gods Mlinzi and Walinzi had stolen every memory of an incantation.

  Frustration tightened up my back. I was really starting to hate those two.

  Leaning against the wall, I brushed the dirt off my robes, and contemplated my sorry state. How could I possibly find the Sword of Theodora without using magick? I straightened my stance and firmed up my determination.

  Possible or not, there was no choice but to move forward.

  I simply had to recall how to cast spells. A sigh escaped my lips. More importantly, Rowan needed to remember me. Soon. That left only one option.

  Find Nan and the Sword.

  I turned to Jicho. “I need to find my friend.”

  “Nan?”

  “Yes. Nan has part of the Sword of Theodora. You said you had a vision of where she was?”

  Jicho wiped at his face, which only served to make the dust at his cheeks turn darker. “I know where Nan is, and I’ll take you to her.”

  I opened my mouth, ready to give another speech about how all my quests tend to turn rather bloody and disgusting. But we’d covered this before and Jicho was right. Viktor wiping out many worlds was reason enough to take some risks.

  I gestured toward the door. “In that case, lead on.”

  “Yes, fair death maiden.” Jicho puffed out his chest as he marched toward the door. He couldn’t be prouder about helping me on a real adventure.

  I could only hope he wouldn’t one day regret it.

  Chapter Thirteen

  When Jicho and I stepped outside, the landscape was absolutely deserted. No more guards or mages lurked in the shadows. Even the partygoers had vanished. This was how Caster parties always went. Once the king left, everyone fell into a drunken stupor.

  Perfect.

  Jicho and I left the tower and snuck past the nearby village. With every step, we were careful to stay behind trees and in secluded alleys. In truth, there wasn’t much to hide from. Most of the Casters were drunk, asleep, or both. Jicho indicated the path we should take with slight gestures. Beyond that, he refused to tell me where we were going.

  Most likely, he thought that if I knew the destination, I’d still try to find Nan on my own.

  And yes, he was probably right.

 
Soon Jicho and I were racing along the edge of one the tributaries that connected to the main river. Moonlight glinted off the still water. The village was now far behind us. Here only a few ferns and stubby trees lined the water’s edge.

  Still no sign of any people. Excellent.

  After a short run, we reached a small construction by the riverside. The spot consisted of a stack of large wooden boxes on the shore. Beside them, a thin wooden plank jutted out over the dark water. And at the end of that thin walkway, there docked the strangest boat I had ever seen.

  Not that I’d seen many water vessels, mind you, but I’d visited a few. Tristan, my one-time friend who’d turned out to be a godling, had told me he was a merchant. What he really was, I may never know. Even so, I’d visited Tristan’s ship from time to time. It was a stocky, wooden affair that bristled with sails and ropes. The moment I’d stepped on board, I’d instantly felt seasick.

  But this boat was a sleek metal creation that had been roughly modeled into the shape of a giant shark. Round portal windows lined the sides of the vessel. The main back fin was a tent-like area that hid a small round tower. I’d seen these canister-like objects before in Amelia’s drawings.

  “That’s a steam engine,” I said.

  “Quite right,” announced Jicho. “Welcome to the Marvelous and Amazing Jicho Extraordinaire. I call it MAJE for short.”

  “That’s quite a name.”

  “Thank you.” Jicho sprinted along the thin plank of wood and landed on the ship’s top deck.

  I followed him, my jaw agape. I stepped gingerly around the gleaming bronze deck. Now, if this thing had been created with magick, I’d have felt rather at home. In fact, I could imagine the exact spells I would select to fashion something similar, most likely with bat wings and whale bones. But the fact that this was made entirely from metal and without a single spell? This was a far more impressive creation.

  Square metal doors lined up neatly below my feet. “The floor is covered in doors. What’s below deck?”

  “Oh, all sorts of things.” Jicho stepped up to the canister-like object under the fin-tent. He began fiddling with dials and pulling on levers. “There are storage spaces and miniature engines. I’ll have her going in a matter of minutes.”

  “Is there no other way to find Nan?”

  “Not unless you can cast a transport spell?”

  I stared at the innumerable levers, switches, and gears. They seemed to cover every open inch of space inside the boat. “How long before Rowan comes looking for you?”

  And takes you away. Not that I added that part.

  “One day, maybe two.” Jicho tapped a small dial with his pointer finger. “I told him my last vision was so upsetting, I was going into meditation at the main temple of the Lady. No one bothers me there.”

  “I think that’s being a bit hopeful. My guess is he’ll start tracking us right away.” Not that we’d know it. Rowan was an expert at staying hidden. I could only hope we’d find the first part of the Sword before he decided to strike. “How long have you known we’d be escaping this way?”

  “Oh, it’s like I told you. I’ve seen this for ages and ages.” Jicho screwed his mouth up to one side. “That’s why I asked Amelia to build the boat.” The steam engine began to hiss and sputter as it came to life. “Have you seen her laboratory lately?”

  “Yes, and the fact that it overflows with metal now makes perfect sense.” I paced along the deck. Every upright surface seemed to be covered with a dial or lever. “I need to understand how to operate this thing.”

  “Oh, I can explain it to you.” Jicho then launched into a lengthy description of how he helped Amelia find bolts for the hull. Bolts.

  This wasn’t helping.

  I cleared my throat. “Sorry to interrupt but—”

  “Don’t you want to hear how we got the bolts into Amelia’s lab?”

  “Very soon. But is there a manual or something I could read while you explain things? That would be most helpful.” Or helpful at all, actually.

  Jicho rubbed his chin, leaving a fresh smear of grease in his wake. “All of Amelia’s plans are in this case.” He kicked at a small box that had been bolted to the deck. “Take a look.”

  “Thank you.” After twisting a few of the metal knobs, I opened the airtight case. The shiny box was jammed full of random scraps of paper and plans. I sighed. This was Amelia, all right. The girl wrote everything down, but she was a true slob at heart. I pulled out a stack of papers from the top and sat down by the steam engine. The many dials gave off a soft glow that I could read by.

  “Not much help, is it?” asked Jicho.

  “I’ll figure it out,” I replied. “I had to decipher all sorts of ancient Necromancer texts in the Cloister library. This can’t be worse.” I scanned the top sheet. Amelia’s handwriting was nearly unreadable. “I take it back. It’s worse. Even so, I’ll figure it out. How long do I have before we reach Nan?”

  “Depends on the weather and the river,” replied Jicho. “I’ve seen some different futures for us. We should reach her village by morning. Perhaps earlier.”

  “Assuming Rowan doesn’t find us first.” I settled in, resting my back against the side of the boat. “Have you had a vision of Rowan finding us?”

  “No,” said Jicho. “And that means there are too many ways things could happen. There are countless possibilities for our adventure here. I only see visions when there are one or two options for the future.”

  “Oh, that makes sense.” I knew very little about Seer powers, and now was not the time for a more lengthy tutorial. Instead, I returned my attention to Amelia’s papers while Jicho manned the MAJE. In the moonlight, I could see the trees grow thicker along the shoreline. The air became heavier with moisture.

  We were heading deeper into the jungle.

  I smoothed out the sheet before me. “It looks like Amelia did the design here.”

  “Whenever she got stumped, I saw what she needed to do next.” Jicho flipped a lever and a strange hiss erupted from the control panel. “Whoops.” He cranked a hand dial and the steam stopped. “Do you want me to tell you about every vision I had? I can explain once I’m done telling you about the bolts.” He scrunched up his mouth again. “Although then, you definitely need to know the story about how we get the sheet metal.”

  “You know what? I’m fine. I’ll read these sheets and you get the MAJE going.”

  Jicho frowned. “If you’re sure.”

  “Positive.”

  “I get it.” Jicho grinned. “I’ll give you a minute before I finish my bolt story. This is a lot for you to take in, what with you being so old and all.”

  “Thank you, Jicho.” I think.

  With that, I began deciphering what had been built into this metal contraption. After all, without magick the MAJE might my only way to get the Sword of Theodora…And the answer about how to heal the gateways without requiring my own death.

  Assuming the Sire and Lady would even allow that.

  I couldn’t ignore the truth. Even if I could find hybrid magick to heal the gateways, the gods might fight against me anyway. The Sire and Lady clearly didn’t like me wielding hybrid magick.

  Right now, all that stood between Viktor’s war and my death were a Seer boy, a strange metal boat, and me, a mage who had forgotten how to cast a single spell.

  In other words, things were not looking good.

  Chapter Fourteen

  An important thing to remember about jungles: when night falls, the wildlife doesn’t actually sleep. It’s just that a different group of creatures awaken, ready to eat you alive. Like what seemed to be happening right now.

  As the night deepened, a new chorus of chittering bugs and cawing birds sounded from either side of the river. Heavy growth encroached all around. Gnarled bodies of trees overtook the shoreline, digging into the water with long finger-like roots. Vines and hanging moss cascaded from the tall tree branches. Soon, only a sliver of night sky was visible above us. T
he scent of old rot and fresh mud became stronger by the second. Worst of all, glowing yellow eyes stared out from the deep shadows.

  It was beyond eerie. And since the morning had arrived, I now only had two days before the Martyr’s Comet vanished. Not too helpful.

  An odd screech broke through the morning air. On reflex, I gripped the sheet of Amelia’s notes so tightly I almost tore the paper. Normally, I wouldn’t be so jumpy. But then again, I usually had the ability to cast all the spells I wanted.

  “What was that screeching noise?” I asked.

  “Which one?”

  “The sound that went—” Before I could finish, the creature in question screeched again. It sounded like a cross between an angry goat and a massive snake. The moment the cry was over, I pointed to the patch of jungle where the noise came from. “Just like that.”

  Jicho shrugged. “Eh, that’s nothing to worry about. It’s just a ruddy bird.”

  “Will it kill us?” Like every Caster, Jicho grew up in jungles. He had a deep memory of every creature and their function.

  “Not while we’re on the water. But if we get on land, it would scoop out our insides and wear our skin for camouflage.”

  “Understood.” Disgusting, but completely understood.

  “They don’t sleep, either. Very strange. But they’re tall and red, so they’re pretty easy to avoid. Unless they’re, you know, not.”

  “Got it. Tall red killer creature called a ruddy bird.”

  Now, I knew at some point that we’d need to get off this boat and talk to Nan. That didn’t mean I was looking forward to that part of this adventure, though.

  That said, there was one distinct benefit to travelling through the deep jungle with a Caster: the odd noises and staring eyes didn’t bother Jicho at all. No matter what happened outside the MAJE, Jicho merely kept playing with the controls on his metal ship. For my part, I tried to act unaffected while I sat on deck, pouring over Amelia’s handwritten notes. I couldn’t have slept if I’d wanted to.

  At least, the notes themselves were fascinating. Simply put, the things this boat could do were nothing less than phenomenal. Vast amounts of silk were stored inside the ship’s hull, along with things that looked like massive ball bearings. Oh, and there were all sorts of knives and darts hidden within as well. How Amelia and Jicho got so much packed inside one vessel, I’ll never know.