season avatars 03 - chaos season (7 page)

Her voice echoed for a few heartbeats before she heard a faint voice. “Jenna? Is that you?” It had to be Ysabel; Jenna would have known Gwen’s voice no matter what.

Jenna ran toward the sound. “Come out, all of you! We need to link!”

Ysabel emerged first, dust smeared on her hem and sleeves. Even Pouncer bore a streak of dust on his face. “What’s going on?”

“Deathbushes.”

“Can they wait until after the soltrans?” Gwen asked.

“They’re growing fast enough to bring down the Temple during the soltrans. Come, link with me so I can show you.”

“The link,” Gwen murmured. “This must be serious.”

Ysabel and Gwen exchanged glances. Jenna felt her face growing warm. By the Four, was her reluctance to link that obvious? Did the other two remember what had happened to Gwen in their last life together? What would happen when Gwen recovered that memory?
Don’t think of it don’t think of it don’t think of it…

Jenna put on a smile to reassure them, then realized they might not take her warning seriously if she seemed calm. With a frustrated grunt, she turned and led the group back through the main room, stopping to collect Kay, who’d remained prostrate before the God of Winter’s altar. She rose without protest to accompany them outside.

Jenna blinked as her vision readjusted. The day seemed much brighter this time, and hot air shimmered before her. Dorian stood off to one side, hands held out in a circle above a cluster of deathbushes. Charles knelt next to another patch, his face frozen in a scowl. He must be finding the plants as difficult to work with as Jenna had. The older Avatars had left the biggest outbreak of deathbushes to her and the rest of the quartet. This one was at the bottom of the stairs, spreading over the last step as if forbidding anyone to cross it. More citizens of Wistica lined up next to the plants, staring at them but not touching them.

“Are you the new Avatars?” a dark-skinned girl asked. She looked like a full-blooded Fip, her face all angles, but she stared up at Jenna and the others with awe in her eyes.

Gwen smiled at the girl and sketched the compass rose of the Four. However, she didn’t touch her. Gwen probably didn’t trust that her healing magic was safe.

Jenna took the lead. “We are, and we have to remove these plants.” She raised her voice. “Everyone, please stand back.”

She didn’t wait to see if people obeyed. She knelt and grasped the closest deathbush, extending her awareness into its root system. For such a small plant, the roots traveled surprisingly deep. They reached partway under the Temple to link with other plants. Jenna could sense a ring of them surrounding the building. She wasn’t sure what would happen if their root system grew stronger, but she planned to make sure that wouldn’t happen.

Gwen touched her.
What do you see?
Ysabel and Kay joined the link, but they didn’t speak.

Jenna showed them the root system.
At the rate these plants are growing, they could crumble the foundation of the Temple during the soltrans.

And then Avatars and bystanders could get hurt.
Gwen paused.
We can’t affect the Temple with our magic, but Kron could. Should we ask him to reinforce the building, or would that be blasphemy?

He’s not an Avatar,
Ysabel protested.

But the Four speak to him. Summer even gave him the violet bracelet for Gwen. Maybe They favor him over us.
Kay’s fear, guilt, and heartbreak all mixed together.

Although having Kron repair the Temple was a good idea, the others were missing the point.
These deathbushes were put here to attack the Temple. Plants like this don’t normally have such long, fast-growing roots.

Then we’d better take care of them now,
Gwen said.
I’ll ask Kron to strengthen the Temple building if he can. I’ll have to unlink us so I can talk to him.

Gwen released Jenna, and the link disappeared, taking Ysabel’s and Kay’s thoughts too. Jenna used the respite to breathe deeply—the link had gone better than she’d expected—and to check on the root system again. The stringy roots, as thin as thread, spread over the foundation stones of the Temple and wound their way into every crack, leaching minerals from the stones. One of the cracks traveled halfway across a stone as it split wide enough open for Jenna to insert her finger. She gulped. Did she imagine it, or did the stair beneath her tilt? She hoped Kron’s magic could repair the Temple. The stones seemed more like part of nature than something manmade.

Gwen and the others returned.
Ready?

I hope Kron is,
Jenna replied. She showed them the damaged foundation stone.
Will he be able to sense what’s wrong, Ysabel?

How would I know?

But we thought you knew him
, Gwen said.
You were his wife.

I don’t remember that life at all.

By the Four, that had to be uncomfortable. No wonder Ysabel seemed reluctant to be around Kron. Jenna hoped he would assist them anyway.

He said he’d try it. He’s going into the deepest level of the Temple to be closer to the damaged stones.
Gwen didn’t need to speak, but they all caught images in her mind of pitch-dark halls so narrow a man could get stuck in them. If the Temple collapsed with him down there, they’d never find his body.

He’s going to do his part
, Gwen said.
It’s time we do ours.

Everyone sent wordless agreement.

Gwen harvested magic from Ysabel and Kay, then sent it to Jenna. Power flowed out of Jenna’s fingertips and into the deathbushes. She didn’t worry about destroying the leaves or even the seeds right now; she reserved her magic for the roots. If she didn’t obliterate every thumb-length of root to the finest hair, the plants could return and do further damage before anyone knew they existed.

She’d suspected the deathbushes had to contain their own magic to grow so quickly. Apparently, this magic made them resistant to hers as well. Direct attempts at killing the roots didn’t succeed. Jenna changed tactics. Instead of trying to destroy the whole root system, she focused on the surface layer of the roots, killing off the smallest rootlets and blocking all the tiny channels where they took in water and nutrients. The entire system was extensive, about the size of one of her family’s fields. But with the magical support of her sister Avatars, Jenna swept her power across the roots in heartbeats. Then she went back over the roots a second time to make sure she’d destroyed all of them. Maybe she should give them some time to die before attempting to pull them away from the stones. She feared if she removed the roots too soon, she’d damage the foundation before Kron could restore it.

Gwen, can you check to see how Kron’s coming along with his magic?
Jenna asked.

I’d have to break the link to do it. Are you finished? Maybe if we watch, we’ll see something happen—or feel it affect the roots.

Ysabel said,
Maybe we can see more of what’s going on if I tap into an animal’s senses.

They all agreed she had the best magic for that task. Ysabel recruited several moles to tunnel near the foundation stones. Jenna maintained her link with the deathbushes’ intertwined roots to make sure all of them died. Parts of the net dropped out like a tree shedding leaves. Jenna focused her attention on the remaining sections.

Ysabel helped them interpret the moles’ senses. Vision was unimportant to this animal; it relied more on smell and touch. The moles dug easily—maybe a little too easily—through the soil as Dorian dried it out. As they drew closer to the foundation, the soil became moister and packed more readily. As roots rotted, Ysabel sent other creatures to break down them down. The temperature rose, and the moles scurried away out of Ysabel’s control. Alarmed, Gwen broke the link before Ysabel could gather more details.

Jenna swayed as she rose. For a heartbeat, she thought it was the Temple shaking, not her body’s response to using so much magic. Gwen, Ysabel, and Kay blinked as they readjusted to being four separate people, not one linked entity. Once Jenna steadied, she examined the deathbushes at her feet. They drooped but weren’t completely dead. Freeze it, what did it take to destroy them? She lifted her skirt and crushed a plant underfoot, wishing her own boots were sturdier. Charles stretched as he stood up from a sickly yellow deathbush. Behind him, Dorian lowered his lands, and the temperature plummeted from scorching hot to seasonal warmth. Jenna shivered, her silk dress suddenly clammy.

“Everything still looks level,” Gwen said. “I think it’s safe to assume Kron succeeded. I’d better check on him, though. Ysabel, will you come with me?”

“That isn’t part of the normal summer soltrans, is it?” A deep voice asked. “Is something wrong?”

Jenna whirled to face Lex, the Avatar of War and the only other person with the authority to intrude upon the Temple during this ceremony.

CHAPTER SIX

A Weapon Test

“Le—Your Highness,” Jenna managed to blurt out. “I wasn’t expecting you here.”

He raised an eyebrow. By The Four, he looked impeccable in his scarlet jacket with a row of golden eagles flying over his heart. The touches of gray in his beard and hair gave him a regal presence. Even the plain sheath for the dagger on his belt lent him power. He should have been the ruler of Challen, not the Avatar of War. But as an Avatar, he was more accessible than the king would have been.

“Here at the soltrans?” he asked. “Or here on the Temple steps?”

“Here specifically, Your Highness.” On a step above Jenna, Gwen sank into a deep curtsey, so graceful she must have spent hours as a girl practicing it. Jenna’s childhood skills of shelling peas and bundling hay would never be appreciated in her new setting.

Gwen rose to stare directly at Lex. “Your Highness, you shouldn’t be here. The Temple requires foundation repairs, and we’re not sure they’re complete yet.”

“But you were still planning to hold your ceremony anyway?”

Gwen rested her good hand on Jenna’s shoulder, touching only fabric. “We just discovered the problem and are taking measures to address it. In fact, I was on my way to check on our…artifact expert right now. Ysabel, will you join me?”

Gwen curtseyed again and departed with Ysabel before Lex could respond. He stared after her until she disappeared inside the Temple. Jenna bit her lip. Gwen was pretty, clever, nobly born, and wealthy in her own right. No one would be surprised that Lex courted Gwen instead of her.

By the Four, why shouldn’t he court me? Even if I was born a farm girl, I’m an Avatar too. I’m just as pretty as Gwen—maybe prettier, since I’m taller and fill out my dress better.
She smiled.
Best of all, I have something Gwen doesn’t: Robbie.
She beckoned Callie, who calmed the fussy baby as she waited in a corner, out of the sun.

She approached Jenna, curtseyed awkwardly to Lex, and said, “Ava, did you need something?”

“Yes, Callie. Your Highness, I’d like to introduce you to my son, Robbie.” She leaned closer to Lex and whispered, “Your son too.”

His expression hardened for a moment before freezing. “You assured me last summer there would be no issue.”

“I only said I had means to prevent bearing a child.” She tilted her head and looked him in the eye. “I chose not to use them.”

“If this is true, then you’ve done something very foolish for a Season Avatar.”

Faster than Jenna thought possible, Lex drew his dagger and sliced Robbie’s hand. Callie screamed. “Robbie!” Jenna sprang forward, wishing she had a fighting stick, or even a stalk from a deathbush. How was she supposed to protect her son when her magic wasn’t useful as a weapon?

“By the Eagle, it’s true,” Lex said. He held his still-clean dagger up. “See, he’s unharmed.”

Robbie let out a wail, then stopped as he saw the dagger. With big eyes, he reached for it. All fingers were still attached, and his skin wasn’t marked. No sign of blood or a cut. Chuckling, Lex returned the dagger to its sheath.

“This is the Allweapon, War’s own weapon, Ava,” he said. “Unlike your Four, War selects His Avatars from the Fip royal family. His weapon will not harm a possible future War Avatar.”

Jenna grabbed her son from the nursemaid and inspected his hands. His nails were a bit long, but he didn’t bear any new scratches. Her heart still raced with fear, and she put some venom in her voice as she said, “I’d have thought a god’s weapon would be …longer.”

Lex gave her a cool look. “It changes into whatever type of weapon is needed for battle. For daily use, I most often carry it as a dagger, but I’ve also used it as a sword or battleaxe. I’ve shown War pistols and rifles, but He has not seen fit to change His weapon into that form yet.” He studied Robbie. “Perhaps someday this child will use it as such.”

“Robbie?” How could Lex even think of a helpless little child going to war?

“Isn’t that what you had in mind when you seduced me back in your little town—or something even higher? My brother will not appreciate this complication to the succession, even if I’m sixth in the line for the throne and this child was born out of wedlock.”

Jenna’s cheeks warmed. “Robbie is listed in the Hall of Records as the son of my absent husband, Thomas t’Reve.” A pity she couldn’t update the record to indicate Robbie’s real father. Imagine him someday sitting on the throne! Even if it never happened, he had so much more waiting for him than Thomas’s old general store back in Bull Rock.

Lex crossed his arms and stared down at her. “If the succession fails, War could use that false record to create civil war here, something I’m sure you Season Avatars don’t want.” His mouth hardened. “If you weren’t an Avatar, it would be easy to make that child—disappear.”

“Disappear!” All the heat of Summer pulsed through her veins. “You so much as trim this child’s hair with your dagger, and I’ll plant a score of acorns in you and feed them on your flesh!”

“Easy, Ava. I do not threaten, but warn. Swear by your God that you’ll never tell anyone else who his real father is, and I will protect the both of you.” He sighed. “Does the Spring Avatar know?”