J, are you sure you don’t have any more portable potions up your sleeve?” Jason asked as he inspected the broken wheels of our carriage.
“I am sure,” she responded. “I used the few extras I found on the Therewolf stage to escape those men in the forest. If we are to move forward, I am afraid we will have to think of something else.”
All enchanted options having been exhausted, and no tools or supplies to help, the five of us surveyed our busted up carriage and tried to figure out how to proceed.
We’d been riding for a while and were in the clear in terms of attackers. That good fortune aside, two of the wheels on our rickety carriage had snapped under our weight a few minutes ago. Meanwhile, the gaping hole in the floor of the vehicle was growing wider—threatening to crack the whole thing in half.
We’d tried to fix it ourselves using wood from the trees, vines, and the different forms my wand could take. But none of our solutions proved reliable for very long. If we had some actual tools, maybe we could have salvaged the situation. Alas, we didn’t have much to work with.
There had been no tools in the trunk of the carriage, just some bags of our stuff that the stable manager hadn’t sold yet. Among these random items were a few empty canteens, extra throwing knives of Blue’s, and some miscellaneous pieces of clothing we’d packed.
Although not helpful to our carriage problem, I was grateful for the latter. While SJ’s SRBs kept us clean throughout the ordeal of the Therewolves and the Forbidden Forest, I was still feeling kind of gross. I’d been wearing the same thing for more than two weeks. My outfit was torn in multiple places, and its essence reeked of incarceration. So I was glad to find spare leggings and a dress that I could change into.
The others, too, opted for a costume change when we pulled over. They made use of the various spare clothing items as they tried to shed the memories of what we’d just lived through.
As I straightened out the hem of the long-sleeve, mustard yellow dress I’d put on, I wished fixing up the carriage could be this easy. If we were going to get to the shores of Adelaide any time soon, we would have to find another way of crossing the realm.
That’s where we were beginning our search for Ashlyn—Adelaide. More specifically—the ocean off the coast of Adelaide near the underwater kingdom of Mer.
With the enchanted saltwater taffy from the Valley of Edible Enchantments, we now had what we needed to search the waters outside the lost princess’s home kingdom. We also had something else to guide our search—a theory.
Before the carriage had broken down I’d told the others about my meeting with Harry the White Rabbit, sharing his revelation about the wormhole-esque holes in the In and Out Spell and showing them my new Hole Tracker.
In the process, I’d hit a few buttons on the rim of the wristwatch. When I did, different holographic maps of Book started appearing, displaying upcoming holes in the In and Out Spell across the kingdoms. I’d noticed that some of these holes showed coordinates off the coast of Adelaide, leading to my theory . . .
No one had ever found a trace of Princess Ashlyn when she’d disappeared at sea a year and a half ago. But if holes (wormholes, as it were) regularly appeared in the ocean close to Adelaide, that alluded to the possibility that maybe the reason Ashlyn was never found in our realm was because she wasn’t in our realm at all.
That night we met in Adelaide, Lonna the mermaid had expressed awareness that there were holes appearing in the In and Out Spell. So what if Ashlyn had actually been sucked through one of these holes in the ocean and was sent to another land altogether? That would totally explain why no one ever found her.
Brilliant, right?
The others thought so too. And they felt (as I did) that this theory was our best lead once we arrived in Adelaide. Now all we had to do was get there.
We couldn’t count on our remaining steeds to transport us across the many kingdoms to the beaches of Adelaide. It was different when they’d had SJ’s levitation potion and two other Pegasi to balance out the distribution of our weight. We would never make it like this.
As we searched for ideas, I kicked the dirt at my feet. It clouded in the air for a second and then danced upwards in the breeze—getting in my face.
I swatted and the stuff blew away from me, swept up by the wind into the sky. I watched it go. As it floated out of view and my eyes fell upon Daniel, I remembered the day we first met at Lady Agnue’s. Just before our introduction I’d made the mistake of touching our school’s In and Out Spell. Recalling the magic dust drizzling off it caused an idea to abruptly pop into my head. The legitimate kind, not the crazy kind. Which was sort of unusual for me.
“Hey guys,” I said. “What about the magic train?”
An hour after ditching the faulty carriage, the five of us (plus our Pegasi) arrived by foot at the magic train station in the kingdom of Middlebrook.
The magic train was the only form of realm-wide, government-regulated transportation in Book. Stations could be found in each of our twenty-six recognized kingdoms.
It was not a free form of transport, so we were thankful for the small sack of gold the Therewolves had given us that morning as a thank you gift. The reward was enough to buy the five of us passage on the locomotive and board our Pegasi in the rear compartment with the other traveling pets.
I’d always thought of the magic train as a brilliant innovation. It provided speedy, smooth travel to citizens across the realm, and it served as a means to safely dispose of and regulate the use of magic dust.
The In and Out Spell that encompassed our realm dropped magic dust particles periodically. The majority of magic dust, however, was collected in the northern mountains. There was something about the cold climate and various classifications of rock there that caused the magic to be absorbed from the air in huge quantities—collecting in giant, crystallized chunks within the mountains
When gathered in large quantities, the concentrated dust acted like a strong and clean fuel. For this reason (and in order to keep the enchanted powder out of the hands of magic hunters who would’ve tried to abuse its power), the government passed a law making it illegal for citizens to collect it.
Furthermore, they’d set up a special department in charge of gathering the dust for the specific, mutually beneficial purpose of powering the magic train. The substance was now solely used to fuel this communal locomotive, making it faster and more energy efficient than any other form of transportation in the realm.
The five of us stood on the platform of Middlebrook’s train station amongst a sea of other passengers. It was fascinating to see everyone from this side of the tracks. My family utilized the magic train from time to time. My mom and I, for example, took a combination of several train lines and carriage rides to get to and from Lady Agnue’s each year.
However, as royals, the two of us had always boarded the train privately before it was open to the commons, so we’d missed out on all the hubbub the others and I were experiencing now.
Seeing it like this was definitely much cooler. The sounds, the smells, the luggage, the vibrantly dressed people of every sort—it was all so busy and bright in the best possible way. I would have gladly gotten lost exploring it for hours if we’d had the time.
Unfortunately, we didn’t. And also unfortunately, the colorful bedlam was terribly confusing to navigate through, causing us to have to hustle even more.
None of us knew the way exactly. I had never been to this particular station. Neither had SJ or any of the others. The five of us wandered about like lost chickens for some time before finding the proper booth to buy tickets. Then we had to venture on an entirely different trek to locate the area of the platform where we presented them.
When we finally made it there, no one paid us any mind as we waited to speak with the man at the window. When it was our turn and we handed him our papers, the fellow behind the counter gave us five clunky necklaces in exchange. They were long, dark purple lanyard chains with miniature snow globes dangling from the ends of each one. I realized, of course, that it was not artificial snow inside these petite orbs. It was a small sample of magic dust.
Again, because of the way royals traveled, neither SJ nor myself had ever personally paid for tickets. Consequently, we were unfamiliar with these necklaces. Blue had to explain that they served as proof of having paid for passage, as well as being fun souvenirs.
I placed the rather lengthy cord round my neck like everyone else and proceeded to make my way to the train’s entrance.
The platform was so crowded you couldn’t help but bump into people. I had to fight to actively push my way forward and avoid being carried away like a leaf in the current of a river.
“Excuse me. Excuse me,” I repeated as I brushed shoulders and rammed into one person after another.
Hmm, and I thought move-in day at Lady Agnue’s was a chaotic affair.
This was just—
I rammed into someone with a very forceful thud.
“Oh, sorry,” I said, composing myself. “I didn’t mean to—”
I looked up to meet the gaze of the stranger I’d collided with. The instant I did I couldn’t help but instinctively jump back.
The fellow I’d hit was super creepy. He had dark, shoulder-length hair pulled into a ponytail, a golden tooth like a prospector, and foggy eyes. The sheath on his belt appeared to be holding a dagger (a well-used one based on its worn leather grip). And the scars on his hands and chin were serious—definitely not the kind of thing a guy got from shaving.
The man wore a wrinkled camel-colored jacket that matched the tattered fedora on his head. He eyed me up and down for a second—squinting at me as he did so, his nose twitching. He seemed to be both interested in and perplexed by me. I didn’t stick around to find out why. I hurriedly merged back into the crowd before any further exchange could pass between us.
As I boarded the train behind Blue and Jason, I glanced back and saw the man still standing in the middle of the platform amongst a sea of people. Only now he was joined by three other equally sketchy men wearing hats and earth-toned clothing. He whispered something to them as he pointed in my direction.
I ducked inside the train and followed my friends through the cars with haste.
Eventually our group found an empty passenger box and filed in. I looked behind me to make sure no one was following then quickly shut the door and released an exhale of relief. Regrettably, the others noticed the worried look on my face.
“Hey, you okay?” Jason asked as I sat down.
I thought about the question and realized I wasn’t sure. I had a bad vibe about those guys on the platform and felt it was worth mentioning. But did I really want to mention it? That was another issue entirely.
I still felt weird about opening up to them. But lately I’d been keeping a lot of things from my friends and that was making me feel lousy. So I decided to test the waters and give trusting them with this particular insecurity a shot.
Awkwardly, I told the others about the guy I’d rammed into, the weird way he’d stared at me, and how he’d pointed me out to his friends.
I didn’t know how I thought they would react to this information. I hoped they would reassure me that I was being paranoid, conclude that it was probably nothing, then drop the matter without further issue. Much to my despair, I got none of the above.
“I saw those guys,” Daniel said pensively. “I’m pretty sure they were magic hunters.”
“Oh, come on.” I grimaced. “Just because they were creepy, dressed in earth tones, and looked like they’d been out in the wilderness does not mean they are magic hunters.”
“Knight, unlike you, I grew up in the real world, not a palace. I know a magic hunter when I see one, and those guys definitely fit the bill.”
“So, what?” Blue butted in, concern in her voice. “You think maybe the reason they gave Crisa those iffy looks was because they sensed her magic?”
“It’s possible,” Daniel shrugged. “Emma said they can sense it pretty well when they’re within close range. It would explain why the one Knight rammed into was staring at her so intently. For all we know she’s giving off a pretty powerful smell.”
“Hey!” I interjected.
“Calm down, not an insult,” Daniel said as he cut me off. “The point is, these guys are really good at picking up magical scents. So you’ll want to keep a low profile until we’re sure none of them got on the train. Just coming within fifty feet of them might be enough for you to catch their attention.”
I wanted to disagree and assure the others that Daniel was wrong and I was in absolutely no danger. But then I remembered something.
On our school field trip to Adelaide earlier in the semester, our carriage had stopped in the middle of the road and a prison transport had passed in front of us. The magic hunter inside had stared at me in the same ominous way that the one on the train platform just had.
The secret spark of Fairy Godmother magic that Emma had given me did not pose much of a threat to me now because I didn’t know what specific ability the magic had manifested in. Emma said that as long as I was unaware of this power and how to use it, I was safe from sending off a figurative flare of alert to magic hunters on a grand scale. But she also warned (as Daniel had just reminded us) that in close proximity a magic hunter might still be able to detect the slight magical scent I was giving off.
“Crisa,” Jason said, recapturing my focus. “Did you notice if those guys got on the train with us?”
“No. I didn’t see.”
“Then I think it would best if you did not leave this compartment,” SJ said. “It is too risky for you to go wandering about the train if those magic hunters are on board.”
“Are you serious?” I exclaimed, now regretting that I’d said anything to them. “I’m not going to sit in here for the next ten hours hiding like a coward.”
“SJ’s right, Crisa,” Blue seconded. “Those guys are dangerous.”
“Thanks for the concern, but I can take care of myself.”
Insulted and infuriated by their attempts to protect me, I made to get up and leave, but Jason grabbed me by the arm before I could go.
“Crisa, we are just trying to do what’s in your best interest. Unless you can think of a way to turn off your magic scent or whatever, for your own good you’ve gotta stay here until we’re sure the magic hunters aren’t on the train.”
I whirled back around to face Jason and the rest of them. When I did, however, my lanyard necklace swung a little too hard and hit the wall of the compartment. As it clanked against the wooden frame surrounding the door, a thought occurred to me.
“All right, fine then,” I huffed. “I do have a way to ‘turn off my magic scent or whatever’.”
I shook Jason’s hand from my arm and removed the lanyard hanging around my neck. Then I reached into my satchel and took out my wand, which I proceeded to morph into a knife.
Carefully I poked a hole in the snow globe at the end of the necklace. I made my way to the window at the back of the compartment, slid the glass aside, and emptied out all the magic dust that had been inside the orb.
“There,” I said as I closed the window again. “Everyone on this train is carrying a bit of magic with them because of these necklaces. But I’ve already got a little magic in me. So without the extra that was in this orb, mine should be able to blend into the general magical scent of the other passengers. I won’t send up any red flags even if the magic hunters are on board.”
My friends looked at one another for a second.
“That’s actually a pretty smart idea, Knight,” Daniel said.
“Thank you, Daniel,” I answered, in disbelief that he’d actually said something non-insulting to me.
“I can’t believe it came out of you.”
Aw, there it is.