Cogling Read Free

spells. They could create almost anything from nature. Magic, they called it.
    “They returned to King Ebel, eager to share their findings, but the humans shunned them.
    “‘Ogres’, they spat at the men.
    “‘Hags’, they growled at the women.
    “Enraged, the ogres and hags attacked. They became the rulers and the humans their slaves. After five years, the humans rebelled. They burned the ogres and hags with fire, and laughed as their bodies became ash.
    “Most survivors fled back to the swamp, but the humans decided to use the hags’ abilities for healing. Although the magic in the swamp mutated their bodies, it also gave them the power to manipulate nature and dreams into spells. They could transform a dream into a gift of beauty and create a powder to save a man when his heart stops.
    “Some hags moved to the humans’ towns and cities. Although the humans used them, the hags were never considered peers. They sold medicine and blessings, and they swore revenge.”
    Edna clapped as the storyteller bowed on his makeshift stage. The wagon swayed from his movement, the metal wheels clanking against the road. She would never be able to talk with his grace and fluidity.
    “Bravo!” a man in the audience called.
    Edna rubbed her little brother’s shoulder, but he remained stiff, as though he hadn’t heard the story. Normally any tale kept him enraptured. Her pulse sped up. What else could she do to make him respond?
    “That is how our glorious kingdom of Novpril began.” The storyteller waved his cap, the bells jingling along the brim. “Any requests for my next story?”
    A little boy raised his hand. “Mommy said our king is Elias.”
    “Ebel lived thousands of years ago. Our good king Elias is one of his decedents.”
    Edna smiled. Even if the king lived distantly from his citizens, he kept the country functioning. His laws maintained peace and order. Now if only he would do something about the mutants. She thought hags and ogres shouldn’t be allowed to wander freely. Who knew what spells they were capable of performing?
    “Tell how King Ebel killed all the bad beasts in the forest!” a girl yelled from the crowd.
    “Excellent tale.” The storyteller rested his foot against the edge of the wagon. “Be mindful, King Ebel never killed all the hags. See, there’s one!” The young man pointed at a hag, garbed in a cloak that swallowed her stout form. A basket poked free from the folds.
    She turned to look at the man on the wagon with the children gathered around, and her hood slid back. Edna caught a glimpse of kohl-rimmed silver eyes before the hag ducked, rushing faster along the sidewalk.
    Good. Flee. Be gone.
    Edna pressed her lips against Harrison’s head as a shiver crept over her skin. The storyteller’s words lingered, despite the sunshine flowing through the city streets.
    They swore revenge.
    “We should go.” Edna steered her brother past the crowd, but coldness lingered at her back. She adopted a lecturing tone. “Hags can’t be trusted. They deal with magic. Their eyes can pierce a human’s soul. The king should keep the hags locked in their own district, where they can’t mingle with humans. Without hags, regular people might learn to make their own medicines. Then hags won’t be needed at all. They can find another kingdom to haunt.”
    Steam locomobiles radiating scalding heat roared by; the sleek brass contraptions shining as brightly as the steel spokes inside the black tires. A little girl sitting in the back of one yelled, “Hello!” The stark white of her leather coat vanished with the locomobile around the corner.
    “What do you think it’s like to drive one of them?” Edna asked Harrison. The wealthy might ignore the city’s poverty, but she had never been able to squelch her awe over shiny baubles.
    “I do not know, sister.” His voice sounded gravelly.
    Frowning, Edna pressed her cheek against his again. It still felt cool, neither hotter nor colder. She sent a