The Past Is Prologue

Chapter 28: The One and Only

Folks talk about the Northern Isles and they think of Queen Shuriki. But people have been traveling back and forth between Avalor and the Northern Isles for centuries, and there was no trouble. The witch just came from the largest island. There are a thousand other islands with almost as many cultures. They aren't all allies of Shuriki's people; some of 'em suffered worse than we did. My wife, rest her soul, was from the Northern Isles, and she hated Shuriki more than anyone. – Octavio de la Fuente, retired, handyman at the Palace of Avalor under Queen Shuriki and Queen Elena Castillo Flores, A People's History of the Reign of Queen Shuriki, compiled by Professor Catalina de Torres

Ash pulled her white woolen cloak more tightly around her to protect her from the bitter North Sea wind. There was a brazier glowing cheerfully at the other end of the ship which would provide some warmth, but it would mean mingling with the Nueva Vista sailors, who at the moment were singing a ridiculous sea shanty, and the malvaga was in no mood to be sociable.

The sea was surprisingly calm; the sailors had told her that was normal for it was not yet the season of winter storms. The moon was full and there was as yet no visible sign of the eclipse yet to come, although Ash could feel the energy rising in her bones.

Her only companion was the now mostly silent chanul that only Ash could see. Though she would never admit it, the malvaga found she missed Tecolote's nagging chatter. It made her feel less alone.

Not that she wanted company, of course. She needed no one! The path of becoming the greatest malvago in history was a lonely one, but she trod it proudly.

As if sensing her charge's unease, the spirit owl broke the silence. "Have you decided what you are going to do yet?"

Ash shook her head. "I wish to see this marvel Fiero claims to exist out here on these gods-forsaken waters – what?" the woman snapped at a sailor who was approaching with a mug of that foul grog of theirs. "Can't you see I'm conversing with an invisible spirit? Be off with you!"

"Of – of course, señora! My apologies!" The sailor retreated hastily. By this point most of the sailors were – justifiably – terrified of her, which suited Ash just fine.

"Now where were we?" she said to her chanul. "Oh, yes, my plans. I couldn't very well make my rendezvous with that wizard boy after the haste with which Cristóbal and Fiero bundled me onto this ship."

"Would you have?" Tecolote asked quietly.

"I guess we'll never know," Ash shrugged. Privately, though, it had been a tempting offer. To be pardoned – no longer on the run? That had a certain appeal. But Fiero had waited until putting her on ship before revealing her role in this diabolical plan of his.

And the plan was diabolical. This Bakunawa creature fed off the souls of those it drowned in the Northern Sea. Fiero had unearthed a spell to harness the spirits of the victims and turn them into undead soldiers. With them, King Cristóbal's forces would be unstoppable. Without them, he didn't stand a chance. The Bakunawa had business of its own during full lunar eclipses, so it was the only time one could safely approach.

Fiero had made sure to emphasize that Ash only had the means to enact the theft; the ability to actually control the poor creatures he retained for himself. Ash smiled wryly. What couldn't she do with an undead army?

"Ash," Tecolote began tentatively. "You can't really mean to follow through with this wicked scheme."

"I told you I haven't yet decided," the malvaga snapped.

"You realize that your own daughter will be in the palace when Cristóbal and his minions attack."

"If it comes to that, the King has assured me that Carla won't be harmed," Ash sniffed. But of course she didn't really believe a word that came out of that scoundrel's mouth.

An eerie green mist arose, seemingly out of nowhere. There was no scent to it – though there should have been. The sailors called out in alarm and ran about doing sailoring.

"There is great evil here," Tecolote said in a whisper. "Ash, we must leave! Tell the sailors to turn around!"

"This is where we were sent!" Ash all but snarled. "We can't leave! I haven't decided what I'm going to do!"

"You know what you must do," Tecolote hooted. She seemed to grow larger. Ash took an involuntary step back. "Make your choice! If you would save your soul, there is but one course of action."

"No one tells me what to do!" the malvaga hissed, but she felt no anger towards her chanul. In truth, she wanted to tell the sailors to flee this accursed place, and then to be quit of the wicked schemes of Cristóbal and Fiero. But force of habit and pride would not allow her to admit it.

Tecolote sighed then, and it held the sorrow of centuries. "I cannot remain in this evil place. Farewell, Angélica. I have only ever wanted what was best for you." With that she vanished, leaving Ash alone.

"Good riddance," she muttered. But why did she suddenly want to cry? Ash had never felt more alone in her life.

The malvaga shook her head and set her focus on the task at hand. "Drop the anchor!" she snapped at the captain. "We're here." The captain looked at her dubiously for a moment, but then shouted the order to drop anchor.

Ash scanned the waters to see what in the blazes she was to do next. All she could see was dark water, newly darkening sky, and wispy green smoke with an odd luminescent glow. She had only an hour to figure it out before the lunar eclipse was completed and the Bakunawa returned to claim more victims.

Fiero had only told her she would know it when she saw it. Ash suspected Fiero didn't really know himself. And of course he hadn't wanted to give her the complete spell, let alone access to his source, which might have given her useful clues. "You're only the porter, who will bring to me the trapped souls so I may convert them into the greatest threat the Everrealm has ever seen." And so he had copied, in that snaky script of his, only the first third of the spell. Ash pulled out the leather scroll case and extracted the spell to read it again – only to realize it was too dark to do so. Impatiently the malvaga set the spell down on a crate, using the weight of the scroll case to hold it down, drew her tamborita and struck it once, chanting "Reveloa!" She'd simply meant to make the words of the spell glow when a gold path appeared n the mist, revealing a badly listing ship in shockingly close proximity.

She could hear the sailors call out in alarm. But the other ship seemed in no position to threaten them. "I believe, gentlemen, that we have arrived at my destination," she told them calmly.

The captain came over to speak with her. "Should – should we lower a dinghy to escort you across?" He didn't seem too thrilled by the prospect.

Ash smiled thinly. "No need. I have my own means of transport." After returning the spell to robe, she tapped her tamborita one and chanted "Oncholoz!" Gracefully she rose into the air and cleared the distance between the two ships, lightly setting down on the deck.

She looked about her. There was an eerie green glow throughout the vessel. She kept her tamborita raised but saw no one, living or dead. She crept around on deck, halting abruptly when she spotted golden light coming from the windows of the main cabin. Cautiously she peered inside, and was shocked to see people stumbling about, pitching to and fro as if in a storm. But the sea was calm! The boat was not moving! She looked in again, and could swear she saw snow through the far window! Hastily the malvaga ran around to the other side of the ship, but there was no snow. What was going on?

Slowly she made her way back to the door of the main cabin. Tamborita at the ready, she burst in…

…and nearly lost her balance as the ship veered suddenly to one side. She was aware of many voices calling out, some tending to the ship but others reacting to her presence. They didn't look like spirits.

One man, dressed as a noble, stepped towards her. He had no weapon drawn and seemed more puzzled than threatening. "Who – who are you, señora?"

A noblewoman at his side gripped his arm. "Be careful, Antonio. Look at her tamborita, and the owl symbols on her robe. This woman may be malvago." Quite perceptive for a mere noblewoman. Or was she? Ash narrowed her eyes, but saw no signs of another drum wand.

The nobleman patted the woman's hand and murmured, "It's all right, Margarita. I sense no malice towards us from her." Did she not have malice? Ash was startled to realize she did not, at least not to these unfortunate souls. They had not done anything to her. But how would this man know? Did he have the Sight?

"Please, señora, can you help us?"

Ash was so unused to anyone asking for her help that she barked out a laugh. She might not – yet – bear these people any ill will, but that hardly meant she was here to help them. She was no hero.

The noblewoman's eyes narrowed and she took a step back. The nobleman stayed where he was, however. He kept his gaze fixed on her. "Be you passenger or stowaway, you are in as much danger as us if the ship sinks. If you have magic to aid us, you would be helping yourself as well."

"You needn't concern yourself with me," the malvaga answered coolly. "I have my own way off this ship."

"So you can help us!" he breathed. That's what he took from her comment? Ash shook her head.

"We can make it worth your while," the nobleman continued. "The King would pay handsomely for our rescue."

"Which king?" Ash asked with real curiosity. She had not seen the banner the ship undoubtedly flew. If it was King Joaquin of Cariza, it would mean her life to even return there to claim a reward. He was most likely still miffed about that time she took over his kingdom.

"Antonio, don't," the noblewoman said in a low voice. "Nobody is even supposed to know we are here."

"We can't complete our mission if we're at the bottom of the ocean, querida," the man smiled sadly.

"Very well," the noblewoman said. "We sail under the banner of King Raúl of Avalor."

"King Raúl of Avalor?!" Ash gasped. That was impossible! King Raúl died forty seven years ago!

"We are far from home," the nobleman remarked. "But we are on an official diplomatic mission. We wouldn't be out here on Navidad if it weren't of vital importance."

Navidad? But it was only mid-October! What was going on?

The noblewoman – Margarita, was it? – pressed on. "I can hear from your accent that you are also Avaloran." Ash gave a curt nod. "That means you are King Raúl's subject as much as we are. You would be doing a great service for your kingdom – greater than you know." Oh, the irony.

The nobleman, Antonio, took a step forward. "Please, if you have the power, and I sense you do, I beg you to help us. If we die," he swallowed, "we leave behind a young son. He's only seven! We can't leave him orphaned."

Ash jerked back as if slapped. Her Carla was only seven when Ash had had to abandon her to study with Zopilote.

There was a loud groan as another wave struck the ship. The floor began to shake violently. What was happening? "The boat's breaking apart!" A sailor cried. "Everyone to the life-boats!"

Ash turned and fled, both from the mortal peril in which she found herself and from this madness. She ran through the doors onto the deck…

…into silence. The storm she could hear from inside the cabin was nowhere in evidence. She turned to look for the passengers and sailors who surely must have followed her, but there was no one. How could that be?

Slowly she walked back to the main cabin and peered through the window. A brilliant golden light exploded from inside, temporarily blinding her. With her sight returned, the malvaga cautiously stepped inside.

The scene was unchanged. She saw the couple, Antonio and Margarita, again react to her presence.

The nobleman asked, "Who-who are you, señora?" Ash looked at him in confusion. They had already met not ten minutes before!

The noblewoman, Margarita, said, "Be careful, Antonio. Look at the owl symbols on her robe, and her tamborita. This woman may be malvago!" She had said that before. The entire scene seemed terribly familiar, as if…Ash had a sudden suspicion. She narrowed her eyes and looked closer.

Ash had lived in the Spirit Realm for two years. She was accustomed to judging spirits by their blue or green aura depending on which branch of the Spirit Tree they resided. She'd thought these were living people at first, because they had no such aura. But on closer inspection, she noticed that all (save her) were glowing a faint gold. Did that mean they were neither living nor dead? Were these the poor creatures Fiero meant to enslave for his undead army? She'd been imagining moldy animated skeletons, not…this. Not for the first time she cursed Fiero for failing to share actually useful information with her. But of course he trusted her as much as she trusted him, which was not at all.

"It's all right, Margarita," Antonio was saying. "I sense no malice towards us from her." He'd said that before! Why was he repeating himself?

The suspicion that had been growing in the back of her head blossomed into horrible clarity. The Bakunawa didn't feed off the souls of the dead – it fed on the souls of the dying. And instead of needing to hunt for new victims, it had found a way to keep a never-ending food supply on hand. How often had these unfortunates relived their final moments of life?

"Please, señora, can you help us?" Antonio asked for a second time, although he assumed it to be the first.

"Before you start talking about your secret diplomatic mission from Avalor or your seven-year-old son or how it's supposed to be Navidad," Ash said, mostly to avoid a repeat of their earlier conversation, "tell me, have you ever heard of the Bakunawa?"

"How would you know that?" gasped Antonio. He furrowed his brow. In a lower voice he asked, "Do you have the Sight?"

"I think I have heard of the Bakunawa," Margarita said. "But I didn't think it was real!"

Antonio looked at her sharply. "You've heard of – whatever she just said?"

"Yes, the Northern Isles envoy joked about it. He said there were legends of a creature called the Bakunawa who brought the winter storms on the Northern Sea," Margarita responded. "He thought only to be entertaining, but it frightened our hijito so." She clutched at her husband and asked Ash, "Is the Bakunawa real? Is it coming for us?" The malvaga nodded grimly. It had already gotten them, in fact, but Ash knew they'd never be able to comprehend that.

"You're here to hunt the Bakunawa, aren't you?" Antonio guessed. Ash shrugged. Close enough. The nobleman's voice hardened. "Are we your bait, señora?"

"That was…not my intention," Ash responded quietly.

"Please, señora!" The noblewoman grabbed at her arm, touching the deadly bracelet the Grand Macaw had given her. Ash snatched her arm away. "I can see that you are a powerful," she swallowed nervously, "malvaga. If you save us, I will make sure you are handsomely rewarded."

Suddenly the ship lurched, and there was a tremendous cracking sound as the wood of the hull began to split apart. Ash turned and fled back to the deck, knowing these captives of the Bakunawa would not be able to follow her. She did not want to see what would happen next.

She stumbled through the doors and onto the deck.

Silence.

Her heart beating rapidly, Ash clung to the railing and looked out on the darkened sea, trying to calm herself. Did Fiero know? Did he realize that this spell of his wasn't to raise the dead but to enslave the dying? Ash suspected not, but he wouldn't care either way.

Magically, it made sense. There was a mystic power in dying – a transfer of energy that dark wizards could use to their advantage if they were so inclined. But even Zopilote had cautioned against it. "There is always a balance that must be maintained, my dear," he had said to her all those years ago. "Even for such as we. There is always a price to be paid. By all means take whatever you want, but be certain that the spell you use does not cost more than your goal."

And that Avaloran couple in there, and their son who was most likely dead and moved on the Spirit Realm by now. They would never get to see him again.

They'd asked for her help. A rare occurrence indeed. Rarer that she found she wanted to help. What was wrong with her? Not that she could do anything to help. Even she didn't have that sort of magic.

Or did she?

She certainly couldn't return these unwitting undead captives back to their lives, or even to present day Avalor. They were no longer living. But Ash was a malvaga, and malvagos excelled at destruction. Could she move in the opposite direction? That is, could she end the cycle of their suffering once and for all, allowing their souls to return to the Spirit Realm?

She could do it, Ash realized with a shudder. She brushed her fingers lightly around the bracelet the Grand Macaw had given her. Ash was the one and only wizard in the Everrealm who could free the Bakunawa's captives, and it would merely cost her life.

"Tecolote!" she howled suddenly. "Tecolote, I need you!" There was no reply. Of course there wasn't. The chanul likely could not cross into the Bakunawa's realm. Even if she could, though, the spirit guide had made it abundantly clear that she was through with her charge. Ash was on her own. Of course, she always had been, hadn't she?

There were three paths before her, illuminated as plainly as if revealed by a Reveloa spell. The first lead her to power if she performed Fiero's spell in the service of King Cristóbal as instructed. No doubt she would be richly rewarded by Avalor's grateful new monarch. Then again, she was always going to turn on Fiero. It was just a matter of when.

The second led to redemption, and her daughter. She could simply not perform the spell; return to Avalor City a hero after depriving the would-be usurper Cristóbal of his undead army and dump the problem of the Bakunawa into De Alva's lap. Carla would be grateful, wouldn't she? She and Ash could finally have the relationship that Ash had always wanted. It would be sweet to fight on the same side as her child.

Then there was the third and final path. She was the one and only wizard who could save these victims and free their souls to at last travel to the Spirit Realm, to right an ancient wrong. She could only do so, though, at the cost of her own life. She would face an eternity as a minion of the Grand Macaw, and no one alive would ever know what she had done. That smug Queen Elena would piously say that she knew Ash could not be trusted, and Victor would chant, "I told you so," until he was blue in the face. None of them would ever know the terrible fate Ash had averted. She would be the greatest wizard in the Everrealm, but no one would ever know it.

The malvaga had, since childhood, relied on her instincts; or more specifically had used her instincts to get what she wanted. She couldn't quite believe she was even contemplating what she was contemplating; she certainly didn't want to destroy herself. But those sailors, and especially that Margarita and that Antonio, haunted her. To repeat the moment of their deaths for years – no, decades, with no end in sight, never to be reunited with loved ones…Ash shuddered. She must have been in the Spirit Realm too long. For it seemed wrong to her, unnatural.

Ash let out a shriek of frustration. She felt so alone, moreso than she had ever felt in her long life. She wanted so much. She wanted to be back in the jungle, bickering with Esteban over what passed for morals between them. She wanted to feel Victor's strong arms around her as he taught her to dance. She wanted Zopilote to take her under his wing again, the only time she'd ever truly felt safe in her entire life. Most of all, she wanted to hold her baby girl, rocking her to sleep, and to get to know the woman her daughter had become.

(She wanted her mother.)

Ash was shocked to discover tears running down her face. This was unlike her! When had she become so maudlin? She gazed out at the sea, staring at the sliver of pale moonlight.

Moonlight! The eclipse was ending! The Bakunawa would be returning soon! Ash was out of time. She must make her decision swiftly.

The evil sorceress took in a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. In the space of that breath she made her decision.

She called across the bow to the Nueva Vista ship that had brought her here. "Captain, you need to pull up anchor and get out of here before the eclipse ends!"

"But…what about you, señora?" the captain, startled, called back. "You should return to the ship before – "

"Don't worry about me, man. If you value your life and the lives of your crew, just go!" After a moment, she heard the sound of the captain's orders to pull up the anchor and set sail.

Then, before she lost her nerve, Ash marched back into the cabin of the ghost ship.

As before, Antonio stepped up and asked, "Who – who are you, señora?" Then he paused, confused. "Do I know you?"

Did he at some level remember their previous encounters? At this point the malvaga was almost certain this man had the sight. A rare gift indeed, and one Ash herself did not possess. Esteban, of all people, had had a touch of it, but he was too much of a dunderhead to even realize it.

"I am here to rescue you!" she announced grandly. "But there is not much time. You must do exactly as I say!"

Margarita, as before, said, "Be careful, Antonio. Look at her tamborita, and the owl symbols on her robe. This woman may be –"

"Malvago?" Ash interrupted smoothly. "You are correct, doña Margarita." The noblewoman gasped at that. This time, Ash noted, she had a wider audience as half the sailors stopped what they were doing to watch her. "Oh, yes. I know who you are, and about your 'diplomatic mission' for King Raúl. I also know, as you do not, that the story of the Bakunawa which so frightened your little son is very real, and will soon return. I have a way off this doomed vessel, and I am willing to help you. The choice is yours."

They all looked at her in stunned silence, until Antonio spoke up. "It's all right, Margarita. I sense no malice towards us from her."

One of the sailors spoke up. "You're saying we should trust her, Don Antonio?"

The nobleman smiled sadly. "I'm saying I don't think we have much of a choice. This ship won't last much longer, will it?" The silence of all the sailors spoke volumes. "Are there enough life rafts for all of us?"

An older sailor responded. "In this cold even those in the dinghies wouldn't be able to survive. But what's in it for the malvaga? Why would she help us?"

Ash smiled coldly. "She would help you simply because she is here and she can. She is your only hope right now. But if you wish to remain lost at sea, by all means refuse my offer."

Ash wasn't sure if she could save all the lost souls. The Grand Macaw had said, "Bring a friend. Bring an enemy. Bring one of each. The more the merrier!" Ash didn't know if that meant she could bring as many people with her as she wished or only two other souls. Well, the only way to find out was to try.

"If you do wish to escape this death-trap then follow my instructions exactly. We must all be touching for this spell to work. You two – "she nodded at Margarita and Antonio – "grab hold of my shoulders and then each take the hand of a sailor. The rest of you, join hands." She held her breath for a moment, unsure if they would do so. Then Antonio drew Margarita into an embrace and kissed her passionately, almost as if…as if he knew it would be their last kiss. He knows, Ash realized, or at least suspected.

"Hurry it up," she snapped. The malvaga had no patience for sentimentality. The two nobles each placed a hand on her shoulder, and then reached out to take the hand of a sailor. "Is that everyone?" Belatedly she realized it made no sense for the sailors to be below deck; they should all be on deck fighting the non-existent storm. Doubtless the spell affected their minds; the Bakunawa must want to keep its victims contained. Antonio did a quick count and said all were present.

"Then let us proceed, shall we? Whatever happens, don't let go." Grimly and without hesitation Ash grasped the pink and white bracelet around her wrist and twisted it the way the Grand Macaw had shown her. It hurt more than she had expected. Ash screamed once, a final cry of pain and rage and sorrow and regret. And so Ash, the notorious malvaga, whose mother had named her Angélica, left her life behind.

The Grand Macaw beamed when he felt the return of his favorite minion. He'd always known she'd come back. Really, who wouldn't want to party for eternity on the Dark Side of the Spirit Tree?

"Ash," the giant blue bird said, "you've come home! And I see you've brought comp –"

For only the second time in his eternal existence the Grand Macaw was struck dumb. For Ash had not merely brought one or two spirits to keep her company, but had brought back half a hundred, many, including Ash herself, glowing blue instead of green. But that wasn't all. Connected by a spirit thread, there were other clusters of spirits – the Grand Macaw stopped counting at a thousand. There was something unnatural in all of this. Surely many of these souls should have passed on to the Spirit Realm long ago. And it was clear that not all of them belonged here. There were so many beings he would have to contact all over the Spirit Realm to sort this mess out. He might even have to involve Upper Management!

He summoned his right-hand minion, the spirit coyote. Troyo arrived lightening fast. "Yeah, boss?" Then his jaw dropped open as he took in the new arrivals. He turned to the leader of the Dark Side of the Spirit Realm, a hundred questions beginning to form on his lips.

The Grand Macaw was only able to get two words out. "Troyo – fetch."

AN: A story cannot contain a song, of course. But if you would like one, imagine this – Ash singing reggaeton, entitled "But I'm the villain!" She struggles with her decision on whether or not to sacrifice her life for the sake of the strangers. Three paths lie before her –one of power and wealth, one of redemption and reconciliation with her daughter, and one that will end her life. The last line of the song is, "It gets so lonely to be the one and only!"