Naomi didn't know the ends and outs of the spirit world like Mateo and Elena did, but she knew enough to worry when she saw transparent shadow people floating out of the sky like ghosts.
"The Shadow realm," Mateo was trying to explain. "No one's ever returned from it, so it's really only rumor, but some of my books referenced Shadow Spirits, which can turn the living into lifeless wraiths at a single touch. The newly transformed wraiths fall into a single never-ending mindset: to serve the king of the Shadow Spirits." He turned to Elena, moving his hands anxiously as he spoke. "Remember when we were King and Queen of the zanies? That's what they wanted to do to me- to put me into the Shadow Realm with the hope I would become the Shadow Spirits' king."
Naomi had no idea what Mateo was talking about, but she was glad he had some handle on what was happening.
"But who's commanding them now?!" Elena was staring at the dark, cloud-filled sky, one hand on Mateo's shoulder, the other over her stomach. "Surely it's not Bobo?"
Now Naomi was really confused, but she didn't get the chance to ask what they were talking about. The jaquins swooped into the courtyard, Skylar leading the pack.
"Reina!" he hollered. "Is everyone all right?"
"Shadow spirits are invading, my queen," stated Migs, before Elena could respond. "We must take action immediately. Perhaps your spirit guide friend can help?"
"Good idea," She told Migs. With another nervous look at the sky, Elena straightened her back and concentrated. "Zuzo!" She yelled. She waited a moment, and everyone stared at her. Nothing happened.
"I'll try summoning him," said Mateo. He chanted an incantation and waited some more.
"Um, what if the spirit world already got conquered?" asked Naomi. She didn't know if that was possible, but nothing else seemed to be happening. There had to be some explanation.
"If that's the case, we're in a lot of trouble," Mateo sounded unnaturally grave. It made Naomi nervous.
"We're doomed!" shouted Armando. He threw his arms up and started shaking hysterically.
"Get it together," scolded Isabel. "We can fix this. Even if everything does seem extremely illogical," she tacked on in a whisper. She brushed her hair aside and seemed pensive for a moment. "Are the other realms intact? Maybe they can help?" She turned to Skylar, Migs, Luna, and the other jaquins. "Can the Shadow Spirits hurt you? Do you know how to defeat them?"
Naomi watched as the jaquins seemed to consult amongst themselves. Then, Skylar shrugged. "I guess there's one way to find out. Jaquins! Let's defend Avalor!"
"Wait! Skylar-" started Elena.
They had already flew into the sky. As a band, they headed straight for the turbulent black portal, calling out battle cries for Avalor and Vallestrella.
"Skylar!" Elena screamed again. But the jaquins weren't listening. Naomi twisted the edge of her shawl in her hands as she watched their friends near the portal.
The Shadow Spirits focused on the jaquins and in moments, they clashed in midair. It was the quickest battle Naomi had ever heard of. The instant the jaquins touched the Shadow Spirits, the fighting was over. The entire band of jaquins turned into transparent forms of themselves. Or at least, all except for Migs and two other jaquins. They were at the back of the group, and seeing as they could do nothing, immediately raced away.
"How do you fight an enemy that ruins you with a single touch?" asked Esteban. He was clearly horrified. Everyone was horrified. Elena was still staring at the Shadow Spirit jaquins, too much in shock to even cry.
"Surely there's a way to reverse it," said Naomi, speaking aloud the hope they were all clinging to. "There...there has to be some way."
Migs and the other two jaquins landed, panting frantically.
"They're... They're gone! Skylar...Luna...everyone!" Migs looked on the verge of passing out. "They're Shadows. Enslaved like mindless drones!"
"Okay, but what do these spirits actually do?" Naomi had a whole list of things which needed explaining. "Do they eat? Speak? Die?"
"From what I've read, they don't do anything," said Mateo. He folded his arms into the sleeves of his wizard robe. "They're wraiths. They can't die, but they can't live either. They can't even think for themselves. They just exist. And float around to convert others to the Shadow Realm if that's what their king desires."
"So...that doesn't sound fun. Should we evacuate Avalor?" Naomi's heart hurt thinking about leaving the land, but she certainly wasn't hanging around to get turned into a shadow-zombie.
Everyone looked at Elena and Mateo. They glanced at each other, and Elena spoke, her voice not much more than a whisper.
"Yes. We must protect our people." She glanced around the courtyard at the other council members. "We are fortunate to have many allies. Naomi, warn your parents and everyone at the docks to prepare immediately for mass evacuation. The roads will be extremely congested, so some will have to flee by water." Elena walked closer to Naomi. Both girls' eyes welled with emotion. "I want you to evacuate along with the people. Guide them to the shores of Norburg- or wherever you feel will be safest." Elena broke off and Naomi closed the gap between them, embracing the queen- her friend.
"It's going to be okay," she whispered, hoping it was true.
And then, even with so many questions unanswered, and so many fears attempting to freeze Naomi to the ground forever, she turned and jogged out of the courtyard.
She was in charge of evacuations via water, so that's what she was going to do. She was Naomi Turner. She had to help save Avalor.
•••
Isabel watched as Naomi hurried away. Elena then turned to her grandparents. "You know the hills beyond Avalor better than anyone. Please, guide those who need to escape by wagon. Isa- you too."
Isabel had expected Elena to say as much. But that didn't mean she wanted to leave her family and friends in danger. She couldn't! And even though Elena was queen, Isabel was still a princess. Her opinion mattered too.
"Sorry, Elena. I'm not leaving until you do. Please. Don't make me evacuate without you." She fixed her most pitiful expression on her older sister. It worked every time.
"Isa...fine." Elena crossed her arms and frowned at the portal above them. From what Isabel could see, the shadow spirits seemed to be hovering around the opening to their realm. They were high enough up not to cause problems. At least not yet.
"Armando!" Elena called after a few seconds of sky-gazing. "Make sure Abuelo y Abuela get to safety. You three will be in charge of land evacuations. The royal guard will ride throughout the city alerting everyone, and then I will split them amongst the groups."
"Um, dear cousin, you seem to be forgetting that our Abuelo- and the Royal Guard- are currently missing." Esteban crossed his arms. "And what about the rest of us? Surely you do not expect us to stay?"
Isabel glanced back at Elena, trying to ignore Esteban's reminder about Francisco and Gabe. Surely they were fine... The earthquake didn't hurt them, it couldn't have...
Mateo was the one who spoke up. "Of course we don't want you to stay. Make sure the palace staff are evacuating, and then you can lead that group along the roads." Mateo gazed at the little group still gathered. "Francisco, Gabe, and the rest of the guard will be fine. They can assess the situation and look after themselves for a few minutes."
"Your Majesties?" It was Migs. He and the other jaquins had apparently composed themselves enough to make sense of what they should do next. Isabel's heart ached watching them. All of their kin in Avalor- gone. She tried to put herself in Migs' place, and her pain nearly doubled. How could he even speak?
"Your Majesties? We must return to Vallestrella. Even if jaquins are powerless against this threat, King Verago must know what has...transpired."
"Of course, Migs." Elena's voice cracked.
Migs and the other jaquins glanced nervously at the sky. They unfurled their wings hesitantly, like seafarers casting sail in foul weather. A moment before they took to the air- low to the ground, and away from the shadow spirits- Mateo halted them with a hand.
"Migs! I have an idea. Let me go with you!"
"What?!" Migs and Elena spoke in unison.
"Let me go with you," repeated Mateo. "Quita Moss, that sunbird oracle- he might be able to look into the future- to see how to end this! If I can convince him, maybe he'll help. At the very least, maybe he can tell us why we can't summon Zuzo!"
"Mateo," Elena started hesitantly. Isabel knew her sister, and it was obvious Elena was terrified. She didn't want her husband to fly to the jaquin realm. For all they knew, that realm had already been conquered by the Shadow Spirits. And it would mean Mateo wouldn't be by Elena's side during Avalor's darkest hour. The queen struggled with herself for a moment, then sighed and nodded. "That's...a good idea. But Mateo, please come back to me."
Elena's voice cracked on the last phrase and she placed both her hands over her stomach. Mateo glanced at his wife, and then hugged her tightly, evidently not caring that everyone was watching the two of them.
"Be careful too, Elena." He pulled away for a moment, kissed her, and then gave his wife a quick smile before he walked over to Migs.
"Be back soon," Mateo said. Then the king of Avalor hopped on Migs and they took off, keeping low to the ground as they flew toward the entrance to Vallestrella.
"All right, well," Elena cleared her throat and Isabel stepped forward to put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "As I was saying earlier, Esteban, I need you to take the palace staff, Abuela, go along the roads. Isa...?"
"I told you, I'm not leaving until you do. Someone has to protect the queen." Isabel jumped into fencing position- a very poor fencing position, and Elena smiled, as was the princess' goal.
"Once the people of Avalor are safe, we will leave too," said Elena. "But should the Shadow Spirits' king arrive to negotiate, someone must be waiting."
"Mi hijita," interrupted Luisa. "How can I leave knowing my grand babies, and great-grand baby, are in danger? Please, come now, with us."
"Abuela," Elena moved forward and kissed her grandmother's forehead. "My duty is to Avalor. Above all, I must protect it, as I swore to do. Please. Don't worry. You know I can handle myself. I won't do anything rash."
Esteban scoffed, but Luisa didn't comment. She slowly nodded, and hugged her granddaughter tightly, then reached for Isabel as well. Isabel felt tears welling in her eyes and it took a lot of effort to keep from whimpering. Fortunately, there was a happy distraction.
Hoofbeats echoed through the courtyard and a whole group of Royal Guards rode up to the base of the castle. Francisco and Gabe were among them.
"Oh! Fransisco!" Luisa shouted joyfully as her husband dismounted and started toward them, his face grave. Isabel's eyes found Gabe, and her heartrate quickened when she saw how solemn he looked. And where were the rest of the guard? Isabel knew enough of them to realize four or five were missing. Including the Captain.
"The Earthquake caused a lot of damage in town," started Gabe. He had walked straight to where Elena and Isabel were standing, but he didn't meet their eyes as he spoke. "We did our best to evacuate villagers, but there were still casualties. We...we lost several of our own in the rescue attempts. Ramon, Vega, Talson, and...the Captain, your Majesties."
Isabel felt hot tears run down her face. She had known those guards- and the Captain... He had been Gabe's mentor for years! She sniffed and then felt guilty. What right did she have to cry? Gabe was keeping it together, and the Captain had been like a second father to him. She had to be strong- for Gabe. For all of them.
Elena had a hand over her mouth. She was shaking her head slightly, and for a moment, Isabel thought the pregnancy hormones were going to win out, and Elena would full-on bawl. However, the queen kept a measure of composure between shaky breaths.
"So, there is no hope for any of them?" Elena closed her eyes and Isabel wrapped an arm around her sister, attempting to lend some form of tangible comfort.
Gabe couldn't speak. He stared at his feet blankly and shook his head. Isabel's sight went blurry and she blinked rapidly, dispelling the tears. She had to hold it together...
"Once...once we are safe..." Elena swallowed heavily, "then...then we'll give proper honor to those lost in the defense of Avalor's citizens. Until then, we must keep fighting. Gabe Nuñez, you are Captain of the Royal Guard from this moment forward." Elena put a hand on his shoulder and tried to smile through her tears. "Maybe one day you'll get a real ceremony. I'm... I'm so sorry, Gabe." She broke down for a few seconds, especially as Fransisco and Luisa moved to hug her. Isabel turned to Gabe and met his eyes. Neither spoke, but she hoped he saw comfort in her calm countenance. On the inside, she certainly wasn't calm; she was a churning mess of emotions. However, she was good at hiding her feelings, on keeping up a stoic façade. She had practice, burying herself in her research projects, only coming back to reality when forced. It was hard to live in Elena's shadow. Even harder to love. And though she hoped things were changing, she never knew for sure and she was far too shy to take a risk.
"Captain Nuñez? What are your orders?" asked one of the Royal Guards. Gabe tore his gaze from Isabel and she felt a trembling breath catch in her throat.
"Evacuate the people. Ride throughout the city and get everyone to safety- by water, road, mountains. I believe those would be the Queen's wishes."
"Exactly," said Isabel. "My grandparents are going with Armando to evacuate villagers to the hills. Naomi has already gone to the docks to get people out of the kingdom by boat. Esteban and the palace staff will take the roads. Mateo went to the Realm of the Jaquins to get help. Elena and I will stay here in case the Shadow Spirit King has demands." She cleared her throat. "And...most of the jaquins were turned into Shadow Spirits."
Gabe's jaw tightened, but he spoke clearly as he gave his fellow guards various assignments across the kingdom.
"And you, Captain?" asked a guard.
"I'm staying with the Queen and Princess," said Gabe. "We'll leave once the rest of Avalor is safe. Good luck."
He shook hands with a few of the guards and Isabel didn't like the finality to it. It was as if Gabe was resigning himself to an unpleasant end.
The Royal Guards rode off and then Isabel had to bid her grandparents goodbye. Esteban and the palace staff left too, and with each parting glance, Isabel felt her heart breaking. Avalor was dying. And it was very likely she would never see her friends and family again. They might all die.
She glanced back at the sky and bit her tongue anxiously. Actually, it would be worse than death. They might all be turned into Shadow Spirits. And then the misery would never end.
Unless Mateo could find Quita Moss and the oracle provided a way to defeat the Shadow Realm. There was still some hope, and Isabel forced herself to cling to it like a lifeline. They were all counting on Mateo. He was the Wizard King. Surely he could find a way.