Wicked As You Wish (A Hundred Names for Magic #1) - Rin Chupeco Page 0,13

Queen slaying the armies of Avalon—1940s Beiran propaganda repackaged as modern art. At her side was a young boy her age with dark, dark eyes, slinging a broadsword made of ice. People unfamiliar with the legend always expected the Scourge to be a muscular, imposing man wielding an ax, and were always surprised to learn he was an eternal youth, much like Peter Pan had been.

Other versions say that the firebird is needed to find the legendary kingdom of Buyan, where the key to immortality is said to be found—a kingdom believed destroyed by the Scourge. Famous wielders of the firebird include Talia Briar-Rose, Ella of the Cinders, Ye Xian, Snow White…

Another scroll down.

The last sighting of the firebird was in August 1960, amid the escalation of the Cold War that had both the Royal States and the kingdom of Russia competing to develop spelltech in response to Avalon’s influence in world politics. The mad queen of Wonderland, Elizabeth XXIV, was still reeling from the internal wars ravaging her kingdom since March, and had threatened to unleash the most powerful and most unpredictable of her spelltech against the rebels despite the real possibility of mutual annihilation on both sides of the conflict. Code-named the Mock Turtle, it was an explosives-type spell that, by Avalon estimates, could potentially level the whole Asia-Pacific. Fighting in Wonderland spilled over into Avalon five months later, with Avalon taking the rebels’ side. As casualties mounted, the queen, believing the war lost, detonated the spell, and King Ilya Tsarevich of Avalon deployed the firebird in response. While successful at protecting Avalon from the explosion, the firebird was believed to have perished in the attack. The firebird’s apparent death also marked a turning point in Beiran history, with the Scourge of Buyan publicly turning against the Snow Queen for the first time, to side with Avalon; evidence suggests that the Snow Queen herself had influence in Wonderland politics and had encouraged Queen Elizabeth XXIV to pursue pro-Beiran policies. The incident also marked the breaking down of the alliance between Avalon and Western forces, culminating in Tsarevich withdrawing his previous offer of sharing spelltech knowledge with—

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The firebird has since failed to present itself during both King Andrei and his son, King Ivan’s, eighteenth birthdays. The subsequent attack on Avalon by the kingdom of Beira, led by the Snow Queen, killed all known members of Avalonian royalty, including Ivan, Queen Marya, and their son Alexei—

A sea of giggles rose up from the next table, where a group of kids were watching the video, prompting some shushing from a vexed librarian. Tala sighed and closed her laptop.

Alex never called or texted back. And when she stopped by his place afterward, no one responded to her knock. The house was shuttered and empty; there was no one home.

4

In Which Government Agents Are Assholes, but What Else Is New

When government agents rolled up to Lola Urduja’s house the day after Alex went missing, Tala knew there was going to be trouble.

Her father had barked at her to remain inside, so she’d compromised by positioning herself in front of the window nearest the door, watching the three cars pulling up along the driveway. The half-dozen men and women exiting were dressed in plainclothes and dark caps instead of the usual black vests and official uniforms, but not even Tala had any doubt what agency they represented.

The Warnocks weren’t alone. Lola Urduja came striding out, her limp nearly nonexistent. The rest of her subordinates flanked her on both sides, all looking a swagger away from a movie explosion sequence.

That the Filipinos were on the elderly side and were armed with abanico fans took something away from the general coolness, but the ICE agents appeared taken aback all the same, probably unaccustomed to the sea of brown faces striding purposefully their way instead of fleeing in the other direction.

None of them looked like they could belong to the Katipunan. Most of the women channeled an aura exuded by Asian aunties rather than by soldiers.

“May we help you?” Lola Urduja called out, her voice as crisp as autumn leaves.

“This is government business,” said one of the men.

“Government business or not, you’ll need a search warrant to enter private property.”

“Of course,” the man said, but made no move to show any documents.

“Who are you looking for?” Lola Urduja persisted.

“Catherine Hutchins.”

Tala started. In two days, the video had gone viral and accumulated several million views. Elsmore High had issued a statement promising a thorough investigation into the matter,