Page 13

13

By the time I woke up the following morning, I was still safely chained to the tree. I hadn’t hurt anyone, Nix assured me. She’d stayed all night, listening to my screams.

I was starting to think my affliction wasn’t centered just on my falling asleep or the setting sun. I had almost hurt Lucas in the cave, and neither of those things had been happening. That meant that with each passing day, the monster was getting stronger.

With Lucas, I had been at my weakest. Perhaps the manananggal could sense that—take advantage of it, even. But I still didn’t have any answers as to why this was happening in the first place. If I could transform at any time, it meant that being around others was getting more dangerous. And I felt like I couldn’t do anything to stop it. At the same time, hiding in the house wasn’t an option, especially not when Qian was starting to show an interest in me. I had to keep pretending like everything was normal until we figured out what to do next.

But I couldn’t stop thinking about Lucas. Yesterday had been a mistake on so many levels; I knew that. Still, the ghost of Lucas’s lips remained on mine. His kisses unraveled me and made me question everything, and I could hardly think about anything else, even when I got dressed and headed to breakfast. But Clarissa was waiting for me in the hall.

“Your Majesty,” she said, with a curtsy. Then she curtsied at Nix, adding, “Princess.” She turned to me and said, “Your healer has arrived.”

“My healer?” I asked, eyebrows drawn, and then I remembered. “The manghuhula!”

I wasn’t hungry anyway. I told Clarissa to inform everyone at breakfast not to wait for us, and I hurried to meet the manghuhula. Nix was more than eager to join me.

Together, Nix and I rushed toward the sitting room, where Clarissa said the manghuhula would be waiting for us, and Nix could hardly stop talking. She did that when she was nervous or excited, but this time, I think she was more nervous. “I heard manghuhulas dabble in necromancy and talking to spirits. That they were banished from the kingdom because they brought someone back from the dead. Do you think the manghuhula is dangerous?”

“One way to find out,” I said. “And I’m not going to miss an opportunity like this because of some rumors.” I was sick and tired of turning into a monster every night. If the manghuhula was my only hope, I couldn’t be scared.

When we came into the sitting room, a person was waiting for us, but they weren’t the person I was expecting. When I’d heard the manghuhula was similar to the mambabarang, I imagined they would be some kind of witch, a wizened old lady with scraggly white hair and a cackling laugh. Instead, the healer was a heavyset male encanto with shining blond hair and warm, dark brown eyes. He looked like a thirtysomething-year-old human, except for the points of his ears. He was dressed in a white barong, held a small bag at his waist, and smiled when we entered, bowing.

“Your Majesty,” he said. “It’s an honor to meet you.”

“You’re the manghuhula?” I asked.

“Yes, I am Isagani of Mount Hamiguitan, but everyone just calls me Gani.”

Gani came over and shook my hand. Somehow, that comforted me. “Everyone calls me MJ,” I said.

“MJ,” he repeated. When he shook Nix’s hand next, he asked her, “You are a healer, I presume?”

“Yeah, but nothing like what you do. Just in training. I’ll help in any way I can.”

He smiled. “Absolutely. I need to know everything before we properly get started. Shall we move to the infirmary for the examination?” My heart thumped nervously, and he must have sensed that, because he added, “Nothing invasive, I promise.”

The infirmary was a necessary room in the great house. With royals vacationing here for decades, it was imperative that they could get any medical attention they needed at all times. When I came inside, it reminded me of an apothecary, with dried herbs hanging from the ceiling and even more potted plants growing near the windows. In the middle of the room was an examination table surrounded by wall-to-wall shelves full of glass jars neatly labeled for every ailment.

Gani had me sit down on the examination table, and I waited while he went around the room, gathering supplies from drawers. Nix helped him, serving as a kind of assistant in locating what he needed.

“I’ve been told you’re looking for a spiritual cleansing. Is that correct?” Gani asked.

“Yes,” I said.

“Have you been haunted by anything in particular?”

I glanced at Nix, who looked back at me, wide-eyed. Should I tell him? I wasn’t so sure. I just wanted him to fix whatever was wrong with me. “Got a lot going on right now,” I said.

“Being a queen is no easy task, I’m sure,” he said with a smile.

Gani took the powdered herbs and put them into a glass jar filled with a clear liquid, and the second the herbs touched the liquid, they burst into flames and turned the liquid into ichor. The smoke trailing on the surface smelled impossibly like joy—that was the only way I could describe it.

His eyes were soft, though, when he handed it to me. “Drink this.”

“What is it?”

“Without boring you with healers’ jargon—”

“But I love healers’ jargon!” Nix interrupted him.

He laughed and said, “I’ll let you look at my notes if you so wish, Princess Nix, but for MJ’s sake, it’s a kind of light elixir. It will help us see if there are energy blocks and where they’re located, like holding up a flashlight to your hand and seeing your fingers glow red.”

It kind of made sense, and I made no objections as I drank the elixir. It tasted like candy when it went down.

Gani had me lie back on the examination table, fully clothed, and I got comfortable with a pillow under my head. Then Gani hovered his hands over my body like he was scanning me. My body wasn’t glowing, which I half expected, so I figured it was something only he could see. Nix watched, totally enraptured by his technique.

“You mentioned a flashlight,” I said. “You spent time in the human world?”

“I did. My kind isn’t particularly welcome in some parts of the encanto world, but it is getting better, as you can tell. I enjoyed the human world, though. I made many friends.”

“People told me that you’re necromancers, that you deal with spirits.”

“That’s part of the job. But death is just as much a part of the natural world as life.”

“What about curses?” Nix asked, agape. “I’ve heard you can do that, too.”

“Nix,” I warned. “Don’t be rude.”

“I’m only asking!”

Gani didn’t seem bothered. “There are curses to inflict on one’s enemies, but it is a mirrored arrow. What shoots forward must also shoot back. We must be careful when it comes to that sort of magic. Otherwise, we risk everything. But that is why we are so educated. People often fear what they do not understand.” He hovered his hands over my body, my chest, and my head, his brow knit with focus but his eyes never ceasing to be kind. “Because to lift curses, one must know how curses work.”

A look crossed his face, one that flitted away just as quickly, but I caught it all the same. “What is it?” I asked.

Relenting with a sigh, Gani tipped his head and said, “Your condition is…unique. I haven’t encountered someone like you before.”

I wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. I was leaning more toward bad.

“There is magic at play, though; that is for certain,” he said, lowering his hands. “Tell me, have you been able to use your power at all recently?”

“I haven’t tried in a while. I’ve been struggling to master it.”

“Can we try now?”

“Sure.” I sat up, and Gani handed me a copper coin.

“Please, if you will, try to turn the copper into silver. I will sense if there is any kind of interference. It should be a relatively simple transmutation.”

I glanced at Nix, who nodded in support and said, “You can do it!”

While Gani hovered his hands over me, I focused on the coin in my palm. I concentrated, tried to push everything else out of my mind just like I’d been trained to do, but the copper remained unchanged in my hand.

“Do you know what’s wrong?” I asked him, and handed the coin back.

He regarded me for a moment and turned to Nix. “Apologies, Princess Nix. If you’d be so kind as to give us some privacy.”

“Oh!” Nix said, eyes wide. “Of course. Excuse me.”

She gave me an encouraging thumbs-up before she slinked out of the infirmary and closed the door. Gani tucked the coin into his pocket and pulled up a stool to take a seat near me.

“Is something wrong?” I asked. “Do you know what’s happening?”

“It’s not in my nature to lie, especially to my clients. So when I tell you I don’t know, I don’t want to frighten you. Your condition is unlike anything I’ve seen before. If you’re open to the idea, I’d like to do a tarot card reading. To get a greater understanding of your situation—perhaps gain some insight about the whole picture, if you will. Even see what’s to come.”

The fact that he didn’t answer my question outright set my nerves on edge, but I took a calming breath. “Tarot cards can predict the future?”

“A possible future. Nothing is set in stone. Think of it like forks in a road. Tarot can shine a light and reveal details about the paths ahead.”

I nodded, choosing to ignore the anxiety swirling in me, and Gani took a velvet bag out of his traveling case. He peeled the velvet off the deck and extended it to me, not touching the cards as he did so. Gingerly, I took the cards and fanned them out. I’d never used tarot cards before, and I didn’t know what any of them meant, but I admired the artwork on each one. I could tell that they were from printed woodblocks, embossed with gold, some with images of encantos, others with mythical animals.

“Shuffle the deck as much as you’d like,” Gani said. He unfolded the velvet bag, revealing that it was actually a large square velvet tablecloth, and spread it on the counter next to us. “The cards need to learn about you, get a sense of who you are. Take your time.”

I did as I was told, and when I was ready, I stood across from Gani. He had me draw the top card.

“This represents your past,” he said, pointing to the card facing up between us. “The Queen of Wands is all about passion and determination. But since it’s reversed, upside down for you, perhaps there’s an element of low confidence or jealousy.”

My cheeks got hot. The card was more accurate than I had anticipated. I couldn’t help but notice the queen in the card looked startlingly like me. Same dark hair, same blue eyes, same olive skin.

When I drew another card, Gani said, “This represents your present. The Two of Swords is about difficult choices, indecision, perhaps being pulled in different directions.”

The woman in the card was blindfolded, swords crossed in front of her chest. Again, she looked just like me. The hair on my arms stood on end. I drew another card. My future.

“The Tower,” he said. “A terribly misunderstood card.”

“How come?”

“The Tower represents change, upheaval, disaster. But when used in this context, it can also mean a change for the better, a positive redirection that perhaps you aren’t ready for, an unexpected shift. It can also mean the end of things, good or bad. Change can be frightening sometimes.”

I stared at the card. It depicted a castle tower surrounded by roses, and a mountain range divided the night sky in the background. The tower was on fire, crumbling; people were throwing themselves out of windows, screaming on the way down. At the very top of the tower was a woman, her hands extended to the full moon, pleading for help. I didn’t know how such imagery could be considered good in any capacity.

“It looks just like my palace,” I said, a little breathless. I almost didn’t want to believe what I was seeing.

“Does it?” Gani asked, his eyes moving from the card back to me.

“The same gemstones and pearlescent spires and everything.”

“You see what the cards want you to see,” Gani said. “Try not to worry. Let’s do something different.” He had me take up the cards again, shuffling them once more. “I want you to choose another card. One that speaks to you the most. Let’s see what you have.”

I placed the top card down on the table. The Tower.

“Let’s try again,” Gani said, his smile a little tight. “Try to clear your mind.”

I did and reshuffled the deck. I pulled another card.

The Tower. Again and again, I drew the same card, even when it was in the middle of the deck. No matter what, I always pulled The Tower.

I looked at Gani. Despite his smile, his face had lost some color.

When I went to pick up the card again, Gani whipped a corner of the velvet over it, covering it completely. Neither of us said anything for a moment.

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“Nothing to fear, Your Majesty.”

I thought he never wanted to lie to me. Gani made a point not to touch them when he gathered the deck up in the square of velvet once more. Did this mean I was doomed?

“Can you still help me?” I asked.

Gani’s smile returned, though all the warmth had gone from his eyes. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty.”

I didn’t know what else to do, so I stepped away from the table and turned to go. My knees were weak, and my head swam with confusion. What had just happened? What would I do?

Before I left, I turned back just in time to see Gani throw the entire deck, velvet and all, into the trash can, light a match, and set it on fire.