Page 96 of Seasonal Fears

“Labyrinths are only used during a coronation,” says Jack. “They’ll keep building them every year, forever, because that’s what the Spring and Fall do, but none of them will be used until the two of you die.”

Harry pales. “Oh. Well, let’s not do that.”

“No, let’s not,” says Mel. “I know you people are excited to have new folk around to tell all about your weird, secret alchemical world, and I respect that: if I had a whole reality almost no one got to see or experience, I’d want to talk about it too. Maybe in five years, once I’m used to being the Winter Queen, I’ll do the same thing. But right now, we’re in a hurry, and we need to know what you need us to know.”

“Blunt little thing, aren’t you?” asks Clifford, and sips his coffee.

“She’s the Cosgrove girl,” says Carolyn.

“What, really?” He lowers his cup, turning to stare at Mel. “I didn’t expect that particular science project to make it this far. Are you sure?”

“Unless literally everyone I’ve met, including the living spirit of the Winter, has been lying to me, then yes, I’m sure,” says Mel coldly. “Yes, my father was an alchemist and he built me and trying to save his experiment is what killed my mother and yes, I’m supposed to be the perfect vessel for the Winter, and from what she’s said so far, I think he got that part right, but it’s not going to make a damn bit of difference unless I’m the first one to put on that crown.”

“The Cosgrove girl,” breathes Cliff. “I remember hearing about you from a Jack in the Green who used to work at the hospital. She said they’d been trying to get to you and your sister, to help with your medical needs, but your father wouldn’t let them. If he was going to craft perfect vessels, they wanted those vessels to grow up sheltered by the seasons, prepared for the responsibility and reverence that might one day be theirs to carry. He turned them all away, except for the ones who disappeared and were never heard from again.”

“Jacks in the Green stand for spring; they tend to be attracted to positions involving growth and nurturing,” says Jack. “Lots of nurses. Lots of doctors. Lots of teachers, too.”

“If being a season comes with a profession, what does being a Jack Frost get you?” asks Harry. “Lots of truancy?”

“Oh ha ha, you’re hilarious.”

“You’re both getting away from the point,” says Mel. “What do you mean, they wanted to offer medical care to me and my sister? She was stillborn. There’s nothing there to care for. You can’t provide medical care for the dead. My father was sustaining her with alchemy, not with medicine.”

“Oh, but you’re dead,” says Carolyn. “And I’d say from looking at you that you’ve been dead a few dozen times since you were born, but your father who made you, he thinks like an alchemist, which means he thinks like a human, which means he thinks it’s better for things to be alive when they can. So he kept finding ways to bring you back. That’s a good thing for you, and probably a good thing for us, if you’re as suited to your season as you seem; even a coronation wouldn’t have been enough to call you back if you’d made it past the border of your season. But you’ve been dead before and you’re dead right now. What makes you think your Summer sister can’t accomplish the same trick? That’s just silliness.”

Mel blinks, quiet as she sinks back into the couch. Harry takes the coffee cup out of her hand before she can spill it. If Carolyn gets upset about mud on her floors, he doesn’t know how she’ll react to coffee on her couch.

“What do we do now?” asks Harry, eyes fixed on Clifford. “How do we get to the labyrinth, and what do we do when we get there?”

“It’s so close that you’ll be on the scarecrow trail as soon as you step out the front door,” says Clifford, with more gravity than he’s exhibited thus far. “All you need to do is keep moving forward. All the other candidates will be there, and their attendants, and they’ll probably try to kill you, but you can keep each other safe until the doors open. Or you can snipe the competition, it’s up to you. Once the doors unlock, you’ll all be able to go in and start moving toward the center. Whoever gets there first will be able to attempt to claim the crowns. They’ll have winnowed all the unsuitable long before you reach that point.”

“So it’s sort of like a relay race, only with murder?” asks Harry.

“Now you’re getting it,” says Clifford. “And no, we don’t know when the labyrinth is going to unlock. It does that on its own time.”

“We’re entering alchemical time once we step inside,” says Jack. “That’s how this works.”

Harry shoots her a sharp look. “I’m getting a little tired of ‘that’s how this works’ as a way to excuse things that don’t make any goddamn sense. Just so you know.”

“Suck it up, buttercup,” says Jack, more gleefully than is probably called for. She takes one more sip of her coffee before she leans forward and places it on the table. “Well, if we’re almost there, I suppose it’s time for us to get this show properly on the road.”

Carolyn looks at her levelly and clears her throat. Jack blinks, clearly confused. “Coaster,” says Carolyn.

Jack moves her mug onto a coaster, now looking shamefaced, and stands. “Thank you for your hospitality. We know you didn’t have to offer it, and we’re grateful.”

“You’re welcome, and if it helps at all, I think you stand a pretty solid chance of making it to the end. Cosgrove did his work well, and you’re the most seasonally aligned pair we’ve seen so far.”

“That’s … encouraging.” Harry’s not sure it is, as he stands and offers Mel his hand. She puts her coffee down—on a coaster, earning her an approving nod from Carolyn—and rises, staying close beside him. “If walking out the door puts us in the labyrinth, can my car stay where it is?”

“You’re parked on the street, yeah?” asks Carolyn.

Harry nods.

“You should be fine for a week or so, and if the labyrinth hasn’t spat you out by then, it’s probably because you’ve died inside. The glow’s been getting stronger and stronger, shouldn’t be long now before it’s mature. We don’t know for sure. We’ve never had one wake up before.” Her smile is both sudden and dazzling. “I bet we’re about as excited as you are to see what happens when she wakes up.”

“Yeah, there’s a good chance we’re all gonna die when that happens, so you’ll forgive us for being less excited,” says Harry blandly.

“Now, come on, your attendants will probably live,” says Clifford. He stands as well, stretching. “The labyrinth isn’t trying them. Most of the candidates left theirs behind, assuming they ever had them.”