Chapter Nine — Roots of the World Tree

The big tree made shade×日陰 above them. Ms. Kelly put things from her bag on the ground. There was a broken mirror, a reed×葦（あし） with paper, and two sticks. Amelia touched the pictures on one stick. Her scar felt warm.

“First, why?” Mei asked. She looked at the school gate. Was Ms. Fujiwara coming? “Why us?”

Ms. Kelly hit her sticks together. Click. A map made of light appeared in the air. Lines of light joined Australia and Japan.

“There are two kinds of magic roads,” Ms. Kelly said. She pointed to red lines on Australia. “In my country, we call them songlines×ソングライン（オーストラリア先住民の「歌の道」）.” She pointed to blue lines on Japan. “In Japan, they are called ley lines×レイライン（土地を結ぶ気の道）. Long ago, your families tried to join them. They wanted to keep Japan and Australia safe.”

“My great-great-grandfather knew the old stories,” Ms. Kelly said. “He met a man named Fujiwara. Fujiwara came from Japan. He was an onmyoji×陰陽師 — a Japanese magic man. They both wanted to keep their countries safe.”

Ms. Kelly showed an old picture. In the picture, a Japanese man held a mirror. Next to him, an Australian man held a crystal ball. “They made two magic things,” she said. “A crystal for stories, and a magic mirror to see far places. They wanted to build a bridge×橋（ここでは魔法の橋） — to share power, not to steal it.”

Amelia came closer. “What went wrong?”

“Power can make people bad,” Ms. Kelly said sadly. “Fujiwara became greedy×欲張りな. He wanted to use the bridge as a weapon×武器. The Japanese Emperor found out. He made Fujiwara disappear. He burned Fujiwara’s house.” She looked at Amelia. “Hana’s house is built in the same place. Fujiwara’s old house was there.”

Mei was worried. “So Ms. Fujiwara is his…?”

“His great-granddaughter,” Ms. Kelly said. “And my uncle, Jintarra, is her partner. He is a bad magic man. They want to steal×盗む your souls×魂.” She pointed to the map. Hana’s house and Amelia’s house were bright. “If they swap your souls…”

The red and blue lines on the map turned purple. It was a bad color.

“They will make you hitobashira×人柱,” Mei said quietly. She was very pale. “Human pillars.”

“Worse,” Ms. Kelly said. “Like batteries. Your body will sleep forever and give them power. Then they will control all the magic in both countries. No more spirits, no more stories, no more temples — only them. And they must build the bridge tonight, when the moon goes dark. We call it a lunar eclipse×月食.”

Amelia felt cold. “Why the moon?”

“The dark moon makes the swap strong,” Ms. Kelly said. “Last night the magic failed. When they tried to swap your souls, Koro jumped on Hana’s bed. Animals can feel magic. The dog stopped it.”

Amelia touched her scar. It was warm. “So where is Hana now?”

“I don’t know,” Ms. Kelly said. “Ms. Fujiwara is looking for her soul. She wants to take her to a cave in Australia and finish the swap. I want to take you both home first, before the moon is high.”

Mei held Amelia’s arm. “What about Amelia’s real body? Is it empty?”

“My friends in Australia are looking in hospitals. For a sleeping girl,” Ms. Kelly said. But she did not look sure. “Magic is messy. Maybe your body is sleeping. Maybe…” She stopped. Amelia’s phone made a sound.

New message (Hana's mother):
> Come home NOW. Koro dug up the whole garden. She is barking and barking. Hurry.

Ms. Kelly read it. “That’s it,” she said. She stood up. “Koro is trying to tell us something. Something Ms. Fujiwara does not want us to know.”

They ran to Hana’s house. High in a tree, a fox watched them. Nobody saw it. One of its eyes was purple. The other eye was black.