It was a long, jarring ride to Georges’ claim. Sophie sat wedged between barrels of salted pork and sacks of flour. There were other boxes of supplies including metal gears and dark, viscous oil. Georges drove from a narrow bench at the front of the wagon. Sophie had offered to sit beside him. But Georges had insisted she remain in the back, protected from the sun and elements beneath the canvas cover.

It was stuffy and uncomfortable. Sophie felt every rut and stone they hit, which must have been a continuous stream of obstructions from Dawn City to the claim. Food had been offered around midday, when Georges paused for ten minutes. He had been distant in his interactions: either ignoring or failing to hear any of her questions.

The day dragged along with only a narrow view of the trail for Sophie to watch. She was bruised and sore when the wagon finally splashed across a shallow river and came to a stop. With effort Sophie wiggled her way to the back of the wagon, determined to stretch her legs and back. Everything ached as she gingerly eased herself to stable ground.

As she rounded the front, she noticed Georges strolling along the edge of a pond. In the middle of the water a massive wooden structure floated.

‘What is that?’ Sophie wondered aloud.

‘That is the breaker rig.’

Sophie squeaked and jumped. Spinning she found herself facing a young man about her own age. His dark hair was cropped short and his green eyes danced as they observed her.

‘I didn’t know Georges was bringing women back to camp.’

‘He is not. Well, I suppose he is. But it is not like that,’ Sophie stammered. ‘I am a charmer.’

‘Of course you are,’ the man said sliding the reigns over the head of the horse. ‘Akram Naras.’

He offered her his hand. Sophie glanced at the charms on his wrist as she introduced herself.

‘You are one of the charmers?’ she said her eyes catching the six-sided sun etched with a crescent moon.

‘You must be our sixth,’ Akram acknowledged. ‘Welcome to the claim.’

Sophie looked from the young man to the strange structure floating in the water. ‘Um, what is a breaker rig?’

‘That is a breaker rig. It is the largest in the North. Georges had it special made then shipped here piece by piece. Took a force of people to assemble, or so I understand. I wasn’t around then.’

‘Oh, I see,’ Sophie muttered utterly confused. ‘Er, what does it do?’

‘See that end there? The one that juts out with the metal buckets? Well, those teeth on the edge of the bucket help it break through the rock and soil to scoop up dirt. Makes a terrible racket.’

‘It seems pretty quiet now,’ Sophie observed. She could hear the wind in the trees and the twittering of birds but nothing else.

‘Oh, it is silent now. Broken. Something exploded on the inside not an hour ago. That is where Georges went. See we only get a brief summer this far North. Doesn’t even get warm enough to fully thaw the ground. So Georges wants this rig running all day and all night until the season shifts.’

‘Not warm enough?’ Sophie echoed skeptically. She wiped the damp from her forehead with the cuff of her dress.

Akram chuckled. ‘Once the ground is scooped up, it is carried into the big structure you see there. There are a whole series of conveyors and sieves and water used to sort the gold pieces or dust from the rest of the rock and dirt. The waste material is ejected out that end and forms those huge piles of rocky debris.’

‘Does it often break down?’

‘Seems to be breaking down a fair bit of late.’

‘So what do you do now?’

‘There isn’t much for charmers to do while the mechanists are busy playing with their gears and shafts. Right now, I should probably start unloading the supplies. Georges likes things to be properly stored otherwise supplies spoil and that is never a good thing. You might as well come with me. I am sure Georges won’t want to talk to you until the rig is up and running again.’

*

Steam erupted from the top of the rig’s body. Gears ground together, the sound echoing off the surrounding hills.

It was like a castle of old, with a moat around its base. At the front end huge chains jerked into action. Metal buckets with iron teeth dove into the rock. They scooped up hungry mouthfuls of soil and carried into the rig’s body where it was lost from Sophie’s view. On the other end a long arm or tail dropped waste material in long snaking piles.

‘It looks so simple.’

‘Only because we are not on the inside. The rig uses a system of sieves and water sluices to separate the heavier gold from the remaining sediment.’ Akram explained. ‘It takes three crews of six to operate it.’

‘So many people?’ Sophie echoed. She looked around at the tiny camp. There were a dozen tents but surely not enough for all of them, plus the half dozen charmers Georges said he needed.

‘One crew is always sleeping. The next shift would have been called in early to help fix whatever went wrong. It is very large inside. Some of the gears are two stories tall.’

‘And what do you do? What sort of charm work would necessitate six charmers?’

‘The Gold Charm,’ Akram exhaled. His gaze shifted beyond the wooden frame of the rig. ‘Georges has an idea to call gold from the ground to the surface. Like to like.’

‘That doesn’t make any sense! Where are the similarities?’

‘That is perhaps the most interesting aspect. Where do you think gold comes from?’

‘The ground?’ They were digging up the ground in search of the precious metal.

‘Ok, foolish question. Obviously, we wouldn’t be working the claim if we didn’t think gold came from the ground. That is not the point I am trying to make. Gold isn’t just found lying onto of the ground, not all of it. It comes from deeper within the earth.’

‘Like coal? Miners dig deep under the surface to extract the resource.’

‘I suppose so,’ Akram said slowly. ‘Only there are lots of differences between coal and gold. However, they are both components of the earth. You start digging, even in an area rich in the metal and you must pull up dirt and rock. Now you scratch your skin, your surface and eventually you will start drawing blood.’

‘But blood is liquid and gold is solid.’

‘Not at high temperatures. Use a hot enough fire and gold melts.’

‘You still need to actively apply that heat to make it molten.’

‘We do, because like the blood in you, when it reaches the surface it cools, becoming solid.’

Sophie looked at Akram. ‘You seriously believe gold is the lifeblood of the earth?’

‘I feel it is better considered a part. Just as there are several components to your own blood. I think Georges theory is quite sound.’

‘And the charm…?’

‘Like to like,’ Akram said. ‘Georges wants to draw gold from the land like a doctor bleeding a patient.’

Sophie swallowed. ‘That is a bold charm. You do know charms don’t happen that … er quickly. Charms are not really like doctors extracting fluids from patients.’

‘Obviously,’ Akram said. ‘However, a charm that could draw gold to the claim, well that would be incredible. Having a way to sense the gold in a claim would also be a worthwhile success. This charm is going to change things, of that I am certain. First you need to learn the words. The rest will follow quickly.’

Across the pond, the sound of the rig’s engine smoothed out into a steady rhythm. It was accompanied by the crashing of sharp-toothed metal buckets into the earth. The valley where the river had been dammed to create the small pound reverberated with the rig’s noise.

Akram pressed his lips together. ‘I think they are done.’

‘Done?’

‘Well the day shift is done now that the rig is working again. The night shift will be taking over. Look, there is Georges leading the crew.’

A parade of people now occupied the narrow bridge connecting the rig with land. At its lead was Georges, his floppy hat still perched over limp hair. His clothes appeared to have acquired another layer of dirt and grim. The rest were similarly sweaty people in the ubiquitous brown uniform of the north.

In their midst, near the back was a slim, familiar figure. The sleek dark hair had been ruthlessly pulled back and plaited. It was such a simple hairstyle, nothing Sophie associated with her sister. Of course, she hadn’t seen her sister this filthy in years.

Sophie took off. She couldn’t help the wide, grin she knew spread across her face. Anika was there, looking just as exhausted as the rest. But there was no doubt, this was her beloved sister.

‘Anika! Anika! Anika!’ Sophie sang as she raced forward. She threw her arms around her older sister the moment Anika stepped off the bridge. ‘I thought I would never find you. Oh, I am so glad you are alright. I was worried. And it was such a long trip here. I had to come by air-carriage, which was terrible. And then no one knew you in town. I didn’t know how I was going to survive.’

Sophie babbled. Words slipped from her tongue in a torrent of nonsense. She was only half aware of what she was saying: how worried she had been, how lonely Chesico was without her, how their neighbours had gossiped, how strange and awkward the north was, and how soon they could go back home. Everything she had been thinking since she woke to find her sister gone poured out of Sophie in an incoherent mess.

In her arms, Anika was very still.

‘Is something wrong? Are you hurt? Oh, dear I have been crushing you when you were injured.’ Sophie stepped back frantically looking Anika over. Her sister was smeared in dirt. It streaked her face like some primitive war paint. There were tears in her shirt and strands of coal black hair were escaping the practical braid.

‘What is wrong? Talk to me Anika,’ Sophie said. ‘Why don’t you look at me?’

‘Why did you come?’ Anika’s rough voice was low, her eyes watching the ground at their feet. ‘You hate travel.’

‘I was worried. You have been gone so long. I thought you were lost. I thought you were never coming back.’

‘I never asked you to come.’

‘I had to know what happened to you. I had to find you.’

‘Well now that you have, you can leave.’ Anika’s hand flew out gripping Sophie by the arm. Anika pulled her with more strength than Sophie remembered her sister possessing. They were headed back to the camp, to the cluster of tents, the cabin and the wagon. ‘Go, Sophie, go back to the city.’

‘Not without you, Anika. I won’t leave you behind.’

‘I don’t want you here. Leave. Get back on the wagon or whatever you used to get here and return. Go back to Chesico and never seek me out again.’ Anika lifted her dark glittering eyes. They were the same almond shape Sophie remembered. They held the same self-confidence she always admired in her sister. But there was something else there too, something less welcoming.

‘I travelled too far to go back empty handed. I need you Anika.’ Sophie said stubbornly barely meeting her sister’s gaze.

‘You idiot!’ Anika snapped. ‘You selfish fool, do you think of no one but yourself? You, you were the reason I had to leave. Now be gone. Ge out. Leave.’

Tears pricked at Sophie’s eyes. She wretched her arm free of Anika’s clutch. ‘I can’t. Not alone. You have to come home, please.’

‘I am home. This is my home, Sophie.’

‘No,’ Sophie said shaking her head. ‘No, this isn’t home. Home is Chesico, where we grew up.’

‘What do you know of home? What do you remember of our house? Can you recall its colour? The warm sunshine yellow with its green and white trim? Can you remember our mother as she picked flowers in the garden? Or the way she smiled at us?’

Sophie recoiled at the bitter voice. ‘Chesico is more than just a house. The city is huge, far bigger than Dawn City. There is plenty of work to be found there, good work.’

‘I have a job. I work the rig. What do you do Sophie? What have you ever done?’

‘I am a charmer.’

‘Unstable work.’

‘Georges hired me, from a town filled with charmers,’ Sophie retorted. ‘I can get work, I can help to make our life together good. Our family…’

Anika’s eyes darkened. ‘We have no family. They are gone.’ Her voice was cold, flat.

Sophie flinched. ‘Our father might return. He wouldn’t know where to find us if we stayed here.’

‘He doesn’t deserve to find us,’ Anika shouted. ‘He can take his gin soaked hide to the Abyss for all it matters.’

‘Anika, you can’t mean that. He is our father. He is family.’

‘He is a pathetic coward, using grief as a reason to run away. He deserves nothing,’ she spat. Heat coloured her cheeks as Anika glared at Sophie. ‘You are not wanted here. Leave now and never come back.’

‘You can’t mean that, Anika. You can’t. You are my sister. You are my life. You are everything to me. I love you. Always. I would do anything for you, please don’t make me leave.’

‘You are nothing but a weight around my shoulders, dragging me down, preventing me from living my life. Go back, Sophie. Take your silly charms and pathetic dreams and return to Chesico. You are not wanted.’ Anika pushed past Sophie, knocking her sister to the side with enough force to cause her to stumble.

No one in the camp came as Sophie sobbed to herself. The world had cracked leaving Sophie broken upon its bones. She huddled into herself as the tears dampened the earth around her. What was she to do now?

Drying her eyes, Sophie looked around. She could see people moving between the tents. The smell of sausages and beans wafted from a fire. Hunger gnawed at her stomach. It pushed her from the ground and towards people. She didn’t see Anika amongst the half dozen workers milling around the fire. Akram stood when he spotted her. He looked back, towards the cabin. Sophie couldn’t tell if there was someone present or not. However, whatever Akram saw he stood and came towards her.

‘I will show you to your tent.’

‘Thank you. I don’t…’

‘There is food if you are hungry. We will start tomorrow morning.’

‘Start what?’

‘The Gold Charm, Georges wants you to learn it as quickly as possible.’

‘But Anika…’

‘Anika is a mechanists, good at her job, but not owner of the claim. Georges wants the charm performed as soon as possible. You should probably get some sleep,’ Akram added lifting the canvass flap and nodding towards the narrow cot inside. Her bags had already been brought in.

‘I am sorry,’ Akram said as she shuffled past.

*

The pounding was steady, though every so often it was accentuated by a louder explosion. The thunderous noise sent Sophie’s heart racing. In the bleary moments between sleep and waking Sophie wondered if she was under attack. The truth settled around her like a scratchy wool blanket, familiar and unwelcome. She wished she could erase the previous day. Only, how would that change anything? She lay there, still tired and uncertain and waited. Outside, voices drifted through the canvass walls.

‘I didn’t even know she had a sister!’

‘Can you imagine being related to her? I almost feel sorry for the girl.’

‘I wouldn’t say that around her.’

‘I am not afraid of Anika.’

‘I am not saying it is fear. I just have a healthy respect for her. She hasn’t been here a full season and already she is lead mechanist on the day shift.’

‘Think she will talk to her sister?’

They were talking about her as though she were a curiosity. Sophie held still on the bed. It was lumpy and uncomfortable. Something dug into her side. She remained motionless as the words drifted through the canvass.

‘Anika? You are crazy. She doesn’t forgive. You remember Willis?’

‘The metal worker that was here at the beginning of the season? He went home. Didn’t like the wilderness. Too many bears or wolves or something.’

From the crack in the flap of the tent, Sophie could tell it was light out. That did not help to narrow down the time, not in the summer of the north.

‘He had a disagreement with Anika, something related to the rig. Well Anika said one thing and Willis said another. Anika stayed and Willis is barely a memory. Lesson: don’t cross Anika. You can’t expect her to forgive and forget.’

‘Yah but the girl is her sister. That ought to count for something.’

Sophie could almost hear the shrug of the second speaker as she lay in bed. The misery of the previous day sloshed over her with their words. Unwanted, the word ricocheted around her head. The last remnant of her family had turned her back and walked away: left just as everyone else had left Sophie. She didn’t know what she was supposed to do now. Lying on her back, Sophie tossed an arm over her face. It didn’t stop the tears, but the sleeve helped to mop up the moisture.

‘Then it is good Anika is onboard for the charm. I thought she was going to oppose it.’

‘Georges won’t take the girl back to town until the charm is performed.’

‘No way!’

‘That is why we have to do it soon.’

‘You think the it will work?’

‘Instantly? Like magic? Nah, of course not. You have been listening to too many fireside stories.’

‘But Georges…’

They were charmers, Sophie thought dully. She didn’t recognize their voices. Where they strangers or had she forgotten those she just met yesterday?

‘Look I won’t speak ill of the boss, not while he is paying my wage, but he isn’t a charmer. Gold isn’t going to come pouring out of the ground. Charms are powerful, but instantaneous.’

‘They also take practice and effort to perform,’ a new voice added. Sophie recognized Akram’s clipped voice. ‘Which you are supposed to be doing.’

‘I thought we were waiting for the girl.’

‘Is she not up?’

‘She hasn’t come out yet.’

‘Have you bothered to see if she is awake? No, never mind, I will do it myself.’

The front flap was swept aside as the figure entered. It took a few moments for the dark silhouette to resolve itself into Akram. The man impatiently brushed a lock of dark, wavy hair from his face. ‘Good. You are awake. Georges wants you to learn the charm as quickly as you can. It is summer and he is eager to reap the most benefit from our labour.’

‘I thought Anika wanted me out of camp as fast as possible.’

‘Anika may want any number of things, but she is not the holder of this claim. Until then Georges is boss and his words are the ones we follow. Otherwise we don’t earn our pay.’ She heard the small sigh as he took another step forward. Softening his voice, Akram offered her a tin plate with steaming food. ‘I brought you some breakfast. There is water in the bucket there. When you are ready come out, we will start going over the words of the charm and their intent.’

When she didn’t reach out for it, Akram set the plate on a folding stool. Next to one of the stool’s legs he placed a cup of tea. ‘It is not much advice, but you should try not to listen to gossip. It never does anyone any good.’

‘Thanks,’ Sophie muttered, but he had already slipped beyond the confines of the tent.

The oatmeal was thick and filling. The tea was hot and bitter. It was not the best meal Sophie had eaten, but it wasn’t the worst either. She splashed some water on her face and pulled a new dress from her bag: something less dusty.

Unsurprisingly, the sun was high overhead when she finally emerged. The sentries who had been standing next to the tent had wandered off. Sophie wondered where she was expected to go when she spotted the familiar figure. The dirty brown trousers were the same ones Anika wore yesterday, though the top was clearly different. Sophie watched her sister move commandingly through camp before heading towards the rig.

Maybe she should try talking to her, maybe…

Anika glanced at Sophie before looking pointedly away. Maybe she should give Anika some space. Tomorrow, she might try talking to her sister.

‘Sophie?’ The female was tiny and delicate in appearance. She wore a bright red patterned top over her ubiquitous brown trousers. ‘If you would follow me.’

They didn’t go far. There was a tent on the other side of the cabin. It was bigger than most of the rest. Inside benches were set in a semicircle. There was a table to one side. The setup suggested a primitive office.

Akram nodded from where he sat. ‘Thanks Joss. Now, Sophie, about the Gold Charm, I am going to teach you the words of the song. We will practice here until you are ready.’

Sophie settled down on a bench. She tried to focus on the words Akram was speaking, words that described gold and blood. Her mind wandered to Anika. What was her sister doing now? Would she see her at dinner? Would they talk then?

‘Sophie!’ Akram snapped. ‘Pay attention, you need to learn this.’

‘Sorry,’ she muttered.

Across the tent the other woman snickered. Sophie scowled at her.

‘Oh, taking a page out of your sister’s book?’ Joss laughed. ‘Now we will have two ugly faces to avoid.’

‘You know nothing about it,’ Sophie hissed.

‘Do you really think you are the first person to be disappointed by family? How adorably childish. There is nothing special about either you or Anika.’

‘Joss,’ Akram drew out the name in one long slow syllable.

The woman rolled her eyes. ‘Do you hope to play the chivalrous knight? Because you know it isn’t going to end well.’

‘Perhaps you should leave.’

Joss rose to her feet in one liquid motion. ‘Try not to get attached, she isn’t staying for long.’

‘This is a mess,’ Sophie moaned as flap fell back into place. ‘How could she be like that? This isn’t my sister. Anika isn’t like that.’

‘Sometimes we change,’ Akram said softly. ‘Sometimes people are not who we thought they were. You can’t change them and remold them. People don’t work like gold or wood, molded and carved into the shapes we want.’ His fingers plucked at the charm bracelet on her wrist. The movement of his hands caused his own charms to clink musically together. ‘What is this?’ he asked plucking at the star and thread charm.

‘I made it to find my sister,’ Sophie said between nearly silent sobs. ‘The blue thread represents Anika and the red one is me. We both have the same star.’

‘It brought you here?’

‘I was so desperate to find Anika. Only she doesn’t want me.’

‘We all grow up eventually.’ Akram held up a hand silencing her protests. ‘We are not statues, unmoving and still. We all change with time, in ways we cannot predict. Anika may not be the person you thought you knew. Maybe that means it is time for you to find your own path. Maybe it is time you also changed.’

‘I should just give up on my sister? No, I can’t. I won’t. She is all the family I have left.’

‘You can’t force her,’ Akram held Sophie’s gaze. ‘You can’t shape her into something different.’

‘I can’t give up on her, not ever.’

Akram shrugged and returned to the Gold Charm.

She could feel their eyes on her as she moved around camp. Only Anika would not look her way. Every time she tried to approach her sister, Anika had worked her way somewhere else. Eventually she gave up and retreated to her tent.

She lay there trying to come up with ways of getting Anika home. Outside, workers and charmers talked and laughed. Their words smeared together becoming a babble of background noise.

The night shift continued: a steady beat of metal teeth biting into rock. The chug of the rig’s engine never died. Eventually the sun receded below the horizon and the skies dimmed to grey. In those hours, when the world was the bleakest, Sophie knew she was done. She had to leave. She would perform the charm and return to Chesico. She didn’t know exactly what she would do there, but Chesico was familiar. It was home.