Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

Two days later, we were on a path leading into the mountains. We would soon be at the Eiralpine Line, forging our way into the world that belonged to the People of the Winds. The Snow Witch had been howling wild, but she left us alone as we struggled through the snows that grew deeper with every hour we climbed the trail. Our horses were sturdy, though, and they were bred for the snows, so we braved the growing winds the farther north we went.

Every so often, we'd stop and build a fire to warm our hands and heat some water for tea, and eat a few bites of food. I missed the warmth of Ashera's hearth, but it felt good to be with Fenling and the Lorani again and I quickly adapted to life back on the road.

Finally, the evening of the second day, we came to a small marker on the trail. It was carved from stone and the etchings on it were clear: We had reached the Eiralpine Line.

"Well, here we are," Fenling said. "We're about to cross out of Karehl's jurisdiction. He tries to claim all of Bramble Fel, but truth is, he doesn't rule most of the woodland. And above this line, he has no official power. If he follows us up here, there won't be any questions or punishments if we run into him and dispatch him."

She glanced at the men. "If we do meet him, we can't let him go. Are you willing to do what is necessary?"

Quen motioned to the others and they all nodded. "We serve Bran. We do not serve his brother," he said.

I took a deep breath. Even though I hated Karehl, and I would have sacrificed him without a second thought to escape, Fenling had a cool ruthlessness to her that I both admired and feared.

"Then remember that, when the time comes," Fenling said. She motioned for us to follow her and we crossed the border dividing the People of the Snow from the People of the Winds.

Another two days and we neared the place Fenling remembered from her childhood. As we rode side by side, I asked her, "Where is it? Is it a cave?"

She nodded. "In a way. It feels like a cave, but I have a feeling it was created by some being or creature. I remember it glowed when we were in there. It seemed like an ice cave, but I remember thinking it couldn't have been natural. I don't really remember why I thought that, only that I did. Somehow, we managed to stay warm and protected until we could leave."

"Do you remember how to find it?"

Fenling brushed her hair back from her face, tucking it under her hood. "I think so. My memory isn't clear, but the feelings around it are. And they're coming back to me. We're near. I know we are." She turned back to me. "We'll be there by early evening. We veer off the path shortly."

We pushed on, with Fenling in the lead. She stopped every so often to close her eyes and sense out the path. Finally, as dusk began to fall, she suddenly straightened in her saddle and then turned left, heading off the path toward a large rock formation. The snow was getting worse, falling so heavily that it was difficult to see. As dusk closed in, I spotted a faint light emanating from deep within the rocks.

"This is it," Fenling said.

She dismounted, leading her horse behind her. We followed suit, Quen and I coming next, and then the other men. As we approached the rock pile, which stood at least three houses high, I realized that it was the opening to a cave. Fenling paused at the entrance, which was obscured from plain sight by the mounds of snow. But it was still there—a dark open maw leading into blackness, except for that dim light.

Fenling paused at the opening, tilting her head to listen. Quen and I did the same. I could hear the faint sound of movement from within, but I wasn't sure what it was. I tapped on Fenling's arm, and she nodded.

"I hear it too," she said, lowering her voice.

As I readied my dagger, Quen and Fenling withdrew their swords. Our companions did the same as we prepared for the unknown.

It occurred to me that it was dangerous to go in without a torch. We would have no idea of what we were facing. But a torch would also complicate matters, announcing our entrance. Fenling didn't seem to care, though, as she moved toward the cave opening. I wondered what she was up to—we really couldn't fight in the pitch dark, could we? But with soft steps, she sidled through the opening. Quen followed immediately, and—not wanting to let them down—I decided to trust her leadership. I stepped through the dark entrance as well.

Immediately, a pale bluish glow filled the air, and I could see. Even though I'd been able to see the illumination coming from the rocks as we were riding toward them, none could be seen through the entrance. But here we were, in a monstrous cave illuminated by long stalactites and stalagmites made of what appeared to be ice. Surprised, I immediately began looking around, scouting out our surroundings.

The cave was filled with the icicles, jutting from both ceiling and the floor. They were enormous, some big enough to hide behind. In fact, the entire cave seemed to take up far more room than it looked like on the outside. It was then that I noticed our path sloped downward, deeper into the earth. The sounds we had heard earlier were still there. It was like a snuffling, or perhaps the sound of some creature shuffling about. I tried to look for whatever it was that was causing the sound, but I could see nothing.

The cave was beautiful, though, and it mesmerized me with its radiance that seemed to emanate from the core of the icicles themselves. But was it truly ice? Or was it crystal, forming the long teeth that filled the cavern?

Fenling held up her hand, then pointed toward one side of the cave. There, a creature that looked like a giant scorpion made from faceted crystal scuttled around the edge of the cavern. I had seen scorpions, much smaller, down below the Leanderial Line.

One of the traders I had spoken with told me they were common in the desert climes, and they occasionally made their way as far north as Lake Shore. I knew that they were venomous, but were these the same? Could they even properly be called scorpions?

The rest of the men led the horses inside, but left them near the opening. The horses seemed uneasy, unwilling to follow us any farther into the cavern.

The men spread out, their weapons ready.

At that moment, I noticed other similar scorpions emerging from behind the icicles, as though they were part of the cavern itself. They began moving toward us, and I caught my breath.

There were ten of them, and all of a sudden I flashed back to the elementals we had fought in the camp. I glanced over at Quen, and saw the fear in his eyes. He remembered all too well the giant snow spiders. I wanted to ask what we should do, but no one had broken the silence yet and I was loath to be the first. Fenling knew this cave better than I did, since she had been here before, and I waited to take my cue from her.

One thing I noticed in every battle I had been in, whether it'd been with creatures like the charimonts or battles with people, was the moment of hesitation before a burst of action—frozen in space, waiting for one whisper to break the silence into open conflict. And that moment felt like it lasted forever.

The next moment Fenling shouted, "Go!" And we sprang into action.

Quen and I took on the nearest ice scorpion as Fenling and San took on another. Trin and Lanlan fought together, and Exis and Forth faced yet another.

My dagger wasn't long enough to keep the creature at bay, so I quickly scooted around to the side, leaving Quen to face it head-on. I darted in, slashing at the crystal plates of the side of the ice scorpion, but my dagger slid off with almost no effect. The creature was quick, scuttling with an eerie sound, like a horde of mice in the walls. I estimated the thickness of its curved tail, wondering if I could cut it off if I put enough force into it. I decided I might as well try, because this was no time to stop and try to make calculations.

So I leapt forward, bringing the dagger down on the narrowest part of the tail. The stinger on the end worried me, but I tried to keep my distance from it even as the scorpion tried to turn, whipping its tail as though it were attempting to flog someone. My dagger actually penetrated the icy scales, shattering them as it broke through. Quen tried to keep it engaged from the front, so it wouldn't turn on me.

I had cut about halfway through, and was surprised to see a splatter of illuminated ice-blue liquid squirt from the wound. A small amount landed on my hand—I wasn't wearing gloves because it was easier to fight that way—and it burned with cold fire as it began to smoke against my skin.

I shouted, trying to wipe it off on my cloak.

The next moment, the thing swung its half-severed stinger at me like a snake. I darted in again, aiming for the same place. This time, I cut all the way through. The tail went skittering off on its own, finally dissolving into a puddle of liquid. The ice scorpion let out a shriek so high-pitched that I could barely hear it and yet, it hurt my ears.

Quen took that moment to thrust his sword down through the center of it, impaling it on his blade. As the scorpion began to melt, as its tail had, he darted away from the liquid pooling around it. He slapped me on the arm and pointed to another scorpion heading our way.

On we fought, trying to avoid the splatters of acidic blood, and though I wanted to look around to see how the others were doing, it was too dangerous to take my eyes off the creature in front of me. It was either keep complete focus or risk being impaled by the deadly stingers. At one point I heard a yell—I thought it was Trin's voice — but I couldn't turn to help.

I wasn't sure how long we continued, slashing our way through the guardians of the cave, but finally, there was silence. We looked around and saw that all ten of the scorpions were gone. Trin had an open wound on his face, and it appeared to be getting worse. The scorpions, now dead, had all dissolved and the liquid itself had seemed to soak into the rocks, vanishing as if the creatures had never been there.

"Is everyone okay?" Fenling asked, as she jogged over to Trin's side to check his wounds.

San hurried to help her, then turned to me. "Get my medical bag off of the horse, if you would."

I hustled back to the horses. They were still there, but they were nervous and ready to bolt. I patted their heads, speaking softly to them, trying to calm them down as I searched through San's bags, coming up with a little medical pouch. I handed it to him, and he opened it and began to treat the wound. I could almost see Trin's cheekbone through the wound. San packed it with a fine powder, then placed a bandage over it, winding the strips around Trin's chin and head to keep it in place. Trin grunted. The wound had to hurt like hell, but like all soldiers, he knew how to bear the pain.

The small spot on my hand stopped burning—it had only been a single drop that had landed on me, much to my relief. But San covered it with the powder as well, and bandaged it tightly.

"Their venom can eat through to the bone and infects easily." He finished tying the knot on the bandage. "This should take care of it."

"How's Trin doing?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

"I think he'll heal up. We'll need to change his dressing every day for the next few days. Meanwhile, he'll need to be on soft foods because I don't want him using his mouth too much. We'll need to make hearty broth for him, and make sure he has enough energy to manage the weather and trip." San gave me a long look. "I'm glad you are safe," he said. "And I know Bran will be thrilled when we find him."

We examined the rest of the cave, although there was one opening none of us wanted to go down because it dropped at a steep angle deep into the earth. There was nothing else in here that could hurt us, as far as we could tell.

"So, is this the place that you thought Bran might be?" I asked Fenling.

"Yes," she said. "I still feel that he might come this way. We'll rest up for a day or two here—it's fairly safe. We'll keep guards on the opening at all times, and just take some time for Trin to heal."

"Can we light a fire?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yes, it won't melt the ice here. If this even is ice. I didn't know back then, and I still don't know whether it's crystal or ice or some weird combination of both. Anyway, let's make camp and rest. The storm is howling outside and we can't travel in it."

As I followed Quen back to the horses to settle them down and retrieve our camp gear, I heard the howling from outside. It was in the near distance and I had come to recognize that shriek. The Snow Witch was racing through the woods, which meant we had better settle in for several days. We didn't want to meet her face to face. I glanced at Quen, but he just shook his head and we carried the supplies back into the main area of the cave. At least we had light, and we had enough wood for several days so we would have heat.

By the time we had the camp settled, and a kettle bubbling over the fire, I was so exhausted that I was ready to fall asleep right there. But I waited until dinner was ready, and Fenling and I sat together, listening to the distant shrieks of the Snow Witch as she let loose her fury across the mountains.