Chapter 17

T rue to his word, the pirate captain got them close enough to the shoreline to allow them to row the rest of the way. Nicholas promised extra gold to the captain if the ship was still waiting for them when they returned. Ella sat in the middle. Nicholas was in front of her, Gustav behind her and each of them had a set of oars as they rowed to the shore.

Here on the water, the wind was brutal. She pulled her hood down tight and clutched her elbows, the velvet bag digging into her side. The black, snow-capped mountains soared into the late afternoon sky so high she had to crane her neck to look up at them. At the top, she made out the outline of the dark queen’s fortress.

An overwhelming sense of foreboding came over her. Perhaps this wasn’t such a good idea after all.

As they neared the shore, Nicholas hopped out in ankle deep water. Gustav did the same. They pulled up the boat onto the damp sand. Nicholas held his hand out to her, helping her step over the edge. They all paused there, looking upward at the fortress. Ella’s heart rammed in her chest, her anxiety level high.

“Well, here goes nothing,” Gustav said. “Stay behind me.”

“Why?” Nicholas demanded.

He gave him a cutting glance. “So, I can protect you and Ella if anything happens.”

Nicholas merely nodded. He took her by the hand as they fell in step behind the Captain of the Guard. Their footsteps left deep indentations in the wet sand as they headed down the beach toward the craggy section of the mountains. As the sun dipped closer to the horizon, deep shadows cast along the beach and through the mountain pass.

The suffocating darkness enveloped them as they ventured deeper into the foreboding crevice. Jagged rocks jutted out from the ground, casting eerie silhouettes that seemed to taunt and threaten their existence.

On either side of them, the mountains soared upward, blotting out the sky which was quickly turning from pale blue to deep indigo. Ella clutched Nicholas’s hand tighter and as they followed Gustav, their shoulders brushed. Gustav had his sword at the ready, for whatever good that might do.

“Do you know where you’re going?” Nicholas said, his voice a quiet whisper, as if speaking louder would disturb their surroundings.

“I have a general idea,” Gustav replied, his voice just as quiet. “Malvina is dangerous so we need to be on our guard.”

“But she doesn’t know we’re coming,” Nicholas said.

“I wouldn’t count on that,” he replied.

A shudder went through Ella as the darkness closed in. She had never been one for being outside in the dark and she didn’t like it now. She edged closer to Nicholas.

“Are you all right?” he asked, his voice low.

She nodded, giving him her best reassuring smile.

Ahead, the path widened, giving them more room to walk. A sense of relief passed through her as she glanced upward to the night sky. Twinkling stars appeared, but these weren’t familiar constellations. At the top of the mountain, she thought she saw movement. Like a dark figure that had moved from the edge. It was hard to tell, though, in the deepening twilight.

She stared at the top of the mountains as they continued. She was certain she saw the figure again. And then another. And another.

“Nicholas—”

But as she tried to shout the warning, arrows landed all around them just missing each of them by inches.

“Run!” Gustav ordered.

The three of them took off at a run down the mountain path, heading for another crevice. More arrows rained down around them. Nicholas’s hand tightened on hers as they sprinted over rocks and uneven ground. Then Gustav went down with a shout. He dropped his sword as he crashed against the ground, holding his leg.

Nicholas released her hand and unsheathed his sword. He held it aloft and murmured something she couldn’t hear. The sword lit up and a blast of bright white light shot out from it toward the top of the mountain.

She halted, shocked and in awe. His sword was…magic? No, that was impossible.

Gustav dragged his body toward one of the craggy rocks. An arrow stuck out of his leg just above his knee. He grimaced with the pain as Nicholas reached him. He wrapped his arm around his friend’s waist and hoisted him to his feet.

“Leave me,” Gustav said with a groan.

“We need to get to the crevice. Ella, grab his sword.”

She hoisted it up, surprised at the weight of it as she hurried after them. Gustav hobbled, favoring his injured leg, while Nicholas shouldered most of his weight. They made it to the crevice and were once again shrouded by the safety of the soaring mountains.

Nicholas halted, lowering Gustav to the outcropping of rock. He rested against it, his face contorted in pain. Ella leaned his sword against the rock next to him. Nicholas sheathed his sword and then inspected his wound.

“Hard to see in the dark,” he said. “It missed your knee.”

“Well, that’s good news,” Gustav said through gritted teeth. “They waited until we were in the open to attack. She knows you’re here, Nick.”

His lips thinned as he clenched his jaw, his muscles flexing there. “I know but I’m not turning back now.”

Gustav grasped him by the upper arm and jerked him close. “You’re that determined?”

He cut a glance at Ella, then said, “I am.”

Gustav groaned. “Fine. Then follow this path. At the end, turn left. You’ll see a staircase carved into the side of the mountain. That will lead you to her fortress. But Nick—” He paused, gritting his teeth against the pain, “I think you should turn back.”

“I’m not turning back. We’ve come too far.” Nicholas glanced down at the arrow sticking out of his leg. “It doesn’t look too deep. I can break it off and wrap it up so you won’t bleed to death. The healer can remove the point when we get back to Rovenheim.”

“You’re going to leave him here?” Ella asked, unable to hide her astonishment.

“No,” Gustav said. “I’m going to drag myself back to the row boat.”

“And then what?” she demanded, her hands on her hips. She had forgotten all about the cold wind and her fear of the dark.

“I’ll row back to the ship and see if I can get reinforcements from Captain Bart,” he said.

“It’ll take you considerable time to get back there,” Nicholas said. “And there are likely still archers out there.” He nodded behind them at the crevice.

“That’s a chance I’ll have to take. If I go now, while it’s dark, I should be able to make it.”

Nicholas nodded. He reached into his cloak and ripped out the lining, handing her the shredded cloth. Then he reached for the arrow, wrapping his hand around the wooden shaft.

“Make it quick,” Gustav said.

As he nodded, he snapped it in two as close to his leg as possible. There was only a small piece sticking out. Ella handed Nicholas the cloth. He wrapped it around his friend’s leg and tied a secure knot.

“Go on,” Gustav said. “I’ll wait until you’re out of sight before I make a break for it.” He wrapped his hand around the hilt of his sword.

“Good luck,” he said.

“And to you both,” Gustav replied with a nod.

Nicholas reached for her hand again. “Are you ready?”

She took a deep breath, expelled it. “As I’ll ever be.”

And though she sounded confident, her nerves jangled. They said farewell to Gustav and started down the path the direction he told them to go.

“Will he be all right?” she asked as they made their way through the frigid night.

“He’ll be fine. He can take care of himself.”

“But you’re not worried about him?” she asked.

“Gustav is tough and resilient. I have no doubt he’ll make it back to the ship,” he said, flashing her a reassuring grin.

They walked on in silence, but she couldn’t stop thinking about what he did with his sword. It was almost as though he had used magic to make it flash bright like that, but then, that seemed silly.

“Your sword lit up.” She hadn’t meant to blurt the words, but they came out.

His head snapped in her direction. “My sword?”

“Yes. Your sword. It blinded the archers, didn’t it?”

“It did,” he admitted.

“But how?” she asked.

A mischievous glint danced in his eyes as he playfully flashed a grin. “Magic,” was his only reply.

He looked straight ahead, squinting in the darkness as if that would help him see better. They were coming to the end of the path and he turned left and halted. Ella stopped next to him and peered toward the crude staircase carved in the side of the mountain, her heart beating at a rapid pace.

“He was right,” he breathed, as if he wasn’t sure Gustav had told them the truth.

“You doubted him?” she asked.

“It’s not that I doubted him…” he paused, running a hand over his chin. “It’s just that…”

“You doubted him,” she finished.

“I may have doubted him a little. It’s just that I don’t know how he knew this was here.”

She tipped her head back to look up at the staircase that seemed to be enveloped by the shadowy darkness.

“This will lead us to her fortress?” she asked.

He looked back at her, but it was hard to see his expression in the gloom. His eyes were nothing more than black orbs. “Let’s find out, shall we?”