Crown of Ice (11 page)

“You might have warned me,” says Kai.

“You might have asked.” I ease the ponies back from the ledge and cross in front of them. “Give me your hand.”

Kai grabs my gloved fingers in a firm grip. I step back, pulling him toward me as he pushes against the heavy drift. A few strides and he tumbles into me, shedding snow like a shaken spruce branch.

“Careful, we could both fall,” I say with a bob of my head toward the lip of the ledge.

Kai nods and places his hands about my waist as he walks me slowly backward, away from the edge. He releases me when we reach the center of the ledge. “So what now, Snow Queen?” He vigorously slaps the moisture from his breeches and boots.

“Now we locate the mirror fragments.” I stroll toward the gaping maw of the cave, Luki at my heels. I hear Kai’s boots behind me, ringing against the rocky surface of the ledge.

“You’re sure this is the right place?” Kai steps up next to me.

“Yes, I’m sure.” I march toward the entrance.

Luki runs ahead of us, disappearing into the darkness.

“Should you let him do that?” Kai matches his stride to mine. “Might be bear or lynx or anything in there.”

“Luki isn’t stupid. If he encounters something he can’t handle he’ll run.”

Kai mutters something like “unlike his mistress,” but when I turn to glare at him he smiles at me, all guileless innocence.

“Just follow me.” I conjure a large globe of cold light in my gloved hands.

As we enter the cave the scent of standing water rises in my nostrils. I hold out the light and spy a dark pool stretching from one side of the cave to the other. Only a narrow ribbon of stone skirts around the pool, which is opaque as ink.

“Wonder how deep it is?” Kai kneels and peers into the depths of the water. “Can’t see a bottom. Without a light, anyone entering this cave would probably fall right in.”

“And drown.” I motion for Kai to rise to his feet and follow me around the pool. “I think it’s a trap. We should watch for others.”

There’s barely room for me to place one foot in front of the other as I inch along, my fur-clad elbow brushing the damp wall of the cave. I glance ahead and catch sight of Luki’s eyes. Illuminated by my globe, they shine like phosphorus in the darkness.

Luki waits patiently until Kai and I make our way to him. He’s standing before two identical tunnels. Both branch off from the entrance chamber, leading in different directions. I hold up the light and move it back and forth, trying to discern our best option. But there’s no difference between the two corridors, at least visually.

“Looks as though we must make a choice.” Kai draws closer to my side. “Can your talents tell us which route to take, Thyra?”

I close my eyes for a moment, attempting to sense the presence of any piece of the mirror. I’ve handled the other fragments so long I believe I can feel the pull of their magic. “This way,” I say at last, striding into the left-hand tunnel.

To Kai’s credit, he follows without hesitation. Luki pads along before us, occasionally casting a glance over his back as if to urge us forward.

The tunnel narrows alarmingly the farther we walk into the mountain. Soon both Kai and I must bend our heads to continue down the rippled rock path. I balance the globe of light in one hand and slide my gloved hand along the rough wall, feeling for any crevices that might lead to chambers or passageways.

Kai swears under his breath as he bangs his head on a low-hanging outcropping of stone. “Sorry,” he says, and steps on the heel of my boot. “Sorry again.” He wobbles but rights himself before tumbling into me. “Why did you stop?”

I lift my palm toward the low ceiling, until the light throws a circle about us. “Hear that?”

“Sounds like wind whistling through something.”

Luki stops and waits at the edge of the light. His nose twitches and the fur on his back bristles as I approach. “What is it, boy?” I thrust out the ball of light and stare into the darkness beyond the wolf. There’s a different smell to the air.

“Another chamber, I think.” I walk forward slowly, my hand resting on Luki’s head. As we climb over a rise of stone, a breeze tickles my face. “Watch your step,” I call out as Kai stumbles over the ridge and grabs my shoulders to steady himself. I shrug him off and hold the light before us.

A rounded ceiling rises above an empty chamber that’s not as large as the entrance but also not as damp. The musty odor that’s laced the air since we entered the cave is replaced by the scent of banked fires and ash.

“Someone’s been in here, and recently.” Kai strides in front of me. He glances about the shadowy cavern. “No trace of anyone now, though.”

“Not here.” I walk to the center of the room and swing the hand that cradles the light toward one wall. “See there—another passageway. I can feel air blowing. There must be a linked chamber.”

We cross to the passage, Luki trotting before us. I move ahead of Kai and slide through the narrow opening, turn a sharp corner and step into a bright shaft of light.

“Thyra Winther,” says a reedy voice. “Welcome, Snow Queen, to my home.”

INTO THE DARKNESS

I douse the cold fire in my hand and stare at the bundle of rags that has spoken to me. The opening above my head cascades fresh air and light over my body. Following Luki’s gaze I stare up at an azure circle of sky as a hawk shrieks and perches on the edge of the opening.

“I don’t believe we’ve met.” I step forward, allowing Kai to follow me into the second chamber.

“And Kai Thorsen. I welcome you also.” The dark figure rises to its feet and stretches out one knobby arm. He’s dressed in a tattered black robe, cinched about the waist with a piece of baling twine.

“How do you know my name?” asks Kai, as the hawk swoops down and lands on the ragged creature’s forearm.

“I know much about you both.” The speaker is a man, his face a map of wrinkles, his eyes sunken into his face like raisins in dough. Although thin as a skeleton, he stands straight as a spruce and his bald head almost touches the low edge of the arching ceiling. “I’ve been watching you for some time.”

“Watching us? How?” I clasp my hands before me, stilling my restless fingers.

“Oh, through a bit of that mirror you’re trying to reconstruct. It can show many things, you know. Not just reflections.” The old man uses two fingers to strokes the hawk’s sleek back.

The bird’s piercing gaze is fixed on Luki, who stands at attention, his nose twitching.

“Your wolf is contemplating my hawk as dinner, I think,” says the man. “Perhaps you should warn him not to tangle with a raptor.”

“We require the fragment of the mirror that you hold.” I kneel and place one arm over Luki’s quivering back. “It’s needed to complete a task that’s been assigned to us by a powerful mage.”

The man’s laughter crackles throughout the cavern. “Mael Voss?” He wipes his eyes with the back of his free hand. “Is that how he styles himself these days?”

I watch the hawk loosen and clench its talons against the man’s bare flesh. “He holds sway over a great realm.”

“Of ice and snow and unending cold. Of nothingness.” The man shakes his head. “I am Holger, by the way. I know Voss from long ago. Mention my name to him when you see him next. You may judge our relationship by his reaction.”

“I have limited conversation with Master Voss.” I rise to my feet and cross to stand before Holger, meeting his amused gaze with my iciest glare.

“Very wise, little queen.” Holger examines my face without exhibiting a trace of the typical human reaction. “So, you seek my shard of magic glass?”

“We seek three fragments.” Kai steps up beside me. “We’ve reason to believe that they remained here in this cave when Voss shattered the mirror.”

I cast Kai a swift glance of approval. Faced with the oddness of Holger’s presence and the possibility of other threats lurking in the shadows, Kai’s voice remains steady. I study his profile for a second, noting the tension in his jaw. Scared, but resolute. Indeed, a most unusual boy.

“Alas—” Holger flicks his wrist and the hawk sails from his arm to perch on a high ledge of stone. “—I possess only the one piece. Though I do know where you might find the remaining two. They were stolen from me, you see, by other visitors to my home.” Holger folds his lanky form and sits on a pile of bearskins.

“I’m surprised anyone else could find you.” Kai says, crouching in front of the old man. “So, will you help us, Holger? It’s quite important that we complete the mirror.”

“Ah yes, lest the Snow Queen melt into a wraith.” Holger’s dark eyes bore into my skull. “And how old are you now, Thyra Winther? Seventeen, if my information is correct.”

“There are still a few months left before my birthday.” Through the soft wool of my breeches I feel Luki’s warm body press against my leg. “I’ll complete the mirror before that day.”

“Perhaps, though you must find the other shards as well.” Holger motions for Kai to rise. “You needn’t beg, young man. I will tell you, as it means nothing to me. The other two pieces reside at the university in our nearest city. Some men took them from me long ago, on a day when I was out hunting for food. Explorers, I suppose they were.” Holger shrugs. “All I know is that I returned to find several sets of footprints and two fewer pieces of the mirror. Thankfully, I had my largest shard with me.”

Kai bows his head. “Thank you for telling us that much, Master Holger.”

Holger’s thin lips stretch into a smile. “But you, Kai Thorsen, what do you achieve by assisting our lady of the snows? Her love, perhaps?”

Color rises in Kai’s pale cheeks. “No, that isn’t my goal.”

“What, then?”

Before Kai can speak again I step forward and kneel at the old hermit’s bare feet. “I’ll beg you, Holger. Please grant us your fragment. It’s all that stands between me and an eternity of suffering. It can prevent the destruction of everything I hold dear.”

“You mean your mind and your free will? Yes, I know you, Thyra Winther.” Holger examines me as if I’m a newly unearthed artifact. “If I do not grant you my shard, will you take it from me? Do you have that power?”

“Whatever power I possess, I’ll use.”

“I have no doubt of that.” Holger tents his boney fingers and appraises me. “Strange, the girl who wept over nothing, whose heart was more tender than green shoots of grass, has become cold and hard as a glacier.”

I stand as Kai turns his head to gaze at me. I refuse to meet his eyes. “I’m much changed. Living with Voss will do that. And I do have a rather pressing deadline.”

“So you do. The question is”—Holger leans back against the rough cave wall—“what do I gain from this transaction? You have nothing to trade with me, Snow Queen. And I do not think that allowing Mael Voss to achieve eternal life is really in anyone’s best interest.”

The old man’s face hardens until it resembles the stone behind his head. His eyes gleam with the predatory glint I’ve seen on the faces of polar bears.

“You see, young Master Kai,” says Holger, “the mirror holds more power than Voss ever guessed.”

“Yes, I’ve heard…” Kai grunts as I stamp my boot across his instep.

“The mirror possesses wild magic.” Holger closes his eyes, as if lost in thought. “It cannot easily be mastered, once made whole. I fear it may work great harm upon the world. Voss will not be able to control it, you know, for all his boasts. He has not the power.”

I gather my magic and send it rocketing through my body until a pale blue light illuminates my skin from toes to fingertips. “If you don’t give your fragment to me, Holger, I’ll tell Master Voss where it resides. If I fail, and fade into a wraith, he’ll simply conjure another Snow Queen to complete the mirror. She will know where to find you, unless you leave this place, which I suspect you can no longer do, and live.”

Holger slumps, becoming nothing but an assortment of bones wrapped in rags. “You guess correctly, Snow Queen.” His voice thins into a wheezing thread. “I can no longer leave this cavern. Fortunately I have long since shed the need for food, though my birds still bring me flagons filled with snow.”

“You still require water.” I walk forward until I’m looming over the old man.

“Yes, from time to time.” Holger looks up at me, his eyes dull as bits of charcoal. “Very well, Lady of Snows, I will give you my fragment. But only if you promise to use your considerable powers to keep the mirror safe once it’s made whole.”

“Once it’s complete”—I toss my head until my white hair shoots sparks in the dry air—“I don’t care what happens to the mirror. If you wish, I’ll promise to lock it away, never to be seen again by any mortal soul. Just give me the fragment.”

“Very well, Thyra Winther.” Holger reaches into the folds of his robe and pulls out a glittering shard. “But tell Master Kai the truth first.” He holds out his fist, the piece of glass hidden by his clenched fingers.

“What truth?” Kai moves to my side.

“Ask her what the mirror can do.” Holger stares straight at Kai.

“I know. She already told me.” Kai reaches to enclose Holger’s fist with his fingers.

The hermit squawks something that might be a laugh. “Ask again.”

I focus my energy on Holger, ignoring Kai’s attempt to catch my eye. The old man’s eyelids flutter. His fingers loosen and the mirror fragment slides smoothly into Kai’s palm.

“What do you mean?” demands Kai, pocketing the shard. He leans in and grips Holger’s shoulder. “He’s fallen asleep, Thyra. Can you wake him?”

I shake my head. “No, I’m afraid that’s beyond me.” Of course, it isn’t, but Kai doesn’t need to know. Just as he never must learn that I slowed Holger’s heartbeat and sent the old man into a stupor. I watch as Holger’s head bobs and his sharp chin drops onto his chest.

I don’t know if the hermit will wake in time to take the water he requires to survive. Images of Luki’s mother and the prone form of Kai’s father flash through my mind. But I can’t consider such things now, not with one more piece of the mirror in our possession.

“We should go.” I stride toward the passage that leads away from Holger. I call forth another globe of light and whistle for Luki, who waits until Kai treads slowly behind me before bounding in front of us. Passing into the outer chamber I hear the hawk’s piercing cry followed by a rushing of wings.