Crown of Ice (27 page)

“Bae saved me.” Gerda strokes the reindeer’s velvety muzzle. “We would’ve been fine.”

“No.” I shake my head. “You would have died before Bae could’ve traveled far enough to escape this weather. You’d probably have frozen here, fast asleep, before you knew you were dying.”

The reindeer butts his nose gently against Gerda’s cupped hands. “The Snow Queen speaks the truth, little miss. I allowed you to sleep, knowing what would happen, knowing you would never wake. Not after enduring a full night of this bitter cold.”

Gerda presses her forehead against Bae’s head. “Oh, my friend, why didn’t you tell me?”

“I did not want you to depart this world in fear,” Bae replies.

“Now we must return to the palace, so that Thyra and I can complete the mirror before midnight,” says Kai firmly. He glances at me. “The only problem is, Bae can’t carry all of us. So I’m going to stay behind.”

“No, you’re not.” I tighten my grip on Kai’s fingers. “You and Gerda are riding Bae back to the palace. Luki and I are following on foot.”

Kai wheels around to stand in front of me, still holding my hand. “That doesn’t work for me.”

“It must.” I face down his implacable stare. “With rest I can conjure enough magic to protect myself and Luki from the worst of the weather. You’ll freeze here.” I turn to Gerda. “Convince him to go with you.”

Gerda’s blue eyes are clouded with sorrow. “I don’t have that power. Not anymore.” She straightens until she’s rigid with resolution. “I could stay.”

“Bravely spoken, but not an option,” I reply. “We didn’t risk our lives to save you only to abandon you now. No, it must be as I say.”

Bae swings his head around. “The wolf is calling you,” he says.

I run to the passage at the mouth of the cave. Luki howls once, followed by a short series of barks. “More snow wolves?” I wipe the fear from my face before turning to Kai and Gerda.

“I don’t think so,” says Kai, joining me. “He doesn’t sound distressed.”

“Only one way to find out.” I plunge through the snowy passage.

Kai’s right at my heels. “You’re weakened, Thyra. Be careful.”

“I can still protect myself,” I say, striding into the small circle of snow that was previously flattened by our boots. Luki’s ears poke out from behind a small drift. They’re pitched forward, as if listening to something.

Then I hear it—the distinctive rattling call of a male reindeer. I follow Luki’s gaze and see a great white buck standing on a ledge that juts over the mountain pass.

“Oh no.” I reach for Kai’s hand. “Voss is here. That’s his stag.”

Kai surveys our surroundings. “But where’s the sleigh? I see nothing, and the reindeer’s not wearing a harness.”

“No, he must have unhitched the sleigh for some reason. If we could find it before he sees us …”

“Over there.” Kai points out a distinctive shape silhouetted against the snow, several yards from where we stand. “If the tack is there we could harness Bae and get all of us out of here.”

“Stranding Voss in the bargain?” I raise my eyebrows. “I like that plan.”

Bae emerges from the cave, Gerda by his side. “Why is the wizard in this place, Snow Queen? You must ask yourself this question.”

“It isn’t logical,” agrees Kai. “But perhaps we’ve been granted a touch of luck. I, for one, will take my chances.”

“Kai”—I take hold of both his hands—“lead Gerda to the sleigh and hitch up Bae, if you can. I will see if I can sense the mage’s presence, just in case.”

“Join us soon.” Kai leans in and kisses me tenderly on the mouth.

“I will.” I step back and whistle for Luki. “Go with them,” I command the wolf. “Keep watch.”

Luki leaps up and licks my face before racing for the sleigh. Bae plows through the deep snow, beating a path as Kai takes Gerda’s arm and follows the reindeer’s tracks.

I cross to the foot of the pass, staring down its narrow alley of rock and snow. In the distance I spy a dark figure. Tall and supernaturally thin, the figure moves toward me, gliding over the ground. When it reaches a point in the center of the pass it halts.

“Thyra Winther.” The familiar, mocking tone is carried on the wind. I realize that Voss is amplifying his voice so that I can hear him. We stand at some distance, Voss in the center of the pass and I a good way back. I’ve no interest in moving any closer to the mage or stepping into that narrow passage.

“Master Voss.” I project my own voice so my words can reach him. “What brings you out on this cold evening?” Drawing myself up to my full height, I cast one glance over my shoulder to ensure that Kai and the others have reached the sleigh.

“I was returning from a journey and thought to check on my guardians of the pass. Alas, they appear to be destroyed or scattered. Your work, Snow Queen?”

“It was.” I run a series of calculations—evaluating whether I can hold off Voss long enough for the others to escape, considering whether my thoughts can touch Kai’s mind with enough force to convince him to flee with Gerda, Bae, and Luki.

“Pity. They were some of my finest creations.” Voss spreads wide his skeletal hands, which are bare of any gloves. “But why are you here, my queen? You have only a few hours remaining before you, too, whirl away with the mist.”

“I have time, if you allow me to leave now. There are only two pieces that must be placed. Mine and yours. If you permit me to travel back to the palace with my friends, I swear I’ll complete the mirror before midnight.”

“Oh, I’m afraid that won’t be possible. Traveling with your friends, I mean. You see, Thyra, I brought my shard with me.” He pats the front of his cloak. “Tucked safely inside my robes. Yes, I know I never carry the fragment, but this time I thought it wise.”

“You’re lying.” I bite the inside of my cheek to refrain from screaming. There’s no way to tell if Voss has fabricated this story to manipulate me. I only know he’s never taken his shard from the palace before.

“You don’t know that for certain, Snow Queen. Would it not be best to take me at my word and ride with me back to the palace?”

“Ride?” I glance up at the white buck. “You mean on the back of your reindeer?”

“Yes, he’s quite well trained. He’ll carry us both easily.”

I survey Voss, suspicion tingling the back of my neck. “Let my friends go first. They can use your sleigh. Bae will safely transport them to the village and then return the sleigh to the palace.”

“Bae? Ah yes, the talking reindeer. What a curious habit you have developed, naming these creatures.” Voss flings out one arm, raising a blast of wind that rolls over the ground, sweeping clean everything in its path. “But I am afraid that your companions are going nowhere.”

I spin about, my eyes following the path of the wind. It whips the snow off the surface of the ground lying beneath the sleigh. I breathe a sigh of relief that Kai, Gerda, and Luki are already safely seated in the vehicle. Bae, with the wisdom of his kind, has planted his hooves solidly enough to withstand the gale. But then I notice the dark sheen of the ground under the sleigh. It isn’t dirt. It’s ice.

“Yes, my dear queen. They are standing on a frozen lake. A very deep lake, and so cold that one minute of immersion will freeze the blood and bones of any living creature.” Voss snaps his fingers, a sound that rings through the clear air. “And, sad to say, the ice has suddenly cracked.”

I wheel about to face the mage. My hood flies back and my white hair springs out about my face. “You did this!”

“Why yes, I did.” Voss’s crystalline eyes sparkle with malice. “And placed a holding spell on them. They cannot move, even if they’d be willing to leave you. There they sit, frozen, while that crack splinters, creating a network of fissures that will soon overtake the sleigh.”

“Let them go!”

“I will, the moment you agree to come with me.” Voss whistles for the white reindeer. It springs from the ledge and sails to the ground not far from where I stand. “Climb upon my mount, and I will break the enchantment that holds your companions. Delay too long and the sleigh will slip through the ice, dragging them to the depths. And to their death, of course.”

These words cannot harm me. Let them fade. Let it go.

I close my eyes and calculate. I know the properties of ice. The crack in the frozen surface of the lake will spread exponentially, too fast for Bae to lift the heavy sleigh from the ground. The pressure expended by his hooves in the take-off will undoubtedly shatter the ice beneath him. Logic tells me that Bae cannot pull my friends to safety now, no matter how swiftly I submit to Voss. They are doomed.

Unless I can seal that crack in the ice. It is within my power, if Mael Voss were not standing before me, poised to thwart any magic I deploy.

Voss claims to hold the final shard. I don’t know if this is true. But if he’s telling the truth, I must deliver him safe and sound to the Great Hall. I’ve little time left before my mind and body are ripped away and I’m forced to forever wander as a wraith.

I open my eyes and glance over my shoulder, my gaze resting upon the anguished faces in the sleigh. Gerda, her blue eyes filled with gratitude as well as fear. A brave girl, whose heart holds love like a deep well holds water. Luki, my beloved companion, gazing at me with adoration and trust. And Kai.

Kai, who loves me for what I am.

Kai, whom I love.

I turn away. Lifting my chin I meet Voss’s frosty stare and smile. I know ice and I know snow. Voss gave me that power. He imbued me with magic. He created me to serve his purpose, to fulfill his dream. Very well, I will deliver him to his destiny.

I lift my arms, stretching my illuminated fingers to the dark sky. Time has restored my strength, now love will determine my fate.

Voss’s words can’t touch me. Let them fade.

Whatever pain awaits, let it come.

“Let it go!”

My voice rings through the narrow pass, resonating against the perfectly balanced sheets of snow that lay upon the highest ledges. There’s a noise like the crack of a whip. Voss flings his head up to see one of the plates of snow split and slide from the mountaintop. His face contorts in fury as his eyes flash with understanding. He lifts his arms to draw upon his magic, but it is too late—a greater power is bearing down upon him. A roar fills my ears and I use my own magic to fling myself back, far from the mountain pass and the snowy billows thundering down the slope. Voss screams, his shrieks piercing the roar of the avalanche. I remember that sound all too well, but this time I feel no pain at the memory. I see one boney hand held up, impotent before a thundering wave of white. It crests and crashes over his body, burying him in the depths of a snowy sea.

The sound of the avalanche coming to rest rumbles behind me as I spin and fling a sheet of ice across the lake. The new surface freezes instantly into a sold mass, sealing the cracks that encircle Bae’s hooves.

Freed from Voss’s enchantment, Kai springs to his feet and leaps from the sleigh. He slides over the smooth surface of the lake with the grace of a skater. Luki follows close upon Kai’s heels.

I run to them, lifting my feet on the wind so I can glide softly as a snowflake. When I reach the edge of the lake I drop to the ground. I throw my arms around Kai, who grabs me and spins me about while Luki leaps in a circle around us, yipping wildly.

“How did you do that?” Kai’s brown eyes are bright with wonderment. “Is he gone? Voss, I mean?”

“Yes. He was not expecting me to kill him.” I stand still. “I surprised him, in the end.”

Kai leans over, breathing hard. “I know, but his magic …”

“Could not avail him in time. And nature, you know, is more powerful than any magic.” I glance over Kai’s shoulder and meet Gerda’s gaze. “We should go. There’s little time to place those last two pieces.”

Kai straightens and slides his arm through the crook of my elbow as we walk to the sleigh. “Why didn’t he suspect, though? He must’ve known you hated him and that you’d try to save us.” Kai leans over and kisses my cheek as he helps me into the sleigh. “Thanks for that, by the way.”

“No thanks are needed.” I take up the reins as Kai climbs in from the other side. “I found that I preferred you alive.” I glance back at Gerda and Luki. “All of you.”

Gerda smiles faintly and lays one hand on Luki’s shoulder blade. “Thanks all the same.”

“My pleasure,” I laugh when I realize this is true. “As for Voss’s miscalculations, well …” My voice sobers. “He thought I wouldn’t dare to destroy him, as he claimed he was carrying his shard on his body.”

“Thyra!” Kai grabs my arm. “You’re not serious—how could you bury him? That wipes out your last chance to escape the wraiths.”

“It was the only logical choice at the time.” I meet Kai’s desperate gaze with a warm smile. “Besides, Voss was a notorious liar. I’m sure his shard rests, safe and sound, in his rooms. Off we go,” I call to Bae, who clatters over the thick ice and sails into the sky. I spy Voss’s white buck, gliding like a ghost beside us as Bae breaches the clouds. “Fly as fast as you can.”

“For your sake, Snow Queen,” the reindeer replies, “I will outrun the wind.”

TEARS AND ROSES

A flood of animals flees the palace as we approach, dark and light forms fanning out in all directions, streaking across the snowy landscape. Bears, foxes, owls, rabbits—all of Voss’s transformed creatures freed from his spell at his death. I direct Bae to land the sleigh in front of the stables and jump out as soon as we glide to a stop. Dashing to his head, I look the reindeer in the eye.

“Can you still speak?”

“Yes, Snow Queen, because I choose to do so. The others shed their enchantment as soon as they were able. The choice came into my mind the moment you buried Voss under the avalanche but I decided that I may still be of use to you, and our other friends, as I am.”

“You possess great nobility, Bae.” I stroke his velvet nose. “I think you’re more a king of reindeer than I am queen of anything.”

Bae bows his head. “You’ve displayed your regal nature today, Snow Queen.”

Kai appears at my side, holding Gerda’s hand. “We must get inside. Time’s ticking away. Bae, do you mind staying in harness for a little while?”