Ice Burns (26 page)

Chandra shoved at the man until she had him rolled over onto his stomach, figuring if she put him on his stomach, it might be harder for him to untie himself. She knotted the old rope and twisted it around his limbs. She hoped it would hold long enough. She reached up to his face and pushed a couple of dirty rags into his mouth. She was grinning a little as she stood up. Matta reached down to run her hands along the knots in the rope, tightening them a bit before standing back up.

“See if you can drag him away a bit,” Matta said from behind her. “If not, we need to at least cover him in branches and leaves so anyone who stumbles past won’t see him until he wakes up.”

Chandra wanted to comment about how no one ever seemed to "stumble past" the cottage except the unconscious man they had bound and gagged. She arched her eyebrows and shrugged before she grabbed the man’s feet. She tugged and heaved but it took her several minutes to get him even a few feet from where they had started.

"And I thought hauling all that wood had made me more muscle-y," she muttered in between gasped breaths. Matta laughed from behind her and shook her head at the young woman who quirked a small smile.

“Leave him, then,” Matta flapped an arm at the unconscious man. “Pull some dead branches and cover him, please.”

Chandra grabbed the two the guard had helpfully brought down when he was slammed into the tree and then pulled dead branches from the forest floor. She broke some pieces and draped them across him, trying to make it look like they had naturally fallen there. She was also intent on making sure to cover all of him. Bits of metal from his mail kept showing through.

Chandra glared at the prone form for a few moments and then turned to run back to the cottage. She gathered up the bucket beside the door and rushed back to where the man lay, mostly covered by branches. She swung the bucket and ash came out in an arc over him, peppering him with gray dust and making the mail disappear from view.

“Clever,” Matta said through sneezes. “We have to hurry, but I need you to do one more thing before we go.”

Chandra waited for her task while the woman took slow breaths as though steeling herself to do something terrible. She frowned at Matta and wondered what it was she could possibly ask for.

"Call to a spark in the hearth, they answer you, I've seen it," Matta nodded at her. "We just hadn't had time to get better with it."

Chandra's face went pale and her eyes began to itch from moisture.

“You understand correctly. I want you to burn the cottage,” Matta smiled and patted her arm.

“You can’t mean that. This was your home!”

Matta smiled sadly at the young woman. “There are secrets in this cottage that I need no others to find. I cannot risk it.”

“But won’t the fire lead others to the cottage?” Chandra asked.

“The forest will assist us and prevent the fire from being seen,” Matta explained. “I would ask it to hide our friend there, but I do not have enough ability to do both without much more preparation. Now, stop wasting time and do as I have asked of you, please.”

Chandra took and released a deep breath before closing her eyes again. She saw the tiny cottage, sweet and serene, surrounded by a forest of deep green and flanked by the old, mossy well. She imagined a tiny spark in the hearth rising to the center of the thatched roof.

She opened her eyes and saw the cottage untouched. She closed her eyes again and imagined the spark in the center of the hearth jumping out to touch upon the dry furniture and spread. She could sense the spark and imagined the heat from the fire though her eyes told her that nothing had changed.

Frustration rolled over her. She gritted her teeth thinking first that it was unfair of Matta to ask her to do this. It made her feel as though nothing had changed; that she hadn't figured out what to do. All those times in the estate when she could do nothing, all those times when she tried to do something, anything!

She wanted to call out that she shouldn't have to feel this way. Her anger sparked within her like the flame she tried to kindle. When she closed her eyes again, the anger and heat inside her warmed her until her skin had a sheen of perspiration that did nothing to cool her. The inside of her body felt like hot soup churning around and firing her with so much energy that she wanted to run, scream, rail. She had to change it into something tangible before it overcame her. She focused on the cottage and the spark she sought to turn to flame.

She felt the heat of it and kindled it. The spark raged, fueled by her anger in a way that should not have been possible. It grew to be a monster of anger that felt good inside her. Her rage felt warm and powerful. Chandra fed the flame, encouraged its natural tendencies, and made it grow and burn.

She opened her eyes and saw the flames licking across the top of the tiny house. Red, blue and orange spread across the pale thatch and wood. The fire fed with ravenous need on the dry cottage but did not seem to give off a telling glow. Nor did Chandra see smoke rising up into the twilight sky like a flag of surrender as she had expected. It was as though she were watching something burn inside a clear, glass bowl without an opening. The smoke and colors swirled but did not reach beyond their kindling.

Chandra was startled by her musings from a tug on her arm.

“Come away now. We must leave. I doubt that time is on our side today,” Matta whispered, tugging Chandra off into the trees. Chandra hurried along with her, trying not to look back at the tiny house that had been more a home to her than any she had known.

“Now, I must find.... ah!” Matta muttered before veering off the path to a giant white oak tree. She kneeled at its trunk for a moment with her hands on the mossy ground. She whispered fervently, too fast for Chandra to pick out many words, and not enough to understand what she was doing.

A few moments later, Matta stood up and there was a great, “Crack!” from above them in the tree. Something fell quickly, hitting no other branches but whistling through the air like an arrow. Matta put one hand out and deftly caught the long, pale branch.

She turned her head and smiled at Chandra. She looked to the tree and muttered, “Thank you,” before grasping Chandra’s arm in her free hand and using the branch as a walking stick. Chandra hadn't noticed that the one Matta usually had near her was gone and wondered if it burned in the remains of the old woman's home.

Chandra had no idea where they were going but Matta’s arm kept her moving at the older woman's quick pace. She felt a little foolish letting Matta lead but didn’t see any other way about it. Some time later, when they paused for a moment to drink from a stream, Chandra closed her eyes and shifted her thoughts to the sky.

Frostwhite had been away from the cottage when the guardsman showed up. He had felt her thoughts and fear, but by the time he got back, they were on the move. He sent a query to Chandra’s mind when she reached out to him. It was a muddled feeling that meant anything from worry about her wellbeing to inquiring if she needed anything. Chandra shook her head. The relief in knowing her friend was safely on the move with them was all she needed.

She opened her eyes to find Matta’s snowy ones focused on her. Chandra shook her head, and Matta nodded at her. Neither seemed to have any desire to speak. They both felt wrapped in their own sense of urgency and fear that unnecessary words would bring unwanted attention. They moved through the forest with surprising speed for how little light was left to guide them. It was as though they were on a path instead of crossing over exposed roots, dead branches and tree offal. They took so many turns and twisted through so many dark areas of the forest Chandra doubted she could have found her way back to the cottage if she had wanted to. Now and then she would watch Matta as they walked. Her eyes kept straight ahead but she would close them once in a while, as if trying to smell the path or listening to a sound for only her. She didn’t stop walking though and didn't trip the exposed roots or rabbit holes. Chandra was not as sure-footed and her feet began to feel bruised. After an hour of weaving through trees on marshy, leaf-covered ground, Chandra could not hold her tongue any longer.

“Matta?”

“Yes, dear?” Matta veered sharply to the right and headed down a steep slope.

“Do you know where we're going?” Chandra could have sworn several of the outcroppings and tree clusters looked familiar.

“Of course I know where we’re going! What kind of question is that?” Matta huffed, half-exasperation, half-exertion.

“Okay. Would you mind telling me?” Chandra asked again.

Matta stopped walking and turned her frozen gaze on Chandra.

“If I were to guess, I would say you've probably never been anywhere but the buildings where you grew up. Would that be accurate?” Matta asked. Chandra nodded, but the older woman continued speaking. “Glad we cleared that up. So, if I were to tell you where we're going you probably still wouldn’t know."

Chandra opened her mouth to protest that she had read about much of the lands but closed it again. It was true she had read about much of the countries and their customs, climates, and so much more. The problem was she had never found much of it interesting and had retained little of what she had been taught.

"Good. Now, let this blind, old woman lead you through the forest and you won’t get lost.” Matta was again moving at a quick pace and hauling on Chandra's arm.

22

Chandra's mouth drew a tight line across her face. No matter how long they walked, she decided not to question Matta about their destination again. Chandra wondered exactly how far into the forest they had gone. At the Northern most point of the forest was the Ice River Mountain that fed the creek not far from the cottage. It was also the border between the Southern Lands and those of the Ice Kingdom. Chandra wasn’t sure she wanted to travel so close to the land that routinely massacred mages. Frostwhite called out in the distance and she sensed his agreement.

Chandra tried not to shiver as the forest grew dark with night. It was never too warm in the forest because the trees were so densely packed. Night was generally on the cold side. It had taken her several days to get used to it after having lived on the edge of the desert at the estate. Even the slight clearing around the cottage didn't pull enough sun to keep it warm for long.

“Matta, its dark. Don’t you think we should stop for a bit?” Chandra asked softly.

“What in the world do I need light for?”

“Well, I do and it is getting colder by the minute,” Chandra huffed into her hands.

Matta snorted at the request but stopped for a moment to dig in the large sac she was carrying. She pulled out a thin cloak and a hank of bread with a bit of cheese in it. Chandra thanked her. She hastened to wrap the cloak around herself as Matta began walking again.

Once Chandra had the cloak pinned to her tunic, she nibbled the food. She still needed to watch her step to minimize damage and tripping; walking and chewing did not work well. Without conversation, her mind drifted. Chandra couldn’t push away the image of the guard standing over Matta with a sword. She knew Matta had been pretending, but Chandra couldn’t help but worry Matta could be so easily overtaken. Her feelings of worry about the old woman who had taken her in were sharp and painful.

Chandra watched the curtain of white moving like a ghost ahead of her. She tore a good portion of the bread and cheese off and grabbed Matta’s arm. Before Matta could bark at her, Chandra thrust a portion into her hand.

She might have slapped Matta across the face by her change in expression. She nodded slowly and her lips twisted before she resumed walking. Chandra even though she saw the tiniest smile play on the edge her lips as she turned away and resumed walking.

Chandra lifted her thoughts to the sky and her feathered companion, calling him to rest on her shoulders. After several minutes, the great bird swooped down through the trees and landed on Chandra’s shoulder. She helped him shift so he was balanced as much on the back of her neck and center of her shoulders as possible. He nestled himself down, hunkering into her hair before going still. Now and again, she would stroke his silken feathers but tried to walk in an as even a tread as possible.

It was now the darkest part of the night, and Matta was barely visible ahead of her. She, too, had put on a cloak and lifted the hood to cover her head. In fact, if Matta hadn't turned to check on her, thus allowing the sparse light to glow on her silver hair, Chandra would have lost her. During one check, Matta whispered, “Not far now,” though Chandra didn't know if she was thinking out loud.

Twilight played across the forest, lighting the treetops aflame and starting the great morning chorus. Chandra was cheered by the sights, sounds, and comfort of dawn. She breathed it all in and noted that despite the damp and chill she was not cold where the cloak covered her. Underneath, her muscles ached from the journey and playing human perch to Frostwhite. The hawk had sensed morning and left to hunt at least an hour prior.

The crashing call of water invaded her thoughts and grew in volume as they continued. At one point, it became so loud that Chandra thought Matta was going to step right into the river. When her ears began to hurt from the noise, they stopped at the water's edge, so close that the edge of her shoes were damp.

“Now, we have to wait,” Matta said softly. She reached into her bag and pulled out two apples, one of which went to Chandra. They both munched on the fruit. Chandra skipped questioning Matta, because the look on the old woman's face told her it would be pointless. She had spent enough time in the woman's company to understand the subtle shifts in her expressions.