The Eye of Winter's Fury (25 page)

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Your way is clear to the other side. Reaching the wall, you start to climb the interwoven tentacles, using them as a ladder. Higher and higher you rise, until you spot a shelf of rock jutting out above you. The knot of tentacles crawls across its underside, sweeping over its lip and disappearing from sight.

Those last few metres present you with a scary ascent, your weight solely suspended by your spectral claws. Groaning in agony, you finally drag your pain-racked body over the ledge and lie there, gasping – the heat still pressing close on all sides, unwilling to give you a moment’s respite.

You rise, swaying slightly as you try and gain a sense of your surroundings. The tentacles continue to wind past you, as do hundreds of others, all coiling and weaving over each other to meet the gigantic brain-like mass that fills the cavernous space.

This must be the demon. Cerebris.

There is no obvious shape or form to its body, if indeed it has a body at all. The fleshy folds seem stacked on one another, leaking a foul green pus that fills the air with a corpulent stench. Crimson veins criss-cross beneath the surface of its translucent skin, occasionally blossoming with a fiery light as parts of the bloated mass swell and deflate.

Weapons ring into your hands. You advance towards the demon, wondering – hoping – that you have the strength to penetrate its bulbous form and end whatever life lurks within.

The ground starts to shiver – another tremor building. You quicken your pace, eyes scanning the creature for any sign of weakness. Halfway along its glutinous bulk you spy a glowing red sphere, bulging between creases of pus-coated flesh. It beats with a fell energy, radiating waves of searing magic – bright as a sun.

The demon’s heart. Its kha.

You leap onto its lower haunches, stepping over the ridges of flesh to draw nearer to its heart. Tendrils of frost spiral along your weapons, coating them in hard ridges of barbed ice.

‘It ends here!’ You throw back your arm, preparing to pierce the heart . . .

A muffled scream draws you up short.

You spin round, so fast you almost fall – your soul drawn to the sound of that voice, as surely as a moth to a flame.

‘Anise!’

She hangs in the witch’s outstretched hand, the woman’s pale fingers gripped around the underside of her chin. A dry clicking comes from the girl’s throat as she struggles to breathe, sucking desperately at the air. Her throat is one dark bruise, extending up the side of her face. An eye is swollen shut, dried blood caking her hair. The breeches she wears are torn, the ragged material stuck around a nasty wound.

You are too late, Arran.
The witch’s scratchy voice rakes through your mind. Anise tries to struggle, to break free of the woman’s grip, but her arms are pinned to her side by some magic.
Tell me, how does it feel when hope crumbles, when all you once coveted is finally taken away? Look at me, Arran. I want to see that pain – the pain of knowing you have lost everything.

You find yourself moving, stalking closer – rage building.

Melusine raises her other hand, revealing a long wand-like sceptre, white and sharp as a fragment of ice. She teases it against the girl’s throat, forcing her to buck and whimper at its touch.

Anise. What a sweet name. A rose, caught between two thorns.
The wand continues its slow caress, each stroke drawing a broader line of crimson. Cutting deeper.

You cry out, steps faltering. ‘Don’t do this!’

A piercing laughter.
You plan to save the world, Arran. You can’t even save a life. You couldn’t even save your own.

‘Let her go. ’ Your eyes narrow in warning.

Or what, Arran? What will you do?
Her deformed visage is hidden behind a crowned veil, but you can feel the icy heat of her gaze beating through it.
The last seals weaken. When they break, the world serpent will be released. Everything will be brought to ruin, and yet you stand here begging me to save a single life?

The wand presses deeper, forcing out a gurgling scream.
Do you need her, Arran – to hold your hand when the end comes?

You tense, judging the distance – preparing to strike. ‘I said . . .’

Yes, let her go.

The witch snaps back her arm. You see a fountain of blood, bright against bruised flesh. Then Anise is falling, crumpling silently to the ground. The witch steps over her body, the veil peeling back of its own accord. Your eyes meet – and in that horrifying instant it is as if the world has already ended, exploding in a freezing torrent of pain.

Screams.

It takes a moment to realise they are yours.

The agony is all-consuming – a fierce cold that overwhelms your own.

It stiffens your limbs, cracks your jaw rigid, pushes inside your mind . . . tightening like a vice. Only a desperate last effort of will saves you – your predatory instinct surging up to defend itself. Screams become guttural, spitting roars.

Painfully, like tearing skin from ice, you manage to avert your gaze . . .

You take a slow and heavy stride, your body feeling like a corpse again. Leaden, unresponsive. You look down, still shaking . . .

A green ice has started to form around your legs, seeking to entrap you like the tortured souls in the hall. Gritting your teeth you expel a
burst of magic, splintering it to pieces. Freedom leaves you stumbling off balance; but you quickly recover, turning your stagger into a desperate charging lunge. It is time to fight:

	Special abilities
	Petrifying gaze : Roll four dice at the end of each combat round. For each or result, you must take damage equal to the roll, ignoring armour . For example, if you rolled two ’s and a you would take 16 damage. All other results are ignored. If you have an ability that lets you reroll dice (such as charm ), you may use this ability to affect the outcome.
	Fimbulwinter : If you have the Titan shield, Fimbulwinter, you only take damage from each result you roll for petrifying gaze. For example, if you rolled three ’s, you would take 3 damage. All other results are ignored.
	Insulated : If you have the insulated ability, you can reduce Melusine’s damage score by 3 (Note: this does not affect Melusine’s petrifying gaze ).