Witch Queen (17 page)

S
EVERED HILL PASS LOOMED before us, a
massive break in the mountainside, as though the Goddess herself
had severed the mountain in half. My heart fluttered so quickly
that for a moment I thought I might be sick. But I trotted into the
pass, right behind Fawkes.

Immediately I was hit by an invisible
barrier. Torak slowed and shook his head. The air was thin, and I
found it hard to breathe. My ears popped, and then I heard the
familiar loud buzzing that I had heard in Gray Havens. My teeth
chattered, and my entire body shook as I came under the spell of
the mountain’s magic. But then the atmosphere settled until the
humming became a faint whisper, and I could breathe normally
again.

Magic. A month ago I would have panicked.
But now, even Torak kept moving like it was nothing to have
breached a magical barrier together. I was proud of my warhorse. He
was truly a spectacular beast. The magical barrier would have been
enough to scare away the bravest of warriors. It was a test of
valor and strength of mind, and it would certainly deter those who
weren’t suited for the witch realm.

I looked over my shoulder to see if any of
my men had bolted at the first sign of magic. But they hadn’t. They
were all right behind me. They looked decidedly uneasy, but I was
proud of them. I knew this had been a difficult task for each of
them.

When we were all across the barrier, Fawkes
turned his elk around, and with a flick of his wrist he closed the
entrance to the pass behind us.

“It’s a three-day ride from here,” he said
quietly.

His eyes darted to each of the men.

“If we don’t stop
unnecessarily
we
can make it in two. And keep quiet.”

Something dark flashed across his face as
his gaze moved to the peaks above us.

“Don’t speak unless it’s absolutely
necessary. If you must speak, make it quick and only a whisper.
Your life depends on it. Voices carry in the pass. There are worse
things than revenants that live deep in the mountains. We don’t
want to
wake
them.”

I had opened my mouth to ask him what
things, but Fawkes had already started to move again.

The pass was mostly sand and rock, but as we
ventured deeper we crossed tiny streams and soggy meadows that were
thick with wildflowers, butterflies and birds. The horses would
have food.

The chiseled rock and peaks that surrounded
us shimmered for a moment, and I could almost see the magic
rippling over them like a layer of mist. The mountains were alive
with magic. I was sure of it. I imagined glowering eyes and
grimacing mouths, monsters who could send down giant boulders to
crush us if they wanted. I prayed they didn’t.

I didn’t know what to expect when we reached
the capital, Lunaris. But one thing was for sure; I wouldn’t be
welcomed with open arms. I wasn’t that naïve. My mother had left
Witchdom, and I’m sure it was for a good reason. There was so much
I wanted to learn about my blood magic, about my mother, and why
she had left. Something compelled me to find out.

I let out a shuddering breath and hoped
Fawkes hadn’t heard. We had managed this far. We had crossed
Arcania and lived. There were still so many obstacles to overcome,
but I was filled with a sense of hope. Hope that the witches would
help us defeat the high priests. Hope that I could save Jon, that I
would
save him.

We rode in silence. I could see Fawkes
searching the mountains carefully, and I scanned the areas, too.
But I didn’t see or hear anything unusual, only the echoing of
hooves on hard granite rock.
What was he looking for? What was
it that lived in the mountains?
But whenever we stopped, only
the glorious sounds of thickets full of birds, hawks screaming in
the sky, and the click of insects offered a reply.

And yet I couldn’t shake off the feeling
that we were being watched.

The feeling persisted that night when we
traveled by moonlight, but I could see nothing in the rocky cliffs.
We finally stopped and set up camp. It was bitterly cold, and I was
grateful that the mountains shielded us from the icy winds I could
hear screaming beyond the pass. I shivered despite myself. I hadn’t
packed a winter coat or thick wool leggings. There hadn’t been
time, and I didn’t have the money to buy them anyway.

Once I finished getting Torak fed, watered,
and settled for the night, I looked for Fawkes’ fire so I could
warm my fingers and toes. My smile faded when I spotted him sitting
in his usual cross-legged position on the ground, but with no sign
of a fire in sight.

I made my way over to him and whispered
tentatively, “Why aren’t you making a fire?”

“We can’t risk it,” he said. His tone was
hushed but final.

I studied his face.

“The men are probably freezing. It’s not
like we had the coin to buy proper clothes for this kind of
weather. Can’t we risk just a small smokeless fire?”

“No.”

Fawkes’ eyes were black. “If you light a
fire, you’ll kill all your humans. Is that what you want?”

He shrugged. “Personally, I couldn’t care
less about a bunch of worthless humans. The Goddess knows we’d be
better off without them. But you—
you
care. You’ve made it so
bloody obvious. It’s simple. Light a fire, and they die. Your
choice.”

I balled my hands into fists.

“You can be a real prick sometimes.”

I turned on my heel before he had time to
reply, but I had a feeling he wouldn’t. I knew he was right. It
would have been foolish to light a fire. We’d just have to bear the
cold for a couple more days.

As I approached the men, I could see that
Nugar was attempting to start a fire. I could see the mist from
their breaths and the way they rubbed their hands and arms. They
were cold. I knew what I had to tell them.

I rushed forward and grabbed Nugar’s
wrist.

“We can’t make a fire,” I whispered.

His scowl was enough to frighten any man,
let alone a young woman, but I kept my hand on his wrist and
squeezed tighter. “There’s something in the mountains. Creatures,
maybe, but dangerous enough to kill us. Fawkes says if we make a
fire, we die.”

I didn’t mention that Fawkes had said only
the
humans
would die, not all of us.

“So, we’re going to freeze to death,”
mumbled Lucas as he hugged himself.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I snapped. I let go
of Nugar.

“It’s not cold enough for that.”

I remembered to lower my voice. “We’ll just
have to figure out other ways to keep warm.”

We were silent for a few moments.

“Maybe we should all hug? I hear body heat
can warm just as much as a fire.”

Will’s stupid boyish smile was too much, and
I laughed out loud, but I quieted down as I saw Fawkes’ glare in
the darkness.

I lowered myself to the ground and
whispered, “How about we sit for a while and pretend there’s a
roaring fire?”

And that’s what we did.

We ate our meals of dried meat, nuts, and
the few apples Nugar had somehow managed to find in the woods. We
shared stories of back home, and of our plans once things went back
to normal. There was a familiarity in the way the men spoke to one
another, like they had all been childhood friends. I didn’t
understand the pang in my chest until I realized that their
familiarity reminded me of my relationship with Jon.

I could feel Fawkes’ eyes on me. I could
feel his disapproval that I would choose to sit with
humans
and not with him. I figured I’d let Fawkes stew in his own juices
for a while. It might be good for him. The truth was, I didn’t
believe in excluding folks, magic or not. One could argue that it
was because I had been born in the Pit and had starved and been
excluded from a life of luxury. But it was more than that.

Being divided just
created
more
problems. It never solved them.

We’d forgotten Fawkes’ warning that we
needed to be quiet as we chatted happily with each other. I had
relaxed and had ignored the eerie feeling that we were being
watched. By the time I’d realized our mistake, it was already too
late.

Dozens of shadowy figures had begun to climb
down from the mountains.

CHAPTER 14

A
COLD CHILL RAN up the back of my
neck. Every nerve in my body was on end. We had woken the
mountain’s creatures.

They waited with their backs pressed up
against the edges of the cliffs. Their pale, veiny, and hairless
gray skin shone in the moonlight like thick leather. With gangly
muscled limbs, the things were a horrendous combination of humanoid
and bat bodies. They were naked, sexless, and for the moment very
still. Layers of extra skin hung under their arms and connected
with their abdomens like bat wings. Sharp talons sprouted from
their fingers and toes. The mountain’s energy resonated louder, as
though in approval of these creatures.

As a cloud parted from the moon, I saw their
faces and stifled a scream.

They were creatures from nightmares. They
had no eyes, no mouth, no nose. Instead of faces, their skin was
pulled tightly over their haggard skulls, over what could have once
been faces. They were the most frightening and horrifying things
I’d ever seen, and my bowels turned watery.

Goddess protect us.

There were so many. I counted twenty of the
bald and faceless creatures on both sides of the pass, but those
were only the ones I could see. We were surrounded.

Fawkes stood next to me. His features were
hard and sharp in the light of the moon, but I couldn’t read his
face.

“What are they?” I whispered. I slipped my
short sword free from its sheath, and I could see the men around me
reach for their weapons, too.

“Familiars,” said Fawkes, his voice low.
“Magical entities. Guardians of the pass and of the Mystic
Mountains. They keep humans from
accidentally
crossing into
Witchdom, but mostly they keep the witches from leaving.”

Were these the things he was hoping we’d
avoid?

“Are they blind?” My voice was rushed, and I
prayed to the Goddess that they were.

“If you mean that they don’t have eyes, then
yes, they are blind. But they can see you well enough with other
ways.”

Fawkes drew his long sword. Its silver
glinted in the light, and I could make out elegant writing etched
along the blade and hilt.

Fawkes saw my confusion and said, “Familiars
are magical creatures, and they are extremely resistant to any
defensive magic.”

He paused, looking tired. “My magic will not
stop them.”

I caught a trace of fear in the faces of the
men, but it was quickly replaced by hard determination as they each
took a defensive stance. My chest fell. I hoped Fawkes was as
skilled with his sword as he was with his magic.

In silence, the men watched the familiars
and tried to take the measure of this new enemy. Even in the
darkness I could see a sneer spread across Nugar’s bearded face.
Leo and Will shared a sidelong glance, their shoulders taut. Lucas
crouched in a defensive stance and eyed the familiars warily. Even
in the cold, the men’s faces shone with sweat.

My breathing came rapidly as I tried to
overcome my own fears. I felt my clothes stick to my back.

The familiars cocked their heads, and an
eerie hissing escaped them. A leeching cold crept under my skin. I
started trembling and gripped my sword in my sweaty palm.

“Why aren’t they attacking us?” Leo’s voice
was steady, but he looked up at the cliffs nervously.

“They’re assessing us,” said Fawkes. His
eyes didn’t leave the creatures on the cliffs. “To see who they
choose to let live…but most probably to see who they want to kill
first.”

The familiars had no eyes, and yet I felt
their hungry glares on us.

Fawkes whirled on me. “I told you to be
quiet,” he hissed. “I won’t risk your life for the lives of these
humans. If they get caught, leave them. Because
I
will!”

I shot him a withering glare. “You’re just a
coldhearted ass. Even now—”

“Familiars!” Fawkes’ voice rang in the pass.
“We are witches, born of magic like you. We seek passage to
Witchdom. Do you grant us safe passage to our homeland?”

He took a careful step forward and shielded
the men with his body. His hair billowed and shimmered like a cape
of liquid emeralds.

With the sound like leather crackling near a
fire, the familiars swayed and moved their heads, studying us. I
didn’t know how long we stood there, waiting. I remained still, but
my heart thrashed in my chest. I felt inclined to run for our
horses and take our chances.

I refused to be beaten now, when Witchdom
was so close I could almost feel it. I clenched my fingers around
my sword. Let these pale bastards come. I was ready for them.