Her closet had gotten a lot bigger. She wondered who had torn out the rear wall. And what was out there? It looked like the inside of a church, or a castle or something …
Kwip paced his cell, contemplating the life of a thief. His life. A good life? No. The only one he could have led? Mayhap not. He wondered, as he had always wondered, if he could have been anything else. If only he were not such an accomplished thief! But to what station in life could he have hoped to rise, he a low-born guttersnipe, an orphan, an unwanted child? He had found it necessary to steal in order to survive. There had been no other course to follow. Perhaps in a better world — ah, but there were no other worlds, were there?
Kwip turned about and beheld the doorway.
When the ice bridge collapsed, Snowclaw had thought he was going to die, but now that he had time to assess the situation, he was sure he was going to. He was never going to be able to climb out of this crevasse, no one was anywhere near, and that was that. He’d stay here till he froze or starved. He’d probably starve first.
He was hungry already. He hated the thought of starving to death. Really hated it. He’d much rather freeze to death, but he knew there was no chance of that this time of year. He’d just get miserably cold. He growled and pounded his huge fist against the wall of ice at his back.
Right. There was no other choice. He’d use his claws and open up an artery, and that would be that. He flexed the muscles of his left hand. Bone-white claws extruded from the ends of his fingers.
He turned his head to the left, noticing that the ledge extended quite some way into the dark crevasse. Maybe he should … No, there’d be nothing. The ledge would peter out a little way down. He extended his claws again. Damn. What a stupid way to go.
Afterward, Incarnadine could not locate Melydia. He searched the reconstructed castle, but she was nowhere to be found. Therefore he was surprised when she spoke to him.
Incarnadine.
He stopped in his tracks. “Melydia?”
I am here. I am part of what is around you.
“How?” he asked.
My strength was drained, all my spells gone. I was dying. Then …
“I see. Then we will always be together, in a sense.”
Yes, my love.Yes.
He discovered Osmirik in the library, already hard at work.
Castle
On his way to the family quarters he ran into the great white beast, the girl, and the young man.
“Welcome. I see you’ve met up again. These things are preordained, I’ve always thought.”
The young man looked blankly at his companions, then said, “I’m sorry? We just ran into each other in the basement of this place. Who are you? And where the hell are we, if you don’t mind my asking?”
The King and Lord Protector smiled. “The name’s Incarnadine. This is my place.” He gestured about. “Really something, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but what is it? Where is it?”
“Where? Anywhere you like. Another world, another time, just down the block, or in the next room. What is it? It’s a castle, Castle Perilous by name. And it can be a perilous place. But it is larger than life, and contains wonders without end. Entry is by way of your deepest desires. Until very recently, there was no way out. But we’ve done a little remodeling, a little patching here and there, and things should be a bit more stable. You can probably find a way back, if you wish. But I have a feeling you’ll stay.”
“Stay?”
“Yes, as my Guest. You are all most welcome.” Incarnadine pointed down the corridor. “You’re very likely famished. The Queen’s dining hall is down that way. Must dash now. Enjoy yourselves.”
“But …”
Chuckling, he hurried off down the passageway. He wanted to spend the day at the beach with his family.