“Enough!” I was tired of the testosterone games. “The both of you stop this. It’s time to have this out, and you’re both going to listen to me and then shut the fuck up. Yes, I fucked Lannan, and I liked it, and he saved my life. But I’m married to Grieve, whom I love with all my heart and with whom I’ve thrown my lot. Lannan, show some respect to my husband—he is the King of Snow and Ice. And Grieve, Lannan saved my life. Don’t forget it.”
They stared at me, both openmouthed. After a moment, Lannan shrugged, nodded, and returned to his guards. Grieve stared at him with a shadowed look, but my wolf was silent. I’d had some impact on the pair of them.
I was about to say something when there was a noise from the direction in which we’d already come. Turning around, I saw a swirl of snow come whirling in—a tiny vortex about four feet high, but fierce and thick. And then the snow twister stopped, and there, in the middle of the cavern, stood the Snow Hag.
Ulean swept past me. I found her and asked if she would come to us. She agreed. I think she may be able to help, though I don’t know how.
Thank you—we need all the help we can get.
Turning to the Snow Hag, I chose my words cautiously. “One might welcome one of the Wilding Fae, though caution her to proceed carefully, for there are many dangers in this place.”
The Snow Hag grinned, her snaggletooth glistening in the dim light. “And one of the Wilding Fae might question a queen as to what the Winter would have her do.”
“A bargain might be struck, if one of the Wilding Fae would agree and could help. But the danger is real and the task, great.”
“The Winter Queen might realize that even the Wilding Fae know that there are times for bargains, and there are times for great deeds. And this would be the latter. What would Winter’s service be?” With a touch of her nose, she as good as offered me her help for free.
“A few yards farther along, one will find a paralaxium from the plane of Ice. A dangerous beast, and yet, a Winter Queen would choose not to destroy it, but to send it home if possible, unscathed and freed from the snare by which Myst bound it. One might wonder if the Wilding Fae know of a method of doing so?”
Trying to explain what I wanted in the strange cadence of bargaining speak wasn’t quite so easy, but I had the feeling I had gotten my point across by the look of delight that spread across the Snow Hag’s face.
With a quicksilver laugh, she whirled, sending a shower of snow to cloak me in white. “Oh, the Queen of Winter might just prove why she is worthy of the crown she wears. Yes, some of the Wilding Fae have the knowledge of how to do this—present company included. So, a queen might wish that the paralaxium return home, safe and free?”
“If one such as the Snow Hag could manage the deed, then yes, the Winter would bid her to act, but to also keep herself safe.”
And then, without further word, the Snow Hag set foot ahead. We followed, at a safe distance, and when she came to the paralaxium, the Snow Hag began a singsong chant, in a language that was so old it made me want to weep.
The paralaxium trumpeted, its trunk rearing into the sky, but it tossed its silky blue mane from side to side in time to the cadence of the Snow Hag’s song. A moment later, it began to fade, growing translucent, and then—with one last, long look at me with those glowing silver eyes—it vanished, and the path was clear.
“Such an act is done.” The Snow Hag turned to me. “And the paralaxium knows who ordered its freedom. If I were a Queen of Winter, I would expect one day to receive a call from the plane of Ice, a caravan of visitors, to perhaps thank a queen for such a deed as this one.”
I nodded, feeling both sad to see the creature go—I’d felt incredibly linked to it—and yet, relieved. We didn’t have to fight it, didn’t have to kill it.
“And now, the Queen of Winter travels forth to the last gate?”
“Only one gate left, then?” That was news to me, but welcome news.
“One gate left. And then the hardest journey to come.” And with that the Snow Hag moved to the back of the line. “Perhaps the Wilding Fae will stay for a while, to observe. To lend an ear.”
Grateful she had decided to stay with us, I motioned for Check to resume his place. “Let’s get on with this. One gate left. And then . . . if we are lucky, we destroy Myst’s heartstone and with it, bring the Long Winter’s end.”
Chapter 17
One gate to go, one last leg of the journey and perhaps, the nightmare would be over. The chamber beyond where we’d found the paralaxium sloped up, quickly becoming a narrow tube. Reminiscent of a lava tube, it was ragged and rough on all sides and circular in shape. We could only go one abreast here. Check took the lead, then Hunter and Grieve after him. I came next, then after me: the Snow Hag, Lannan, Fearless, and the other guards.
The going was harder than crossing the frozen surface in the large cavern. Going uphill was always more of a chore, and the rocks in the tunnel were jagged, thrusting up from the floor as well as from the sides and ceiling. While we weren’t dealing with stalagmites or stalactites, we were facing rubble large as our fists and boulders that had tumbled down the passage from whatever ledge or chamber to which we were heading.
I glanced back at the Snow Hag, wondering if—with her short stature—she was having a rough go at it, but she appeared to be moving along smoothly. She caught my eye and winked at me, then touched her nose with a crafty grin. I was beginning to like her more and more, and it occurred to me that, once this was over and if we prevailed, she would make a fine ambassador between the Wilding Fae and my Court.
After another ten minutes of increasingly steep climbing, I asked, “Can you see anything ahead?”
A moment later, Grieve called over his shoulder, “We are nearing an opening. I expect it’s the last gate, so we’d best be prepared for whatever barrier Myst has erected. Unfortunately, it’s hard to wield a weapon and manage this climb at the same time.”
He was right. We were no longer even hiking, the grade had grown so steep. In fact, we were nearly at a fifty-degree incline and were forced to use our hands to help us scramble up. The rocks cut into my palms, but gloves would have made the surface too slick. As I pushed yet further, my left foot caught hold of some loose rock and slid out from under me. While I wasn’t in danger of falling, I pressed myself against the path until my heart stopped racing, and then moved on, hoping the pebbles hadn’t rained down on the others.
“It is a bit of a climb, one would think, but nothing a queen and her company cannot scale.” The Snow Hag’s words echoed from behind me, making me smile.
“Encouragement is always welcome, from friends and allies alike.” I glanced over my shoulder, grinning.
“Almost up top!” Check called back. “I don’t see anything at this point, nothing barring the way. I’m going to stick my sword through the opening first, however. Stop climbing for now.”
We pressed against the side of the tube, and I welcomed the chance to rest. Who knew what we’d be facing once we were through that opening, and after a tough climb, I didn’t want to be thoroughly winded. While we’d managed to pass through the barrier with the paralaxium, thanks to the Snow Hag, I had my doubts we’d come through the final gate without a fight. Or at least, damage. It might not be a sentient guardian, knowing Myst. It might be a trap.
I waited, but there was no word or sound that Check was engaged in a fight. Whatever was up there apparently was either biding its time, or had somehow managed to miss all our commotion. Again, guardians tended to activate only within a certain radius, so we might have still been outside its range, but that didn’t mean that it didn’t know we were here.