“Nothing. I’m going up. Be prepared.” Check’s voice echoed down, and then, at the sound of him scrambling through, I held my breath.
Please be okay. Please don’t get ambushed. The guard had wormed his way into my heart, and over the years, I had the feeling our friendship would grow. I wanted him there to protect me as time went on. I’d come to trust him, and that was more than I could say of most people I knew.
A moment later, we heard the welcome sound of his voice. “Come on up.”
Again, we began to move, and in another moment, Grieve disappeared through the opening, then turned to lend me a hand. I took it, and he pulled me through the mouth of the tunnel, then returned to help the Snow Hag.
I rolled away from the hole, scrambling to my feet as I pulled out my dagger and looked around. We were on a ledge, all right, next to the entry into the passage out of which we’d just come. Behind me, past the tunnel’s mouth, was the opening into a cavern. Another few feet in the other direction led to the ledge’s end. I cautiously sidled over to the edge to find myself staring down into a dizzying drop into the blackness below.
Caves within caves within caverns.
The ledge on which we stood was a good ten feet wide, as rock strewn and harsh as the climb had been. It was solid though—cut into the side of whatever mountain it was the Barrow was buttressed against. Here, in this realm, we were far away from the Golden Wood within this Barrow. I had no idea what realm or plane we’d entered, but then again, within the Barrows time and space were all mutable. At times, with all the realms jostling for position, the whole thing reminded me of a giant game of Tetris.
Wandering over to Check’s side, I gazed into the mouth of the cave and gasped. “It’s beautiful in there.”
“Yes, Your Majesty, it is at that.”
Within the cavern were thousands of tiny lights—blue and pink, purple and luminescent white. The lights twinkled, like Christmas lights, flashing in an array of patterns too hard to follow, but that registered as having some symmetry. The cavern was abuzz, but from where the sound emanated, I didn’t know.
“Incredible. What are they?”
The Snow Hag joined me. “One might think one was in the realm of the night sky rather than the heart of the unholy terror. But beauty can be deadly and is often an illusion.”
I nodded, captivated by the brilliant lights. About to ask what we should do next, once again the reality that everything was up to me hit home. I was in charge. I was the Queen, and it would forever be this way. I might ask advice, I might seek counsel, but from now on, people turned to me instead of me turning to others. A knot formed in my stomach and, overwhelmed, I could only gaze at the lights.
Then, fingers entwined with mine, and I looked down to see that the Snow Hag had taken my hand in hers. The feel of her skin—so alien and yet so solid—against mine, gave me comfort in a way I had never before felt. She was solid as the ice, solid as the rocks beneath our feet, and yet there was an ethereal cloud around her that reached out to cushion me.
She squeezed, just lightly, but the energy that raced from her fingers through mine was immense, and it recharged me, strengthening me as I dropped my head back, letting it flow through my body.
“One might think a queen needs no counsel, but truth is, a queen often needs the most support even as she supports the world that rests upon her shoulders. One might find a friend in the most unlikely of people.”
Tears sprang to my eyes, and, impulsively, I crouched beside her, resting on my heels. “One might value friendship more than gold. One might say a thank-you, as long as that thank-you is not taken as a bargain nor a debt.”
“Neither bargain nor debt.” And then the Snow Hag reached out with her long, jointed fingers, and stroked my hair. “Neither bargain, nor debt seals a queen to one of the Wilding Fae. No, simply friendship. And understanding.”
“Your Highness—look!” Check’s shout startled me out of my thoughts, and I smiled at the Snow Hag before standing again. She squeezed my hand once more, then let go, and I ran over to Check’s side.
“What is it?”
“We are all topside now, but look—in the tunnel.”
I glanced down into the passage through which we’d come. Below, I caught sight of a glistening shimmer, and I could hear the rush of water. The passage was filling up, and it seemed to be . . . could it be?
“Is the water freezing as it rises? Turning to ice?”
“I think so. There’s no way back. We have to go forward now. What are your commands, Your Majesty?” He waited, sword point down on the stone floor.
I considered our options. We had to move on, but the fact that there were no obvious obstacles to entering the cavern with the lights made me nervous. It felt like a trap, and it probably was.
“Search the outside of the entrance to the cavern, please. Look for anything that might indicate a trap or a snare.”
Check called over his men and they scoured the edges of the cavern’s entrance. A few minutes later, he shook his head. “We can’t find anything, Your Majesty.”
That pretty much took care of that. There was nothing to keep us from going through. One last look at the tunnel through which we’d come showed that it was packed full of ice, no longer usable. But at least no one would be coming through after us.
“Check, you and Mort take the front. Hunter and Grieve next. I will come after, between Lannan and Fearless, then the Snow Hag and the other guards in back of us.”
And so we formed our marching order and, without further wait, Check and Mort crossed through into the cavern of lights.
Sparkling lights, twinkling lights, lights everywhere, like the most decorated garden during Christmas. Like the brilliance of a faerie-tale scene. The cavern was not large, but it was mesmerizing. For a moment I stood, gazing up at the illuminated ceiling. Just what the lights were, I didn’t know, but they were everywhere, like a thousand gleaming sparks in the black of night, and they made me want to just stand there, watching in wonder.
As we moved toward the center of the cavern, I could see an opening on the other side. But I had to wonder: Was Myst’s heartstone hidden in here, beneath the shower of light? Or was it beyond, through the opposite door?
Ulean, do you sense the—
Cicely, run—run! Now!
I froze at her cry, but then stumbled forward as the lights suddenly surged off the walls and ceiling and began swooping down on us. What the hell?
“Your Majesty—run!” Fearless grabbed for me, but the lights swept down on him, and he was on the ground, rolling and screaming. I turned, meaning to go to him, but then someone grabbed my arm and dragged me forward. It was Lannan, and we were heading for the opposite exit.
The men were shouting now, but I could barely see anything in the swirl of lights that dipped and swarmed. I struggled against Lannan, desperate to find Grieve, but he was too strong.
“Grieve! Grieve! Where are you?”
A scream startled me, and I jerked my head to the side. One of the guards was being stung to death, swelling up like a balloon everywhere the lights stabbed into him.
“Grieve!” Frantically, I screamed for my love, but he was nowhere in sight.
Lannan let out a shout. “I have Cicely! Save yourselves!”
He pulled me through the door, with the lights still swarming after us. One managed to land on my shoulder before I could make it through and sent a shockwave of pain through my body, like the worst sting in the world. I spasmed, screaming in shock, and Lannan scooped me up and swung me over his shoulder, leaping through the door. The second we were out of the cave, the lights stopped trying to follow us.