Ever Winter (11 page)

“Camulus? Where are you going? It’s this way, right?”

The elven-pixie nodded, but a look of distress filled his features. “I’m so sorry, Shade, Dylan.” He stepped back once more and stopped. Watching them with his fiery yellow-orange eyes as he bit his lip apprehensively, he looked destroyed somehow. “I never meant it to get this far. I must leave you now, Corb is waiting for you. Keep walking straight ahead, and you won’t miss the palace.”

“Wait, what’s going on?” Shade stepped forward and smacked right into an invisible barrier. She placed her palms on it and watched as Camulus brought his own hands up to hers on the other side. It was like a thick plate glass window but completely unseen and the snow and wind did not seem affected by it. She shivered and an understanding surfaced in her head.

They’d been betrayed. Betrayed by Camulus and possibly
, Ursad. Shade nodded toward him as he whispered. “I’m sorry.”

“I’ll be coming back for Brisa,” was as all she managed to say as she turned away and headed toward the palace without looking back.

Dylan was glaring at their former friend with murder in his gaze. She tugged at his coat and beckoned him to follow. Knowing there was no other option, she treaded through the thick drifts of snow and ice, her gut twisted in fury. Dylan followed behind, saying nothing. The silence was welcomed though; her head was full of anger. She feared the words she would say if she let Dylan know exactly how she felt about everything right now.

The crunch of drifts of snow filled the air instead. They wore thick, fur lined boots, but she could already feel her toes numbing up. She pulled her thick scarf around her mouth and nose, the frigid sting from the air already working its death magic on her skin. It was so cold, it hurt. The pricks of frostbite were already tingling along her fingertips as she hugged her arms against herself. She took a peek at Dylan, but he seemed unaffected by the freezing temperatures, though he still had on a thick coat. It was probably his Teleen powers that kept him so toasty warm. She’d snuggle up to him for warmth, but it was easier to walk single file through the snow.

When she thought they’d never get to the palace, it sprung in front of them as if it had been there the entire time. It must’ve been hidden this entire time and wouldn’t appear until one got close enough for it to reveal itself. It wasn’t a palace per say, but more of a large mountain with sharp peaks and glittering ice clinging to the sides as if glued on. Black rock could be seen beneath the snowy, packed drifts, chunks of ice and frozen spikes of icicles, but the entrance was nowhere to be seen.

Shade knew better. She could feel an overwhelming compulsion to walk up to the ice mountain and right into it. Turning toward Dylan, she hoped he had the same irresistible feeling.

“This is it.” Dylan ran his eyes over the frozen palace. They studied the vast sculpture of ice with its multiple ringed formations, which hung over ledges and threatened to fall. Icicles held them up where they dripped off and froze into hardened clear pillars. It was enchanting the way water could freeze in such intricate ways. But its beauty held an evil that made her shiver from the inside out even more. “Do you feel that?”

Shade nodded and pointed toward the wall to their right. Making their way to it, they found it to be more of a sheet of perfectly flat ice. Much like a mirror, for she could see a frosted reflection of herself staring back. It was framed with patches of snow, and no other part of the mountain’s base looked or felt the way it did there.

Magic. Loads of it vibrated across its surface like an electrical fence.

What would happen if they touched it? Would they be allowed to enter? Shade stepped forward, hoping the proximity of the wall would tell her what to do.

“Wait, it could be a trap!” Dylan tugged at her hand and shook his head. The more he studied the massive mountain, the more his gut wrenched from the bad feeling of impending doom he was getting. This wasn’t good at all−he knew no matter what−they had already gotten themselves into a very bad place.

Shade watched his emotions run all over his face. Doubt had filled him already and she tried to calm his fears, along with her own. “It’s okay Dylan. I know.” She turned back to the sheet of ice and touched its smooth surface. “I know it’s a trap. It always was meant to be.” The moment her fingertips graced it, the sheet of ice cracked and a soft rumble behind it made her gasp. Her confidence waned as the noise faded and nothing further happened.

“I really don’t like the sound of that.” He pulled out his sword and waited for whatever it was which would surely be coming to greet them now. The soft flurries of snow began to fall harder until it was so thick, the mountain disappeared into it. The sky and land were all white, brilliant as it turned the endless vast land into nothingness. There was nothing to do now but wait.

The crack separated with a loud pop and the door slowly pulled apart. It rained down the fresh layer of snow that had sat upon it and the vibration sent thousands of icicles dropping like daggers to the ground all around. If they were under an overhang, they would have been hit many times over. But the area around the door was spared the sharpened daggers. Instead, where the door once stood, now was an elongated hall that stretched into the mountain so deep, the end couldn’t be seen. Only darkness greeted them from inside there. Corb would be there, so Shade had no options but to continue on.

“Come on.” She waved toward Dylan to follow her, and they made their way into the maze of ice. The walls were smooth inside, and they had conformed into slight waves which rippled the surfaces like blown glass. It appeared almost wet from the shine that glinted back to them. Shades of blue ran along the walls in so many variants, it threw Shade into awe as she took in the icy wonderland of the palace.

Behind them, the door slid shut with a loud resonating crack, leaving them in the hall, alone, without the company of the howling wind outside. Without the breeze and torrent of flurries, Shade didn’t feel so cold anymore. She sighed as they continued on, hoping whatever lay before them would not be the end of the road. The hall was lit by the filtered rays of daylight that made it all the way through the thick, blue and clear ice framing the walkway. She’d never seen anything like this place, and she hoped she would be able to get her powers back soon and leave it forever.

“Trespass, trespassers…oh dear, no, no, no. Won’t do.” A small crackling voice echoed in the passage ahead. They froze in their steps and held their weapons readied. It would be too easy to just walk right in, right? Shade strained to hear the owner of the voice scurrying ahead in the dark; small, flighty steps that barely sounded like shuffling on the hardened snow under their feet.

“Show yourself.” Dylan stepped ahead, narrowing his eyes to see into the black tunnel ahead. A gasp then a thud answered back. If Shade didn’t know any better, she’d say that whoever it was waiting for them had jumped and ran right into a wall of ice. “I won’t ask again.”

“Ask, he says. No one does asking here.” The squeaky accent enveloping his words made it sound like he said “knowin’ duh askin’ har”

“And who says that?” Dylan continued to step forward, and Shade crept slowly behind him. Her sword was smaller than his, but it felt good gripped in her hands, even with gloves on. It’d been a long time since she’d gotten to use it in battle, but she had kept up the rigorous training with Soap to heal her body and to keep flexible after her stint with the Unseelie. Now, she’d give anything to slice at the little man or thing or whatever it was down the hall. The snow cracked and crunched under their boots, making it a little harder to hear the panicky steps of the creature.

“The colorless, white spirit, the white spirit says. He says what goes.” Shade strained to translate the gibberish in her head and realized he must’ve been talking about Corb.

“The white spirit. Where can we find him?” She blurted out.

“One does not find what is all around them. It finds you.” The miniature goblin slipped forward into their vision. Its large green eyes were just green, no whites, no pupils to define them. The stretched skin on its face folded and became loose and wrinkly around its arms and thin exposed legs. It wore fur-lined boots on its tiny feet and a coat to reach its waist, but it wore torn up pants, which were soiled and looked like they needed a thorough washing. Its tiny ears protruded from the sides of its head like sharp arrow tips, and his tiny mouth seemed like a hole with its tiny lips circling into an ‘o’ at them.

Dylan paused, surprised it wasn’t a bigger offender coming their way. He sighed but didn’t put his sword away. Shade could see that he’d thought the goblin was not a threat at all. She felt otherwise; her skin tingled from the magic that vibrated all around them, from the ice, from the air. It was all alive, and she knew it.

“Will you take us to this white spirit you speak of?” Shade stepped closer to the goblin, very sure that it was some sort of exiled sluagh from the blackened fingertips and burnt looking cheeks. Why was he here? He obviously wasn’t built for the cold. Yet, here he was, guarding the entrance to The Great Divide.

His eyes widened and filled with horror at her suggestion, giving her a quick shake of its head. “No, no! White spirit won’t be pleased. He said don’t let anyone in. No one.” It turned to skip away, but Dylan and Shade threw each other a mutual look and gave chase.

“Wait! Take us to him. We won’t hurt you if you do,” Shade offered.

A cackle responded as he led them quickly to the end of the tunnel where it split into two and led into other turns in both directions. They ran to keep up with him. For such tiny legs, he was insanely fast, and they were heaving soon after, almost exhausted form his constant change in direction.

It was an ice labyrinth−a place to get lost and die−never be seen again. Frozen and never finding your way out. That was why there were no guards. Why bother with guards when an intruder could get lost for weeks in such a vast labyrinth? It was endless, and they soon realized they’d lost their little trouble maker goblin. It’d been a trap, and they had fallen for it easily and willingly.

“Damn!” Dylan swung his sword across the neck of one of the ice sculptures of a mermaid. It seemed out of place somehow, her long flowing mane remained as it twirled around her long scaly tale, covering her breasts with its massive curls. It was a beautiful sculpture and Shade grimaced watching Dylan’s destruction of it.

“We’ll get there; no need to lose our heads.” She chuckled at the cliché but cleared her throat as his eyes shot back to her. “Okay, so we’re lost, but isn’t this something? A labyrinth of ice! Who would’ve known how easy it would be to freeze out your opponents than to get them lost within endless walls? I have to say, I’m impressed.”

Dylan ignored her and sat on the ground, pulling out several pieces of wood. He placed them in a small hole he began to dig, hollowing out the packed snow underneath. Lighting the wood with his own fire powers, a warm crackling flame filled her vision soon enough as he sat in front of it on his knees. He looked contemplative, as though something was bothering him greatly.

“We don’t have time to be lost,” he muttered. “Come here, get some warmth. I’m going to check out each route really quickly and then see if I can figure this maze out.”

Shade crouched near the fire and felt its heat radiating sweetly across her wind-burnt skin. She watched him as he dropped a couple more logs down out of his pack, finding it funny that only Dylan would think of packing firewood. As he strapped his pack back on and picked up his sword, he turned toward her once more with a reassuring nod before he walked down the rest of the way. The ice cavern swiftly swallowed him up, and he disappeared from her sight.

The hollow sound emanating from the rigid walls made her fill with a swift rush of fear. It was so vacant here, so unlike any palace she had been in. Even the Unseelie Castle had not felt so abandoned, so barren. The cold hovered just beyond the reach of the crackling fire, still infusing itself into her back and any part not exposed to the flames. She rubbed her hands together and hoped Dylan would be back soon.

“Hello, Shade.”

She gasped and jumped to her feet, fingering her sword with shaking hands.

Corb.

He stood right in front of her, just on the other side of the fire. His long, colorless hair was loose and the single, large lock of black snaked down his shoulder, contrasted against the rest of his mane. His skin was still as pale as snow−he’d blend in so well outside in the white-out of the snowfall. Mother of pearl eyes blinked at her as he waited for her to answer him. When she didn’t, he tilted his head, letting a smile play upon his lips.

“I’ve waited for you for a very long time. I k
new you’d come, sooner or later.” He waved his hand and the ice around them cracked and popped, a noise that sent Shade covering her head with her arms instinctually, afraid of a collapse of the labyrinth. Instead, the ice slowly melded into an entrance to another room. The hall which Dylan had taken to was completely swallowed by this formation, causing her fear to multiply with one horrific stare.