Frost Fire (Frost Series #6) (17 page)

“Love?” The Sorceress shrieked at them. “You genuinely believe
love
will solve your problems? Paltry fools – you can't trust one another. Rodney, you know Shasta will leave you one day....and Rose, you know that the one you love will never, ever return...”

“You be quiet!” Rose shouted. She quieted the anger within her. She had to focus on love right now, not hatred. She closed her eyes and began reciting. Shasta and Rodney squeezed hands, sending a pulse of energy – Summer gold and Winter blue – around the circle. “
We are the bearers of the Light,”
Rose recited from memory the words of the book. “
We cast out the darkness. We hold the magic of fey fire.”

“We are the bearers of the light,”
the others repeated.
“We cast out the darkness. We hold the magic of fey fire.”

A slow blue-and-gold flame began to glimmer all around them, the combination of the colors of Summer and Winter.

“Fools!” the Sorceress was getting louder now. “You'll never banish me! I'll be among you, always.”

But the flame grew brighter and brighter, as Rose squeezed her eyes shut tight, feeling the energy pulsing around the circle. Her love for her brother, her love for Logan, her love for Alistair and Shasta all melded together with her love of Feyland – a single passionate and directionless emotion that engulfed her, engulfed them all. They had to be heroes, now – there was no time for fighting, no time for dissent. They had to trust one another. Shasta and Rodney were holding each other's hands tighter now, as if in apology for their fight. Logan was holding on tight to Rose.

And the flame grew brighter still.

“
We hold the magic of fey fire!
” they repeated. “
We hold the magic frost fire
!” The flame was burning bonfire-bright, now, and Alistair began to twitch and jerk, screaming in two voices at once – his own voice melding with the voice of the Sorceress.

“I will never leave you!” It was the Sorceress's voice.

But the light was shining now, all around them, so bright it could be seen for miles. So bright that even the denizens of the Winter Court would be able to see it and they would, Rose knew, begin to feel the first glimmer of hope they'd felt in weeks. The heroes of Feyland were winning their first battle.

With a scream, Alistair collapsed onto the ground. Rose ran over to him, breaking the chain, and the light vanished. She peered into his face, breathing a sigh of relief.

“His eyes are blue again!” she exclaimed aloud. “They're blue!” She gathered Alistair into her arms, hugging him tight. “He's back! He's back...” She couldn't stop herself from laughing joyously, pouring out all of her relief into their embrace

To her surprise, Alistair pulled her into him, pushing her onto the ground and planting a passionate, spontaneous kiss upon her lips. She made a small sound of surprise, but did not pull away as he found her lips with his, kissing her with all of his pent-up love and desire. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Logan staring at them, a curious and grim expression upon his face.

Rodney and Shasta laughed and cheered as the two broke apart. Rose's heart was beating faster than ever – a mixture of joy and confusion. She was so glad that Alistair was back, that he was safe – but although his kiss flooded her with warmth and desire, something was missing. Something she could understand only out of the corner of her eye.

They rose, and to Rose's surprise Logan's hand was on his sword. “Wait!” he said harshly – so harshly that Rose flinched. “How do we know he's really turned back?” His sword was at Alistair's proof. “If you are the Sorceress still, I swear I...” He stared deep into Alistair's eyes, but Alistair returned the gaze, his blue eyes barely blinking.

“Don't worry,” Alistair said. “I know you're just doing your duty.” He patted Logan on the shoulder. “But worry not. You won't be called upon to kill your friend in Feyland's name today. It's me – the Sorceress is gone.”

Logan nodded, his face expressionless. He had, Rose thought, the hard nobility of the Fey at that moment – indeed, he had never looked so un-wolfish, so like a Fey, as now, as he swallowed down his passion and followed the call of his duty, willing to kill Alistair rather than see him possessed by the Sorceress once more.

Rose strained to listen in on his thoughts. But she felt nothing. Had Logan put up his mental block against her once again?

“Very well,” Logan said slowly. “I believe you.” He turned to Rose. “Your magic is strong,” he said, with a curious shaking in his voice. “The magic of true Fey.” He gave her a bitter smile. “I would have helped if I could have done, of course – but you know us Wolves. Our magic isn't strong enough for that.” He turned his face from her and she could not see his pain. “But one question remains, Rose. If the Sorceress has left Alistair's body – where is she now?”

Chapter 18

B
ut before the others could respond to Logan's question, a terrible shake began to make the mountains tremble. Stones began to tumble down the mountainside in an avalanche; the sky lit up with bolts of lightning, accompanied by savage rolling thunder. The group looked up in horror. What was going on?

“Look!” Rose cried, as several small cracks began to appear in the mountainside. Cracks leading down into darkness, into a deep and dank cave. Rose craned her neck closer to see in, and gasped at what she saw. Familiar shadows were emerging from the deep – witches and banshees, even Giants were making their way from the depths. Rose's heart stood still. She knew these figures well. These were the Dark Hordes.

“But how...” Rose whispered.

Alistair looked devastated. “It's my fault,” he said, his voice shaking, “if I hadn't read that book, we wouldn't have unleashed the Sorceress, and now she's free to unleash the Dark Hordes once again.”

“We'll have to fight them off,” Logan said gruffly.

“We're outnumbered!” Shasta exclaimed. “We wouldn't hold them off for long, even if we were fighting at full strength.” She shuddered as her eyes focused on the figures coming towards them. Last time, it had been she that summoned them – and only by returning them to the depths had she been able to attain some measure of redemption. But now she watched that redemption fall apart, shatter in a single moment. All that they had sought to do was destroyed in an instant. The Sorceress was back – ready to destroy Feyland.

“We'll need help,” said Logan, frowning. He leaped forward and raised his face upwards to the sky, howling furiously. His howl was soon echoed by hundreds, and then thousands, of others – the howl of all the wolves who had heard his heroic cry. He turned to Rodney and Shasta. “We'll need Summer and Winter knights, as many as we can muster. Can you do that?”

“We can try,” said Rodney, but his face betrayed his uncertainty.

Shasta touched her necklace, her mother's heirloom. Immediately it began burning bright – brighter than anything Rose had ever seen. The blue jewel was like a beacon, calling for help, summoning all of Feyland.

“The suns,” Logan said. “We need to do something to resurrect them. Otherwise the Dark Hordes will just come back. Without the suns, it's useless. We'll be able to fight off a few soldiers, but we won't be able to keep the Dark Hordes back forever. The Sorceress is clever.” Alistair and Rose looked at one another. They both knew in their hearts how strong the Sorceress's magic could be – after all, Alistair had experienced it. This was no child's game, no quest for a young up-and-coming knight to cut his teeth on. This was war – a war harder even than the darkest days of the Fey battle. So far, it seemed, the Sorceress had only been playing with them, lulling them into a false sense of security. Now she was ready to fight, and to kill them all. After all, had she not managed to bring down not just one sun, but two? Plunge all of Feyland into darkness? What made them think that they would be able to resist her?”

“Some of the Sorceress's knowledge stayed with me,” Alistair said slowly, “when she left. When she was in me, she could control my thoughts – but I could also hear hers. And I know what she's most afraid of. She's afraid of those suns – of their magic. A magic that can only be created by the combination of all the magic in Feyland itself. The very magic that keeps Feyland going from day to day.”

“The Sorceress!” Rose said suddenly, so suddenly it even surprised herself. “She's been lying to us. Thinking that she was there in Alistair. Thinking it was her in Panthea. But these are just spirits she sends forth – parts of herself. Not the whole, real thing.”

Alistair and Logan turned to Rose in surprise. “How do you know that?” Logan furrowed his brow.

“I...I don't know...” Rose fumbled for her words. “When I was reading the book aloud back there – something happened. Something that let me free Alistair. Something that gave me...all of a sudden, it's like I know things. Know
her
.”

“The book made you feel things?”

“I felt it!” Rose nodded. “The book – it's like it spoke to me or something. It's not just a normal book. It was forged by the very magic of the Sorceress herself. You see, all of those appearances we've seen so far – they're not real. They're only shadows that come from her. Because that's one of her titles. The Sorceress is called the Queen of Shadows – she uses these shadow-selves to split her soul apart and appear in hundreds of places at once, creating terror and chaos without ever risking being there in person. We haven't even met her yet – even though she knows us.” Rose sighed. “Her powers are so strong – stronger than we ever thought possible. All that we've seen – those are the powers of her shadows, nothing more. The book warned about this, about her wrath. She's using these shadows to test us – waiting for the right moment to show up.” She looked around. The Dark Hordes were getting closer.

Rodney and Shasta had joined hands, and a flame-colored light appeared from their union. It was the light of Summer, which Rodney was controlling, using his love for Shasta to channel his magic into a single, strong cone of light. Strong enough, they hoped, to lure the Summer Knights towards them. They could hear the trumpeting of horns in the distance – the sound, Rose knew, of the Winter Knights' approach. They had seen Shasta's blue light and were now on their way. Their wings were strong, Rose knew – they would not have to walk as she and the others had done, but would be able to fly to the mountain. Already she could hear the beating of wings in the air. The howls of wolves, too, betrayed another arrival: that of Logan's pack.

Rose recognized the woman at the head of the wolves. This was Josephine, Logan's cousin and friend, and a leader of one of the most powerful Wolf clans. Someone who wasn't to be trifled with. Rose couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy as Josephine, glorious and gorgeous in her power, shook her tawny mane, her muscular arms rippling as she howled in response to Logan's call.
With women like that
among the Wolves
, Rose thought,
why did Logan ever look among the Fey for his love?

“We're ready for action!” Josephine said, bounding over to Logan. “What's the problem?”

“It's worse than we thought,” Logan sighed. “The Hordes. Somehow they're back. The Sorceress...”

“Then the stories are real.” Josephine looked grim. “We've heard rumors before now, but we weren't sure. So many stories floating...”

“The Sorceress is back,” said Logan. “And she's sent forth the Hordes.”

But they were interrupted by another set of trumpets. This time the approaching figures were not wolves but fairies – a whole host of familiar faces. In the sky Rose could make out the glorious wings of Feyland's finest fighters – the silvery blue of Winter and the fiery gold of Summer alike. At the head of the army flew Breena and Kian, their faces serious and determined, their wings splendid as they illuminated the dark sky. Rose could make out other familiar faces – Barnaby, other knights she knew from the Summer and Winter Courts – but it was the sight of Breena and Kian that warmed her most. The two of them had fought back the Hordes once before – why should they not be able to do it again? They were the Frost Fire knights – the most powerful fairies in all of Feyland.