Coldmarch

by Daniel A. Cohen

  In the middle of the courtyard was a group of Jadan women on a raised platform playing wood and string instruments, together making extraordinary, complex music. I hadn’t known my people were capable of such songs. These Domestics handled harps and lutes and small drums with practised ease, swerving together through delightful melodies. They smiled and laughed as they explored melodies that were foreign to my ears, a far cry from the Khat’s Anthem. A few of them looked to be gambling at a long glass table shaped like a tear, playing Conquer. They giggled as the cards turned, putting up things like jewellery, and books, and even full Chills.

  Then I spotted the thorn in the garden.

  Flitting amongst the crowds of beautiful Jadans was a single man.

  His skin was fair – obviously Noble – and his hair was even more yellow than Cam’s. He was dressed in the finest robes, cut in black velvet and accentuated with a high collar to hide a lithe neck. This Noble was unusually tall, his cheekbones pronounced, chin strong and stubbled. He would be handsome in every light through which he travelled, starlight or Sinai.

  He moved from Domestic to Domestic with an impossibly broad smile stretching across his face. Bending over, he offered each girl a light kiss on the cheek, or a delicate brush on the shoulder, or a deep bow of respect. I could see him talking to all of them, and if I didn’t know better I would have said he was doling out small bits of flattery, his eyes glinting with desire and appreciation.

  This was the opposite of what I was anticipating.

  Perhaps this place really was a Sanctuary.

  To make things even more disconcerting, the Domestics all seemed receptive to the man’s charm. They smiled and curtsied and gently touched a ring on his hand as he passed. For all I could tell, this was the happiest gathering since the Great Drought.

  I stumbled back, even my feet seeming unsure of themselves now.

  ‘Can I look?’ Cam asked, his face sullen and concerned.

  All of a sudden pain pulsed into my injured hand. I touched my dead pinky finger and winced.

  At least I wasn’t dreaming.

  ‘Shivers and Frosts,’ Cam hissed as he looked through into the courtyard. ‘What in the Crier’s name is going— that’s him, Spout. That’s Ka’in, in the middle, talking to all of them. Damn, he’s so smug I just want to punch him in his face and rip out his yellow hair.’

  ‘I figured as much,’ I said, a sour taste in my mouth.

  Cam peered through the crack silently, taking it all in. After a few moments he stepped back and let the door gently close.

  ‘Whelp,’ he said, clucking his tongue. ‘I hate to admit it, but I’m rather jealous.’

  Split frowned, pushing forwards. ‘Let me see.’

  ‘That is one grand banquet,’ Cam said as the Pedlar wiggled past, giving me a conceding flip of his palm. ‘Way better than the ones back at the Tavor Manor. Maybe Shilah would want us to rescue her tomorrow so she could fill up on good food.’

  ‘No,’ Dunes announced, his voice low and gruff. ‘She won’t be out there. Tomorrow will be too late.’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Cam said, smiling. ‘There’s a whole plate of honey-crusted yams that—’

  ‘We need to find her right away,’ Dunes said, pressing his knuckles against his scarred cheek.

  ‘Sun-damned blisters, boy,’ Split said, pulling away from the door and rapping his knuckles on Cam’s head. ‘I think you missed a very important detail.’

  ‘What?’ Cam asked, holding a hand against where Split had struck. ‘That tub of Khatapples near the fountain?’

  Split rolled his eyes. ‘Did you even look up?’

  ‘Maybe.’ Cam gave a sheepish shrug. ‘Okay, no.’

  Split shook his head. ‘You’re lucky you’re good at accents.’

  ‘I’m a good warrior,’ Cam said.

  Split stepped away, gripping his crossbow tightly. ‘Take a see for yourself, Spout.’

  This time I tilted my face sideways so I could see above the courtyard.

  Five crossbows wouldn’t be enough.

  Just like the walls of the city itself, the Sanctuary courtyard was fully lined along the top. But instead of Closed Eyes, the whole place was ringed with Nobles. I did a quick count and lost track once I hit thirty bodies. The Nobles didn’t quite look like guards, though. They weren’t armoured, instead they were wearing silk robes and masks of black velvet. They surveyed the banquet with devious eyes, scratching quills against parchment. Some of them chatted quietly to their neighbours, but others seemed deeply lost in thought as they scribbled.

  I shook my head as I retreated from the sight, further in a daze.

  ‘Who do you think they are?’ I asked Split.

  The Pedlar turned to Dunes, suspicion all over his face. ‘Any guesses?’

  Dunes shook his head, but he did it far too quickly for me to feel confident.

  ‘Dunes,’ I said. ‘Please. I need to know. They outnumber us almost ten to one. And they’re not wearing any metal to aim for.’

  The big man let out a long breath, not meeting my eyes. ‘Hamman knew about a ritual.’

  ‘What sort of ritual?’ I prodded.

  ‘Something to do with the Fall itself. It’s not good.’ Dunes’s gaze went to Cam. ‘Horrible things that I would never want to be associated with, especially in the eyes of the Crierson.’

  ‘Is Shilah in danger?’ I asked.

  ‘Yes,’ Dunes said without pause.

  ‘Any guesses as to where this Beauty Room is? This is a big place.’

  Dunes shook his head. ‘This is a guess I cannot make. But I swear by every star in the Crier’s sight that I will—’

  A squeak behind us cut him off.

  All four of us swung around, crossbows aimed and at the ready.

  A lovely Jadan with a floor-length gown and long hair was standing in the middle of the hallway, both her hands held over her head. She must have turned the corner and found us huddling by the door, but froze instead of running away. She was also tattooed with freckles, and I almost couldn’t look at her straight on for fear of being distracted by her beauty.

  ‘I just needed to relieve myself,’ she said, her voice trembling and afraid. ‘I promise I won’t scream whatever you do, but you must know that he won’t be happy if you touch me. I’ve been made beautiful, just for him. He even promised my name wasn’t going to be in the scrolls this month.’ She slowly lowered a hand to the strap of her dress and let the front of it fall away, revealing the scarred breast beneath. ‘I’m his.’

  Cam gasped, looking away and holding his hand in front of his face.

  I glanced away too, but not before noticing the horrible thing that had been done to her body. Her entire breast was covered in scars from neck to stomach, the skin marred from some sort of cutting or burning. A wave of sadness steadied my resolve.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ I said, focused on my feet. ‘We’re not here to hurt you or touch you or anything. We just want to find our friend. She was taken here today by Ka’in.’

  The Domestic nodded, dressing herself once again. There was something telling in her eyes, wily even.

  ‘You know this place well, darling?’ Split asked, lowering his weapon.

  ‘I do,’ she said, her voice meeker than her expression.

  ‘You said “made beautiful”,’ Cam said. ‘Does that have anything to do with a Beauty Room?’

  The girl swallowed hard. ‘You said your friend was taken here today?’

  ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘Please. Help us find her.’

  The girl gave a single nod.

  And then she began to scream.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  ‘Move!’ Dunes made a vast sweeping gesture with his arms and then broke into a run towards the girl, charging at her with all the force of a battering ram. ‘Get Meshua away from the wall. Get him away now!’

  Cam thrust an arm protectively over my shoulder, ushering me down the hall, keeping my head tucked against his neck. I couldn’t hea
r much over the sound of the Domestic’s intense cries. They would be heard by every ear in the courtyard. They would alert the eerie masked men huddling above the banquet. She had her hands at her sides in fists, twisting the fabric of her dress, squeezing sound from every crevice in her chest. I’d never heard a Jadan make so much noise by herself, even under the touch of the Vicaress.

  Split huffed beside Cam and me, trying to keep pace. His crossbow smacked against the wall, ripping off one of the paintings, and the Abb was knocked out of the shaft. My heart jerked, sending me backwards to go after the rolling bead. Cam grabbed my arm and gave me a panicked look, his fingers firm and digging in.

  ‘Leave it, Spout!’ he shouted, yanking me towards Dunes, waving with his crossbow for Split to do the same.

  ‘No, I—’

  The girl’s screeching reached a new level.

  ‘We’ll make more!’ Cam bellowed. ‘Come on!’

  ‘Sorry!’ Split called, his pinky twisting back in his ear. The reverberations of the girl’s scream were so violent I wondered if the Pedlar’s fingers were going to come away bloody. ‘I didn’t mean to lose it!’

  I swallowed hard and then stopped my foolish attempt at recovering the Abb, letting Cam lead me down the hallway. I couldn’t let him know about the Frost. Better to let one Abb get away than let my secret get out.

  Dunes already had his hooked blade sheathed on his hip, instead holding the boilweed strip he’d silenced the guard with earlier. He swung behind the girl and wrapped her mouth. Her cries were shrill even after being muffled by the grey strip.

  ‘Behind me, all of you!’ Dunes commanded. ‘Now!’

  Even in such a crisis, with an army of enemies bearing down from the other side of the door, Dunes exuded enough confidence to give me strength. His nostrils flared wide as he breathed, the rest of his face motionless. He didn’t flinch even as the girl whipped her elbows backwards and landed bony knobs into his stomach and thighs and chest.

  The rest of us rounded behind Dunes as he raised his crossbow towards the courtyard door. His arm was as straight and unyielding as a spear, even as the voices on the other side grew louder, clearly coming our way.

  They’d be on us at any moment.

  ‘May I shoot, Meshua?’ Dunes asked, completely serious. ‘By your command.’

  The Domestic then tried using her feet to kick back at Dunes’s groin. She directly connected with one of the blows, but his grip still didn’t budge. I winced for him. His crossbow focused on the door, waiting for my signal.

  ‘Yes!’ I let out. Individual voices could now be heard in the courtyard. The door was about to swing open. ‘Shoot!’

  Dunes pulled the trigger and the Abb went soaring.

  He was the best shot of the four of us, and as expected the golden bead connected right in the centre of the door.

  The wave of Cold that resulted was so violent that it knocked us all backwards. Even Dunes stumbled. Impossibly cool wind burst across my face and arms, even thrusting into the boilweed wrapped around my fingers, making me gasp. The crack of wood was nearly as loud as the girl’s screams.

  A thick layer of Ice had shot across the blast point, waves of clear crystal sealing the entire wall around the door in the blink of an eye. The blockage was thick as a fist near the middle, sloping down as it met the corners of the corridor. The white tendrils steamed with mist and grasped their way towards the nearest paintings.

  No one would be breaking through any time soon.

  Dunes had accidentally let go of the screaming Domestic, who was now splayed on the floor, gaping in disbelief as she appraised the Ice. Her dress had ridden up, and I noticed more scarring on her thighs. She was no longer making any noise. Her lips trembled as her fingers caressed her face and the tangles of her hair, obviously in shock over the lingering Cold.

  ‘Is this one of his tricks?’ she babbled, hand smoothing her clothes back down. ‘I did everything he wanted. I’m beautiful. I’m his.’

  ‘It’s not a trick,’ Split said, making a calming gesture. ‘Everything is okay. I felt the same way the first time I saw the Ice.’

  She looked up at Dunes, full of awe and wonder. ‘Are you the Crier? But your skin … it’s like chocolate.’

  Dunes gave a heavy shake of his head. ‘No, child. Of course I’m not.’

  ‘Then who are you?’ she asked, her tone completely different now, every word genuine. Her hand shook as it pointed towards the mass of Ice, her eyes growing wet and red and distant. ‘Have you finally come to save us?’

  ‘I am only a protector,’ Dunes said, gesturing towards me with the crossbow. ‘He is the one—’

  Cam stepped in front of me, opening his arms wide and bowing towards the big man. ‘Don’t listen to him. This is Meshua. And yes, he’s come to save you.’

  ‘That’s your name?’ she asked Dunes, the freckles on her cheeks glistening from spilled tears. ‘Meshua. What does that mean?’

  ‘My name is Dunes,’ he said, with all the gentleness of a broken bone.

  Someone pounded from the other side, the sound diminished to a gentle thump by the Ice. The door didn’t budge. The blows doubled, then tripled, but the sound could barely be heard, the danger in the hallway no more than a distant memory.

  Sanctuary.

  ‘I don’t understand.’ The girl put her thumb in her mouth, biting down hard. ‘It’s so Cold. I don’t understand. Who are you Jadans?’

  She said ‘Jadans’ as if she wasn’t one of us. I frowned.

  Cam made a wild gesture with his arms at Dunes. ‘He’s Meshua. The Coldmaker. The Crier’s son. The—’

  Dunes looked at me with a face full of horror. ‘I am most certainly not!’

  I dropped my crossbow and kneeled down at the girl’s side. ‘It doesn’t matter. But we’re here to find our friend. Please, will you take us to find her? She needs help.’

  Any mischief in the Domestic’s face had changed to pure terror. Her eyes were locked over my shoulder, bulging at the sight of the Ice. She was even more beautiful up close, her hair thicker than the bow on my weapon. I made sure not to inhale the intoxicating smell wafting from her neck.

  ‘I can’t,’ she whispered, completely afraid. ‘It’s a trick. I know it’s a trick. I’m loyal and beautiful.’

  ‘Please,’ I said, imbuing the word with everything I had in my heart.

  She paused, looked me in the face, and then shook her head. Her expression became distant and haughty. ‘Never. I am his.’

  I sat next to her, defeated.

  ‘Please,’ I said, one last time.

  Then she started screaming again, her face full of defiance, eyes spilling over with hate.

  Dunes came over, lifted her up, and then snapped her smallest finger. The screams stopped as the girl stared at her hand, her finger now sideways and angled.

  Then the screams doubled.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Cam yelled, hands over his ears.

  Panic settled in my chest. I was too overwhelmed to know what to do.

  Dunes muffled the girl’s mouth with the boilweed and then growled in her ear, wearing the mask of Hamman. ‘You disrespected the merciful Meshua. I am not merciful. You will lead us to this Beauty Room. And every wrong turn you lead us down I will break another one of your fingers.’

  Without so much as a pause Dunes had her next finger ready to snap.

  The girl started sobbing beneath the boilweed.

  Split looked as if he might cry in sympathy. ‘Dunes.’

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ Cam said, tugging at his hair. ‘He didn’t mean that.’

  ‘I mean it,’ Dunes growled, his teeth gnashing. ‘Which hallway to the Beauty Room? Left or right?’

  ‘Dunes, stop,’ Cam whimpered, staring at the tilted finger.

  ‘We will find Shilah,’ Dunes barked. ‘And this girl knows where.’

  The Domestic took one more look at her pinky and then shook her head. She looked much less sure of herself this time.


  Dunes tilted his head, looking confused, and then he vomited. A little splashed into the girl’s hair on the way down. She looked mortified, more so than when he’d broken her finger.

  I stepped back, away from the foul puddle, although not much had come out of him this time.

  Dunes took a deep breath, the fury returning to his face. ‘Which hallway, girl? Now. Left or right?’

  The girl hesitated, closing her eyes, trying to escape into her head.

  Dunes turned to me, bile dripping over his bottom lip. ‘By your command, Meshua.’

  ‘She’s Jadan,’ Cam said, terror in his words.

  I looked inside myself for the Spout from the barracks. I called out for guidance, trying to summon the Inventor. This girl was family, and it wasn’t right to torture family. She was born Jadan, which meant she never stood a chance at a fair life, and whoever she was now was not her fault. There would be another way. I yelled all that and more into the abyss.

  The words disappeared.

  Something did rise back up, however.

  Shilah’s face stared back at me, rigid with pain. Her normally straight back was spasming in all directions. Her braid was whipping as her neck snapped back and forth. She wasn’t screaming out, but instead, a single golden tear spilled down her face, burning a trail in its wake.

  I opened my eyes. It had to be done.

  The Inventor was missing.

  The Warrior stood in his place.

  Cam shouted something, but it didn’t change my mind. This Domestic was family, but she was also the only way to find Shilah. And now, because of this girl’s choice to scream, the Nobles and guards would be after us. They would find another way around our Ice, and hunt us down. The other Hookmen and the Vicaress were sure to follow suit. We no longer had the luxuries of stealth and time because this Jadan girl had chosen Nobles over family.