“However, all of that pales before this.” Essryl allowed her anger to fill her voice at last as she continued. “The women in my wing are my charges, demon. If you harm or allow your minions to harm so much as a hair on their heads, I will tear you apart in the process of banishing you back to whichever hell you hail from. If you manage to significantly injure one of them, I will hunt you down on your home plane and end you. Is that clear?”
“Y-yes.” Hekara’s tone wasn’t arrogant anymore. In fact, she sounded quite shaken, which was good from Essryl’s point of view. She didn’t like it when people ignored her threats.
“Good,” Essryl said, removing her foot from the demon’s back. “Now, gather up your summons and make sure they understand the rules. I’d also suggest you pray to whatever you believe in that no one was killed by them. I’m going to look through the palace and check myself.”
Essryl stalked out of the room as Hekara pushed herself upright. Part of Essryl hoped that the demon would attack her while her back was turned.
She was slightly disappointed when the demon didn’t. It would’ve been nice to have an excuse to banish her.
Resvarygrath’s laboratory was brighter than normal, Essryl saw, standing with her arms crossed in front of her. She glanced at the two tables, and her suspicions of what Resvarygrath was doing grew more firm.
The two elven bodies which had laid on each were still there, but they were different now. Each was inside what looked like cocoons of shimmering black magic, and at the head of each of the tables was a device of glittering adamantine, steel, and brass, which held large crystal orbs, within which she could see glowing lights, and an encroaching darkness.
Resvarygrath stopped in the midst of mixing a variety of powders, finally seeming to notice Essryl’s presence. His deep, sudden scowl was menacing, but Essryl ignored it, simply waiting.
“What do you think you’re doing here?” The dragon demanded, his anger obvious. “I’m in the middle of delicate work, Essryl, and you aren’t supposed to intrude!”
“My Lord, lie to someone who’ll believe it,” Essryl replied tartly, glancing at the two cocoons derisively. “I’ll admit that you’re doing well at your project, but if you asked for my help this would be far easier. This is hardly what I’d call delicate work. Rebuilding bodies of those who’re dead is far easier than dealing with those who’re alive.”
“If I wanted your opinion, I’d ask for it. What are you doing here?” Resvarygrath snapped, setting down the mortar and pestle he’d been using.
“Your pet demon brought me here. She half-destroyed one room when she decided to make it into an improvised summoning chamber, and the hellhounds she summoned injured six servants,” Essryl said precisely, her tone flat. “If I hadn’t found one man when I did, your favorite cook would be dead, My Lord. She didn’t respect me, so I demonstrated why she should have some respect.”
“That…” Resvarygrath looked taken aback, then growled. “That stupid fool. She disrespected you? And injured my servants?”
“Yes, she did. Which is why I’ve interrupted your delicate work, My Lord,” Essryl said, slightly mollified by his reaction. “I’m starting to get frustrated with you. How much longer will your project take?”
“A week, possibly two. I’d moved the timetable forward because of our previous discussion, but I can’t move it forward any more than that,” Resvarygrath said, glancing at one of the tables, and the device atop it. “My devices need time to work.”
“Good enough. However, I’m having her apologize to you appropriately. If you don’t make things clear to her, I’m going to kill her,” Essryl told him, and the dragon let out another soft growl.
“Fine. I’ll also hold Court tomorrow, to make certain people know that I’m here, and that I’m not to be trifled with. Now go, Essryl. This isn’t any of your business,” Resvarygrath said impatiently.
“As you wish, My Lord,” Essryl said and turned to leave.
Slipping into the shadow plane, Essryl sniffed and murmured under her breath. “I don’t understand why you couldn’t simply take no for an answer, anyway.”
She flickered back into existence in the entrance to her wing again. She’d promised Lissa some lessons, then she wanted to prepare for another trip. Essryl was frustrated enough that she wanted something interesting, and Ruethwyn’s trip to Valisair should qualify.
Chapter 33
The border of the Frostglades wasn’t quite as stark as Ruethwyn had expected, though it was still quite obvious. On one side of the field, the trees were festooned with greenery, while the ground was covered by the bright shoots of new grass and other bushes.
On the other side of the field, no more than a hundred paces away, the landscape was quite different. Pine trees were almost the only type of tree Ruethwyn could see, and their branches were dusted with snow, while the ground was covered in snow drifts. In between the landscape was a mixture of the two environments, with scattered patches of greenery among snow, or snow and ice transitioning to mud.
It was the horizon that was particularly impressive, though, because Ruethwyn could see snow descending from towering clouds over snow-capped peaks in the distance, and much of the landscape was white. The difference was stark, and Ruethwyn checked behind her again, just to be sure she could compare the two properly.
“Told you that you didn’t need a guide to the border, Miss,” Selva said, the stocky elven woman chewing on a twig slowly. “It’s pretty danged easy to spot outside of winter.”
“I can see that. Beyond even the view, there’s something about the mana… maybe it’s just that I’ve interacted with an ice fey before, but I can almost feel the cold-aligned mana flowing out of there,” Ruethwyn said, taking a deep breath and feeling the cool air fill her lungs. After a moment, she let it out and nodded to the guide. “Thank you, Selva. I didn’t think I needed a guide either, but Sir Vintas insisted.”
“Hah! Well, he would do that. Our lord is a worrier, that’s for certain,” Selva replied, grinning in return. “Not that he’s wrong about how deadly the ‘glades can be, mind you. You certain you want to go in there? You’re on the young side for something like this.”
“Mm, it’s the only chance I have, really. To get the curse afflicting me removed in time, I mean,” Ruethwyn replied, then shrugged. “Besides, I can summon an ice fey, which should help.”
“If you say so. Good luck, ‘cause you’re going to need it,” the woman replied, then turned to walk away.
Ruethwyn watched the woman go, then turned back to the field, eyeing it skeptically before murmuring. “True enough, I suppose.”
She was surprised that Korima hadn’t put up more of an argument before giving up her attempt to convince Ruethwyn to allow her to come with. At least Sella and Tadrick hadn’t seemed inclined to join her expedition, which was somewhat relieving. In the end, she’d managed to come out to the forest edge alone, which was the safest way to do it, in Ruethwyn’s opinion.
Slipping off her backpack, Ruethwyn opened it to pull out the clothing she’d put on top. While her enchanted dress would keep her warm in virtually any weather, it wouldn’t protect her from getting snow in her eyes or the like, which was why she’d worn long underwear, trousers, and nice, heavy boots. It was rather warm at the moment, but she imagined that’d change shortly. Pulling out a coat, scarf, hat, and glove, Ruethwyn put them on, adjusting each carefully. She made sure to button the coat properly, as well as securing the chin strap on the hat. If it got blown off, her chances of finding the hat again weren’t good.
Getting her backpack on again was more difficult, but Ruethwyn managed well enough. After a few moments, she let out a soft breath and murmured. “Here we go.”
Ruethwyn was halfway across the border before she paused and cast her icewalking spell. While she was confident she wasn’t going to run into snow that was ten feet or more deep in her first dozen steps, that didn’t mean that it was smart to try delving into the Frostglades without pr
eparing herself.
Stepping into the Frostglades was quite interesting, from Ruethwyn’s point of view. The mana seemed to grow richer and more plentiful with every step she took, but there was something else about it, too. It was the presence of the cold nodes, Ruethwyn realized after a moment’s thought. The cold-aligned mana reminded her of how she felt when she’d summoned Zaria, though it was impossible to explain exactly how it felt. Taking a deep breath of the air, a breath that Ruethwyn could only draw so easily because she was protected from the cold, Ruethwyn paused and closed her eyes.
The forest around her was mostly quiet, except for the whispering wind as it played among the treetops. She didn’t hear any animals, except for maybe a few distant birds, and the world was almost restful. Cold, pristine… and lonely. It wasn’t a thought Ruethwyn liked, but she opened her eyes after a moment, looking around her again, then sighed and continued on her way. She left light footprints where she walked, but no more than that as she moved across a snow-covered landscape.
“Alright, this looks like a good spot,” Ruethwyn murmured, pausing a couple of hours later, looking at the ragged edge of a boulder that was barely peeking out of the snow. It might be the top of a ridge, but the sheer amount of snow on the ground made Ruethwyn uncertain of what it was. From things she’d heard, it was possible for entire valleys to be buried under the snow here, a thought which unnerved her slightly.
While she didn’t mind the winter, the idea of being buried like that was enough to make her nervous. Still, her spell would work better if she could make contact with stone or the earth, so she hoped the rock was part of the ground. It’d make things easier.
“Let’s see… I’ve probably made it six miles? Maybe seven,” Ruethwyn murmured, considering for a moment.
The previous day she’d checked to see about how close to a ley line she’d been, and she was about to do so again. If the spell worked right, not only would she be able to tell the direction the ley line was running, but she’d also be able to sense the direction and approximate distance of other ley lines in the region. Most cities were built near nodes, the points where ley lines crossed, and she hoped that the fair folk weren’t different in that regard.
Approaching the boulder, Ruethwyn used her teeth to pull her glove off. Slipping the glove into a pocket, she pressed her hand against the cold stone, the enchantments of her dress reducing it to little more than a cool sensation. The spell she was using was much like her magical detection spell, but this time she wanted to avoid alerting creatures that could sense mana of her presence. The power of the pulse was lower this time, and it was only meant to detect incredibly powerful sources of mana like nodes or ley lines.
Taking a breath, Ruethwyn slowly murmured the spell, the stabbing sensation of the mana flowing through her veins washing through her. Fortunately, the spell didn’t take too long, no more than a minute, and she shivered as she felt the mana pulse through the boulder. It was kind of like someone jumping down onto the ground and feeling the impact, but not quite the same. A moment later, she felt the pulse return, and Ruethwyn blinked, sensing the flow of the ley lines, one of which was closer than she’d expected.
Ruethwyn pulled her hand away from the boulder and reached into her pocket, squirming it past the glove to pull out the compass she’d purchased. Holding it level, she frowned thoughtfully as she examined the direction it said was north.
“Okay… either I’ve gotten completely lost and wasn’t heading north, or the first node is close to the border,” Ruethwyn murmured, tilting her head slightly and looking toward the direction that the ley lines seemed to be converging toward. At her speed, she should be able to cover another seven or eight miles before running lower on mana than she’d prefer for traveling. Nodding to herself, Ruethwyn stowed the compass again and put on her glove, turning to face the direction of the node. She might make it to the node, but she also might not.
She started forward, determined to follow the ley lines. If she’d looked back, though, Ruethwyn might have seen deeper tracks slowly following her own, but much farther behind.
“Ah, now this is a proper place to be!” Zaria’s mental voice was pleasant, and happiness flowed through Ruethwyn from the ice nymph’s consciousness. “Not that your academy was all bad, Rue, but it was also a bit uncomfortable for someone like me. Now, where exactly are we?”
“I can’t give you an exact location, but I can tell you that we’re about, oh, a dozen miles inside the Frostglades,” Ruethwyn replied aloud, smiling in response to the fey’s happiness. “I’m trying to find the fair folk city of Valisair.”
“I see. The Frostglades, hmm? I recall you mentioning them before… well, they’re certainly the type of place I’d enjoy,” Zaria replied playfully, and Ruethwyn felt the fey gently pushing her to look around.
She’d found a spot where she thought she should make a camp. Aside from a near miss with a section of snow that she suspected was the quicksand-like hazard, Ruethwyn had had an uneventful trip so far, which sort of surprised her. She’d expected to have to deal with something, but nothing had materialized yet. The area she was in was near a group of massive pine trees, their branches heavy with snow, and more snow was starting to fall from the sky.
“I’m glad you approve, Zaria. I’m told they’re rather dangerous, but so far they’ve proven to be fairly peaceful,” Ruethwyn replied, shaking her head. She did notice that it had seemed easier to summon Zaria than normal, and it didn’t seem quite as hard to maintain her presence, either.
“Of course they’re peaceful, at least for you. I’d be more surprised if you were having trouble,” Zaria replied, enjoying the sight.
“Hm? Why would you be surprised if I was having trouble here?” Ruethwyn asked, growing distracted.
“You’re wearing a dress made from ice lilies, and designed to keep you comfortable in the cold, along with having your contract with me. The amount of cold mana infused in your magic makes you blend into the environment here, mystically speaking,” Zaria explained patiently. “Most creatures wouldn’t bother attacking you, not with the faint scent of a fey on you. They don’t want to face an angry fey if one has claimed you.”
“Oh. Well, that does make this easier, doesn’t it?” Ruethwyn said, smiling slightly, then hesitated and asked, “What do I tell fey if they ask me about it, though?”
“Tell them that you have a contract with Zaria, of Frostflower Hall. That should deal with most winter fey,” Zaria told her. “Now, you wouldn’t have called me to chat for a bit, not with the pain it causes you. What did you call me for?”
“I was going to pitch a tent, but I realized that the snow might not be the best for it, and I remembered reading about some types of homes made of snow and ice from the north. I was hoping you might have an idea of how to make an igloo, I think they’re called,” Ruethwyn replied, feeling slightly guilty. “I learned how to shape snow from your presence over the year, I just don’t know how to make a building that would stand up.”
“Ah, that would explain it! Yes, I know how to build those sorts of buildings, though not specifically an igloo. That said…” Zaria’s voice trailed off for a moment, then she continued brightly. “Open your mind, Rue. I’ll share the basic knowledge, then you’re going to build your shelter yourself. I’m not going to do it for you.”
“I didn’t expect you to, Zaria. Thank you for the help,” Ruethwyn replied, smiling as she relaxed her mental barriers.
Zaria’s mind was alien in some ways, her thoughts so different, yet in others, she was quite relatable. It was what allowed Ruethwyn to slowly grasp the nature of the ice fey and to learn more about the sphere of ice and snow. Still, it was easier when Zaria was deliberately imparting information, and the construction of buildings from snow was something that didn’t really change between species. Well, it didn’t change much, since Ruethwyn wasn’t needing a shelter that would last for decades, and thus didn’t need to infuse mana into it.
“Oh. That… doesn
’t seem too hard,” Ruethwyn said, blinking. “Well, it would be if I was making it by hand.”
“Magic does make packing the snow and creating the bricks much easier. It still will take you a bit of practice, I suspect,” Zaria agreed in amusement. “Now, let’s see what you can do, Ruethwyn.”
“Indeed. Let’s see here…” Ruethwyn murmured, hesitating for a moment as she looked for a good spot.
She’d thought that a flat spot would be better, but what Zaria had shared indicated that a slope would be better, simply because it would allow her to use less snow to build the structure. The snow in her area looked firm enough, and her magic would easily help with fixing it if necessary. No, the key would be to avoid making a structure that would collapse too easily.
Finding a spot that looked good near one of the hills nearby, Ruethwyn took a deep breath and cleared her mind. Fixing things in her imagination, she extended her hand and paused, then laughed, murmuring. “It’d help to remove my glove, wouldn’t it? I’d probably mix up the gestures.”
“Most likely, yes,” Zaria agreed, sounding amused. “I would’ve teased you if you had, you know.”
“Not surprising, really,” Ruethwyn agreed, pulling off the glove and slipping it into her pocket. Then she prepared to cast the spell.
Queen of Ice (Through the Fire Book 2) Page 27