Queen of Ice (Through the Fire Book 2)

by Benjamin Medrano

  “Assuming the others have their amulets, I’m going to use it to track them down with the ring. It’s my tracking device, the one I mentioned when your mother was abducted,” Ruethwyn said, feeling her pack shift as Korima opened the top.

  “Oh! Yeah, they should have them. I’m glad you’re prepared,” Korima said, her tone relaxing slightly.

  “Me too,” Ruethwyn said, but she wasn’t nearly as confident as the kitsune.

  There was no way to know if she’d be in time for her other friends, after all.

  Chapter 35

  “You didn’t see any other way around except for crossing the river?” Ruethwyn asked, frowning at the river, along with the swamp-like ground in between. Examining her tracking device, the amulet sitting in the middle of a circular net of copper wire, two sets of wires glowed, pointing toward different locations on the other side of the river.

  The river wasn’t huge, as rivers went. It was maybe twenty to thirty feet across, but the water moved swiftly and if Korima was right about it actively stopping her from jumping over it, it was either enchanted or the abode of an annoyed elemental or fey. Ruethwyn suspected the latter, which could make passing difficult.

  “I looked, but I didn’t see any. Not to say that there aren’t any, but none I saw after only a few minutes. I thought about trying to tunnel around, but the stone here has enough ice laced through it that I’m not sure what’s solid and what isn’t,” Korima replied, looking much better than she had before since she’d taken the time while Ruethwyn had worked to pull out some healing salve for her face. Her skin wasn’t fully recovered, but it was improving quickly.

  “I’m glad you didn’t. Fey can be odd to deal with,” Ruethwyn said, eying the river more, then sighing. “Well, there’s nothing to do but to cross the river. Do you have a good route? I really don’t want to fall through the floor and drown.”

  “I do, but don’t you have your icewalking spell?” Korima asked, frowning. “You said it allowed you to cross almost any ice surface, no matter how thin.”

  “It does, but that takes mana, Korima. I’ve used a lot of mana so far today, and I’m trying to conserve what I have left,” Ruethwyn replied, shaking her head. “I can’t afford to use magic for everything, not under our circumstances.”

  “Ah, well, true enough. I didn’t realize… wait, how did you spend that much mana?” Korima asked, looking at Ruethwyn skeptically. “I didn’t think you’d used that much mana today.”

  “I’ve used several spells to search for ley lines, which is a decent expenditure, then I’ve kept up my icewalking spell for, oh… six hours? Maybe a bit less than that. I used a few other spells this morning, but nothing huge,” Ruethwyn said, letting out a sigh. “Then I summoned Zaria with atavism for a bit and built a shelter for the night… but that’s it, aside from helping you.”

  “Huh. Well, follow me,” Korima said, and cautiously began walking out toward the river, stepping among icy ponds and half-slush, half-mud berms. As she walked, Korima spoke softly. “Watch your step, some of this is kind of deceptive. I almost lost a boot earlier. Anyway… that doesn’t seem right, Rue. You should have more mana than that, at least in my opinion. You’ve practiced so much, and I can’t imagine the spells you cast are that draining.”

  Ruethwyn followed carefully, trying to put her feet in the same spots where Korima walked, though it was difficult with the kitsune’s longer legs. Her reply was absent since she focused on where she was stepping. “They aren’t. My mana core was damaged, Korima, and the capacity is reduced from what it used to be. Worse, it doesn’t seem to be growing anymore. Priestess Cora said that it was because my mana core sort of… crystallized when the dragonfire hit it.”

  “Gods, that’s horrid! I knew that it seemed like you burnt yourself out quick, but I didn’t know why,” Korima exclaimed, her tail flicking in agitation. “Is there anything you can do about it?”

  “According to them, yes. Destroy my core and start over, though that’s… risky,” Ruethwyn said, grimacing. “I don’t want to risk something like that before finishing what I’m doing, so it’ll have to wait. While I don’t have as much mana as I’d like, I have enough for now.”

  “Ah. I guess it works. I really hope this place can help you,” Korima said, edging around a particularly large mound of what looked like mud. “Careful, this one isn’t solid. Try to walk on it, and you’ll fall right through.”

  “Alright,” Ruethwyn agreed, wondering how Korima knew that, but she decided not to argue. They skirted the mound and finally reaching the river.

  “Well, we’re here. Now what?” Korima asked, frowning. “I don’t care to try jumping again.”

  “I doubt I could make the jump,” Ruethwyn said, smiling and walking over to the shore of the river. “Besides, if I’m not mistaken, we’re intruding in someone’s home. My apologies for my presence, I would not have intruded if there was not great need.”

  “And what need might that be?” A female voice like a flowing brook replied, the voice startlingly clear through the rumble of the falls and causing Korima to jump slightly. “What need allows you to intrude someplace that you do not belong?”

  “My friends were sent down here by a wisp that laid a trap for them, and if it were not for their presence, I would have left you entirely alone. I had no wish to intrude into your domain,” Ruethwyn replied, swallowing hard at the voice. She’d hoped it’d be a minor water elemental, one which would be more easily appeased.

  The water in front of her suddenly swirled, and a female figure rose halfway out of the water. Deep crimson hair the color of fresh blood hung into the water around the red-eyed woman and her skin was gray, reminding Ruethwyn of someone who was dead, not one of the living. The woman was attractive, though, with an athletic figure and fine bones to her face, even if there was no smile to be seen. She was also completely naked, except for what her hair covered.

  “I understand, even if such does not please me. Your friend has been rambunctious and disturbed the peace of my home,” The fey told Ruethwyn, her fingers playing in the water, and Ruethwyn tensed slightly.

  She recognized the fey and had no wish to attempt to challenge her, not here. With her mana, Ruethwyn wasn’t certain she could survive the experience, let alone win.

  “Um, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you. I didn’t think there was anyone else here,” Korima interrupted, bowing her head. “If I had, I would’ve been more careful. It was just such an abrupt introduction…”

  “Quiet, kitsune,” the fey replied, looking back at Ruethwyn and frowning. After Korima fell quiet, the fey asked, “What fey has a claim on you, elf?”

  “It’s not a claim, exactly. I have a contract with Zaria, of Frostflower Hall,” Ruethwyn replied respectfully, keeping Zaria’s words in mind. She almost paused as she saw the fey still but continued. “I have an unusual form of summoning magic, and she chose to agree to a contract with me.”

  “Ah. Interesting.” The fey watched Ruethwyn for a long moment, then asked, “Who are you?”

  “I am Ruethwyn Sylaris, originally of Mellesyn,” Ruethwyn told her. “This is Korima Lightweaver, of the Lightweaver clan.”

  “I have heard of Mellesyn. Its tale has been borne through the water. That you’re alive tells me much,” the fey said, then looked at Korima and smiled, a smile which worried Ruethwyn slightly. “The Lightweavers are known to me as well. So, if you should wish to give recompense, Korima… tell me a story.”

  “Um, what?” Korima asked, blinking in surprise.

  “Tell me a story,” the fey replied patiently. “One about when water rages.”

  Korima glanced at Ruethwyn, and she slightly inclined her head. At the encouragement, Korima nodded and smiled hesitantly at the fey.

  “As you wish. Let’s see… have you heard the story of the siege of Eltoth?” Korima asked.

  “No, I have not,” the fey replied.

  “Well, Eltoth is, or was, a city of giants in the far north. Th
ey had a long rivalry with the nearby tribes of kobolds…” Korima said, quickly getting into the mood.

  Ruethwyn listened, and watched the fey at the same time, quickly noticing the fascination in the fey’s eyes.

  The story wasn’t a complex one, in the end. Korima dramatized the battles between the diminutive kobolds and the massive giants, but as the kobolds had threatened to overwhelm the giants, who were far fewer in number, the giants had summoned the spirits of water and storm, and their magic had brought forth a great flood that had washed away their attackers. The flood had ebbed afterward, but never truly subsided, instead turning into a great river that flowed west to the Whitecap Ocean.

  When Korima finished, the fey simply waited for a long moment, then let out a soft sigh of pleasure before smiling ever so thinly and nodding. “A good story, and worth the intrusion. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. I’m not the storyteller that the others in my family are… I like gathering information to make stories, though,” Korima said, nodding happily.

  “Indeed,” The fey replied, then raised her hand abruptly.

  Ruethwyn flinched as dozens of tendrils of water lashed out from the river into the air, sending a spray of water over the two of them, though barely any water touched them. Instead, the water wrapped around something that glowed blue in mid-air, something Ruethwyn had thought was one of the bugs.

  “Eep! What is—” Korima began, then stopped, staring as the tendrils retracted, holding an orb of water around what looked like a shimmering blue face of an elven woman.

  “The wisp who dared drop intruders into my home,” the fey said, smiling as she took the orb and allowed the water to return to normal. “I will deal with it, for it overstepped its bounds this time.”

  “Oh,” Ruethwyn said, looking at the face, which was twisting angrily inside the water. It didn’t look much like an elf, the similarities were more superficial than anything else. After a moment, she shook off her distraction and looked at the fey, then asked, “May we cross your river? I would like to find my other friends, and I’m not sure if they’re safe.”

  The fey waved a hand and the water in front of them suddenly stilled and froze over, forming a bridge across the river. Her smile was almost terrifying as she nodded. “Of course. Pass quickly, young women. I do not care for visitors.”

  “Thank you,” Ruethwyn said, bowing her head, then hurried across the bridge. Behind her, Korima did the same.

  Moments after they crossed, the bridge melted away and the woman vanished back into the depths of the river. Without a word, Korima led the way across the swamp, her footsteps quicker this time. Ruethwyn followed close behind her, then into an exit. Only once they were out of the room did Korima stop and let out a breath of relief.

  “That was… interesting. I’m surprised you were willing to wait for the story, Rue,” Korima said. “I thought you were in a hurry.”

  “She’s a rusalka. They’re temperamental water fey, and while in some areas they’re benevolent, helping water fields and the like, here? The type I’ve heard of is renowned for drownings. Particularly of young men… let’s just say that I’m glad Tadrick didn’t show up here,” Ruethwyn replied with a shiver. “She’s also quite powerful, and we were in her home. I don’t think we’d have survived if she was upset with us.”

  “Oh. I think I’ve heard of those, come to think of it. I’m glad I didn’t know beforehand… I might’ve been a bit more nervous,” Korima said, shivering. “Where to now?”

  “This way, I think. I hope,” Ruethwyn said, nodding down a side tunnel. “The problem with tunnels is that they don’t always lead where you’re wanting them to.”

  “That’s the truth…” Korima muttered and began following Ruethwyn. As the hallway started darkening, the kitsune cast a spell to provide light, to Ruethwyn’s relief. She didn’t want to spend the mana on that, and she wasn’t about to use a torch after Zaria’s warning.

  The tunnel didn’t go where Ruethwyn had hoped. Neither did the second or third, and by the time she finally seemed to be getting close enough Ruethwyn’s mana had depleted significantly from keeping the tracker activated and she was tired, her legs aching from the day’s effort.

  “I think we’re close,” Ruethwyn murmured, growing worried as she looked around the tunnel, which had an unusual number of roots around.

  “Yeah… I think I can smell Tadrick, actually,” Korima said, sniffing the air carefully, then wrinkling her nose. “I’m also smelling a lot of dead vegetation. Not very pleasant, that.”

  “I believe you. I had no idea the ground below the Frostglades was this… complex,” Ruethwyn said, shivering and looking at the tracker. Letting it deactivate for the moment, she asked, “Do you think you can find him? I’m down to maybe a tenth of my usual mana.”

  “Sure, I can give it a try,” Korima said, smiling as she slipped past Ruethwyn, ducking under a large root and continuing along the dirt-walled tunnel, with the dozens of roots running through it and below them. The smell of dirt was almost overpowering, Ruethwyn thought, and she couldn’t imagine trying to smell anything under their circumstances.

  Korima circled the area, as there were dozens of smaller tunnels they’d found, and she frowned, looking around as she said, “His scent is pretty close to the same through the area, which is kind of odd. I’d think that it’d be stronger… unless, umm…”

  The kitsune looked down, and Ruethwyn’s heart sank as she replied. “Oh, he couldn’t possibly be below us? Or buried? That would be…”

  “Well, let’s see,” Korima murmured, then called out loudly. “Tadrick! Are you there?”

  A moment later, Ruethwyn thought she heard something and she tilted her head. “I thought I heard something.”

  “That’s because you did. He’s under here,” Korima said grimly, tapping a large cluster of roots. “I’m guessing a couple of feet down?”

  “Well, crap. That’s not good,” Ruethwyn said, frowning. There was more noise, but she couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

  “Nope. I’m not sure what to do,” Korima said. “If it was dirt I could shift it aside, but…”

  “Well, let’s see if we have another fey in the area first. Pardon me, is anyone there?” Ruethwyn asked hopefully, putting a hand on one of the nearby roots. There wasn’t a response, so she frowned and after a minute asked, “Hello?”

  A minute later Korima shrugged. “I don’t think there’s anyone there, Rue.”

  “I think you’re right. Pardon me, but if there’s a fey or elemental there… I’m going to use magic to find my friend, and I’ll try not to hurt anything,” Ruethwyn said, and relaxed as there was still no response. “Well, where is he, you think? I don’t have a lot of mana, and I’m not incredibly practiced with this spell.”

  “Okay, I think he’s about… here,” Korima said, tapping a group of roots with her foot. “The roots almost look like they’re layered over it.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Ruethwyn said, putting the tracker in her belt pouch and preparing herself for the spell.

  Casting the spell was much slower than Ruethwyn would’ve preferred, but she wanted to get it right, and painful prickle of mana washed through her arm as she shaped the spell. In front of them, the roots shivered, then began to move and part, the dirt churning around them as they did so. Moments later a voice spoke up.

  “Oh, please tell me that I wasn’t dreaming and that you’re not something planning to eat me!” Tadrick exclaimed, his voice filled with mingled relief and fear.

  The roots parted to reveal still more roots, and Ruethwyn almost lost her concentration as she saw her friend. Tadrick was bedraggled and caked in dirt, with roots wrapped all around his body and trapping him as he’d been buried. Obviously he’d had some way to breathe, but even so, he didn’t look like he was in great shape. He was also blinking quickly, likely mostly blinded by the light.

  “What happened to you?” Korima asked incredulously. “I mean, obviously you
got buried, but—”

  “Korima? Rue? It’s… oh, thank the gods!” Tadrick interrupted, sounding both relieved and dismayed at the same time. “Don’t tell me that whatever it is got you too! Can you get me the rest of the way out?”

  “Trying,” Ruethwyn replied through gritted teeth, suddenly thankful she hadn’t done more at once. She might’ve accidentally hurt Tadrick otherwise, and now she had to untangle the roots around him without injuring him.

  “Rue found out we were following her and came back to help us. I got dumped into a cavern with a river and an annoyed fey,” Korima explained as the roots slowly writhed. “What happened to you?”

  “I ended up in a dark room and created light, which pissed of a swarm of bats. They attacked, so I ran, and ended up dousing the light to calm them down. Then something glowing blue began following me, and roots started tripping and banging at me. That was it for a while, but then I tried to hit it with a shard spray,” Tadrick explained, gasping as one of the loops of root tightened a bit more than Ruethwyn had anticipated. After a moment, he continued, looking worried. “I don’t think it liked that, because the roots lashed out and dragged me underground. I’ve been stuck down here ever since, and I was beginning to think I’d die here. I thought I was getting delirious when I heard your voice, actually.”

  “That doesn’t sound like fun at all. Rue said that the thing that dropped us down here is something called a wisp, sort of like a malevolent ghost, but not undead,” Korima said, shivering slightly. “The fey we ran into caught it, though, and hopefully that means it can’t interfere anymore.”

  “Oh, good,” Tadrick said, then paused and looked down.

  At that moment, Ruethwyn had been trying to fully remove the roots wrapped around his feet, but before she could do more than loosen them she finally felt the last trickle of her mana run out. The spell came to an end, and Ruethwyn let out a sigh, relaxing as the pain of channeling mana vanished.