Maid of Ice

by Shona Husk

  “You think?” Alina snapped. She blew out a breath. “We need to get Finley to the tomb and wake the Keeper.”

  Finley shook his head. The walk up here had been bad. His joints ached and his muscles burning. His body was breaking down. He was only slightly more alive than Walter. “I can’t walk anymore.”

  “Yes, you can. This doesn’t end like this.” Her eyes glittered with tears.

  “The future isn’t fixed.” He wished it was. That hopes couldn’t get snatched away because of one wrong move, but all Alina had seen was what was going to happen if they stayed on their current path. That path had now been changed.

  Kirin picked up Will like he was a sack of potatoes. “Don’t die just yet.” He headed into the forest.

  Alina sat next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. Walter lay in front of them, gazing up at the sky. His eyes were already clouded and his skin dull like he’d been dead for a while. Without magic, he was decaying.

  Finley, while breathing, was doing much the same because of the iron.

  “How bad is it?” Her voice was soft.

  “Bad.” He undid the bandage on his hand.

  Alina gasped.

  The wound still leaked blood, and now pus, but it hadn’t healed. It would never heal. The skin around the edges was dying and the stitches were tearing free. His body wasn’t even bothering to fight the infection. It couldn’t. That was something else he was worried about. Infection. He was fucked even if the Keeper did take the iron out of him.

  “What can I do? Do you need a drink or more painkiller?” She grabbed a bag, ready to rummage through and give him whatever he needed. There was nothing in there that would help him.

  He’d need a dose of silver and antibiotics and more than a little magic to even get close to being okay. It was a mess and it hurt like someone was sawing at his palm. He covered the wound back up. He didn’t want to see it either.

  “The iron poisoning is well advanced. I’m not going to die right away. I probably do have days like Walter said, but it’s only going to get worse. I can feel my body starting to die and it’s not pleasant.”

  He couldn’t eat. His stomach couldn’t tolerate food. Little sips of water weren’t too bad, but by not eating he was only getting weaker. If he didn’t drink, he’d dehydrate. At least if he was unconscious he wouldn’t be in pain.

  Alina put her arm around him. “I love you. I don’t want you to die.”

  “I don’t want to die either. I love you and I want to have a life with you.” He held her tight. “Maybe the Keeper will help.”

  But he wasn’t counting on it.

  He wasn’t hoping for anything anymore.

  Chapter 24

  The tomb appeared to be just another rocky area with a few gangly trees trying to survive in the cracks between rocks. It didn’t feel special to Finley, but then his magic was dead.

  Kirin had carried him, the same way he’d carried Will.

  He should’ve tried to walk, but the pain was too great even when sitting and he hadn’t wanted to get here any more dead than he was. He was pretty sure that Will wasn’t the only one with some internal bleeding. His stomach burned, like the ulcer he assumed he had had ruptured.

  Living through this for a few more days would be torture.

  “What now?” Alina wrapped her arms around her body. Finley wanted to hug her, but if he had no words of comfort for himself he had nothing for anyone else.

  Archie studied the sky. The sun was starting to set. Where they were standing would be in shadows soon. Would they even get off the mountain before dark? “Now we make the circle and open the tomb.”

  She made it sound easy, as though she’d done it a hundred times before. She walked a circle dropping salt as she went. Kirin followed with water. Archie did a second lap this time holding a flame, Kirin used the flame to light incense and close the circle made with all four elements.

  Finley couldn’t feel the circle, even though he knew it was there. He couldn’t remember a time when he couldn’t feel magic. He hoped if he survived his magic would come back. But if that was price of living he’d pay.

  Archie stood in the middle of the circle near a fissure in the rock. She cut Will’s hand and let it run into the crevice. Will moaned. The crevice must be the opening to the tomb. Then she stepped to one side and put her hands on the edge of the rock and Kirin did the same. Finley watched, not sure what they were about to do. Then he realized they were waiting for the shadow to cover them. The shadow progressed inch by inch then sped up as the sun dropped behind the mountain. The temperature dropped immediately.

  “Oh God.” Alina stepped back, then knelt at his side. “It’s awake. I can feel it moving.”

  Archie and Kirin peeled the slabs of rock up like they were drawing back bedsheets. He knew that kind of magic took effort, but they made it look easy.

  When Kirin glanced at him he knew this was it. They’d woken the Keeper to save him. Now convincing the Keeper that he was worth saving was his problem.

  “Help me over.” He was not going to be laid out like an offering. He would greet the Albanex on his terms, and then beg for his life on his knees.

  Kirin rolled Will closer to the fresh opening and then gave him a little nudge. Until that moment it hadn’t been real. Will vanished into the ground. Finley looked away. He wanted to feel guilt about Will’s death, but the pain he was in and the anger that Will had caused this had eroded all compassion.

  The forest stopped breathing and the ground trembled. An earthquake rippled beneath his feet as the Keeper stretched and woke to the scent of blood.

  Finley shuffled closer to the opening in the rock, Alina keeping him upright. No one was telling him to stop, or that this was a bad idea and they should go. This was it. If the Keeper didn’t help him he was dead.

  What were they going to do with the Keeper now it was awake?

  Was it awake?

  Waking a vampire that was thousands of years old was a bad idea.

  Someone screamed. Alina flinched. He didn’t want to take another step. Sure, the Keeper couldn’t drink Finley’s blood, but it didn’t have to help him either. What if it had woken up really grumpy? Some people were like that, and they didn’t deal well with being hungry either.

  How hungry was it?

  Should they have brought more people? It had been a long time between meals for the Keeper. They had no idea what they were doing or what they had done. No good would come of it.

  Finley stopped before his thoughts could get any darker. They couldn’t put the Keeper back to sleep now so he might as well beg to be healed. He forced himself to walk to the edge and peer into the darkness. It was complete. He couldn’t see anything, but something, someone, moved inside.

  He gave Alina a nod; he didn’t want her any closer than she had to be. Even Archie and Kirin had stepped back to the edges of the circle.

  Please don’t tear me apart in front of them.

  Finley waited. He did not want to go down there.

  The movements drew closer, followed by the distinct sound of someone climbing up steps. What had he expected, a pit? This was a tomb that had been created and hidden. It had been prepared for the Keeper.

  Finley stood still when all he wanted to do was sit. If he’d had the strength to back away he would’ve.

  Short blond hair emerged into the moonlight.

  He held his breath not knowing if he was going to be staring into the face of a monster, or if the man would look Albah.

  The Keeper glanced up. He didn’t seem to be old, or at least no older than Finley. The Keeper’s skin was dull as though he’d been ill for a very long time, and it clung to his bones as though he hadn’t eaten in too long and was on the verge of starving. His eyes were a washed-out blue. His ears were longer and more pointed despite the fold.

  Their
gazes locked and the Keeper spoke. Finley knew English and a little Spanish but the Keeper didn’t speak either of them.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t understand.”

  The Keeper paused, as though catching his breath, even though he no longer breathed, before finishing his climb. He spoke again, looking at Archie, then Kirin and Alina. In a couple of quick steps, he moved toward Alina and grasped her chin.

  “No.” Alina’s voice was tiny, but she didn’t pull away from the vampire.

  “Leave her alone.” Finley said with more strength than he thought he had.

  The Keeper sniffed her. Then touched her red hair and her straight ears. He’d thought Alina was human. He was still hungry and in need of more human blood. After another moment, he released her and turned his attention to Finley.

  Before the Keeper decided to take off in search of food, Finley wanted to be healed. They hadn’t done all of this for nothing.

  “Finley Ryder.” He tapped his chest, then he unwound the bandage from his hand.

  The Keeper studied him and spoke rapidly, before bowing his head briefly. The Ryder name had carried some weight even back then. Or maybe the Keeper thought he’d woken him and was giving his thanks. Finley had no idea.

  No one said anything. Archie was watching with narrowed eyes as though ready to spring forward and protect him. Kirin’s expression had hardened. There was no wonder or excitement on his features. They were the first people to speak with one of the Keepers of the Law. A man who had been Albah thousands of years ago. Finley didn’t want to be too excited, not yet. He was too busy trying not to fall over. Cold sweat was running down his back, and staying upright was a struggle.

  The Keeper lifted his head and stared into Finley’s eyes. The pale blue gaze froze him to the marrow. This creature had untold power even though he was weak. When fully recovered from his sleep he’d be unstoppable. No Albah had magic that could match him. How powerful had the Albah once been? How much of their magical knowledge had been lost?

  In that moment, he understood Walter’s obsession, of wanting to relearn what was lost and become more. They could reclaim their lost heritage and power. Their magic could help the world.

  “Carr.” The Keeper tapped his chest then he held out his hands, palms up.

  Finley mimicked, he had no idea what else he could do.

  The Keeper studied the wound. He poked it and shook his head. Finley did the ridiculous mime of eating something.

  Carr pointed down to the hole in the ground. Finley guessed he was asking if Will was responsible, so he nodded. Whatever Carr said next was in angry tones. Maybe that hadn’t been what he’d been asking. Maybe he was refusing to do anything until he got more food.

  Finley dropped to his knees, which was far too easy. He wasn’t getting up again. “Please. I need your help. The Albah need your help.” Maybe with the Keepers the Albah could recover. They didn’t need to rule the world. They just needed to survive.

  “Albah.” He pointed at Finley, then he pointed at himself. “Albanex.”

  Some words hadn’t changed over the centuries.

  “Finley…Albanex?” Carr asked.

  “No! Albah.” He wanted to stay Albah. Alina seemed ready to break the circle and run and he wouldn’t blame her if she did.

  Carr’s grimace tightened as though he wasn’t liking the odds of Finley surviving.

  He indicated for Finley to lie down. It was more of a grateful collapse. The rock bit into his back, but he didn’t care. He glanced at Alina and tried to smile. She smiled back, but it was strained. Not even she expected this to work.

  Carr lifted Finley’s wounded hand. His touch was like ice and his grip was strong like iron, despite his weakened appearance. Finley couldn’t help but feel he was about to get his very own miracle. Or a merciful death. Either would be fine as long as the pain stopped.

  It was no wonder that the Albah had been worshiped. They could heal in a time when medicine involved guesses. When there was no antibiotics—

  The worst pain he’d ever felt ripped through every part of his body. His skin was being peeled off like he was an orange being prepared for eating.

  Then he passed out.

  * * * *

  “I’m too late. It’s been awakened,” a woman said.

  Alina tore her gaze from Finley who was unconscious and hopefully being healed. Her mother stood on the other side of the circle, a circle she could feel pulsing around her. Alina had found out who she was, and understood the magic in her veins. It wasn’t something that should be hidden or denied.

  It was something that could help and heal.

  “It was the only way to save him,” Archie said. “You’d have done the same to save your daughter.”

  The vampire didn’t look up from what he was doing.

  Alina’s mother was silent, her gaze taking in the scene before she shook her head. Her mother wouldn’t have woken a Keeper for her. She hated magic that much that she’d have never turned to it for help. It stung that her mother’s hate was stronger than her love.

  “Magic doesn’t have to be bad, Mom.” Why couldn’t she see that?

  “Magic has brought vampires back into the world. The Guardians will destroy us.” Her mother took a step forward her gaze on Carr.

  “Do not come closer.” Archie held up her hand.

  Carr was becoming more shrunken, his skin grayer. He pointed at Alina’s dark-haired mother. “Albah?”

  Alina nodded. Carr hung his head. Healing Finley had taken what little energy Will had given him. They’d woken him and now he was going to die before they got the chance to learn anything, like how to heal those with iron poisoning.

  “If we hide and allow ourselves to go extinct the Guardians will win anyway.” Archie put her hands on her hips. “Maybe the world needs magic. Everything is out of balance. The world is off kilter. Albah are part of that balance. Magic is part of nature.”

  But Alina knew her mother’s expression too well. She wasn’t listening.

  “That isn’t natural.” Her mother pointed at Carr. No one had an argument for that. “Are you going to be the one to decide who dies to feed it, to feed them all? Who decides when to make more? And who gets turned? This is why the Guardians hunt us. Kill us. Because we kill them.”

  “Mom, please.” They’d work something out. It wouldn’t be like it was before when people feared vampires. It couldn’t be.

  “You think I’m the only one? There are plenty of Albah who hide and watch those who are too free with their magic.”

  “And what do you do with that knowledge?” But Alina could make a good guess. She knew how the Guardians learned vampires were being made and who to hunt down. Her mother was a traitor to her own people. Her stomach twisted.

  “She reports them to the Guardians of Adam.” Archie’s voice was flat, but she didn’t sound surprised. “Leave now.”

  Alina’s mother stood there for a moment then she reached out a hand. “Alina, don’t ruin your life chasing magic.”

  Alina looked at Finley, who hadn’t moved and didn’t seem any better or worse. Then at Carr, who’d finished doing whatever it was he needed to do to draw the iron out of Finley, a man who spoke no English but held the secrets of the last Albah civilization. He’d lived history. And her mother wanted to destroy it all. “You want all Albah dead? All magic gone? All because your father had an obsession?”

  “And now you have the same sickness.” Silver flashed in her mother’s hand. The knife flew through the air, and crossed the circle as though it didn’t exist.

  Carr looked up.

  Kirin yelled.

  Archie flung rocks and dirt into the air to block the path of the knife, but it was too late.

  The silver blade lodged in Carr’s shoulder and he toppled back. Already weak from his long sleep, and drained from healing Finley
, he didn’t get up. Fine black lines spread from the wound. His skin crumbled away as though he were made of dust.

  “No!” Alina went to him. Carr had healed Finley. There must be something they could do to help him. She pulled the knife free and let it fall to the ground. She pressed her hand over the wound, but there was no blood spilling. Beneath her palm, Carr disintegrated as though he’d never existed. “No.”

  She stared at her palms and the man-shaped spread of dust on the rock. A breeze swirled through, erasing the outline.

  The circle fell.

  “I can track the traitor,” Kirin said as he started after Alina’s mother.

  “Let her go. There’s no point,” Archie said.

  Kirin took a few more steps then snarled. He put his hand on the ground and it shook. “She’ll tell others.”

  “We can’t keep the rising of the Keepers a secret. They are waking. Earth Albah will be feeling the stirring even if they don’t know what it means. If we aren’t there when they wake, they’ll feed themselves.”

  No one needed that explained.

  “And we are to feed them?” Kirin managed to appear even less impressed than he had before they’d woken Carr.

  “We need to seal the tomb.” Archie put her hands on the rock to do the impossible feat of tucking it back in.

  Will would never be found unless someone drilled into the cave. All traces of Carr would be gone by morning, blown away by the breeze. Alina doubted there’d be much of Walter left come morning, even though he hadn’t decayed as fast.

  She was hollowed out from the deaths and the shock of her mother’s betrayal. She couldn’t help Archie and Kirin, so she went to Finley. His pulse was weak, but he was still alive.

  Chapter 25

  Alina stood on the edge of the Grand Canyon with Finley’s arms around her as his parents took some photos. The new silver and blue diamond ring on her finger gleamed. He’d survived the iron poisoning, but hadn’t woken for several days after being healed. They’d had a Vegas wedding squeezed into his production schedule and while both his parents were still in the country. It probably was a dumb thing to do to marry a man she’d met less than two months ago. But it felt right.