by Linsey Hall
Zoya stood and chucked the rock as far as she could. It landed about thirty yards away. Then the ice shattered beneath the rock, and the snow dropped away. The sound was enormous, like the earth was cracking in two. It echoed across the land, making my ears hurt.
A great crevasse had opened up, dark blue and glowing.
“Shhhit,” Nix breathed.
“Yeah. That’ll kill a person,” I muttered.
“It’s a drop floor trap,” Zoya said. “We can’t see where the snow will disappear from. There’s a pathway through, but danger on all sides.”
“Can you sense where the snow will fall away?” Roarke asked.
I focused my magic, reaching out toward the ground in front of me. All I got was an unclear sense that something was wrong. “Not really. There’s no temperature change, so I can’t tell where the danger lies.”
“That’s okay,” Zoya said. “I can get us through.”
“How?” Cass asked. “I thought you said you gave up your power when you ran.”
“The closer I get, the better it works. If they accept me back amongst them, I may regain all of my power. Then I could use it anywhere.” Zoya stood again and held out her hand, palm facing the snowfield. A blue light shined, shooting from her hand to the snow like lasers. The snow began to glow in blue patterns, dark and light.
“Whoa. Is that like sonar?” I asked.
“Kinda?” Zoya said. “I just have a gift for understanding the space around me, particularly if it is made of snow or ice. I couldn’t sense the geysers because they were heat. But this is all cold. The dark blue spots are where are hidden crevasses beneath the snow. They are ice caves. The white path is the solid snow. Drive your snowmobile only on the white, or you’re going for a long fall.”
“Cool,” I said.
“I’ll lead this time,” Zoya said.
She cranked her engine and headed toward the snowfield. Her magic stayed on the snow, glowing blue and lighting the way. We followed her in a single-file line. My heart thundered in my chest as we passed the crevasse that she had created with Nix’s rock.
The ground fell away steeply. The crack in the ground glowed dark blue as the ice wall stretched down into the earth. It was the most beautiful color I’d ever seen, but there was nothing but a frozen death waiting inside that crevasse.
Ahead of us, the patterns on the snow began to shift.
“The ground is changing!” I cried.
“That’s new!” Zoya shouted. “Go top speed!”
Zoya revved her engine, shooting forward at top speed. I cranked mine and followed. My friends did so as well. But we weren’t fast enough for the ice. It was shifting, the patterns of the drop floor changing with magic. Ahead of Zoya, her path began to turn blue.
Suddenly the ground cracked beneath her, that familiar sound of the earth breaking. The nose of her snowmobile began to tilt down. She was going to fall!
I threw out my hand and shot ice toward her, reforming the ground beneath her vehicle. I poured all my magic into it, creating a massive ice bridge. Her snowmobile gained traction and shot up the bridge and over.
We followed. Nix’s arms tightened around me. My heart was stuck in my throat as we passed over the bridge I’d created. I prayed to the fates that my bridge would hold and we’d make it across.
Finally, we did. I glanced behind to see Roarke, Cass, and Aidan follow. Pond Flower had no trouble as she raced across. She’d long ago adopted her protective black flame. Nothing could hurt her in that form.
Though the danger in the ice continued to shift, we made it off the ice field five minutes later. Once on solid ground—revealed to us by Zoya’s magic—we stopped our snowmobiles.
“Holy fates, that was terrifying.” Nix sagged behind me.
“No kidding,” I said.
“That wasn’t normal,” Zoya said. “They’ve advanced their protections in the years I’ve been gone. I’ve never seen a drop floor trap that moves.”
“It’s effective,” Roarke said. “Without Del, we’d be two hundred yards deep in the ice right now.”
“Yeah. Let’s keep moving.” Zoya nodded her head toward the sun, which was heading toward the horizon. “It’ll be dark too soon. We need to get to the safe house before nightfall.”
I did not want to know what came out after nightfall, so I nodded. Everyone else agreed, and we revved our engines and followed Zoya. The volcanos in the distance grew ever larger as we neared them. To our left, smaller mountains cropped up. In front of them, there were dark shadows on the ground.
Zoya noticed them, too, and veered her snowmobile away. We were still several hundred yards from the shadows, but I thought they were deep cracks in the earth. Not ice cracks, but down into the dark volcanic rock.
Fear raced along my skin, making goosebumps pop up. There was something about those cracks in the earth…
Red began to appear at the edges of the cracks. My gaze raced between the ground in front of me—so I didn’t crash my snowmobile—and the cracks that seemed to be bleeding.
“Zoya!” I shouted.
“I see them!” Her voice drifted back over the sounds of the engines. “Gun it!”
We cranked the throttles, and the snowmobiles leapt forward at top speed. But that didn’t stop the cracks in the earth from bleeding faster and seeping toward us.
“Holy fates!” Nix cried. “They’re giant crabs!”
I glanced back toward the red that swept across the snow, growing ever closer. But it wasn’t blood. It was a tide of massive red crabs—each the size of a pickup truck. They scuttled across the snow toward us, an endless wave. Black fangs protruded from their weird mouths, and black eyes glared menacingly. Their claws were huge and serrated.
“Demon crabs,” I muttered. These were straight from hell—no way anyone would be serving these up with butter and lemon.
“They’re magic! A spell!” Zoya cried. “But their bite is real!”
Some were faster than others, breaking away from the pack and nearing us. No way we could fight them all. We’d have to outrun them, beating off the fastest crabs who would drag us back to their brethren—if they didn’t devour us themselves.
Behind me, Nix’s floral magic swelled. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of her bow. She fired at the nearest crab, her aim straight and true.
But the arrow bounced off its eye.
“Shit!” She fired again, but this one bounced off the other eye.
If the softest part of the crab was impenetrable, then there was no way we’d be able to fight them.
“Fire!” Zoya cried from ahead of us. “Only fire will destroy them!”
Of course. They were magical creatures of the land of ice, despite their blazing red shells.
Nix conjured a flaming arrow and shot at the nearest crab. He was only forty yards away now—this needed to work.
The flaming arrow sailed through the sky and plunged into the crab’s black eye. It reared back on its hind legs, then toppled over onto its shell. I winced, hating to see any animal killed. Though the crab wasn’t truly real since it was made of magic. But it still looked awful. And it would have torn my flesh from my bones and devoured me, so….
I was okay with it.
Quick as a flash, Nix fired off more arrows. Though she was fast, there were too many crabs for her to hold off. Pond Flower threw herself into the fray, her protective black flame surrounding her. She lunged for a crab, who tried to snap her with its claw. She dodged nimbly, then went for his face. When her black flame touched the crab, it scuttled backward. She chased it away.
Aidan and Cass, both of whom possessed the gift of fire, shot jets of flame at the crabs, creating a barrier between us and them. Combined with Nix’s arrows and Pond Flower’s black flame, we had just enough to hold off the barrage until we were far enough away that they stopped attacking.
We’d gotten out of range of the spell.
My breath came hard and fast as relief welled in me.
<
br /> “That was close,” Nix muttered.
Pond Flower loped along beside me, delight in her flame-red eyes. She was really enjoying this. More than me, to be honest. I liked a good adventure, but this was too deadly. Thank fates we’d brought Zoya.
“We’re close to the safe house!” Zoya called back.
“Thank fates,” Nix muttered.
“No kidding.”
In the distance, the woods thickened. The silver birch trees gleamed white in the light of the setting sun. We only had about ten minutes of daylight left, I guessed. I didn’t want to be trapped out on this tundra in the dark.
Chapter Six
We slowed our snowmobiles as we traveled through the woods, finally coming upon a small cottage built of dark brown wood. Smoke billowed from the chimney. Zoya’s friend must already be here.
We pulled to a stop near the front. As I climbed off, my legs shook like jelly.
“What an adrenaline rush,” I muttered.
“I feel it too,” Nix said. “I think my heart has been going a mile a minute for the last five hours.”
Pond Flower perked up, her ears pricking high and her nose sniffing. Then she ran toward the side of the house. A crowd of big white huskies ran from behind the house, meeting her in a cluster. There were over a dozen of them, and all were fluffy as cotton balls.
“Huskies?” I asked Zoya.
She nodded. “Yeah. We can’t take the snowmobiles from here. Too loud. Vera brought us sleds and dogs.”
“Wow.” I’d never ridden in a dogsled before. The huskies were huge—each the size of Pond Flower, who was already unnaturally large. Their blue eyes were fiercely intelligent as they greeted Pond Flower with the usual butt sniff.
Even magical dogs couldn’t resist.
The door to the cabin opened, and a small, dark-haired woman came out. Her clothes were all black tactical wear, as if she were a Navy SEAL or something. Not exactly what I’d expect from an Ice Fae. Shouldn’t she be wearing a glittery blue dress like Elsa?
Instead, she looked like a tiny package of death, able to take care of business in silence with no one the wiser.
She ran for Zoya, embracing her tightly.
“I thought I’d never see you again!” Vera cried. Her dark eyes shined with tears.
Zoya hugged her tight. “I always wanted to come back, but couldn’t.”
“I know.” Vera stepped back.
The understanding on her face made me think that there was more to Zoya’s story than I knew, but I wouldn’t press her for it. None of my business.
“Come inside.”
We followed Vera into the house. It was bigger than it had looked on the outside, with an open kitchen, living room, and several doors leading off into bedrooms. It was rustic and simple, but homey, with a fire burning in the fireplace and a pot of something savory bubbling on the stove.
Vera turned to us. “You’re here to help with the demons.”
“Yes,” I said.
“Good.” Vera nodded. “Let’s have vodka, then discuss.”
Apparently Russian Ice Fae were as into vodka as Russian humans. I had no problem with that.
My friends and I took off our coats and other warm layers, then hung them on hooks by the door.
I caught a whiff of my own scent. Sweat. “Ick. I smell.”
“We all do,” Nix muttered. “Lots of stress and heavy snowsuits do not make for a lovely potpourri.”
“There’s a hot spring out back that you can bathe in later,” Zoya said.
“Thanks.” I would definitely be making use of that.
“Help yourself to stew,” Vera said as she pulled a couple of bottles of vodka from the small refrigerator and put them on the table.
I followed my friends to the big pot on the old stove, then filled my bowl with a savory combination of vegetables and broth. Surreptitiously, I poked around the bowl to see if there was any meat in it. It looked mostly like root vegetables, so I was probably good. I tore off a hunk of bread from the loaf on the counter, then joined my friends at the table.
Zoya sat next to me, reaching over to grab a bottle of vodka. She poured shots into the little glasses, then passed them around.
“We’d be sunk without you,” I said to her. “Thank you for the help.”
She nodded, her face grave. “I owed it to my people. They are in trouble, and you are the people who can help.”
“I hope so.” My stomach growled, so I ate a bite of the stew. It was hot and rich. Amazing. I chowed down.
Vera gave us time to eat and rest, but as soon as I’d finished my bread and soup, she raised her glass of vodka and looked at us all.
I took the cue and raised mine. Everyone else did as well.
“To closing the portal,” Vera said.
We drank. The vodka burned on its way down—this was no boxed merlot—but it felt appropriate.
“So, tell us what’s going on,” Zoya said.
“The demons have taken control of our village,” Vera said. “We were prepared for it. The prophecy said this would happen, so we had a plan in place. They believe that we are on their side because it’s the only way for us to stay alive. And for me to leave with the dogs. But we aren’t on their side, and we’re ready to fight. We were planning our attack when you contacted us, Zoya.”
“Good thing I did,” Zoya said. “Unless we close the portal, you’d be fighting until you died. There will be an unending stream of demons.”
“How many demons have flooded out already?” I asked.
“Thousands.”
I dropped my glass. It thudded to the table, thankfully sturdy enough that it didn’t shatter. “Thousands?”
Vera nodded, her face grave.
“Where are they?” Roarke asked, his voice sharp and serious.
“Gone.” Vera shrugged. “There are a couple hundred in the village at any given time as they adjust to Earth. Eating our food, taking our beds. But they soon leave, scattering across the globe.”
I slumped back in my chair, devastation a wasteland within my chest. Holy shit. Thousands. I thought hundreds, perhaps. Not thousands.
“How many demons are normally on Earth?” Cass asked. “Not that many, right?
“There are a couple hundred demons dispersed on Earth at any given time,” Roarke said. “They’re primarily mercenaries taken from hell by sorcerers with the power to help them cross over. Once on Earth, they have jobs that they were brought here for. It keeps the mayhem at a manageable level.”
“Now we have thousands,” I said. “And all of them are running free, with the Shadows as their only boss.”
“And the Shadows want you dead,” Aidan said.
“Along with other things,” I said. “Which we’ll need to figure out.”
“Later,” Vera said. “The first job is to close the portal. Cut them off and keep their numbers as low as possible.”
Thousands of demons was never going to be a low number. But I nodded. She was right. One problem at a time. Then we’d take this to the government. There was no choice. We were in over our head.
And I’d gotten us here.
I’d thought closing the portal would be my big battle. Nope.
Fighting thousands of demons was definitely the big one. And we still had to close the portal before we could even consider it.
“Are the Shadows in the village?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No. They came through already and are gone.”
“Damn. Are you sure we can’t leave now?” I asked. “To get there sooner?”
Vera’s eyes hardened. “Absolutely not. We’ll never make it in the dark. Not only are the traps hard to find, there are night monsters.”
Great. After the magical giant crabs, I wasn’t going to argue.
“We will leave right at first light,” Vera said. “My people will help you however we can.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“Could you use your gift to turn back time right at the
portal?” Nix asked. “You could go all the way back to when the portal was first formed and stop all the demons from ever coming out at all. Two birds with one stone.”
It was so tempting to try it. I could almost taste it.
I met Roarke’s gaze. Worry and skepticism darkened his eyes as he said, “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
I nodded. “He’s right. It’s been days that the portal has been open. Turning back time and changing history is forbidden. It’s so dangerous.”
“Having all those demons out there is dangerous,” Nix said.
“You’re right. But who knows what they’ve done while they’ve been out there? Bad things, yes. But sometimes bad inspires the greatest good. What if there’s someone out there who is being inspired to become a hero in the future?”
“I don’t know.” Doubt shadowed Nix’s voice.
“It’s not that far-fetched. Think of us. Our time in the Monster’s prison was horrible. But it brought us together and formed our future. And the world needed us to be together, so we could do the things we do.”
Understanding lit Nix’s gaze. “That’s a good point.”
An idea flared in my mind. “Cass, why don’t you call Aethelred. Have him scry to see if there’s any harm in us turning back time at the portal. I’m convinced it’s a bad idea, but having a second opinion will make us feel better.”
“Good idea.” Cass pulled her cell phone from her pocket and punched in the numbers. She waited a few moments, and I heard the low rumble of Aethelred’s voice grumbling about something.
Cass offered to pay him, then asked our question. There was a long silence. I had another shot of vodka as we waited, my nerves totally on edge. The liquor burned its way down my throat, warming my belly.
“Yeah, yeah. Okay.” Cass nodded as she talked to Aethelred. “A few minutes? Okay, great. Thank you.”
She hung up the phone and looked at the crowd. “Our resident seer says that Del is right. Aethelred wouldn’t tell me what would happen if we turned back time, only than it was a terrible idea in the long run. Extremely dangerous.”
“Damn.” Nix sagged. “That would have been great.”