Overcome by curiosity she resumed her progress toward the two figures, slower than before, not wanting to draw attention to her approach if there was a chance she might overhear part of their conversation. She wouldn’t have to get much closer. Her hearing was impeccable when she wanted it to be. Focused on every step, she balanced on top of the icy layer on the ground, silent, stealthy, blending in with the white landscape under the cover of the blowing snow. As she covered the distance she could see Edric’s face more clearly, a look of displeasure contorting his gentle features. Occasionally he would move to step away, stopped by Sahra’s hand grabbing onto his, desperate, stumbling forward to keep him near.
“Your Highness. Please, listen to me…”
“I have heard enough, Sahra. I told you that last night and it remains true today.” Edric twisted away from Sahra’s grasp, turning his back to her. A clear indication of his disinterest in continuing the conversation. Neomi’s frown deepened to see Sahra reach for him again, her fingers barely brushing the fabric of his cloak. She wasn’t sure what the customs were for their people in regards to behavior toward the royal family but among the Ovatai it was unheard of to show such disregard in the presence of the Chief and his relatives. For Sahra to take liberties in her physical contact with Edric seemed appalling, especially given his obvious disapproval in furthering their communication.
“Edric, wait!” Sahra’s voice rang out through the village. Edric’s body stiffened at the sound of his name, spinning around to face her again. He never completed the motion, instead catching sight of Neomi standing a few feet away, their eyes meeting briefly. She tried to hold his gaze, surprised to see him quickly turn, hurrying from them both into the central area of the village, making no attempt to say anything.
Neomi’s eyes narrowed, offended by the slight. He ignored her. There was no doubt in her mind that he’d seen her yet he spurned her by walking away without the slightest acknowledgment. Who was he to turn his back on her?
With long strides she moved after him into the village, determined not to let him go so easily. She needed to speak with him. If there was any chance of her understanding the strange emotions she suffered since meeting him, she had to get him alone somewhere that they could talk. Rejection wasn’t something she accepted lightly. It wasn’t something she was prepared to accept from him at all.
The snow made it difficult to keep him in her line of sight though the dark color of his cloak improved visibility, the outline of his body weaving in and out between the crumbling homes, never once looking back. She opened her mouth in preparation to call for him when suddenly she found her path blocked, intercepted by the stern face of the Vor’shai Captain, a faint, forced smile present on his lips. “Is something wrong, Neomi? You appear to be looking for someone.”
“I was looking for your Prince. Why does he avoid me? I will not tolerate the insult.”
“I believe the poor man is avoiding women in general these days. Try not to take offense. Is there anything I can assist with?”
“You can get out of my way so I can find Edric.”
Callum’s smile faded, replaced by an almost stoic demeanor. “I cannot do that,” he replied calmly, shifting his weight to prevent Neomi from stepping around him. “Is there a message you would like me to pass along? I will see that he gets it.”
She stood there, unsure of how to react. He dared stand in her way? The change in his mannerisms gave away his intentions. It was no coincidence that he appeared when he did. He’d been watching her, no doubt aware of her curious eavesdropping on Edric and Sahra. But why? What did he hope to accomplish by coming between the two of them? “Step aside, Captain. You are out of line.”
“Neomi,” he said softly, casually scanning the area to make sure no one was around. “I mean no disrespect when I tell you it is best that Edric be left alone. If you need assistance with something, I am more than willing to do what I can. There is little else I can offer at the moment.”
Flustered by the inconvenience of Callum’s presence she clenched her jaw, nose wrinkled in disdain. What was the matter with these men? So easily distracted by trivial things. She would find Edric whether Callum wanted her to or not. He wouldn’t be far. There wasn’t much left to the village and he wouldn’t be foolish enough to venture beyond the borders. It was nothing more than an inconvenience that she would have to take extra time in finding him when they should be investigating the lower levels of the chasm.
Her ears twitched at the sound of something crunching in the snow nearby, the noise so soft it would have been inaudible had she not been on her guard. Not wanting to draw Callum’s attention to her distraction she tried to disguise her drifting gaze in an expression of irritation, rolling her eyes, breath heaving in a frustrated sigh. In her peripheral vision she recognized Edric’s figure pressed against the side of one of the buildings. Whatever his reason was for avoiding her, he clearly took an interest in her conversation with Callum. Perhaps that could be used to her advantage. She needed to think. What could she possibly say to the Captain which would draw Edric from hiding and force him to accept her company?
An idea came to her. It had the potential to be brilliant if she could play her cards right. Her concern lay in the fact that she wasn’t used to playing such games. The Vor’shai men required more thought than the Ovatai. They were more complicated. Surprisingly intricate for a race said to be so simple. During her conversation with Edric the night she fused her energy with his, he made mention of the troubles they suffered in Tanispa before her arrival. He mentioned his accompaniment with the soldiers was for the sake of his sister. To watch over Callum. It was a string she could pull. If she presented Callum with a chore which implied the possibility of danger, it might just bring Edric forward. He wouldn’t want to risk his friend going off somewhere alone when there was a chance he might encounter a threat to his safety.
“I suppose you might be able to help me,” she sighed in false annoyance, resting her hands on her hips in a display of vexation. Her request would have to be believable. Riddled with hints of impending discord. “Our search of the village proper has yet to turn up evidence which would assist in our hunt of the Avaern. Moinie and I have agreed that we should begin finding a way into the chasm where the Avaern emerged in case there is anything of note in its depths. Under normal circumstances I would seek a means to accomplish this on my own; however, we do not find ourselves in a position where solitude in a search would be wise. We are in enemy territory. As our men are currently preoccupied with the retrieval of corpses, my only option is to extend a request to you. Moinie says you are skilled with a bow. You might be of some use in the event that a band of Ythes have taken up shelter within the broken ground.”
“You have reason to believe they are still in the village?”
“They have nowhere else to go. If they are seen outside the borders of Isavo, they would be captured or killed. It would be foolish not to expect them here.”
“And you say Moinie gave her approval for me to accompany you?”
“You and the Prince.”
“Is that why you were looking for Edric?”
She drew in a breath, surprised by Callum’s inquisitiveness. None of this was his business. She didn’t have to answer his questions. Unfortunately she recognized that ignoring him would hinder her goal. She had to remain cooperative. “He and I worked well together against the Boeikath. I figured he would be sufficient.”
“Fair enough,” he agreed, nodding his head in acceptance. “There is only one problem. If the Ythes are hidden within the chasm, two people would hardly stand a chance against their numbers. Let me call for Gadiel. He and Sahra can join us –”
“No.” Neomi stated flatly. “You are the only one acceptable to accompany me other than the Prince. If he is not capable of performing the task, then you and I will venture forth alone. I suggest you pray to your gods that you are as good with your bow as Moinie says you are.”
From the corner of her
eye she saw Edric step forward, hesitant at first, seemingly unsure whether he should make his presence known. It was all she could do to keep from smiling. He was playing into her plan perfectly. “I will go,” he called out, moving closer to where Neomi and Callum stood, taking his place proudly at Callum’s side. “It is an honor to be deemed worthy enough to do anything at your side. I would be a fool not to accept.”
Callum’s head twisted to the side, peering at Edric with a stern gaze. “Are you sure about this?” His voice dropped lower, barely above a whisper, the words intended for Edric’s ears alone. Straining her senses Neomi was able to make out what was said, curious by the oddity of his question. “Do you not remember what we talked about?”
“Of course I remember,” Edric whispered. “I cannot let you wander off alone. Besides, what would stop them from making accusations against you the way they do about me? It is better for us to go together.”
“It is settled then,” Neomi announced. She didn’t want to give Callum time to convince Edric to stay behind. “We will have to scout a way down into the crevasse. I will do what I can to assist the descent but it will be easier if we find a solid position to start from.”
The moment she turned away, she could hear the men fall into step behind her, whispering between one another in continued dispute about Edric’s decision to come along. It didn’t matter what Callum said to him now. If Edric backed out, she would ridicule him until they had no choice but to concede in his participation. Three would be safer than two in case of an attack. She would just need to find a way to create distance between Edric and Callum so she could talk to him in private.
Aware of the dangers they faced in descending from the surface Neomi adjusted the bow at her back, checking to make sure her quiver was full and the weapon was within reach. The sword at her hip would be readily accessible for any enemy that managed to bypass her arrows. Regardless of her ulterior motive in going into the ground, she had to keep the obvious threats at the forefront of her mind. She wouldn’t be distracted the same as the Vor’shai.
At the edge of the precipice she peered into the darkness below. It was a daunting sight. The height was immense, making it impossible to see down to the bottom. A larger opening lay on the far side of the break. The ice had been its prison for thousands of years. There had to be something in the depths which would indicate how it got there. She found it hard to believe that the Ythes were unaware of its presence. It was unfortunate that they were now sworn enemies. Prying information from their lips would be far more complicated.
Carefully she stepped out onto a small ledge, testing the solidity of the surface. Simply walking down to the bottom was out of the question. The task would require planning on her part, a precise manipulation of the energy within the ice itself to create a means of climbing. With a wave of her hand toward the side of the crevasse the ice began to shift, pulled forward by the motion, leveling out to form a base a few feet below. It wasn’t the sturdiest of steps but it was better than nothing. They would have to descend one at a time. She doubted the icy floor would be strong enough to support the weight of more than one person. Sliding her legs over the edge she gripped the cool surface with her gloved hands, fingers dug into the snow, slow and steady, lowering herself onto the ice. It was a tedious process. The jagged steps she created out of the side of the wall formed an uneven, makeshift stairway down to the bottom, growing darker as they moved deeper. When her feet finally reached solid ground again she felt a wave of relief come over her, staring up to see the progress Callum and Edric made. She was impressed to find them not far behind, their eyes filled with trepidation at the slippery descent.
Looking up from the floor of the crevasse Neomi was unsettled by the distance between them and the others. It was much deeper than she anticipated. An attack from below would go unnoticed by those on the surface, leaving them vulnerable. The same could be said for their friends above. Ythes could sweep through the village and kill everyone and the three of them would be unaware until it was too late.
Directing her energy outward she illuminated the shadows, her pale skin glowing brightly. Slowly she let her coat slide off her arms to increase the light, leaving it on the ground below the steps, paying it little mind as she moved through the maze of snow and ice which surrounded them. She was distracted by the sight. In all her years she’d never been so deep in the ground, staring up at the layers of snow packed together over the centuries to create the towering sides of the crevasse. For now there was no sign of the Ythes. They would need to find their way to the central opening and search quickly before any possible enemies became aware of their presence.
“Is the beast really so large that it required this much space to hold it?” Edric inquired from somewhere behind, hurrying to keep up with Neomi’s hastened pace. “The crater it has left behind is more than a mile wide.”
“Did you think I exaggerated the size of the Avaern?” she challenged. “My people do not cower from mere animals. When it spreads its wings, it could blacken the sky at midday. This hole says nothing of the true size of the beast.”
“Do you believe the creature to have been sent by the gods, as the legend claims?”
“I am not sure what to believe.” Neomi stated, turning to face Edric, the light from her body pulsing brighter from the motion. He stared at her, awed by her appearance. It was strange to her. Did they not have the ability to create light in the same manner? Their energy was not that much different from the Ovatai. Merely weaker, given the inability of the Vor’shai to regenerate in the northern climates.
Stepping forward, Callum placed himself between the two, nodding to Neomi in polite interjection. “You mentioned a specific god when you told us the story. The God of the Heavens. What was the name you used?”
“Sarhik. Do you not worship him as well?”
“I’m afraid not,” Callum shook his head. “The closest I can figure is that your Sarhik is similar to our Sarid. The Goddess of the Sun. She is revered by the Vor’shai, believed to be the one responsible for the light which creates the spark of life within us.”
“An interesting theory. Do you Vor’shai have many gods?”
“We have several, yes. I imagine they differ from your own.”
“You are familiar with Ovatai beliefs?”
“Not in the least,” he frowned. “Your culture is rather lost to us. It is embarrassing, really. While in the privacy of this chasm, I admit that I am somewhat ashamed to realize how little we know of your people. It makes communication difficult. How are we to reach an understanding in battle when we are so different in almost every way?”
Averting her gaze from Callum’s, Neomi stared down at the ground, surprised to hear the admission come from the Captain’s lips. It took strength to admit a flaw such as the one he spoke of now. She couldn’t hold it against him. Her own confusion regarding their people left her equally puzzled at times, though she would never consider voicing it the way he did. It wasn’t in her to be so humble. “You will have to try harder, then,” she stated calmly, turning away from the men once again. She didn’t want to look at them. The discomfort on their faces reminded her too much of her own.
A crunch at her feet distracted her from the awkwardness of their conversation. Glancing down she could barely make out what looked to be a bone buried under the snow and soil, long since covered and forgotten. But that wasn’t possible. The ground had only just split when the Avaern rose. How could there be anything down here that had not fallen from the village above when the ice opened? For something to be lodged securely in the hardened ground implied that it had been there for centuries. Long before the layers of snow had a chance to build on top of it.
She knelt down, rubbing the loose snow and rock from the object. It was as she suspected. A bone. Long and slender. Even more disturbing was how it might have gotten there. Did they fall from the surface above? If a thin layer of snow and ice had built a flimsy bridge over a gap in the ground, an unsuspecting trav
eler might find themselves victim to a perilous plummet into the depths of the hidden crevasse. But that didn’t make any sense. Isavo had been built over this land for centuries. If the surface was so unstable, they would have discovered it immediately upon trying to build their homes. Whoever the person was, they had met their demise long before Isavo was established.
Coming to her side Callum knelt in the rubble, reaching for something else through the light emanating from Neomi’s body. A skull. How could she have missed something like that? It was cracked and badly damaged, caked with dirt, split down one side as if from some great pressure. “Poor soul,” he murmured, rotating the skull in his hands to examine every detail, leaning in closer to utilize Neomi’s light. “This skeleton suffered severe trauma from something. Based on its location, my best guess would be some kind of avalanche.”
“An avalanche would require some sort of mountain,” Edric mused, slowly making his way to stand behind them in the shadows. “The landscape is rather flat through these parts. Unless the terrain has shifted drastically since this person’s death, an avalanche only makes sense if this crevasse was open once before and he happened to be standing at the bottom when it caved in.”
“The level of the land may have been significantly lower during the days of the Avaern’s first appearance,” Neomi nodded. It wasn’t entirely out of the question. Something must have caused this person to be crushed under the snow. She simply couldn’t believe that the crevasse had been opened in exactly the same location back then as it was now. Such a thing was unlikely. She’d watched it split under her feet. It wasn’t a mere opening of something that was already there. It was a fresh break in the ground, created by the awakening of the beast from within. “Without documentation or maps from the people who lived in this area before Isavo was built, we can do nothing but speculate. A mountain may once have stood here, however, in the event of its collapse, it could have left the entire surface flat, the way it is now. Add centuries of snowfall on top of it, and eventually it would no longer be noticeable, even in the wake.”
The Myatheira Chronicles: Volume Three: Crown of Ice Page 40