The Frost Fervor Concordance Box Set

by Tom Hansen

  She watched Nora ride until the white flurries blocked her vision.

  There was something calming about watching her soldiers ride off into the storm to carry out her bidding. Her anger cooled, Imryll finally looked at her assistant.

  “Khatar, what do you have for me?”

  The assistant bowed, still not meeting her gaze. “News from Reyoarfjell, Your Majesty.”

  “Reyoarfjell?” She’d been waiting on the report. It had been too long since any real progress was made.

  He bowed, his long black hair reaching down to the ground and almost skimming the surface. “Progress has improved, Your Majesty. For the first time he has managed to keep one alive. It took some doing, but there were no catastrophic failures this time. Unfortunately, the subject’s mind was too far gone that it would be near-unusable in the field, but the body handled it fine.”

  “Catastrophic failures, huh?”

  Khatar nodded.

  She huffed, tapping a long fingernail on the stony desktop. “Have you ever noticed that scientists never seem to come out and say what they mean? They couch everything in what-ifs and double speak so they have an out if things don’t turn out the way they expect.”

  Imryll spun, walking to the side of the room for her bookshelf. Her boots clicked on the marble floors with a pleasing echo. She loved the sound. It reminded her of an age long ago when life was simpler. An age when her place in the world was expected, even admired. Now she had to fight for every inch of respect in this harsh, unforgiving landscape.

  Imryll frowned, pushing the ancient thoughts from her head.

  “So you mean the subject is still alive after everything?”

  Khatar returned a half smile. “Yes, Your Majesty, and somewhat controllable, but only barely. I believe he compared it to a starving frost bear.”

  She raised her eyebrows, her mind latching on to the thought and thinking of the possibilities. “We can control starving frost bears.”

  He nodded. “Of course, Your Majesty.”

  This was better news than she expected. It almost made her smile.

  “Thank you, Khatar. I would like some tea.”

  He didn’t move.

  Icy fury chilled her veins for a split second before she halted the unconscious reaction. It wouldn’t do to kill every servant for insubordination.

  Besides, he saw her naked nearly every day. Men like that were hard to find anymore.

  “Did you have something else, Khatar?”

  He bowed his head to the side in deference. “Yes, My Lady. The two sisters finished processing, and while details haven’t been sent, the testing showed unparalleled abilities of the highest magnitude imaginable. Testing has been reprioritized over the next week to provide more detail. They will send an updated status as soon as they have more concrete information.”

  Imryll took a couple careful steps, giving herself much-needed time to process all this information.

  “This is good, this is very good.”

  “Yes, My Lady. Shall I get you that tea now?”

  “Yes, I also want you to draw a bath.” She looked down at her robe, coated with the soldiers frozen blood. “I’m a bit messy and would like to properly celebrate this new information.”

  Khatar bowed low once again. “Of course, My Lady. I will tidy up your office while you bathe.”

  With that, he was gone, like a shadow’s whisper.

  Maybe that was the reason she enjoyed her metal-covered boots so much. She liked the noise, the metallic click click click as she moved about her day. Everything else in her life was ghostly servants and the ever-present howl of the northern winds.

  It wasn’t a litany of harp music, but it would have to do.

  Imryll sat down and stared out over the valley once again. Adjusting her vision allowed her to see the Feond in the distance.

  The shimmer glared at her, and she grinned back.

  This was very good news. So very good.

  Chapter One

  Ynya Oblique squinted as she waited for her sister’s signal. It had been too long since they had made contact and Ynya was beginning to get worried.

  She wished Synol had the same ability to flash her hair, but a flint and steel turned out to be an effective, albeit more noisy, alternative.

  In the darkness, she monitored more than one form move about the small rise. Both road patrols wandered their posts, stamping their feet to try to keep out the cold and keep themselves awake.

  A flash of light the next hill over caught her attention. A second later, the light flashed once again.

  This time, Ynya focused on it. Synol’s bright red hair and serious face was just visible against the dark night sky.

  There she is.

  It was about time. Ynya was getting tired. Lately, the soldiers had been posting so many sentries at night that wasn’t until the sun was about to come up that the sisters were able to make their move.

  Ynya had stopped counting out a delay two days ago.

  None of it mattered, anyway. Synol wouldn’t act until Ynya had gone down there anyway, so why bother counting to the second if you’re still waiting on your partner to do the work?

  That’s probably good enough.

  Ynya shrugged off her leather bag, noting the location next to the scraggly pine tree to the north of the camp. She put up the hood on her stolen soldier’s uniform and buttoned up the front.

  She looked in the bag, a gift from Miss-Miss who had insisted on giving her something smaller to carry things.

  It turned out to be quite handy to have everything she needed right there. The cross-body strap held things securely and kept things conveniently at her hip instead of on her back.

  She hated this part, the smelly clothes, the subterfuge, the idle chit chat as she pretended to be a soldier. She wished Synol would just do it, she was always better with the subtleties of language and knowing what to say.

  I just want to blow shit up.

  Ynya stood and jogged down slope to the soldier in the road. Given how cold things were out here and the constant howling of the wind from the east, she easily got within a few paces of him before he noticed her.

  She raised her hand at him.

  “It’s your lucky day.”

  The soldier chuckled. “Oh yeah, how so?”

  “Well,” Ynya pulled the hood back on her large winter coat. “I’m here to save your life, but only if you can answer me one question.”

  His eyes widened, seeing her mass of curly red hair bounce out of the hood and catch in the wind.

  He took a step back, still trying to process the sudden arrival of the largest threat to any soldier in the Hyndalskyr district.

  He dropped to his knees. “I’ll do whatever it takes, just please don’t hurt me. I’m not a mage, I’ve never been to Reyoarfjell, I was just conscripted into the army and told that if I didn’t do what they said, my wife and kids would be killed.”

  She stopped walking toward him and let her hands fall to her side. She smiled. “That is actually the answer I was looking for. Where are you from?”

  “Laugar, to the south, Ma’am.”

  She chuckled, “Ma’am was what people called my mother.”

  “Sorry, Miss.”

  She frowned. “I’m not sure that’s any better, but it is no matter. “Can you make it to Holmslatr on your own if you leave right now?”

  He glanced toward the south-west. “Holmslatr? Isn’t Lyraville–”

  She shook her head, cutting him off. “Lyraville might not be around by tomorrow.”

  Horrified understanding swept across his face and his eyes went wide as he looked back toward the east. “I…I…yes, I can make it.”

  “What about the rest of the contingent? How many are loyal to the Frost Queen?”

  “Just the captain and one other man, the big guy with the bald head. We call him The Cobbler.”

  Ynya nodded. “I suggest you head for Holmslatr now and get to a safe distance, but wait for any othe
r soldiers to catch up. Whatever you do, do not go to Marsfjord. Huddle up for warmth, make it to Holmslatr. If you arrive with your arms up and mention that you abandoned the army, you will be welcomed there, but your name and number will be logged in case we see you in the army again. You only get this one chance to return to your family.”

  He nodded. “Thank you, Ma’am.”

  “It’s time for me to handle this Cobbler fella. You said big guy?”

  “Yes, big guy, shaved head.”

  Ynya grunted.

  She grabbed a single strand of hair from her head to hold between her fingers. She flashed three quick lights, followed by two more.

  Synol replied a few seconds later with a spark from her flint.

  “As you can see, we’re more than prepared for this, so head on out and make sure to help anyone else that comes along here in about an hour.”

  With that, the man took off into the snow.

  Chapter Two

  Ynya shrugged off the soldier’s coat and pants so it was very clear who she was. Bright red dress, bright red hair, pale skin. If anyone had any doubt who she was at this point, she would make them understand.

  She padded into the camp on the balls of her feet, softly melting the packed frost below her feet before they crunched anything.

  Her body brimmed with power, having consumed a sizable amount of food this morning. They had run out of fish the night before, but a vegetarian diet from Synol made life bearable. The two complemented each other when it came to survival. Ynya kept their hideouts and the ground warm enough for Synol, who used her magic to grow an incredible array of foods. Ynya then cooked them all to perfection and they feasted like queens.

  Stopping back in Marsfjord, Synol had retrieved an array of seeds that their mother kept safe, thus giving them even more variety of foods to eat.

  Ynya had even tried her hand at boiling water and cooking some of the potatoes, which turned out to be a favorite of theirs when turned into a creamy soup.

  Once in position behind the larger tent, Ynya blinked her hair once, and waited.

  This was always the most exciting part.

  The rumbling started immediately. With every casting, Synol became more precise in her wall placement, and faster with her delivery of whatever magical gas was deep underground in what Synol called pockets.

  Ynya wasn’t sure how the earth had pockets, but whatever.

  The upheaved stone threw Ynya into air.

  All around the camp, rocks vaulted into the sky, blocking off any route from escaping.

  The men in the camp scrambled.

  Shouts of terror were drowned out by the massive ground quake that shook the entire area. Ynya had heard it all before.

  Silence. A complete ring of stones surrounded the campsite, with Ynya standing atop one of them.

  “So you’re the bitch who keeps killing off my men.” A man stood in the center. He wasn’t very tall, but he had the air of superiority that marked him for a trained soldier in the Queen’s army.

  “You have me mistaken for another girl in a red dress with red hair, Sir. I have not killed any of your soldiers tonight, I can assure you.”

  Around the camp, the dozen or so soldiers huddled together, unsure if they should stay toward the middle or huddle near the end. Off to one side, a man tried to cover himself with blankets and wrap himself in a tent, mumbling incessantly about not wanting to die.

  “That may be, but you are wanted for high treason from Her Majesty and we’re here to bring you in.”

  Ynya frowned, stepping from one rock to the other. She stood at least a dozen feet off the ground compared to the men below. “I have the high ground, I decide which of these stones goes down, and I also control how much flame will consume this area.”

  To punctuate her point, she snapped her fingers. A small flame erupted between her thumb and forefinger. She held it for a second before snuffing it out.

  It was a trick, of course. Her heat abilities didn’t allow her to hold live fire like some other fire mages did. Synol had the idea to keep some candle wax on her fingertips after watching Ynya light candles one night.

  It was long enough that she melted the wax and it burned for a few seconds. It wasn’t the same as a fireball, but it was enough to fool anyone they’d met up to this point.

  As-expected, the campsite filled with terrified cries and wails of anguish.

  “Men, hold fast. We know something the witch doesn’t.”

  She took another step to the side. “Oh, and what’s that?”

  “That we brought our own mage.”

  The ground below Ynya fell. She followed a heartbeat later.

  She had just enough time to turn her body in the direction of Synol, trying to figure out why her sister had pulled the rock out from under her.

  But what she saw was not good.

  Atop the small hill by the camp, a burly bald man held up Synol by her throat.

  Ynya hit the ground hard. The fall was as painful as it was unexpected. She felt her ribs crack as she hit the frozen surface, and pain lanced through her chest and fanned through her back.

  Her left arm hurt too, possibly cracked. It was a good thing she was so light, otherwise she would have most likely broken more bones.

  She was on her feet in an instant. Soldiers to one side, her sister to the other.

  Ynya felt every heartbeat as she weighed her options on which way to run. Should she go for Synol and take out the mage, or should she go for the captain and rally the soldiers behind her cause?

  Time raced by as she calculated out her options. Her sister or the captain?

  That was an easy answer.

  She turned toward the hill and sprinted through the snow. Her sister came first, every time. If there was one lesson she had learned recently, it was that family was the correct answer. Besides, most of the soldiers in the rock would scatter rather than stand and fight.

  The sun peeked over the horizon, bathing their battleground in fresh light. Ynya focused on her sister’s dark-purple face.

  Something thudded into her ass. She ignored the pain.

  Shouts and commands followed Ynya up the slope as the captain rallied his men to follow her.

  Another arrow narrowly missed her, thunking into the ground to her left.

  Good, at least he’s not another Skarmyord.

  Ynya needed three more steps to get to Synol. Her hands were already pouring massive heat into her fingernails as she leapt at the man holding her sister.

  For a split second as she sailed through the air, she marveled at how long she’d grown her fingernails and meticulously filed them to points in order to allow them to dig into the man’s chest easier.

  Not that the red-hot nails needed any help.

  Chapter Three

  Synol practically spat at her sister. “Why do you always have to be such a hero when it comes to life and death situations?”

  Ynya turned around. “I know you keep insisting that you had that guy, but he had you around the throat and your face was deep purple. What should I have thought?”

  Synol huffed. “You should have let me handle it. Just because he was controlling my magic didn’t mean I couldn’t. I was waiting for the right time to use it. You did notice that I had the wall of the camp sealed back up by the time you finished killing him?”

  Ynya picked up her pack and slung it over her shoulder. Her broken ribs ached something terrible, but there wasn’t any way to heal them right now. They would mend in time. Luckily, nothing else seemed to break. Her wrist was sore, but something about burning a man’s heart in his chest just made her feel like there was something right in the chaotic world.

  In the distance, the last of the soldiers seeking freedom disappeared over the horizon.

  Ynya adjusted the pack around her shoulder to stop it from bouncing against her ribs. “I did notice it, but I assumed you did that after I was dealing with your little problem. Besides, if you are going wait around all that time, yo
u could have at least clued me in so that I would have gone after the captain first.”

  Synol grabbed the bridge of her nose. She closed her eyes and let out a long, careful breath. “Ynya–”

  “Don’t ‘Ynya’ me. I know all the lectures, alright? Can we just deal with this last man? It’s been a week and I don’t know what is going on with Finny and Meki. I don’t want to argue about past things. I just want us to work together and get them back safe. Anything other than that isn’t worth our time.”

  Ynya tromped through the snow after the restrained captain, whose voice had gone hoarse at least half an hour before and hadn’t quieted down even under threat of Ynya burning his tongue out.

  Synol had told her that was out of the question, in front of him.

  Aargh! She’s so frustrating!

  “Ynya, I’m sorry. I just…I just forgot how headstrong both of us can be. You were right, I should have signaled you better, but I just ask that you take a second to assess your situation before reacting to everything with anger and fire.”

  Ynya fought the urge to turn and scream at her sister. She tried to get along, despite Synol’s insistence to talk about every little problem that sprang up between them.

  “I’ll have you know I spent plenty of time assessing the situation. The captain was behind me, surrounded by terrified soldiers, you were up the hill, purple as an saxifrage with your arms flailing wildly around you. The man holding you grinned like he was a dog who’d caught his first bird and didn’t know quite what to do with it. Do I need to go on? I do think things through. I’m sorry if I just process things faster than you, but I looked at the entire situation and made a decision. I think I made the right decision and I’m sorry if your safety is higher on my priority list than the Frost Queen’s army, but I will choose my family every time over anything else.”

  Ynya clomped a few more paces through the snow before she realized Synol wasn’t right behind her. She turned.