I realized I was at the bottom of the heap, they were heavy, and the snow beneath me was no softer than rock. "Please, get off," I managed to whisper, and felt the weight shift off me immediately.
It took an effort to drag myself into a sitting position. Exhaustion was tight around me, the day's efforts had cost me much. All I wanted to do was sleep, and I could barely fight the urge off.
"Are you hurt, Ada?" Wyntan asked. His hands found my face and felt around from there, looking for broken bones. He was brisk and impersonal, for which I was very grateful.
"I am unhurt, only a little stunned," I muttered, forcing the words out. "Do you know where we are?"
"Not yet," Nefen answered, and I heard the sound of scraping. I was aware that he had unsheathed his dagger and was using it to dig at the ceiling of the bubble.
"You're shaking," Wyntan accused, a tinge of panic in his voice. "Tell me honestly, where are you hurt?"
"Everywhere," I murmured. "But it's just tired bones. Nothing a good nap won't cure."
"You can't nap here," Nefen interjected. I felt Wyntan gave him an unseen but derisive look, forgoing the urge to snap we all knew that, then removed his own cloak and covered me up. He stood to help Nefen.
"If you nap here, I'll pinch you in the ribs until you waken," Wyntan threatened. "You'll have to wait until we're warm at home with Goskia."
"You may just be meaner than Selas," I groused, but did my best to keep my eyes open. My efforts must not have been all that successful, because I awoke to another slide of snow – this time directly onto my face. Wearily, I shook it off, realizing I had been asleep sitting up.
The men had managed to dig us out. Sunlight poured into our round lair. Both helped me to stand and brush off. Wyntan took his cloak back after I ordered him to while glaring at him with all I could muster of my strength.
My stalwart friend hunched over slightly and cupped his hands near his midsection. Nefen gripped Wyntan's shoulders, then climbed up through the hole they made using the other man's cupped hands and shoulders as steps. Wyntan gestured for me to do the same.
I too gripped Wyntan's shoulders and prepared to climb. A wave of dizziness dropped me to my backside in front of him before I got anywhere. He looked up and yelled, "We need a rope!" at the same instant one end of a rope dropped down.
"I thought you might," Nefen called back down. In moments I was trussed up safely about the waist with a loop for each leg, and Nefen began hauling me up. Wyntan guided and lifted me from the bottom. When I had safely collapsed on top of all the snow, all the mayhem I had caused, Nefen untied me and threw the rope back down for Wyntan. Wyntan was larger than him, though, and holding the rope with no leverage was something of a struggle. I reached out with the last of my power and held Nefen in place. Everything around me slowly faded to black as Wyntan pulled himself over the edge and into the fading sunlight.
After that, awareness came and went in an odd twilight haze. Several times I struggled to awaken, but faded back into unconsciousness each time. I had only brief impressions of the evening – being slung over Wyntan's shoulder, laying on the snow under some trees with a thin fire nearby and someone chafing my hands, coming to Goskia's hut at last and thinking with relief that I would be warm and comfortable soon and Banning would be there.
I awoke in Goskia's bed. Banning, smooth and cool, was wrapped around my wrist in his usual spot. A fire flickered in the small hearth. With an effort, I brought myself to my feet beside the bed. My body still felt tired and trembly, but much better than it had. There was no way to tell from this room whether or not it was daylight again.
Banning woke with my movements. "I'd lecture you," he said in his fussy voice. "But I have a feeling that you'll get the gist of what I have to say to you from Selas."
I groaned. Looking down, I saw that I was not wearing my cobalt suede leggings or the green tunic – instead I was dressed in a voluminous nightshirt that was at once far too wide and too short for me, coming only to just below my knees. It was also warm and very soft, the cloth thick and ivory with nubs of darker cloth woven in. My clean pair of woolen socks were on my feet.
Slowly, holding on to the woven-stick walls, I walked out into the main room of the hut. Selas saw me first, and grunted at the two brothers. Daltorn and Wyntan jumped up and came to assist me, each taking one of my arms. Everyone else remained gathered around the table, Goskia was dishing up a meal. The newcomer appeared to be welcome as well, he was seated next to Dera on the bench on the far side of the table. Selas was on his other side, his plate full of food as Goskia tended to serve him first, but he wasn't eating it.
The brothers sat me across from Selas, who was giving me a stony glare. I gave him a wavering smile, but it had no effect. He was biding his time, waiting so his words would have a greater effect. Selas, picker of lant root, and second best at that, cowed me without a word.
I finally broke the silence. "I see this isn't breakfast!" I said, and forced out a cracked laugh. Dera smiled back. We were being served venison steaks and boiled root vegetables. Goskia smartly dropped a plateful in front of me. Glancing around the table I saw that Nefen was giving me a sympathetic look. Samar was watching me, but didn't seem as sympathetic, in fact she even made an angry gesture with her hand at me. Selas had been teaching her the signs he had used in his soldiering days, she had added to the repertoire with gestures of her own. She communicated pretty effectively now. The brothers hung their heads, more intimidated by Selas than even I was.
"What is on the menu for a smallish snake?" Banning spoke up, slithering off my wrist on to the table. Goskia flung him a piece of mouse. Though she often appeared to be put-upon serving us our meals, she would allow no one to help her, and I sensed a deep contentment within her at having so many to feed and care for. She had been lonely for a long time, and I knew when we left she would miss having to step over us as we slept on her floor.
I waited, tracing the edges of my plate with my fingertips. I was not going to eat with Selas' disapproval hanging over my head. At last I looked him in the eye and said, "Well?"
"Well," he snapped. "I'm waiting for you to explain to me why you would take such a foolish risk with your life, when you know we are all depending on you." Wyntan opened his mouth to speak in my defense, and Selas silenced him with an icy look. Nefen looked torn between wanting to dress Selas down for addressing me that way and just being glad Selas hadn't turned that look on him.
"It had to be done," I began. "Those soldiers-"
"Were not the end of the world!" Selas roared, coming to his feet. "You should have come back here and let me-"
I stood as well. "I was not willing to allow more of those people into Dragon's Tooth!"
"Five, ten more would not have made a difference to us or them at this point! Twenty more would not have mattered! Obviously you were not capable of planning any way of stopping them-"
"I did stop them!" I shouted back. "They can't pass through there any more!"
"But, you stupid girl, you risked far more than we have gained," he yelled, the cords on his neck standing out, his face ruddy. "Do you plan to go about blocking every single pass through these mountains? How many chances do you need to decimate our cause?"
"I am not the High Queen – I am not the hinge on which the world turns!" I felt angry enough to spit.
Selas glared at me in silence for a moment. "You are that hinge for us," he finally said, his voice deadly quiet. "We have no chance of winning this war without you. Whether you wish it to be this way or not, that's the way it is. If you don't open your eyes and see that, you are addled, and you are dooming every one of us in this room who will go to fight Iceblade and his crows army."
I sat down heavily, rested my elbows on the table and my head on my hands. Across from me, Selas sat down as well.
"I have made a foolish mistake," I said after a while. "If I am in such a place again, I will ask for your advice before risking my life." I looked up. Selas nodded his approva
l curtly, without speaking, and began to eat. The rest of us followed suit.
"It is dark out, and nearly my bedtime," Dera said. "You have been asleep a very long time."
"All night and all day today," Daltorn said. Wyntan, who was usually the more talkative, was silent, still feeling the weight of Selas' displeasure. I had no doubt he had borne a wrathful tirade for allowing me to risk myself by bringing down the waiting snow. Feeling bad for having put him in that position, I apologized to him as well. He gave me a wry smile and shrugged the incident off, though he glanced warily at Selas before going back to his food.
I was tired enough to sleep again after supper. This time I lay in my usual spot, close to the hearth in the main room. Nefen seemed uncomfortable with me there, and I could tell he thought I should be sharing the bed with the other women- Dera, Samar, and Goskia. With a sleepy smile, I told him, "I'm comfortable enough here."
He smiled tentatively back. "I have no doubt you can make yourself comfortable anywhere," he said, sitting on his bedroll. "I must say it pains me to see a woman forced to sleep on the ground."
Wyntan shot him a dark look. Selas rolled his eyes.
"I haven't been forced to sleep anywhere," I laughed. "I just didn't want to jostle Samar and Dera. They were both quite injured when we arrived. And now, this is my spot, I don't want to move."
"That's something else new to me, a woman fighter. No odder than a one-woman pass-blocking army, I suppose." He smiled again. "And likely just as handy to have around."
I smiled back at him again before falling into slumber.
I sat up with a jolt some hours later. Bumping my way across the floor, I found Selas and shook him awake. He sprang up, instantly ready for battle, then returned to his bedroll, sitting and facing me.
"It's time," I said. "We must get ready to move."
"This minute?" he asked after a pause.
"No, I don't think so. But the time has come."
"We are still snowed in."
"A way will be open for us. Our beginning is complete. Everyone needed to start the journey is here."
"What may we bring, O cryptic one?" he asked in his surly voice.
I spared him a glare of irritation. "I don't know. You're the soldier. Lead us." I smiled, relieved to hand off that responsibility.
"You're the witch. Magic us there," he spat. His smile at my glower was rusty and dry.
"I may be a witch, but I'm no sorceress." I turned away and began to crawl back to my own bed.
"You may be an irritant, but you're no itch!" he retorted.
"No, I'm a hinge."
Chapter 5
All Together
Selas was in top form the next morning, giving orders and pushing his makeshift soldiers about physically with his hands if they did not move fast enough. There was no way we could bring the cart with us, so packs and panniers for the donkey were gathered from the wreckage of the market in Narwich. Each pack was loaded to Selas' strict specifications. We each had one set of dry clothing aside from what we wore and our bedrolls, as well as tinderboxes and the small tools necessary for camping. Bandages and herbs were packed. Trail food was tucked in to the tops of our packs and our weapons were belted on, made easily accessible. The small armory at the constable's home in Narwich meant I now had a heavy mace with a flanged head and a long, smoke-blackened handle. Some extra weapons were packed into the panniers for the donkey to carry, as well as cooking utensils, more food and the canvas tent. Most of Selas' stockpile had to remain behind, to his disappointment.
"When we reach the flat lands," Selas said, "We'll be able to use sledges pulled by horses if we find them, or ourselves if we don't. We'll be able to gather more weapons then." He looked with regret at his stockpile one last time. Swearing a few times under his breath, he turned his back on the gathered weapons.
"Why are we gathering so many weapons?" Nefen asked.
"Our army awaits us in Reckonwood," Wyntan answered. His tone suggested he hoped to rattle Nefen. "We need steel for them to arm themselves." Nefen didn't flinch at the mention of Reckonwood, leveling a steady stare at Wyntan. I rolled my eyes. For some reason each seemed to wish to prove superior in manhood or bravery to the other.
Samar signed brave behind Nefen's back with a half-smirk. Foolish, Daltorn signed back making no attempt to disguise his gesture, beaming brightly when Nefen looked in askance at him. Though I had no doubt Nefen would quickly pick up the hand signs, at this point he did not yet know what many of them meant. He could greet Samar and ask how she felt, so far.
"You are under no obligation to come with us, Nefen," I said. "But I believe we found you for a reason."
Nefen held my gaze consideringly. Finally he spoke in a quiet, unyielding voice. "I will come. My obligations demand I do, honor demands it. My entire family, and all of Bendwillow, was destroyed by the scum that swept over the mountain pass. Not even my aunt was spared, and she was nine months with child and near to burst. All the dead of Bendwillow obligate me. This weapon-" he touched Raven's Beak, hanging at his side- "of my father's hand obligates me. I will come, and I will serve you and your cause, as my word has been given."
I nodded. I knew it would be so, but wanted to show the others that Nefen's mettle for this fight was no less than their own. He too had lost everyone he knew, even more than any of us save Samar, since most of us had come to Goskia's with someone from our own village. Nefen had come to us alone of all his family and village.
Dera beckoned me from a bench at the table. I knelt by her side. "I will miss you, Ada," she said with tears running down her face. "You must promise me to come back. We are all that is left of my home. Us and Selas." Wrapping my arms around her, I held her against my heart. Though she had been brave beyond what anyone could reasonably expect, I felt her trembling now. Gently I smoothed her hair back and kissed her head.
"I promise I will come back," I said quietly. "And when I do, I will bring you a rose from the High King's own garden."
Hearing me, Goskia interrupted. "A basket of live herbs from the High Queen's healing garden would be a better thing."
"I'd like both," Dera whispered.
She squeezed me with all her might, then it was time to go.
The night behind us had frozen the snow to the hardness of rock, and all of us, including the donkey, were able to walk and slide across it. The trip down the mountain took far less time than the trip up. We did not stop for meals, eating cold food as we walked, or even to rest at night. Samar, who slowed us on the way up, now chafed at our slowness.
She was a different woman than the "corpse" we'd brought to Goskia's hut. Her splendid eyes were sharp in her ruined face, her movements swift and graceful if edgy. There was more spirit for the journey ahead of us in the tip of her nose than in my entire body. When we would stop to rest, she would urge us on with her signed vocabulary, stamping her foot in impatience if our haste did not meet her own.
After two days we arrived in the foothills. Selas ordered us about until the camp was set up to his liking, including a hot meal prepared by Nefen and Daltorn.
Samar and Wyntan patrolled the area to be sure no enemies or other surprises awaited us, then we ate. My stomach was churning, though I couldn't put my finger on any reason, so I sipped at some hot tea and huddled close to the fire in my warm cloak.
After the meal was cleared away and cleaned up, Selas pulled out a map of Dragon's Tooth. "Here is where we are," he said tersely, pointing to a spot still pretty near the border. "Now, witch's daughter, you need to tell us where we're going." I stared tiredly at the map. The thought flashed through my mind that the map was useless, none of the towns between here and the ocean existed anymore. My head hung down.
"I'll tell you in the morning," I said. "I'll know more then. But we're going to end up in Reckonwood." I gave a grim smile as my companions surreptitiously made the sign of evil warded, all but Selas. He snorted, shaking his head at the others.
We took turns at watch over a pea
ceful night. I took second watch, so I could sleep uninterrupted for a good bit after my watch.
I dreamed of him again.
He was meeting with several of his people in a large room hung with thick blue velvet curtains. They sat around a massive table in heavy chairs shaped like a curved letter "x", with velvet cushions trimmed with gold tassels. A carved back connected the arms of each chair, providing a place to lean against in comfort. Tall wooden candlestands held pillars as thick as my upper arm, the flames lending light to the room. A long hearth covered one of the shorter walls, a fire banked within. Iceblade sat at the head of the table, with his brother on his right and his aunt on his left. He looked around searchingly, and I wondered if he sensed my presence. Also at the table were two painted soldiers I did not know, one with an eye patch over his right eye. Cur rested at the opposite end of the table from Iceblade on a cushion on the floor, apparently asleep, though I felt it was not. Maps were spread across the table, Vankyar was idly pushing at the edges of one, curling it slightly. Tirith glared at her, tugging the map away, causing her to flinch. Her hands began to dance out a pattern on the table in front of her, her purple eyes gazing at her younger nephew without blinking.
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