7 Folds of Winter

by Carolyn McCray

  Ornery shielded his face as another of the toads leapt towards him. His sleeve caught on fire, and he had to squelch the flames upon the icy floor. Miss Emmert was lying off to the side, unconscious, or so he hoped. He did not think he could go on if he knew his mother’s limp form was truly dead.

  “Fight, boy!” Corpse yelled as he tossed Ornery a short sword.

  He had never used a weapon such as this before, but Ornery did not hesitate to skewer the next toad that jumped his way. It was a little like trolling for night crawlers. Pale and Corpse concentrated on the two Griffins, while Ornery kept them guarded from the menacing Fire Toads.

  “Yes, fight, little boy,” the Drakol priestess hissed as she picked him up by the neck. Ornery flailed and struck out with his sword, but the demon’s skin seemed impervious to his blade. Almost casually, the priestess flicked his weapon away.

  “You cannot hurt me, half-breed.”

  Despite her arrogant words, Ornery noticed blood running down her face. Ornery saw the damage Crystalia had done. Focusing with his mind, Ornery transformed his fingers into a single edge and plunged his newly formed weapon into the priestess’s other eye. The howl of pain nearly deafened him, and he was thrown clear as the demon lurched away. The remaining Frigid Knights took the advantage and began hacking at the disoriented Drakol.

  All was not won, though, that Ornery knew. From the altar, he could hear the awful sound of the Winter King’s madness. And at the center of it all stood Crystalia and Traven.

  ***

  Traven’s mind raced. Nothing was happening as it was supposed to. The Hero would far prefer to be battling the Frigid Knights than wrestle the Winter King. He had known this moment would come, but now that he was face to face with the old god’s power, Traven realized there was no way to beat the Winter King once he entered this realm. The only solution was to close the Vortex again.

  “A sacrifice must be made. The only payment accepted by the Fates is that of life. Life and blood is the coin of the Fate’s realm, for they have neither.”

  The Hero chewed on his Granny’s words. They were not related to the story of the Siege, but he could feel the truth in the passage. Had not the parables been mixed and out of order? Since it was Crystalia’s blood that had opened the Vortex, only her life could close it. But how to offer her life to the Fates, without spilling any more blood? From the way the Vortex bulged and flowed, it looked like only another drop was needed to shatter the slim barrier between planes.

  Traven looked to his left. There stood the Vampyr. Suddenly, the ramifications of the creature hit him. There was a way to offer a sacrificial body, drained of blood. It was the reason Holt had been drawn here.

  Even knowing the complete rightness of his words, Traven still had difficulty speaking them. “Crystalia must sacrifice herself to —”

  Ekoli shook her head. “Sacrificial blood will only —”

  Traven raised his hand. “Nay. There is another way. Holt will...” The Hero could not finish the sentence. He could not pronounce the words that sealed the Snowy Maiden’s fate. Traven could not meet Crystalia’s eyes as she searched his face for an explanation.

  “Let it be me. My blood was mingled,” Glacial whispered.

  “What? I don’t understand,” Crystalia asked.

  Holt’s voice was thick and rough. “I am a Vampyr, Maiden. I can drain your body before the offering. The princess is offering her life for yours.”

  Ekoli shook her head. “Nay, it will take them both.”

  ***

  Crystalia was so very confused. It was bizarre enough to imagine this creature that stood before her was the man that she had met at Madame Hesper’s Mansion so many days ago, but to think of allowing him to feed off both her and Glacial made her head swim. The battle that surged outside the shielded altar did nothing to help calm her.

  The Hero shook his head, violently. “One will suffice.”

  “Can you not see the pattern, Hero?” Ekoli asked. “The prophecies seem so tangled because the Princess and Maiden are but two halves of the whole. Only together did they provide the energy necessary.”

  Not caring that she looked like an ill-tempered child, Crystalia stomped her foot, interrupting the Hero and Goddess’ argument. “It is me you are talking about! Explain this to me!”

  Ekoli took her hand. “Child, centuries ago, while I was still the Lady of Light, I was feeling generous and gave many endowments to the world. The Princess and Maiden were but two.”

  Traven suddenly seemed to understand and blurted out, “You created them the same night! With the moonlight to weave the spell, their fates were bound from that moment forth.”

  The Fallen Goddess nodded sadly. “Even I did not realize their powers were so intertwined. This must be the reason the fables are so inconsistent.”

  The Hero nodded, but Crystalia was still not clear on what they meant. The only thing still clear in her mind was that she needed to die today, with Glacial, if there was any hope to save the world. As Traven and Ekoli still discussed the dynamics, Crystalia looked around her. She was not quite as terrified to die as she might have imagined, but she was deeply saddened that this was the last sight she was to see.

  Miss Emmert’s still form was smoldering from the Fire Toads. Pale and Corpse were barely holding their own against the Griffins, and poor Ornery was trying to keep the entire Citadel from melting to the ground. If one had to die in service to the world, Crystalia thought she should at least be able to see the Flowering Meadows or something a bit greener and to her liking than this.

  Calmer than she ever thought possible, Crystalia turned to her companions. “If this must be done, let us do it now.”

  This statement quieted the argument.

  The Vampyr, however, stepped forward. “There may be another way.”

  ***

  Holt could not believe what he had just said. Why had he not kept his thoughts to himself? Holt was averse to say more, but the group looked at him with anticipation.

  “Ekoli.” Holt’s voice strangled in his throat. “You gifted them. Might we not find some way around their sacrifice?”

  “If I were still empowered, I might have been able to avoid...” The Fallen Goddess’ voice trailed off. Finally, Ekoli voiced what Holt could not. “I can die in their stead. I do not know if my sacrifice will satisfy the Vortex’s need, but if it does not...”

  “Then Holt could claim Glacial and Crystalia.” The Hero finished Ekoli’s sentence.

  Crystalia shook her head. “I cannot ask you to do this in my place, goddess. If it is Fated, then so shall it be.”

  “This is not the last crisis the world will ever know. There are many more tales for you to live yet, Snowy Maiden. I am not of this place. It is time for me to return to the spirit realm.”

  Holt felt hot tears burn in his eyes. This could not be. To find such pure love and then have it snatched from him? What if she bore their child? What of his embryonic plans for the future?

  “Don’t. There must be another way.”

  Ekoli put her hand upon his cheek and the chaos around him receded. Holt could no longer hear the clash of battle behind him, nor the rage of the Winter King that was but a few inches away. His whole world was reduced to Ekoli and her words.

  “This human skin does not suit me, Holt. I will never feel at home here. I must return —”

  “It will not be the same! You will be forever confined to the Blizzard Realm.”

  Ekoli soothed his features with her fingers and spoke calmly to him. “Aye. But I will be free of this fleshy prison. Let me do this, I beg of you.”

  Holt could not stop the rush of tears. “Do you not love me enough? What of your womb? We still do not know if you are sacrificing another with yourself.”

  The goddess’ face clouded, but her resolve was firm. “I have loved you more than any other, Holt, but I do this for the world. I am not meant to be here. We are not meant to be.”

  The clash of fighting broke the i
ntimacy, and Holt could see that the flow of battle was not going their way. They could spend no more time debating. The time for action was at hand.

  “Hero. Be prepared,” Holt warned. “Once I feed, you might have to protect against me.”

  Traven nodded and kept his sword aimed at the Vampyr. Holt allowed the bloodlust to fill him. To drain Ekoli completely would take the Vampyr’s hunger. Holt feared the human side of him would shrink from finishing the gruesome task before it was completed. Ekoli wrapped her arms around his waist, offering her neck to him. Her pulse beat so strongly under her skin that it was almost easy for Holt to sink his teeth into her flesh. The goddess gasped, and her body arched into his as Holt drank from her artery.

  The blood was hot and fresh, pouring into his mouth almost faster than he could swallow. The Vampyr reveled in the feeding orgy and begged for more. Holt lost himself in the sensation of the blood frenzy. He did not even pause as he felt Ekoli’s heartbeat slow to a stop. He did not stop sucking even when her flesh shriveled under his lips. The Vampyr drank until there was not another drop left in the goddess’s body.

  And Holt wanted more. Turning to the rest of the group, the Vampyr knew he could have it.

  ***

  Traven could sense the change in Holt. The Vampyr’s eyes were completely gold and black. There wasn’t a fleck of blue left in them. Holt had succumbed to the Curse.

  “Get her body in the Vortex,” Traven shouted to Crystalia as the Winter King raged against the invisible barrier. The Hero did not stop to check and see if the Maiden complied with his orders. Instead, he stepped forward and raised the point of his sword. “Holt. Rein in the Vampyr.”

  The winged creature ignored Traven’s plea and charged forward. The Hero knocked the Vampyr’s claws away but could not gain the leverage to take a swing himself. Holt flew up and over their heads and dove towards Glacial. Prostrate and gravely wounded, the Princess would be an easy victim for the Vampyr. Charging, Traven tried to knock Holt away as the creature grabbed at the Ice Princess, but the Vampyr’s grip was too tight. Luckily, the floor shook so violently that Holt’s balance was thrown off, and Holt fell to the side.

  Traven clung to the altar as the whole Citadel rocked. He knew the sound that was wailing from the floor. It did not take Pale’s frantic sending to alert him to the newest threat.

  The Voltaic.

  ***

  Crystalia tried to ignore the room’s movement, but her eyes were drawn to the center of the chamber. From a huge crevice in the floor tentacles sprang and waved around. The Snowy Maiden did not wait to see what followed. Instead, the girl dragged Ekoli to the Vortex. She could not look up into the Winter King’s face, however. For if she looked into those mad eyes, she might not have had the nerve to come so close. Struggling with the dead weight, Crystalia felt her muscles cramp. The goddess was far heavier than she looked. Finally, she pulled Ekoli close enough so that Crystalia might push her into the Vortex.

  Was there not some ceremony that should be performed? Should the Snowy Maiden not chant some words of sacrifice? But Crystalia remembered the way the Drakol had just slashed the Snowy Maiden’s wrist to open the Vortex in the first place. This gateway did not seem to care for pomp and circumstance. Saying a word of thanks under her breath, Crystalia rolled the body off of the altar and into the Vortex, but it would not go. At least, not completely. The unclothed portions of the body slipped past the clear barricade, but the fur coat Ekoli wore prevented the rest of the body to cross. Around the skin that had pierced the Vortex, wind hissed through and blinding snow whipped through the tear. The Winter King pressed up against the barrier, distorting the Vortex’s interface. He was so close now that Crystalia could feel his breath upon her skin.

  Dear gods, what had she done?

  ***

  Traven raised his sword, ready to cleave the head from this Vampyr, but the ground shook again, and a mighty blast of wind escaped the Vortex. Despite the danger from Holt, Traven turned just in time to witness the Winter King pierce the Vortex. Half in the mortal world and half still in the Blizzard Realm, the old god bellowed his fury. The Citadel shook in a way that not even the Voltaics could produce.

  “Crystalia!” the Hero shouted. The Snowy Maiden had been thrown back by the Winter King’s partial escape. Ekoli still lay across the threshold of the Vortex. There would be no containing the old god until the Fallen Goddess was completely past the Vortex.

  The Snowy Maiden lifted her head, looking dazed. Traven watched her try to rise, but Crystalia nearly swooned again. The Hero’s hand clenched his weapon, but there was naught he could do to help the girl. For but a few feet away, the Winter King howled. Finally, face to face with the old god, Traven felt Destiny’s hand give him a nudge forward. Prophecy was fulfilled. A culmination of a life’s hopes and dreams settled down into this moment and awaited Traven’s response. Did he have it in him to battle the Winter King himself? Was his arm strong enough to raise his sword against the old god?

  Traven was going to find out. Hefting his weapon over his head, the Hero struck a mighty blow at the old god. Traven cried out in pain as his blade clanged against the icy visage. His arm was so badly shaken that his sword slipped from his numb fingers. Dropping to his knees, Traven realized his worst fear. In a moment of clarity, with the world now swarming with snow and bitter wind, the Hero realized that there was no blade on earth that could hurt this god. The Winter King’s face grew in size and contorted with a madness that was unheard of in the mortal world. Traven might as well use his blade to slash his own wrists, for it would be no good against the power that raged before him.

  Through the din of destruction, Traven felt the slightest sending from Pale. All was not lost.

  You are prepared.

  Was that the wolf’s voice or Granny’s? Did it really matter? Traven was not prepared, not even close to being ready to take on this threat. They needed Miss Emmert’s spells or the Drakol’s magick to vanquish a power of this magnitude.

  You are prepared.

  Damn, would that voice not be silenced? It might be nice to make his peace before the Winter King completely crossed the threshold and tore everyone into ribbons.

  You are prepared.

  More out of disgust than hope, Traven turned inside himself to answer the nagging voice. Ignoring the chaos around him, the Hero dove deeply into his mind. If there was anything within his memories or subconscious that would be of help, now was a good time for it to reveal itself.

  “Finally! I thought you’d never want to play,” Loplop said, smiling that childish grin of his. The boy’s black hair was tousled by the raging wind, but he did not seem to mind.

  “Loplop, please. Please, help me,” Traven near begged.

  The boy looked askance at the Hero. “Why would I do that? I’m trying to win this game too!”

  Traven reached across to the child and took his hand. “No, Loplop. I need help to fight him.” The Hero nodded towards the seething old god. In his present state, Traven could no longer hear the howl of the wind or the screams of battle, but he knew they persisted. He did not have much time.

  “You can’t fight him!” the boy exclaimed, as if he was stating the obvious. “He used to play, ya know, not too bad neither. But he’s not quite right, ya know?”

  “Yes, Loplop, that’s my problem. How do I do battle against him?”

  The boy cocked his head and asked in all sincerity, “Are you stupid or something?”

  Traven had to restrain himself from yelling at the boy. Friends all around him were falling, and they all might be dead within a matter of moments. The Hero did not need to be reminded of how inadequate he was. Traven knew the world was going to die because he simply was not Hero enough.

  “No, you are just slow. Next time, only invite me if you are ready to play!” Loplop said before he vanished again.

  The Hero nearly pitched forward. Sobs clutched his chest, and he found it hard to breathe. The child had been his last hope of finding a
n answer.

  “Traven!”

  The Hero did not have time to see who warned him. He only had time to throw himself to the side. The Winter King howled and surged forward from the Vortex, freed at last from the Blizzard Realm. Traven felt his sweat ice over. The room sucked the heat from his body. Pushing himself up, the Hero turned to face the old god. Here, the Hero would die, cowering in the corner.

  ***

  Crystalia was near panicked. The Winter King was risen, and the world was about to know his frigid touch — and all of it was her fault. She had not gotten Ekoli across in time. The Snowy Maiden had created the breach that released the mad god from his prison. Crawling over to Ekoli’s body, Crystalia felt her life’s heat being sapped from her. For a brief moment, the girl worried about Corpse. He would not last long under these conditions. Who was she fooling? No one could survive this intense cold.

  Modesty be damned, Crystalia thought as she ripped the clothes from the Fallen Goddess. Perhaps if she could just get Ekoli across, the woman could help lure the Winter King back across the Vortex. Fingers near frostbitten, Crystalia tore the last undergarments off. Before the Snowy Maiden lay the goddess’s naked body. Crystalia’s hand was drawn, almost against her will, to the Fallen Goddess’ stomach. Even though Ekoli’s body was certainly dead, shriveled from the loss of blood, Crystalia could sense a life within that belly. Not knowing what she did, or why, the Snowy Maiden asked for forgiveness and blessed the tiny life.

  But she could hesitate no longer. Traven faced the Winter King himself, and Crystalia knew he was doomed to fail. It would take both the Snowy Maiden and The Man Who Did Not Know to end this frigid threat. With an awkward shove, Crystalia pushed Ekoli’s body across the Vortex. Once the last of the goddess’s flesh was beyond the barrier, Crystalia witnessed a miracle. Ekoli’s body rose from the ground, swirling in a stream of light. Her form lost its definition as her skin transformed into a thousand twinkling lights. Ekoli was a Goddess Reborn.