by Shea Berkley
“Nightmare Men still attack from the shadows.”
That caught everyone’s attention. Halim jumped to his feet and ran to Reece, dancing around him like a puppy after praise. “They’re still in the shadows. I knew it. I knew they weren’t gone for good. Didn’t I tell you?”
Reece patted the boy on the head, but his gaze was locked on Kera. “They’ve come to get you. You should go.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I will not be put off so easily. I’m staying.” She turned to Bodog. “Tell Dylan I’m fine, and I’ll be back soon.”
Bodog shook his head so hard, his ears flapped against his temples. “I stay.”
“He gave his promise,” Faldon injected.
Dylan was doing it again, trying to protect her when she didn’t need protecting. A bubble of frustration rose in her chest. She looked at Faldon, ready to voice her objection, but he beat her to it. “He was very clear, Kera. We stay with you.”
“Fine, then you had best keep up.” Standing, she grabbed the satchels that were on the ground and tossed them to Halim and Reece. “Let’s go.” She motioned Halim forward. It was his turn to scout ahead. “Be back before it gets dark.”
“You don’t have to tell me,” he grumbled and slipped on his satchel. “I’m not stupid.”
By late afternoon, the group had crossed the border into the region northeast of Teag where the terrain grew rugged and harder to navigate. Massive rocks jutted from the earth at sharp angles. Not a tree or blade of grass could be seen. Only unforgiving stone with veins of shiny volcanic rock met her eyes and scraped against her hands. Halim had marked his passage and they followed the path as best they could.
Signe touched a large boulder and yanked her hand away, hissing against the sudden stab of heat. “It’s so hot. I can’t imagine this place freezing every evening.” She collected her heavy ringlets together and twisted them into a high bun, then grabbed her skirts up before accepting Reece’s assistance over an uneven section of their path. She caught up to Kera and said with a grimace, “I don’t believe anything could live here.”
“Neither can I.” But the rocky terrain meant they’d passed into enemy territory. “If we don’t get out of these mountains, we’ll find out firsthand what it’s like to freeze to death.”
“Are you sure we are headed in the right direction?”
“We are.” Kera vaulted over an outcrop of rock and nearly twisted her foot on the landing. Was Halim trying to kill them? Bodog kept muttering that his way was easier while Signe struggled to move, her legs trapped by a half-dozen layers under her skirts. With the path becoming more treacherous, Kera was fast losing her patience and time.
“Be careful. Tharnians live here.”
Bodog shuddered and his skin turned an unattractive ash color as he tried to blend in with the surrounding rocks variegated colors.
His alarming behavior didn’t go unnoticed. Reece gripped the hilt to his sword and searched the area. “What are Tharnians?”
Signe stepped gingerly as she followed Kera. “Creatures said to hide amid the rocks and spit acid.”
A disgusted look transformed Reece’s face. “That’s gross.”
“And painful,” Kera called over her shoulder.
The way ahead loomed darker. Kera turned to see Signe come up beside her. “The sun’s setting. We’ll have to stop soon.” Even now the temperature had dropped. Dark clouds rolled thickly overhead and a cold wind had picked up. “I’m worried. Halim’s been out front longer than he should. I don’t like it that he’s not back.”
She’d told him to return when it started to grow dark. The night was speeding closer and there was still no sign of him.
Their small group gathered at the edge of the hill. Everyone pulled out their jackets and slipped them on just as the sun disappeared. The moon rose full and bright. Behind them, the air chilled with the beginnings of a light snowfall. The tip of the stick Bodog held rested on the ground and ever so slightly shook. Signe wrapped her arms around her waist, licked her lips, and swallowed audibly. “What if he’s lost?”
Reece slid his arm around Signe. “I’m sure he’s not far.”
The way Reece looked, he didn’t believe his own words. Kera shook her head and a knot formed in her stomach. “He’s not lost.”
“Then where is he?” Signe asked.
The vibrations from the stick sounded louder against the ground. Kera was about ready to grab it from Bodog when it suddenly stopped, and Faldon’s face appeared. “Tharnians come. Hide. Now.”
They all dove into hiding places, immediately trusting Faldon and his too-serious face. Wedged into a crevice with Signe, and surrounded by deep shadows, Kera waited. It wasn’t long before the ground beneath their feet trembled.
The first Tharnian came into view, and he was nothing like Kera expected. Tall, lumpy, his feet hit the ground hard, like he weighed more than Blaze. Moss-covered skin resembled the ragged surface of unpolished granite. Four others followed him. Each Tharnian was shaped differently, colored differently, moved differently. They were walking rock people, and the heft and might of them shook the very air Kera breathed.
The last and biggest Tharnian tugged on a leash. Signe’s gasp sounded too loud in Kera’s ear when Halim stumbled into view and awkwardly fell to his knees. Across the small expanse, Kera saw a slight movement. She would have missed it if she didn’t know Reece was there. He wanted to help Halim, but Bodog stopped him with the talking end of his stick shoved uncomfortably beneath the bigger man’s chin.
The dust Halim stirred up when he fell hung thick, not yet hampered by the light snowfall. Gagged by a strip of cloth, he struggled to breathe. He was dirtier and more ragged than she’d ever seen him, but that didn’t stop him from searching the area. It surprised Kera when his gaze landed on her. One eye was red and swollen amid a collection of bruises. How did he know she was there? She put a finger to her lips. He gave her an imperceptible nod, and she melted deeper into the shadows.
The Tharnians spoke in clicks and knocks and stony scrapes, and the one holding the leash yanked Halim to his feet. He looked so small. So helpless. She hated herself for staying hidden.
After the Tharnians took their captive farther into the rocky hills, Reece knocked Bodog’s restraining stick away and flung himself out of his hiding place. Kera stopped him from following. “They are made of rock. Solid granite. If I have no clue how to fight them, I’m fairly certain you don’t either.”
“So we leave him? Is that what you’re suggesting?”
“No,” she said. “There has to be a way to fight them.”
“How?”
The snow fell harder, dropping the temperature even lower, and an idea formed. She held out her hand. Big dollops of snowflakes landed and slowly melted in her palm. She smiled. “Do you trust me?”
A harsh laugh erupted from Reece. “You threatened to rip me limb from limb and then you used magic on Signe and now you want us to trust you? How are we supposed to do that?”
“Because I’m Halim’s only hope for freedom.”
“You had better be,” he threatened.
She moved past him. “I’m not worried.”
But she was. What she had planned would take perfect timing.
“Why do they even want him?” Signe rubbed her hands up and down her arms as if the cold could penetrate her coat. “He’s just a boy.”
The hard scrape of Faldon’s face appearing drew their attention. “They need slaves to do things they cannot do. Sadly, many of the poor souls perish from neglect.”
The knot in Kera’s stomach tightened, and Signe’s face turned deathly white as she looked back at Reece. He went to Signe and pulled her close, whispering, “Don’t worry. We’ll get him back.”
Watching Reece wrap his arms around Signe and kiss her temple sent a pang of longing through Kera, and she looked away. She missed Dylan. She missed his strength. The way he smelled like sandalwood and candlelight.
Kera slipped her arms arou
nd her waist, pretending Dylan held her. She missed the way he laughed. The way his eyes crinkled at the corners. How he always found a reason to touch her, no matter how small. Mostly she missed his kisses, the way he held her so tightly, as if he never wanted to let her go. She imagined his breath near her ear saying everything would turn out, and that she was brave and needed to trust her instincts.
Dylan’s imaginary pep talk made her smile. She could rescue Halim. Dylan believed in her. She faced Reece. Tension etched deep creases along the outer edges of his mouth. She eyed Bodog, whose cloak was sprinkled with tiny snowflakes, and Faldon. “This would be a fine moment to advise us,” she told him.
The rough wood creaked, and vibrating commenced. All too quickly it stopped, and Faldon’s face reappeared.
“Well?” Kera’s skin prickled with tension and she chewed her bottom lip.
“I cannot see his future.”
A sharp gasp rose from Signe. Air hovered in Kera’s throat. Dead people don’t have a future.
Reece immediately turned and followed the path the Tharnians took. The rest followed close behind. Kera picked up a couple of small rocks and rolled them between her hands until they started to glow. She gave one to Signe. “Look for a vein of dark, shiny rock.”
They scrambled along, following Reece and searching for the rock at the same time. There had been a mass of it earlier, but now it seemed to have disappeared. Finally, Signe waved Kera over and pointed. “Is this what you want?”
“It’s perfect.” Basalt was a hard, glassy volcanic rock, and exactly what she needed. Palming her incordium blade, she scraped a fine film of shiny black rock dust into her hand.
Reece approached them. “Why are you stopping?” He squinted at Kera’s hand. “What’s that?”
“Hold still.” Kera lifted her hand.
“What are you doing?” The hesitance in Signe’s voice should have hurt Kera’s feelings. Her friend had never doubted her before, but things had changed. She had changed.
Kera didn’t let Signe’s doubt stop her. “Saving Halim.”
“Don’t I get a say in this?” Reece asked.
Signe grabbed Reece’s hand as Kera blew the dust in his face. He jerked back, sputtering against the dust as Kera repeated a spell she’d learned when she was younger and wanted to sneak out of the house. She hadn’t been powerful enough back then. She was now.
Before their eyes, Reece slowly disappeared, causing Signe’s eyes to widen as the hand holding hers faded. “What did you do, Kera?”
“A cloaking spell. Bodog can draw the Tharnians’ attention while Reece retrieves Halim. I would have used it on myself, but I’m not big enough to carry Halim.”
“Nice trick.” Reece sounded impressed.
“I have a few.” It was hard not to sound full of pride. Magic came easy to her now, almost as if she was wired to do it without even thinking.
“What do I do?” Signe clutched a wad of her skirt in her fist, clearly frustrated she had nothing to offer.
“Wait for Reece to bring Halim back.”
“We’ll be back in no time,” he said.
“You had better be.” Signe reluctantly let go of his hand. “Because I won’t go back to Teag without you.”
The flakes were bigger and the snow stuck to the ground. The only sign that Reece had left was the light impression of his footprints. The sight made Kera nervous. Hopefully the Tharnians wouldn’t notice.
Signe blocked Kera from leaving. The worry she felt matched the look on Signe’s face. “It’s been different between us lately. Hard. But I’m glad you are here.”
“Me too.” Kera gave her friend a quick hug. “Now stay out of sight.” She then went to Bodog, who tightly clasped Faldon’s stick in his big hand. “You know what to do?” she asked.
The rub of wood against wood filled her ears and Faldon’s raspy voice said, “Bodog is ready to die.”
She eyed Bodog. “I have no desire to see you dead. Distract them. That is all.”
The little man nodded and scurried off. Kera followed, making a trail in the snow beside Bodog’s less obvious one. Almost immediately, he threw himself into goading one of the Tharnians. The creature was small, and the cold caused it to move laughably slow. Bodog hit it with his staff and the Tharnian’s head cracked and suddenly shattered, the sound reverberating against the rocks. She was so surprised by the sight, she came up short. For being helpless, Bodog always seemed to surprise her.
All the Tharnians’ attention zeroed in on Bodog and their shattered friend. They raked their stubby fingers down their arms, coming away with handfuls of rocks, which they threw at Bodog. He scurried around, trying to avoid getting hit as Kera called on vines to spring up and capture the Tharnians’ legs, but they quickly iced over and died. It was too cold for what she had planned.
The biggest Tharnian pulled Halim, shivering and pale, behind him.
Where was Reece?
Kera couldn’t wait to find out. She called on her powers until she glowed brighter than Bodog’s best magical mushroom rubdown. The ground split around the Tharnians, and lava bubbled up red and hot, spitting and hissing against the snow as it oozed over the ground, cutting off the Tharnians’ retreat.
Kera cracked the ground in several other places, raising molten rock and pushing the Tharnians in a tighter circle.
Scrapes and clicks and stony rubs echoed between them. As the area heated up, they stomped their feet, shaking the ground, causing small rockslides to skitter close by. Kera fought to stay upright, and heard Signe scream amid the crash of tumbling rocks.
Although Kera wanted to make sure Signe was okay, she couldn’t leave the others. The lava heated the surrounding air like an oven left on high, melting the snow and with it all signs of Reece or where he might be. Halim’s pale skin glistened with sweat. He twisted right and then quickly jerked left, but the Tharnian had the boy’s wrist caught good and tight.
His skin was beginning to blister. Kera had one chance at this. She called up the vines again and twisted them around the Tharnians, digging the roots deeply into their rocky skin. The vines smoldered and broke and were replaced with new vines as soon as she noticed. The thunderous stomp of the Tharnians’ feet slowed. She concentrated on the hand that held Halim and sent a vine to wrap around it and burrow deep. The Tharnian struggled, but held on even tighter. Halim cried out and sagged in the painful grip.
She worked at a pace that stretched her abilities, lashing vines to stone and digging their roots deep.
And then suddenly Halim was invisibly swept up into the air by Reece. “Hurry,” he called, the stress in his voice urging her on.
She poured her power onto that one Tharnian until he was covered in vines. The sound of splitting stone rent the air, and with one final attack, the Tharnian burst apart like a balloon filled with confetti.
One moment Halim was floating amid the Tharnians, the next he was moving toward Kera. In that instant, she let loose the lava, and the Tharnians fell into a bubbling red-hot lava pit. The ground crumbled and tore away as the lava ate up the area and consumed the rock as if it were ice.
Reece grunted, one step ahead of the collapse, and jumped the last few feet with Halim in his arms. The boy rolled to safety. He quickly pulled the still-attached stone hand off his wrist and flung it away. His eyes caught Kera’s. “What took you so long?”
He didn’t sound hurt. Shouldn’t he be more hurt? She examined his bruised wrist, which she quickly fixed, and his scraped skin. The blisters weren’t as bad as she expected either. She swept a hand over his face, healing the blisters as quickly as they had formed. “You seem in good shape.”
He pushed himself to his elbows. “I was tied up, half frozen then nearly burned to a crisp. As days go, I’ve had better.”
Halim’s hair was ruffled by an unseen hand. “That’s it. Take it like a man.”
A quick spell had Reece slowly materializing. His clothes were singed, but he had a goofy grin on his face. Kera had neve
r seen him look happier.
The boy looked around. “Where’s Signe?”
“Over here,” came Bodog’s faint call.
Kera’s stomach pitched and she ran back to where they’d left Signe. Reece was only a few steps behind her, dragging Halim with him. They found Bodog squatting as he stared at Signe struggling to wrench the back of her dress from under a heavy bolder. “I can do this,” she grunted, even as tears gathered in her eyes.
Reece leaned Halim against a rock before approaching Signe. “Are you crying?”
“No!” she snapped, then a watery hiccough sounded. “Y-yes.” She collapsed on the ground and covered her face with her hands. “I’m totally useless, aren’t I? Everyone helped save Halim, even that stupid stick…”
“Excuse me?” Faldon rasped, clearly insulted.
“…and what did I do?” Signe continued, unfazed by his interruption. “I got caught in a rock slide and now I’m stuck.”
Reece palmed his incordium blade. “Here, let me—”
“Don’t you dare cut my dress!” Signe stared daggers at him and gathered the skirts close.
While Signe launched into a litany of complaints and Reece snarled about not wanting to deal with her emotional breakdown, Bodog drew the walking stick back and smacked the rock. It cracked and splintered into a million pieces, the sound making Kera’s ears pop. As the dust settled, Bodog lumbered off with Faldon.
Signe sniffled a few times before she shook off the debris and called after the little man, “Thank you.” She turned to Reece and fresh tears sparkled in her eyes as she waved her hand at Bodog. “See? He’s so helpful. I want to be helpful.”
Reece sighed and moved off, muttering.
Signe dried her eyes, then bundled up Halim before they followed Bodog. Signe had a point. Everyone but Kera was a liability. The Seven Sisters would look for each of their weaknesses and wouldn’t hold back. That realization sent a chill down Kera’s spine.
Reece hesitated beside Kera and hitched his satchel onto his shoulder. “I guess having you along was the right decision. It almost makes up for you going batshit crazy on us before we left.”