Above the Snowline

by Steph Swainston

  Jant shook his head, ‘She’s past that now; she wouldn’t listen. The silver man is five hundred kilometres away and she has the courage of her own convictions.’

  ‘Tell her she must stop.’

  ‘No. There must be another way …’

  It was terrible to see Jant struggle. We all knew that if he tried to stop Dellin, she would never speak to him again.

  Lightning bided his time and watched. I was surprised to see a look of grim satisfaction cross his face. He twiddled the stem of his wine glass. His hands were remarkably powerful, fingers broad and flattened at the tips, accustomed to holding an arrow at nock. His short nails were meticulously filed and, on his wedding finger - as if he was married to his manor and no one else - he wore a signet ring of silver. No, platinum, with a sapphire bearing the Micawater lozenge. It must have been a copy of a very old ring because it was an oddly antiquated design.

  Jant gave up and buried his head in his hands. ‘I can’t think of any alternative. But, Lightning, I need to be on her side. I’ve already prevented her poisoning everyone in Carniss. If I tell her to stop, she’ll think I’ve ceased to support her. She’ll continue her raids and I’ll have achieved nothing apart from losing her. I can’t …’

  Lightning smiled faintly. ‘Why don’t you marry her?’

  ‘Marry her!’

  ‘Sh! Tell me honestly, had you never thought of proposing?’

  ‘No …’ Jant stared. ‘I never …’ Then everything clicked in his mind. The puzzle was solved. A mad gleam came into his eyes. ‘Yes! I can, can’t I?’

  ‘We all have that ability,’ said Lightning, swirling his glass.

  ‘But … it’ll make me lazy. Self-contented. I’ll grow too fat to fly!’

  ‘If you marry a Rhydanne?’ I said. ‘Nonsense!’

  ‘Well, yeah …’ He paused again then smiled.

  ‘Maybe you need it,’ said Lightning. ‘Maybe in your life the time has come - by god, I never thought it would - when you are ready. You look more exhausted than if you’d been at the battlefront all this time. Imagine feeling so tired for the rest of eternity? Would you suffer, if you had to live without her?’

  ‘I think so.’

  ‘Then offer her your hand in marriage. Tell her you will bring her to the Castle. You will marry her before the Emperor. He will link her to the Circle, through you, and make her immortal.’

  ‘I don’t know … Rhydanne accept the fact they die. She might not understand immortality.’

  ‘Immortality is a quality every woman understands.’

  ‘We’d be together for ever.’

  ‘Yes. Preserve her beauty. Doesn’t the Castle need a touch of wildness?’

  ‘She’d be dependent on me for life …’ Jant looked inside himself again, still trying to come to terms with using his power seriously, rather than as a fail-proof chat-up line.

  ‘If you want to give her love, what better way than to give her life?’

  ‘That’s right! That’s what I want!’ He jumped up and snatched a platter of meat. ‘I want to make her happy, because that will make me happy! I’ll bring her food - that’s how Rhydanne propose!’

  ‘It seems rather less enduring than a ring,’ Lightning murmured.

  ‘I’ll give her my ring as well!’ Jant cried, and hurried out. The last I saw of him was the fur trim on his parka hem disappearing down the staircase.

  ‘A good night’s work!’ Lightning smiled. ‘And an excellent way to round off the year. Ouzel, may I? To eighteen ninety-one!’ We clinked our glasses.

  JANT

  I hurtled down the stairs, out onto the snow and dashed into the gatehouse arch. So many soldiers marching through it, one after another. Their coats were white with hoar frost; they carried only light packs and each man’s pallid face was like a lantern floating above the amber lamp that swung in his hand. Each was lined with exhaustion, and lit with sudden surprise as I ran past.

  Time would tear Dellin from my side. I keenly felt its inexorable flow separating us even now. I felt as if she had been walking beside me, then suddenly lost her footing and chuted down the icy slope, out of control, hurtling faster and faster into the distance. Time would rip her away - she would crash into all its events and it would kill her. Rhydanne live too quickly. How cruel reality was! How cruel time was, as we walk like parasites on its rushing body. Time: as the twelve strokes of midnight drew nearer, I felt it tangible in the air, a sense of expectation, anticipation. It was so cloying, I couldn’t stand it!

  If I don’t save Dellin, she will die. There suddenly seemed to be very little time left - if I don’t save her in a matter of minutes she will die imminently! Why had I been fooling about for weeks when I had no time to spare?

  I ran out of the gateway, to the track with shovel-loads of snow piled high beside it, along which the soldiers were still coming. Their lanterns cast long shadows over the snow mounds, turning every lump into a mountain. Every hollow became a crevasse. I scrambled off the path onto the untouched snow. A gaggle of lights in the distance glimmered as they ascended between the trees. More soldiers.

  The storm lamps on the parapet cast an orange glow down the curtain wall. Their arcs of light pooled around its base, shining on the enormous blocks lustrous with verglas. Beyond was nothing but blackness. I ran alongside the wall, on snow coloured orange by the lamp light. My forked shadow licked beside me on the drifts. The ground sloped away in tiers, then vanished abruptly in a sheer drop. Far below, I could hear the wind moaning against the rock face.

  The curtain wall rooted straight onto the cliff. I searched its puckered and exfoliated rocks but Dellin wasn’t here; I was quite alone. I reached a little crag, lambent with ice and veiled with snow. The wall stepped down it before disappearing into the darkness. I held the plate to my chest and climbed down the crag, with the drop sheer to the lowlands beneath me.

  A cornice crusted over the top of the crag like icing on a cake, and lower down the rocks showed through. I was at the very edge of the light emanating from the keep, and I came to a halt on a ledge surrounded by the void. The cliffs were dim and I could no longer hear soldiers’ voices or any sound from the hall: everything was still.

  ‘Dellin?’ I called quietly. ‘Dellin, are you here?’

  She stood before me. One second I was alone. The next she simply detached herself from a shadow in a fissure and ran forward a few steps.

  She looked meaningfully at the tray of meat so I gave it to her. She crouched and bolted every piece, then dropped the tray and wiped her fingers on the snow.

  ‘Thank you,’ she said, and I smiled. I had tamed her that much.

  As she stood up she met my eyes. I took her hands and she did not pull away. ‘Dellin,’ I said. ‘Will you be my wife?’

  Her glance flicked down to the tray. Yes, I could procure food like the best of hunters. She thought for a while, her hand over her mouth and her pale face turned away from me.

  So, she will not dismiss me out of hand, but I couldn’t stand to wait. I reached out and touched her collar, wanting, but not daring, to tilt her face to mine. ‘Come with me to the Castle. We’ll be married in front of the silver man. He’ll make you immortal. You’ll be part of the Circle, Dellin. You will never die. Never! We can see the world a thousand years from now.

  ‘Everyone will come to our wedding. The whole Circle will be our audience in the Throne Room, then we’ll have a feast. I don’t mean you should act like a flatlander! I don’t want you to dress their way; I want you the way you are. Everyone in the Castle will accept you … They aren’t prejudiced against us. You don’t even have to leave the mountains, if you prefer not to. We can be married here. You can stay in Carniss for ever.’

  She looked up. ‘Yes! I will be your hunting partner.’

  The delicate curve of her beautiful eyebrows over her almond, green eyes. Her skin, as clear as the silk inside a chestnut shell … Her black hair in contrast, pinned by a bone comb … I wanted to kiss her but inst
ead she leant forward - she smelt so rich and heady - embraced me powerfully and licked my throat. Her teeth closed on my skin and nipped me. She let go and breathed out at the same time, her eyes closing in pleasure. Intoxicated, I held her. She whispered in my ear, ‘Chase me!’ then she leapt away and scaled the little crag confidently, pulled herself over the top and was gone.

  What on earth? What was she doing? Why had she left me? A sense of rejection rose and I teetered on the edge of anguish then - yes. It means yes! She wants me to chase her!

  Without time to think, I climbed the crag after her. I clutched my fingers into the snow and hoisted myself over the cornice. Dellin was running for the forest edge, already small at the edge of the light, her faint shadow racing ahead of her. I stretched my legs and ran my fastest, and began to close the distance as the wood loomed closer. I could just make out her sylph-like legs. She jumped a rock, slipped between the trees and disappeared. I cleared the rock in a stride and followed her into the forest.

  It was pitch black. I couldn’t differentiate anything. I halted, panting. I put out my arm, strode forward, and gradually my vision improved until I could just distinguish her footprints, darker grey on the grey snow. The tree boles were black shafts, streaks of empty space, and Dellin had zigzagged between them, climbing all the time. I ran on, over her prints, trying to glimpse movement, but she had already vanished and she ran so nimbly I couldn’t hear her steps.

  The forest was silent and the snow striped steel-grey and impervious black, crusted over like old sugar so I broke its topping with every footfall. I was so fleet of foot, running was effortless. A light feeling in my chest seemed to raise me up and filled me with warmth. She loves me in return! This was going to be so good! I’ll take her to the Castle and show her the whole world. I’ll introduce her to everyone as my wife. What would she think of Hacilith? She’s so inquisitive she’ll love it!

  I had an image of her smiling face surrounded by the long wispy trim of her hood. I wasn’t sure what to do. I had seen Rhydanne run but what happened at the other end was a mystery. Will she give herself to me, or does she expect me to bring her down in the snow? Something wonderful will happen, but I didn’t know exactly what. I’ll have to do what seems right. One thing I knew for certain: she was leading me to a special place where we will be alone together.

  I’ll be tender. I’ll teach her how to kiss. She’ll learn my love and I’ll learn hers. Hope filled me. When she’s mine, we’ll do this again and again in innumerable ways. We’ll fight the Castle’s battles side by side and fill up the Northwest Tower with Dara children. How we will shock the ambassadors! Dellin, sitting beside me at the feast, in shorts and vest, and her party trick climbing all the way over and under the table without touching the floor!

  A light breeze stirred the branches. The trees were thinner here and I glimpsed the sky. A rocky mound rose some distance in front and my lover’s tracks led straight towards it. This is it! She must want to give herself to me on the summit. I realised I preferred the hard and glassy snow to any eiderdown. Better than any boudoir, above us we would have the biting air and limitless stars. The peaks of Klannich will witness us making love.

  I reached the knoll and began climbing. I thought I saw snow brushed from the handholds she had used less than a minute before, but I still couldn’t hear her. I reached over outcropping boulders, found a crack among them and followed it. I reached one arm over the final projection, to the summit, slithered my belly over the rimy rock and pulled myself onto the top.

  Knees bent, poised to spring, I looked around. Dellin was not there. The domed summit was empty - she must have descended the other side. I ran across and examined the edge for footprints, but the crust was untouched.

  Where was she? I smiled and it froze on my face. Never mind. Perhaps she was tempting me. I had to admire her talent. She had thrown me off her trail, but if she loved me she’d retrace her steps and let me glimpse her. We would run on and I would want her the more when I caught her.

  This was a magnificent viewpoint. The forest spread out in all directions, rising to the silhouette of Klannich against the dark purple snow clouds. The forest dipped smoothly down, folding into gullies, and at the foot of the incline gave onto blank snow and the keep. On the keep’s parapet, orange haloes surrounded the storm lamps. Semicircles of light scalloped the walls below them and fringed the snow.

  The lancet windows of the hall, halfway up the tower, were lit yellow and flickered from within. The Shattering was continuing down there. With midnight and the new year fast approaching, it was a magical place to be.

  But where was Dellin? I must be misunderstanding something; had I done something wrong? I cast about but found no trace of her and was about to slip back into the forest and retrace my steps when the light from the keep bloomed twice as intensely. I crouched and watched it. The kiln must be raging.

  The light pulsed again and shone on clouds rising behind the keep. Not clouds - smoke! Second by second the brightness increased, and now a glow began to flicker in Raven’s window seat above the hall. It was on fire!

  The Shattering must have gone wrong. Sometimes a spark from a kiln can cause a blaze. I’d heard of it happening. I didn’t want to call to Dellin because she’d think I was admitting defeat, but my friends were down there! I hesitated, torn between them and Dellin. Would she give me another chance to show how much I loved her? I might never see her again!

  ‘Dellin!’ I shouted. ‘Dellin, if you can hear me, the keep is burning! ’

  No answer but the hiss of the breeze. I stood, paralysed by indecision, and all the time the blaze increased. Raven’s window filled with dancing flames. I spread my wings, took one last frantic look around, then launched myself off and glided down towards it.

  The cool air sped past me, the treetops of the forest below. The tower came up swiftly, a starkly solid black shape in the diffuse orange glow. I drew nearer. It looked squat and foreshortened; now I could smell the smoke. I passed over its square top and felt a burst of rising heat.

  I looked down into the bailey. Figures were spilling out of the tower stairs and clustering on the snow. Some in groups, others alone, they looked up at the keep and cast fans of shadows by its guttering light. I pulled my wings half-closed and dropped. I flared my wings, dangled my legs and skimmed along the surface of the snow till I slid to a halt.

  Villagers and soldiers were swarming out of the narrow staircase and gasping for breath in the sudden freezing air. One after another - there must be a crush inside - they ran towards me and spread out, searching for their loved ones in the crowd. I saw a man running to the open arms of his wife, a lady in thick skirts gathering up a young boy. Soldiers were joining their comrades, shouting and pointing at the windows.

  The glass in the hall windows was still sound but the curtains were aflame. I could see a fraction of the ceiling: the garlands were burning fiercely. One detached and swung out of sight, in a shower of sparks.

  Over in the darkness Ouzel was yelling at some women to bring buckets and scoop up the snow. Lightning was standing by the doorway, keeping the flow of escapees as fast as possible, patting the back of each one passing, keeping them running over the snow till they were well clear.

  I skirted round them and ran to join him, skidding with every stride, but as I reached him the flow of people stopped. Lightning stared up the staircase.

  ‘Was it the kiln?’ I cried.

  He looked to me with eyes wide, but turned back at a commotion on the stair. Raven plunged down the steps. His expression was thunderous and he was dragging someone behind him. He burst out onto the snow, pulling Dellin by the wrist. Dellin?

  Struggling, her hair flying, she looked more beautiful than ever. She dug her heels in, flexed her arm and bit Raven’s hand. He tugged her so hard he pulled her over and strode on, towing her behind him. She regained her footing and hauled back.

  Snipe, with sword drawn, then a couple of spearmen, followed him out of the turret. Snip
e ran to his master’s side and the guards closed behind Dellin.

  ‘Let her go!’ I said.

  Raven stormed on, black with fury. His hand was running with blood. As he hauled Dellin past she glanced at me in mute appeal. Then she resumed yanking, scratching, and riving his feathers out, as he towed her in the direction of the stables. He cut through the crowd, which parted in front, then drew in behind him so more and more staring people followed in his wake. I kept pace with Dellin. She was fighting with all her strength but Raven had an iron grip.

  Lightning joined me. ‘Not the kiln. Her.’

  ‘Dellin?’

  ‘She set fire to the treasury and his room.’

  ‘How? Has everybody got out?’

  ‘Yes. Smoke was pouring into the hall. It was streaming along the ceiling. Then a guard ran in yelling, “Fire!”’

  ‘Any casualties?’

  ‘None. Raven kept a clear head. We stopped the panic and got everyone out, but the treasury’s destroyed. Raven and Snipe ran up to his chamber …’ Lightning coughed. ‘They caught her there. It’s still burning.’

  The treasury below the hall had been full of furs. No wonder the fire caught so quickly and so much smoke was billowing out. But Dellin shouldn’t be here. She was supposed to be in the forest. We were supposed to be making love. Only half an hour after we were engaged to be married, she was digging her feet into the snow, as Raven dragged her away so powerfully I thought he’d wrench her arm off. I felt there must be two Dellins, one here and the other still out in the woods, waiting mournfully for me.

  Nonsense. She must have doubled back early in our chase. Could it have been when I first lost sight of her? Could I have been following a false trail all that time? A cold feeling clutched me: could she have planned this?

  A tremendous explosion sounded behind us. I swung round in time to see flame bursting from the undercroft. Another explosion followed and another, throwing shards of wood out of the glare.