Ice Burns

by Charity Ayres

  “I’ll pay you what I can, sir,” she told him.

  “Ye na hae to worry ‘bout that, lad. Just hurry on home afore ye find yerself dead. Hae ye not heard aboot the beast hunting in these parts?” The old man eyed her through glaring blue eyes.

  “Beast? No, I haven’t come across a village in a while, I’m afraid,” she told him. “I was heading toward Faust to see if I can find work.”

  “What in the realms would ye want to do that for? Not a lotta jobs to be had round there.”

  “I'm a scholar. I’m hoping to find work as an apprentice in one of the libraries.” Chandra had thought of this answer on her journey. Most people did not journey anywhere near the Winterbourne lands. She had heard villagers near the estate say that the only people to travel to the frozen north were fools and scholars. Scholars often found a home there because of the continuous need for educated apprentices in the libraries. From there, those who completed their training were either keepers of the library, when the royal family allowed, or were sent to adjacent territories to gather information and followers for the royal family. Many became spies for the king and queen, but more often they were messengers.

  “Ye didna strike me as a farming lad to me with yer soft hands and speaking manners,” the old man coughed at her. “I would offer ye shelter here, but we have little space. Ye may be able to knock at the house a few doors down.” The man pointed. “Tell em Ebb sent ye and ask if ye can hunker down in the barn fer the night.”

  He popped open a barrel buried in the dirt near his front door. Chandra watched silently as he continued to talk.

  “It's bin a bit of a rough-up ‘round here with the beastie loose and the princess gone missin. When the princess went missing, was a lotta strangers wandering about wanting to collect on the reward.”

  Chandra tried not to look shocked at this news. A scholar would know most current events, especially something as important as a member of the royal family going missing.

  “Some says that the beast wuz sumpin let loose ta hunt the princess from one of the other territories that dinna have nice thoughts about the Winterbournes. I dunno wae thet nightmare come from, but I ken it came straight from the depths.” Ebb spit to the side as he said it as if cleansing himself of the taint of speaking of such a creature.

  “What type of beast is it that people are worried about? I have some experience with animals...” Chandra trailed off as Ebb wheezed. It took her a moment to realize that the sound he was making was actually laughter.

  “Lad, the hunters havena been able to find it and come back alive. They say it’s a beast unlike anything but legend. A magic beast that burns a man alive, it does.”

  Chandra attempted to dislodge the lump of fear in her throat by swallowing. Ebb nodded, not realizing the images of men burning alive scared her more than the idea of a beast.

  “That’s right.” He handed her a small sack of root vegetables and a round of cheese he pulled from the barrel before closing it up. “Tis said they found an encampment of hunters burnt and butchered. Weren’t enough lef of em to feed the vultures.”

  Ebb gave her a nod at her thanks and Chandra hurried away as the man went inside. She heard the rough thud and scrape of a bar being placed across the door after it closed. She rushed down the street, passing the house Ebb had pointed out and making her way out of the village. She called Frostwhite with her mind and he swooped down and landed on her shoulder. The force was almost enough to knock her to the ground because she was distracted by Ebb’s words. His grip on her shoulder was tight and likely would have drawn blood if she hadn’t sewn padding in there per Matta’s instructions. It hadn’t taken either of them long to realize that Chandra would need protection on her shoulders and forearm from Frostwhite, even though he tried to be gentle. The gloves needed a few layers of hide, as did the shoulder perch, but Chandra did the best she could with what she had.

  Chandra walked for a while with Frostwhite on her shoulder. She knew he sensed that she needed the comfort of his companion ship despite the added weight. Chandra’s mind was pandemonium. The same images that haunted her mind when she tried to sleep rolled through her brain: Master Dreys' death, the clearing of men burning to death. She kept walking because she would have dropped to her knees and prayed for death otherwise.

  She doubted that the "beast" Ebb had heard about was anything of the sort and more likely word of what she had done to those men. Chandra couldn't believe that news of what had happened had traveled so far or so quickly. Not that anyone would recognize her as a beast, but every mention would have Chandra reliving her own personal hell.

  Frostwhite nudged her ear with his beak. She knew he heard her thoughts and shared the images in her mind and she felt guilt that she couldn't keep it from him. It was sometimes nice that he didn't speak and instead offered the only comfort he could: contact. She reached her hand up to stroke the feathers on his alabaster head as she felt the guilt of what she had done like an icy hand around her throat.

  31

  When the moons formed a bulls-eye in the sky at the heaviest part of night, Chandra settled herself near the fire she had built. It had taken several tries to get the flame to land where she wanted, and she was thankful that the dirt around their rough encampment was sandy to prevent her misfires from spreading.

  Frostwhite had found a solid old barn near a ruined farmhouse. She had finished a meal of a roasted potato from the sack given to her by Ebb. The hawk clicked and chirruped happily from somewhere behind her in the barn when he hunted mice as much for food as pleasure. If it weren’t for the scared squawks of the mice when they were caught, it would almost be funny. She did chuckle when she turned to see him hopping around catching and releasing the vermin before capturing them again.

  When she was able to make her eyes stay closed for longer than a heartbeat without picturing burning death, her body fell into an exhausted sleep. A moment later, Frostwhite settled on a stack of wood behind her, ever aware as he watched over her.

  Groups of eyes peered out of the darkness at Chandra: accusing eyes, angry eyes, sad eyes, terrified eyes. She tried to turn away from them, but they were everywhere. The darkness surrounded her as though the triple moons shone light only in the spot she was standing. She raised her hands, palms out to ward away the eyes. They left her in the opaque world and then the whispers began.

  She couldn’t understand the words, but heard the hiss of voices getting louder and louder like a swarm of bees in her ear. She shook her head and tried to speak but nothing came out. Her mouth shaped the words, pleas, denials; but it was without voice.

  The whispers continued to get louder, and the eyes appeared to move around her in a swirling eddy of emotional accusation. Chandra crouched down on the ground, lifting her hands to cover her ears. The noise was painful and getting louder with each breath until Chandra curled into herself with her hands clenched to block the sound, wet with blood that seeped between her fingers.

  Then the agony stopped. Chandra lowered her hands cautiously. She lifted her head to look around and found herself completely alone. Instead of relief, she felt the hairs on her body rise.

  A low rumble began. It rose and fell with only tiny shifts in pitch that might have been pleasant. She knew the sound, though and her body reacted by shaking until her teeth rattled.

  It was a laugh. A deep, rumbling laugh that bounced off of the invisible walls. It rumbled like the wrenching of massive rock tumbling and shifting. It was as though a mountain were being dragged across the ground.

  The laugh stopped. Her body ached from her muscles being drawn tight, but she curled herself up to a sitting position. Chandra was wary of the darkness that was swirling like smoke. Her eyes were drawn to a certain spot. She tried to look away.

  An inky snout poked out of the shadows and got close enough to touch where Chandra was frozen in place. The snout snorted softly, causing her spiky hair to tremble as if showing that it, too was afraid. The air was drawn away from her damp ski
n. She realized it was as though she were being sniffed. All was quiet, but the moment passed

  Then the mouth opened to show rows of teeth, and it roared and the earth beneath her shook as she was thrown back by the force.

  Chandra sat up and found herself beside the guttered remains of her campfire with Frostwhite gripping part of her shirt in his beak. She was soaked through. Her clothing stuck to her back, waist, and under her breasts. She reached into her pack, pulled out her water skin and drank until she couldn’t breathe. When she put the skin away, she shuddered and stood. The dream demon was burned into her irises as though she had been staring at fire for too long. Chandra shook herself to push away the last of the dream and focused on the massive hawk who watched her from the woodpile.

  “I guess now is a good time to move on.”

  Frostwhite cocked his head and gave her his one-eyed stare. After studying her like this for a few minutes, the great bird turned, shook his wings in an almost-human shrug and lifted off.

  As they walked, Chandra could not be at ease. Rustling leaves made her twitch, bird calls made her all but strain her neck as she jerked to look and her aching muscles gave her no quarter. But the real discomfort began the moment her soft boot touched ice.

  Chandra could see that they were nearing the Faust border when the landscape ahead looked completely drained of color. There was nothing but white ahead from the sky down. The harsh lines of the mountains and hillsides were less drawn in the landscape as they were cut. Looking ahead was like looking at the facets of a diamond: sharp and without relief.

  Not much moved. The trees were still and shiny in the dim light as if they had been made of some polished stone. Their branches were bereft of leaves or growth of any sort, and were outlined with white as though dipped in flour before placed upright in the soil. Chandra got the feeling that these were the unfortunate sentinels on the edge of two lands. They grew whenever the air was barely warm enough to sustain them and spent the rest of their lives stark and spindly. Their limbs and upper trunk were thin while the base spread out like a massive giant’s foot, attempting to reach as much ground as possible and sustain that tentative grasp on life.

  The farther Chandra walked, the sharper the cold became. The trees provided no cover from the harsh, cold air that was hard and stabbing as though it was trying to freeze her from lungs out. Chandra pulled on the mitts she had gotten for practice catching Frostwhite. It was made of reversed rabbit pelt. The fur inside was meant to cushion against her friend's talon-grip. The mitts ran to her elbows and were wonderfully warm.

  Most of the day passed with little change in scenery. Night was spent sleepless and shivering beside a tiny fire in the shelter of a few large boulders. When Chandra saw the sun rise, it was through the barest slit that her eyelids would allow.

  “Well, I think we’re either going to have to stop only in towns or possibly find a horse.” Chandra frowned because she had never really learned to ride and most of the horses struck her as big and scary with too-intelligent eyes. Frostwhite jerked on her hair.

  “Ouch! I’m not saying you aren’t intelligent! Horses seem to be able to look inside you. I’ve always felt like they look at me like I’m a bug or something stuck to their hoof,” Chandra explained to her friend who shook his feathers at her and continued to stare. “Don’t judge me! It’s not like I've had a lot of experience with animals before you flew in my window.” She frowned and looked at the stark terrain around her. “It’s not like I had a lot of experience with anything.”

  Frostwhite pecked her hard in the head with the side of his beak. The sound of it echoed fell flat in the cold air around them but was still loud.

  “Ouch!” Chandra rubbed at the spot on her head and checked her hand for blood with a glare at the hawk. Frostwhite turned his attention to preening his feathers and ignored her mumbled complaints. She unfolded her body slowly, waiting for her legs to stretch from the stiff, frozen posture they had been in. She stretched fingertips toward the roof before swinging them around and hopping in place to try to get her blood moving. She kicked snow onto the fire, and it doused in one wave of white from her boot. Frostwhite preened for a few more moments before launching himself into the air to hunt for his breakfast.

  Chandra broke a chunk from the wedge of cheese and chewed it as she walked. It had gotten so hard that she had to hold it between her teeth for a bit to let it thaw. When her jaw began to ache, she decided she was done.

  They reached a town later in the morning, and Chandra decided there was no way she could avoid people in this frozen land no matter any risk of someone identifying her. The alternative was freezing to death.

  The town wasn’t like Ebb’s village had been but was close. The market was barely open with only a few vendors. The villagers were on edge, their eyes down as they hurried about their business, as though not wanting to be outdoors any more than needed. Chandra couldn’t blame them. The lands had an arctic feel that pushed down and wrapped around a person, invasive and suffocating was present even with the sun up. After living on the edge of the desert region, winter was a foreign concept to Chandra.

  Frostwhite showed her he was in a high branch at the edge of town. Chandra sent a mental acknowledgement before heading toward the vendor stalls. She bartered some rabbit skins for bread and dried apples, though it was a tough fight. It was obvious that the merchants did not trust strangers and the prices reflected it. She did her best to look unimposing, but the fact that she traveled alone was enough to make them suspicious.

  To an elderly woman selling dried goods, Chandra asked where the nearest inn might be or if the village had a cartographer. The woman said yes, but the inn was outside of town past the constable's office, and the keeper was also a cartographer of mention. Chandra thought it had been rather pointed of the woman to mention the constable.

  “Can you find the inn?” Chandra thought to her winged friend. She saw in her mind, the him swoop down from the tree and fly in gliding circles. It didn’t take long for the image of smoke coming from a massive chimney to come into their view and a hanging sign that marked it as an inn.

  “Are you all right?” the elder woman asked. Chandra had been standing in front of her booth with a glazed look as she watched what her friend had shown her.

  Chandra flushed and smiled. “Sorry, yes. I was thinking how nice it will be to stay in an inn after all this cold!”

  “You may want to see the furrier about getting a heavier coat or cloak if you plan on continuing to travel in Faust,” the dried goods vendor told her, eyeing her scant coat and tunic and hawker mitts. “Odd gloves, those,” the woman said, her eyes a squint.

  “I was in a village on the border, and it was all they had,” Chandra said with a shrug.

  “Musta been Hawkton. They train a lot of hawk Masters there.” The woman nodded. “Fine work, that. Musta cost you a pretty penny to buy it.”

  “I had a few good skins to trade and some tea, so the leatherworker gave me a good price,” Chandra told her. She didn’t want to tell the woman that she had sought out the village specifically for hawker gloves. Frostwhite startled people up close because of his size and unusual coloring.

  “Have any more skins on ye?” the woman asked. Chandra nodded. “If ye have dark pelts, keep them for when you are most in need. The farther into Faust you go, the more they'll be worth because animals don't change from their winter coat.”

  “Thank you,” Chandra told her earnestly. She recognized that the woman offered this wisdom hesitantly and accepted it with the respect it was due. Chandra whispered a silent thanks to Matta for making her recognize and be thankful for good intentions in others. The woman nodded at her and hurried away.

  Chandra went to find the furrier to sell some of her pelts for room and board for the night and see about a cloak. The furrier paid decent money for the rabbit pelts and even bought the feathers she had saved for down in linings. After receiving her coin, she haggled for a cloak. Chandra offered to provide p
elts for lining or as payment if he had something waterproof and durable. He told her he had something he had been working on that the person who had ordered it hadn't come back to pay.

  The furrier brought out a heavy leather cloak. The hide was white and supple with a thick, dyed green lining of some coarse fabric. It was about the finest garment Chandra had ever seen. She tried to keep her face bland as she asked the price but blanched when he gave it.

  “I can't afford that. I think something so finely made might be a waste on a traveler like myself,” Chandra told him, shaking her head sadly.

  “True, it isn’t the normal garb for a traveling hunter like yourself, but it's also not the garb anyone in these parts is likely to buy.” The man scratched at his bristly chin and rubbed a hand across his bald head as he looked between her and the cloak. He lowered the price significantly and added, “I don't want to lose on the cost of the leather. It was made for travel, to the buyer’s specifications; he wanted something that would stand up to the unpredictable nature of travel.”

  Chandra held back her excitement and nodded. “May I try it to check the length?” The furrier nodded. Chandra lifted the heavy cloak; it was well-lined, and she placed it around her shoulders. Unfortunately, a good few inches touched the ground when she had fastened it.

  “If you have a day, I can take it down a bit,” the man told her, eyeing the bottom. Chandra bit her lip and ran her hands along the material. It was rich and soft to the touch, the white skin like the leather on a saddle while the green lining was smooth.

  “Would you be able to put a hidden pocket or two in the lining?” she asked him, her green eyes steady on his. He nodded. Chandra made a new bid and the furrier put out his rough, massive hand, and she shook it. She paid him a portion and left on the agreement that she would bring the other payment the following day.