by Lou Anders
Desstra stilled as a fire lance was brought to bear on her. But before the soldier could touch the trigger, Thianna hurled something through the air.
The snowball wasn’t much of a weapon in the Thican heat, but it still made for a marvelous distraction. The former knattleikr player tossed her projectile in a perfect pitch, straight through the helmet’s right eye slit and into the woman’s face. Blinded, and with an ice-induced headache, she toppled from her saddle.
Leta roared and drew her sword, racing toward Thianna.
The giantess met the blow with her own blade and trapped it. Slowly Thianna forced Leta’s sword down.
“I am head of the Keras Guard,” Leta said. “I have succeeded where all others have failed, and I will not be bested by you anymore.”
“I am Thianna Frostborn,” replied the Ymirian girl. “And I don’t care what you think.”
Thianna thrust her shoulder into Leta’s sternum, knocking the woman back. As she fell, Desstra somersaulted into her path, tripping her legs. Leta stumbled into her own mount, which suddenly whipped its head up in a savage jerk. The Keras Guard captain was tossed through the air to crash into King Asterion’s mount. Alarmed, the huge scorpion grasped the unfortunate soldier in its pincers. Her screams were loud but short-lived.
Thianna looked away. She saw that the soldier who had taken the snowball was immobilized by her friends, while the minotaurs had the only still-mounted Calderan surrounded. The woman took in the situation and wisely held up her hands in surrender.
Thianna turned to the wyvern.
“That was a pretty treasonous move you made there yourself, friend,” she said.
The power of the horn fades as the time of the Great Hatching approaches, it replied in her mind. Also, didn’t she get on your nerves? She was really getting on mine.
—
Thianna lay awake on the bed of straw. Minotaurs didn’t seem to think bathtubs were a necessary component of guest quarters. At any rate, it wasn’t the unfamiliar bedding that troubled her. She had other things on her mind.
The giantess stood, tiptoeing so as not to wake her companions. Desstra and Daphne each lay on their own straw pile. The dryad was snoring softly and didn’t seem capable of being disturbed. Desstra had explained that the tree girl was diurnal. Apparently that didn’t mean she came equipped with two urns like it sounded. It meant that like a flower she shut down when the sun went down.
Thianna paced about the room. They had spent most of the day in conference with the king and his warrior-advisors, along with representatives summoned from Dendronos who arrived via the Greenway. Both cities would begin battle preparations on the morrow, but the giantess hoped they wouldn’t be necessary. If they could pull off what they had plotted, war might be avoided outright.
Karn had actually contributed the bulk of their plans. The Thrones and Bones expert was proving to be quite a strategist. She was proud of the way the Norrønur had spoken before a gathering of adults. He had come a long way from the irresponsible boy who didn’t know better than to eat snow when he was lost in a frozen wilderness.
The Great Hatching would occur in two days. It was agreed that while the horn remained under Thican control, a ground-based assault would be futile. So a covert team would be sent into the city. A large force would be detected immediately, but Karn reasoned that just a few individuals entering through the Greenway could sneak into Caldera under cover of darkness. Thianna had been chosen to lead a small team on a mission to steal the horn. Naturally she had picked her companions, old and new. Asterion had objected at first, but adult minotaurs weren’t known for being sneaky, and Thianna had a certain leverage when it came to the Horn of Osius and her ability to wield it. When it was safely in her control, the minotaur and tree folk forces could approach. But without air support, the hope was that the Calderans would surrender peaceably.
That was the hope, anyway. She was reminded of a Norrønian proverb that Karn had taught her. “The gods’ end may be written in the runes, but not even they know the path to get there.” Who knew how the plans would play out? Thianna didn’t care much for fortune-telling anyway. She preferred to chart her own destiny. But tomorrow she’d be casting runes for more than just herself. The fate of an entire country was in her hands.
She sat down on a stool before a small dressing table. Fumbling absentmindedly in the dark, her hands found a comb on the table. She held it in her lap, thinking of the cousin who stood aligned against her.
“Can’t sleep either?”
Thianna saw a slender figure in the dark that could only be Desstra.
“Don’t sneak up on me like that,” she said.
“Sorry,” said the dark elf. “I suppose it’s hard to put aside old habits.”
Thianna grunted at this.
“Care to talk about it?” said Desstra.
“With you?” said Thianna.
For an answer, the smaller girl lifted the comb from Thianna’s hands, then began to comb the giantess’s hair. Thianna tried to pull away, but the elf laid a hand on her shoulder.
“Relax,” she said. “I can see in the dark, remember?”
Thianna tried to sit still. There were aspects of Thican culture that she didn’t mind. Combs, and bathing.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m still getting used to this combing thing. There weren’t any girls my age when I grew up. Dad didn’t really know how to comb hair. And my mentor Eggthoda wasn’t exactly concerned with appearances either.”
“So you could use a friendly ear?” prodded Desstra. “Come on, mine are longer than most. And it’s been weeks since I last tried to kill you.”
That drew a chuckle from the giantess.
In the dark, without being able to clearly see the elf’s face, it was easier to unburden her mind. It was almost like talking to herself.
“I just wonder,” said Thianna, “am I doing the right thing?” Desstra listened silently, working her way through the tangles in Thianna’s locks.
“I mean,” Thianna continued, “the way the Calderans run their own city, that’s bad. And the way they rule the whole island-continent is worse. I know they’ve had it coming a long time. But is it right that I’m the one to topple them?”
“What do you mean?” said Desstra.
“They’re my people. I left my mountaintop to find them. Not destroy them. I wanted to understand my mother’s culture. And when I found it, I found it’s horrid. How can I be proud of my human half when my human half comes from this?”
“Do you know what I think?” said the elf. “I think you need to broaden your definition of your mother’s culture.”
“What do you mean?”
“I thought that being a member of the Underhand was the best that life could be. When I didn’t graduate, I thought life was over, with nothing for me. You and Karn showed me how limited that thinking was. The Underhand seems small and petty now.”
“Like Thrudgelmir,” said Thianna. “And all the giants who picked on me growing up.”
“Right,” said Desstra. Though she didn’t know who Thrudgelmir was, she could imagine what growing up had been like for the littlest giant.
“Every since we came to Thica,” said Desstra, “we’ve seen all these odd beings and creatures. People who are half goat, half human. Creatures that are half lion, half goat, half snake.”
“That’s three halves,” laughed Thianna.
“Half bull, half man.”
“You’re wondering why there are no half-elves?”
“There are half-elves,” said Desstra. “But don’t stray off topic. Karn rode to Labyrinthia on a half rooster, half horse.”
“So there’s a lot of halves here,” said the giantess. “What’s your point?”
“My point is that you’re a half giant.”
“So?”
“So your cousin and the queens, they’ve made the mistake of thinking of themselves as Calderans first and Thicans second. But you fit in here better than they do, w
ith all these mixed beings. You’re a Thican first, and you’re acting for all of Thica. That’s something you can be proud of. And something your mother would be proud of too.”
“I’m a Thican,” said Thianna. “I’m a Ymirian. I’m a Thican.” She caught the dark elf’s wrist to stop her from combing her hair. “I’ve been terrible to you.”
“ ‘Terrible’ is what you’ve been to your hair,” said Desstra. “But if you’re saying you’ll finally accept my help, you’re welcome.”
“I guess that is what I’m saying,” said Thianna. “Thanks. I just hope we can pull this off. And that when we do, all the city-states don’t just tear the country apart.”
“Actually,” said Karn from the doorway to their chambers, “I have some ideas about how to handle that too. Someone I met on the way to Labyrinthia.”
Thianna looked at her friend’s face, shining in the light of the phosphorescent stone about his neck.
“Can’t sleep either, Norrønboy?” she asked.
“Who sleeps before a battle?” he replied.
“Look at us,” said Thianna. “Three barbarian kids from the frozen northlands, about to change the world.”
“Again,” said Karn.
“Who are you calling a barbarian, barbarian?” said Desstra.
—
Eventually the friends drifted back to bed, but later that evening Thianna woke once more in the night.
“Karn?” she said. But the Norrønur had gone back to his own quarters.
“Desstra?” she called. But this time the elf was asleep as well.
And Daphne still snored from her own bed.
The frost giant sat very still, listening in the dark. Something had woken her. But what?
On the edge of her awareness, so faint that it might be one of her own thoughts, she heard a voice.
Message received, it said. We are coming.
We? thought Thianna. Who is ‘we’?
In the northernmost section of the city of Caldera, in the helot district near a large amphitheater, a green glowing light suddenly limned the outline of a doorway in the trunk of a large elm.
More of the otherworldly light spilled into the surrounding glen as a door in the trunk opened. A seagull that had been resting in its branches squawked and flew away. Then Thianna Frostborn climbed from out of the Greenway, stepping aside to allow Karn Korlundsson, Desstra, Daphne, and Asterius to follow her out.
She glanced at the sky above.
“The dark’ll favor us,” she observed.
The larger moon was just a slender curve of light, while its smaller satellite was being eclipsed by her larger sister.
“Good thing Manna’s moon is in its crescent phase,” said Karn.
“Whose moon?” asked Daphne, stifling a yawn. The little dryad had bound her leaves to keep them from curling up.
“One of the Norrønir gods,” explained Karn. “We say the larger moon is hers.”
“Here we say it is Noe’s realm,” said the dryad. “And we call it Mene.”
“Frost giants don’t worship any gods,” said Thianna. “But I’m grateful to whoever’s moon it is that it’s not full.”
She turned to the elm tree.
“And to you too,” she said. “Thank you.”
“Good fortune to you, Thianna Frostborn,” the hamadryad replied. “I wish you success. Noe is also the goddess of the hunt. May she guide you in your hunting tonight.”
Taking their farewell of the hamadryad, the five companions left the grove of olive trees. Desstra both led the way and scouted ahead. They moved upslope through the helot district, approaching the first of the intercity walls. This time the elf was properly equipped. She had ropes and gear for scaling, so the team didn’t need to travel either by the gate or by the watercourse.
The little elf quickly ascended the wall. Reaching the top, she paused as her hypersensitive ears alerted her to the coming of a patrol. A hand signal alerted her companions to wait. Then she melted into the shadows so that even her friends—who knew where to look—couldn’t tell where she was. Watching from the shadows of a building below, Karn held his breath as a Calderan guard approached Desstra’s hiding spot. A slender needle pricked the unfortunate woman on the neck, then the dark elf lowered the unconscious soldier gently to the walkway. She listened once more. Satisfied they were alone, she motioned for the rest of the team to proceed.
“Nicely done,” said Thianna as she joined Desstra on the wall. Then the frost giant descended the rope to the ground. One by one, her companions followed, all except for Daphne. The dryad simply leapt into the air. She spread the leaves beneath her arms and whirled around and around like an overlarge elm seed falling from a branch.
“Also nicely done,” said Thianna. Daphne smiled at the praise.
They were in the city’s middle district, the home of the dactyl dwarves. Thianna spoke to the group.
“I need to pass a message here,” she said.
Stepping from an alleyway, she startled a passing dwarf.
“Be healthy,” she said, using the common Norrønian greeting.
“It’s hard to be that way with you leaping out of the shadows and startling me,” objected the dactyl. Then his eyes grew suspicious. “Say, you’re a big one. You aren’t that half giant everyone’s so concerned with, are you?”
Thianna grinned and placed a finger to her lips.
“Shh,” she said. “I need you to do something for me. Tell Herakles that if he wants to see real change, he can join us tomorrow.”
“Herakles?” said the dactyl, feigning ignorance. “I’ve no idea who you mean. I don’t know anyone named Herakles.”
“Sure you do,” said the frost giant. “Tell the Hammerfist that I’ve arranged quite a party, and he’s not going to want to miss it.”
“Supposing I pretend I know what you’re talking about,” said the dwarf. “How will this Herakles know when it’s time to act?”
“He’ll know,” said Thianna. “Believe me, he’ll know. You all will.”
The dactyl nodded curtly and hurried away. But, Thianna noticed with satisfaction, not in the direction he had been going.
The five companions climbed the second wall as smoothly as the first. Thianna paused to look at the view of the summit. Her eyes swept from the sky docks in the south across the central Twin Palaces to the Tower of Damnameneus in the north—the top of the mountain, the heart of the empire. Here, where every citizen doubled as a soldier, they would have to be extra-careful.
Moving through the streets, Desstra’s ears again alerted them to danger. The elf slipped into the shadows, taking down a two-soldier patrol with two quick jabs of slender needles. They approached the Twin Palaces from the south, avoiding the broad avenue leading to the Court of Land and Sky, and aided by the convenient presence of a row of trees.
A soldier stood guard at the front gates to the court. When a snowball rolled to a halt at her feet, the soldier was understandably puzzled. Even more puzzling was the line of snowballs she saw leading around the corner. She followed them, confused by the freakish weather that had balls of ice falling from the sky. The fist of the frost giant was the most surprising thing, but she didn’t have long to consider it before she was being lowered to the ground, dropping into unconsciousness.
Thianna pointed to Desstra, Asterius, and Daphne.
“You three, stay outside. Spread out, and let us know if you hear anyone coming.”
Desstra nodded. Then Thianna and Karn snuck inside.
The Court of Land and Sky was deserted at night. As quietly as Thianna walked, she winced at every footfall on the polished marble floor. But nothing stirred in the shadows of the room.
She mounted the stairs. Naturally the Sky Queen’s throne had been righted since she’d upended it. Thianna grinned to think she might be toppling a throne again, in a manner of speaking. The giantess placed her palm on the wall as she had done the last time she was here. As before there was a faint glow as the magic re
cognized the child of Talaria. And the doorway slid aside.
Thianna stepped into the small chamber. Sure enough, the Horn of Osius was on the altar at the far end. But Thianna wasn’t alone in the hidden room. Sirena the Keras Keeper sat crosslegged on the ceremonial flat-topped marble block holding the horn in her lap.
Sirena grinned at the larger girl.
“Greetings, cousin,” she said. Then she tapped her forehead with a finger. “Don’t look so surprised to see me. I felt you coming when you were miles away.”
—
Thianna burst from the secret chamber.
“Get out of here!” she yelled. “It’s a trap.”
Karn’s hand dropped to his sword, but soldiers were already emerging from doors to either side of the room. Others raced down the balcony stairs or flowed from the front doors. Thianna started to draw her sword, but even she knew the situation was hopeless.
Then she saw Desstra, along with Asterius and Daphne, being marched into the room with a company of women. The entire team had been captured.
“Troll dung,” the frost giant swore. She leapt from the dais, flying over the heads of several surprised foes. Landing alongside the wall, Thianna grabbed a tapestry and gave it a savage yank. She flung the wall hanging—the same one her cousin had ensnared her with!—over the nearest group of soldiers.
“See?” said Thianna to her cousin as Sirena emerged from the chamber behind the throne. “You did manage to teach me something!”
As the women floundered beneath the heavy material, Thianna bounded across their struggling forms. Muffled cries of “Ouch!” and “Get off!” issued from beneath the tapestry as the enormous girl used lumps that could be heads or backs or shoulders for stepping stones.
Knocking two women aside who were foolish enough to try to block her path, the former knattleikr player barreled through a doorway, leaving the Court of Land and Sky behind. Thianna knew that if she could get away, she might return and free the others. But if she were captured there would be no way to warn her allies in Labyrinthia and Dendronos of the change in plans. Worse, the Calderans might be able to use her friends against her to force her to play the horn. Either way they were all doomed.