by K. M. Shea
Frodi went first with balls of fire bobbing around his head, illuminating the area.
The cave was a shallow, but dark, one-room chamber. The wind howled eerily as it blew across the opening, and it smelled of dirt and stifling, old air.
“There.” Snorri pointed to the back of the chamber.
Set against the far wall was a large mirror as tall as Oskar. It had an ornate gold frame molded into swirls and tiny flowers, and at the top of the frame was a giant, blood red ruby. Several shards were missing from the mirror’s lower right corner, revealing the gold backing. Normally one would call it beautiful, but it radiated an absolute coldness that was so chilling, Rakel’s lungs ached, and her breath froze in the air. Though it was a solid object, Rakel could have sworn she saw ripples stir on the surface and heard hissing whispers echo in the chamber.
The mirror was ancient, and it was evil.
“Destroy it,” Rakel said.
“Are you certain it can’t be used?” Eydìs asked.
Frodi didn’t wait for a response. He engulfed the thing in flames, turning up the heat until tears stung Rakel’s eyes, and she couldn’t look at it.
“Don’t burn yourself out, idiot!” Eydìs yanked Frodi away and shoved a piece of jerky in his mouth. “If you put yourself in a stupor, we’re all in trouble.”
“I can’t do it,” Frodi panted. “Someone else will have to.”
General Halvor lifted his pick axe and smashed it into the mirror. The pickaxe glanced off the mirror, leaving not even a scratch, and Halvor was thrown to the ground. The chamber shook with the power of the recoil.
The soldiers tried using rocks and other weapons enchanted by Tollak. Eydìs tried ripping it apart; Liv attempted to purify it; and an earth magic user tried crushing it between rocks with no success.
Finally, Phile approached it. Her normally bright and happy face was blank of expression as she adjusted her grip on Foedus. Abruptly, she slammed the tip of the weapon into the surface and leaned, all the muscles in her body bunching with exertion. Foedus did not glance off the surface as the other weapons had done, but it didn’t make a crack.
Phile leaned into the dagger, and Rakel could have sworn she heard hissing. The room temperature dropped even though she was using her magic to counter it, and Phile still strained.
Phile gasped and pulled back, sweat beading on her forehead in spite of the cold temperatures. She shook her head. “No good,” she said. “Little Wolf?”
Rakel reluctantly drew closer to the mirror, shivering when she saw the reflection. This close, she could see Foedus had made a nick on the mirror surface, marring it, but it was miniscule—barely a pin prick on the ornate monstrosity.
The mirror didn’t perfectly reflect what was in the room. It shrank the image of those present, and magnified the darkness of the cave. As Rakel stared at it, something brushed her skin.
Use me…
Rakel glanced behind her, but no one else seemed to have heard the dark whispers.
You will be Queen, the most powerful and beautiful in all the land.
Rakel knit her hands together and clenched her jaw so tightly it hurt.
Those who hurt you will pay. They are nothing.
The ice on the mountain outside started to crackle and groan, and behind Rakel everyone murmured as the temperature dropped again.
It is your right. Use me!
Rakel blinked, and the mirror was swallowed in a thick layer of ice. The ice was so cold it made Rakel’s skin turn pink, and the rest of the party had to stumble towards the door.
She tried to push ice under the ornate frame and slam pointed spikes into the surface. Nothing worked. She even pushed ice in the few fine cracks from the missing pieces, but no matter how much pressure and power she put behind her magic, the mirror did not buckle or break.
“Princess,” Oskar gasped in the cold.
“No,” Rakel said. “We have to destroy it! We can’t leave it standing!” She pushed more of her power into it. The ice vibrated with the intensity of her power, and the ground shook.
“Rakel—stop!” Phile fell while trying to get closer to her, groaning as she writhed on the cave floor.
Rakel reached deeper, pouring pure magic into the mirror. She grasped for more. Though she still had an ocean of it left, it wasn’t flowing out fast enough. Rakel felt a glimmer of magic and reached for it, pausing when she realized the magic radiated from her ice-castle on Ensom Peak.
In that moment, Crow tackled her, yelping when he touched her. “Princess, you’ll kill ’em if you keep this up!”
Rakel let go of her powers and turned around, horrified when she realized she had nearly frozen her company to death. Halvor had frost in his hair; Phile was curled up in a ball on the ground, and Frodi was out cold.
“I’m sorry,” she gasped, falling to her knees. “I’m so sorry.”
Oskar knelt next to her and slowly placed an arm over her shaking shoulders.
“I’m sorry,” she repeated.
“It wasn’t your fault,” Oskar said.
“Clearly this mirror cannot be broken by regular methods.” Halvor brushed white flecks of frost from his clothes. “We will have to return to Ostfold and further research it.”
Rakel shivered when she felt dark air brush the back of her neck. “We can’t leave it like this.”
“Do you want to take it with us?” Halvor asked.
“No!” Rakel emphatically said.
“Then it must stay as it is,” Halvor said.
“You can seal the cave off with ice and snow,” Oskar said.
“It won’t be enough,” Rakel said bleakly. “Ice and snow cannot contain its wickedness.”
Crow smiled at her. “It has sat here for years, Your Highness. If you hide it well enough, it will stay here for a bunch more.”
“Frodi’s conscious,” Eydìs said.
“Excellent.” Oskar hopped to his feet and offered his arm to Rakel. “I suggest we make our exit with all haste? I find this place…unsettling.”
Rakel took his arm and stood, her feet and muscles unsteady.
Oskar smiled and bowed at her. “Might I suggest you tap some of your magic, Princess?” he said. “You just used a hefty bit of power there, and I fear you will soon fall unconscious if you don’t take preventative measures.”
Rakel fumbled, feeling for the minty rush of her magic. It was there, but it wasn’t nearly as reassuring as usual. It surrounded and encased her, but she could still feel the filthy darkness oozing from the mirror.
She followed Oskar outside and, when everyone left the cave, brought down a curtain of snow and ice, sealing off the entrance.
Crow patted her shoulder. “It’ll hold, Highness.”
Oskar pulled the mercenary away from her. “No touching.”
“As long as we hold the northern Verglas territories, Princess, you have nothing to worry over,” General Halvor said.
Holding territory does not mean the mirror is out of reach. Kavon had men scouting this area without our knowledge. Unable to snuff out the hopeless dread that filled her, Rakel glanced at Phile. The Robber Maiden had a similar expression in her eyes.
She knows, Rakel thought. This isn’t just a minor setback. This is a full-on loss.
The moment Rakel’s feet touched the grounds of the Verglas palace, she started for Steinar’s room.
“Princess?” Oskar called.
Rakel hurried inside, pausing long enough to see that a bit of the snow in one of the damaged courtyards had melted. She walked—occasionally breaking into a run when her fear spurred her on.
When she reached the ornate door of Steinar’s room, she pounded on it. “Steinar? S-Steinar! Something has happened, and I don’t know what to do. There’s not a book in the world that can help me now. I need you…”
Rakel fell silent and listened.
Nothing.
“Why don’t you answer?” She slapped her hand against the door. “Stop hiding! This isn’t fair of
you to make me face this alone! I didn’t want this—I didn’t want any of this! Now I don’t know what to do—and no one else sees it!”
She hiccupped in her near hysteria and dropped to her knees. “Why, why did I have to have magic?” she whispered, her eyes tearing up.
To her surprise, the door creaked and swung open. She saw, her vision blurred, Steinar’s tired but concerned face peer out at her.
“What happened?”
Rakel, in a rare moment of ungainliness, scrambled to her feet and threw herself at her brother. His arms closed around her, and for the first moment since she saw the wretched mirror, she felt warmth and reassurance. “The mirror, it won’t break.”
“What?”
Steinar brought Rakel into his room and sat with her on a white settee. He held her hand as the tale spilled from Rakel’s lips—including the mirror’s whispered promises, something she had not told the others about.
“You’re concerned because you know the problem is more than the present situation,” Steinar said. His features—simultaneously hawkish and elegant, like Rakel’s—were lined with worry.
Rakel shivered. “General Halvor and Oskar fail to understand it. This mirror is bigger than our war. Even if we stop the Chosen and eliminate Tenebris, someday someone will come for this mirror, and they will use it in the most twisted and wicked ways.”
“There must be a record somewhere that speaks of a way to shatter it. You said some shards had been pried from the mirror,” Steinar reminded her.
Rakel shut her eyes and leaned against the back of the settee. “Maybe, but I don’t have much hope. It was so…evil and dark. I’ve always had faith in the strength of my magic, but my powers faltered. The mirror soaked up everything I gave it, and it wasn’t close to cracking.”
“Perhaps your magic isn’t the answer. Maybe it takes a different sort of magic to break it.”
“Liv could not purify it; Frodi couldn’t melt it. If there is a magic that can break it, it will have to be something terrible. I don’t know if there is a person who can have that kind of power and possess the goodness of character to break it.” Rakel shivered.
“There will be,” Steinar said.
“How can you know that?” she asked.
Steinar offered her a warm smile. “Because I know magic users are an extraordinary people and have the greatest capacity to love and forgive. You, taught me that…sister.”
Rakel stared at him, afraid to breathe.
“You are frightened, and I can understand why. You have seen a great evil, and you feel hopeless. But remember the good in the world—your friends, the soldiers who fight for you, the people who believe in you. Their laughter and cheer can give you courage, and the strength to stand when you cannot do it on your own will.”
Rakel inhaled deeply and felt the caress of her magic. He is right. I’m allowing my fear to rule me—just as I used to allow my fear for my life rule me. It’s only worse, now, because I care for so many people.
The stiffness in her shoulders eased. “Thank you.” She smiled at her brother, who returned the gesture and quickly looked away.
“You don’t have to be sorry—about your magic.”
Rakel blinked. “What?”
“Your powers are a gift. You should never apologize for possessing them,” Steinar said.
“I love my magic,” she admitted. “But I know being related to me has put you in a difficult position.”
“I put myself in a difficult position when I continued your exile on Ensom after I had been crowned king. I should have called you home. I knew it was wrong to keep you there, but I was afraid,” Steinar said. “How could you forgive our family for how they had treated you—how could you forgive me for taking a throne that should have been yours?”
Rakel exhaled—as close to a groan as she would allow herself. “Everyone is overly concerned with the throne of Verglas,” she said.
Steinar stared into his lit fireplace.
“I don’t want the throne—it never even crossed my mind as I started reclaiming territory. A magic queen? I can almost feel the daggers in my back just thinking about it.” Rakel shivered in show, but Steinar didn’t laugh.
“If you want it,” he started.
“I don’t. And even if you abdicate, I would sooner see Halvor on the throne than myself,” Rakel said firmly. “I have no business trying to run a government—ignorant as I am.”
“If you had been raised at the palace with me—”
“It still wouldn’t be a good idea. I have a terrifying amount of magic. I wouldn’t be revered; I would be feared. There would be no checks in place to stop me. No, magic users are meant to be a different kind of leader. You have to lead the country, Steinar. There is no one else who can.”
“The people love you more.”
“Who wouldn’t love a hero who sweeps in and saves the day? It’s a story you can read in any child’s picture book. They love me loudly now, but even the resistance fighters must know I would make a terrible queen.”
“What if they don’t care?”
“They will,” Rakel said, recalling the words Oskar spoke to her long ago. He was right. I must lead them to Steinar. They will love him for being a good king and for being human the way they are.
Steinar squeezed her hand, making her smile in delight.
She tilted her head thoughtfully when she noticed a number of maps arranged on the walls, almost exactly the way she arranged them in her library on Ensom Peak. “I believe I have that same set of maps.”
“Do you? Fascinating,” Steinar said. “About the Chosen—” He fell quiet when muffled shouts filled the hallway. He let go of Rakel’s hand and stood, reaching for his sword. “What was that?”
“I don’t know.” Rakel moved for the door, gathering her magic but withholding from showing it—she didn’t want to spook Steinar. Steinar cautiously opened the door, releasing the full blasts of the shouts in the hallway.
“Stop! You cannot go in there,” Knut said, holding Gerta back.
“No, let me go!” The little girl thrashed, fighting to get loose.
Oskar kneeled in front of her. “Gerta, the princess is busy. Can’t you wait a few minutes?”
“I need her!”
“Tell me what’s wrong. I’ll help.” Phile tried to soothe her.
“No! I need—Princess!” Gerta shouted when she saw Rakel and Steinar standing in his doorway. Knut let her go, and she ran down the hallway, scrubbing at her tear-streaked face. “You have to come quick!” she hiccupped.
Rakel reached out to take the little girl’s hands. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Kai. He’s got magic!”
CHAPTER 5
MOBILE MAGIC
Rakel’s heart stilled. “What?”
“You have to save Kai!” Gerta pulled on her hands.
“Oskar,” Rakel said.
The attendant picked Gerta up. “Where is he, Gerta?”
“Outside the city gates.” Tears and snot flowed down Gerta’s face. “I tried to find Grandmother, but she wasn’t in our rooms!”
Rakel and Oskar ran. Rakel was vaguely aware that Phile, Snorri, and Crow were on their heels, but her mind raced. Kai has magic? Impossible—he’s well past five…though my magic appeared when I was just three. Could he have such a delayed activation?
As soon as they cleared the castle doors, Phile streaked ahead of them. “Out of the way!” she hissed at a group of soldiers.
They left the palace grounds with baffled guards in their wake and zoomed through Ostfold. Folks yelped and leaped out of their way. They almost ran into a cart pulled by a pair of donkeys, but the owner dodged them at the last moment.
Rakel’s side ached with exertion when they reached the city gate, but when she saw Kai standing in the field of snow, she had renewed vigor.
The boy was standing trapped between several crude snow sculptures of horses and soldiers that moved. Whenever he tried to flee, a sculpture lunged at him.
The rest of the mobile sculptures were occupied with brutally chopping and scattering motionless piles of snow.
“Kai!” Rakel shouted.
Kai didn’t answer. He cried and tried to back away from the snow creations. One of the soldier snow sculptures brandished its sword at him.
Rakel grabbed for her magic and reached for the snow, but it slipped away from her, mastered by another force.
“Stay here,” Rakel said.
“I wanna come with you.” Gerta put on a brave face, even though her eyes were clouded with terror.
Rakel placed a hand on her cheek. “You are a good friend, Gerta, but you can’t go.”
“Neither should you.” Worry gave Oskar’s face deep wrinkles.
“I have to.”
“It’s magic, Princess. He could hurt you.”
“He’s a scared little boy. He needs someone right now. And if I get close enough, I think I’ll be able to take control of the snow,” Rakel said.
“Good luck, Little Wolf,” Phile said.
Rakel nodded and started walking towards Kai and the snow sculptures. “Kai!” she shouted when she drew closer.
“P-P-Princess,” Kai sobbed. “I’m s-scared!”
“Everything is going to be alright. Try to calm down—your magic won’t hurt you.” Though it might hurt me.
Rakel tried pooling her magic on the snow sculptures again, but like the first time, they resisted.
Her actions caught the attention of a snow horse, which clumsily ran at her.
“No!” Kai screamed.
“Princess!” Oskar shouted.
Rakel quirked an eyebrow and encased the sculpture in a block of ice, stopping it in its tracks.
Kai gulped in air, and his shoulders heaved. “I want my mother!” he cried.
Rakel ventured closer and froze another statue.
He tried to run to Rakel, but a sculpture blocked him and knocked him off his feet. “I don’t want magic. This is s-scary!”
Rakel scowled in anger at the nearest sculpture. “Enough!” she shouted. She tapped her magic again and threw a flood of it at the snow, overwhelming it. The sculptures stopped their trail of destruction and exploded into fine, powdery snow.