As Winter Spawns

by Jason Hamilton

  “So we’ll make sure those particular Fae are divided up equally among all the groups. But no one gets to stay inside for longer than a day. That’s an order.”

  “And just who says you get to speak for all of us?” said Vander, his tone going dark.

  Suddenly the tension between them grew cold. Jak could feel it. It was time for her to step in. “Vander, please listen to her. I asked her to lead.”

  Vander only glanced in her direction before returning his attention to Skellig. “Apologies, Jak. I respect everything you’ve done, and you will always have an honorary place among my people. But you’ve done what you can and now it’s someone else’s turn to lead.”

  “Yes, and that person is Skellig.” Jak emphasized. She was okay if Vander no longer considered her a leader, but they had to make sure they were all following one person, and Skellig was the best leader Jak knew. “She’ll make sure we get fair treatment.”

  “Circumstances are different where Fae are involved,” said Vander.

  “This is Illadar,” said Seph, speaking up for the first time. “A land of peaceful cohabitation. We can’t allow such differences between our races to divide us or we’ll be no better off than we were back on Earth.”

  That seemed to reach Vander, but not in a good way. He turned to Seph and raised his arms wide. “Does this look like we’re better off to you? Look, let me put it another way. The Fae stay. We are happy to fill the remaining space with as many humans as will fit, and rotate them through accordingly. Hopefully our scouts will find more lodging soon. But we will stay, whether you like it or not.”

  Skellig opened her mouth to protest but Vander interrupted her.

  “And we will defend it if need be.”

  Suddenly, everything went quiet. Everyone who listened was frozen as they watched Skellig and Vander face each other down. Jak felt a lump grow in her throat. This could not be happening. They had to find a way to make it all work out, so that everyone could have a chance at living under shelter.

  “Is that a threat,” said Skellig, her voice as cold as the air around them.

  “Only if you continue to enforce your foolish ideals that will get us all killed.”

  Jak stepped in. “Vander, more people have a chance of dying if you fill the caves with Fae.”

  “Humans will die,” he retorted. “Last I checked there were plenty of humans here, not to mention everyone back on Earth. We Fae number only in the hundreds. This is all we are. I will not put another one at risk of death. And I will not allow any misguided leadership—” he shot a venomous look at Skellig, “—to put us in that situation.”

  Jak’s mouth was left hanging, but Skellig’s lips pressed together in a thin line. Then she turned and marched away, pushing aside some of the onlookers as she retreated back into the main camp.

  Sparing a glance at Vander, who held the hint of a triumphant smile on his face, Jak hurried to catch up with Skellig.

  “You can’t attack him,” she said as she fell into step beside the former Watcher major. “The Fae would kill too many people before you defeat them.”

  “Hopefully it will not come to that,” said Skellig, continuing her march with her eyes fixed on the ground in front of her. “But many could die the longer we wait out here. With the Fae taking priority in the caves, at most we will fit another six hundred humans inside. That leaves everyone else out in the cold for far too many days. It was too many as it was.”

  “We survived well enough last night?” Jak offered.

  “Yes, but what happens when food becomes scarce, or if the cold only worsens. What happens if Vander decides not to let us in at all? We can’t survive out here indefinitely. We need shelter.”

  “Just hold out for a few days,” said Jak. “I’m sure the scouts will be back soon. They’re bound to find something, even if it’s just a sheltered cliff.”

  “They had better,” replied Skellig, her face hardening. “Or we’ll be faced with some very difficult decisions.”

  5

  But the scouts did not return. One day passed, then two, and soon a week had gone by and there was no word from anyone. Most of the Sky Fae returned on the first day, but with no success in finding additional shelter, and they had nothing to report about Bretton and his group either. The Sky Fae continued to come and go, but many chose to simply stay in the caves with the rest of the Fae. While they were used to cold weather, even they had lived in domed, stone houses.

  And that was fast becoming a problem for everyone but the Fae themselves. Most among the humans were not used to this kind of extreme temperatures, other than those of Bretton’s group. But even they had summers where they came from, and Jak had no idea if this winter would ever end.

  Plus there was the problem of food. Thanks to those of the Triad’s groups, they had a good amount of storage. But the sheep were already beginning to die from exposure, since humans and Fae took priority when it came to shelter and therefore sheep were not allowed in the caves. As soon as the sheep were all gone, they would have to resort to eating primarily from the grain and seed stores, which wouldn’t last long.

  There was one beacon of hope, however. The gnomes and dwarves had managed to grow mushrooms inside the mountain from spores they had brought. They were quickly turning what land they could into a small mushroom farm. But this meant less room for sleeping.

  And therein lay their second greatest problem. Vander was not letting up on his proposed rotation. Most of the Fae remained in the caves, leaving room for only 200 humans or so at a time, and they had seven thousand.

  For some Fae, it made sense that most of them would stay, such as the Water Fae who wouldn’t last long in exposed conditions, or some of the gnomes to help keep the caves warm. But the Shadow Fae had no extra reason to be there, and neither did the dwarves or Sky Fae.

  Only the Bright Fae and trolls appeared sympathetic to the humans, and agreed to be part of the rotations. Well, the trolls didn’t really seem to care one way or another. It was hard to tell what they were thinking. They mostly followed their leader, who did what Jak told him to do. She was the only one he would confide in. Even Skellig couldn’t get him to do anything unless Jak relayed the command.

  So the trolls mostly sat at the edges of the camp, acting as sentinels of sorts, watching for the return of Bretton’s scouts, or the advent of any unforeseen dangers. Jak wasn’t even sure if they ate. Maybe they received all the sustenance they needed from the planet itself.

  Skellig kept everyone busy with a variety of exercises, such as training with former members of the Watchers, creating warmer clothing using wool from newly slaughtered sheep, or forming more permanent shelters with rock from the mountains. It gave people something to do, to get their blood flowing and their mind off their unsustainable predicament.

  Seph also did what he could, preaching his sermons on the nature of the Guiding Hand, Illadar, and their fate on this land. It did just enough to give people hope, to keep them from abandoning any plans for survival.

  She now spent most of her time talking with Seph. Vander gave her leave to come and go in the cavern, based on his respect for her mother, but she didn't like spending too much time there. Not when others could benefit from the space she would take up.

  But with mounting pressures from lack of food, Vander’s stubbornness, frequent snow falls, and the missing scouts, a messenger finally came to Jak with word that Skellig wanted to see her in her tent. They hadn’t spoken much since arriving at the caves. Skellig had simply been too busy coordinating their survival, and Jak had done nothing but go along with the plan.

  “Jak, thank you for coming.” Skellig said as Jak entered through the main flap of the command tent. It wasn’t exactly a private tent anymore. Large tents like this one were few and far between, and now contained as many humans as they could fit into the space. Most looked up as Jak approached, but looked back down again as they realized who it was. The adoration that used to glaze their eyes when they looked at her
was long gone now.

  “What do you need, Skellig?” she asked, not meaning to sound so curt though it might have come out that way.

  Skellig sighed and leaned forward on her stool so she was resting her arms on her knees. The woman looked exhausted. Not for the first time, Jak felt a stab of regret as she realized what she, in creating Illadar and failing to stop Marek, had done to Skellig and everyone else.

  “I need you to lead a search party for Bretton and his group. The Sky Fae haven’t found him, and I need to make sure they didn’t fall into any danger that we don’t know about.”

  Jak frowned. “What makes you think I can do it? I’m all but helpless in a survival situation.”

  “As far as your brands go, yes, but you have ingenuity that many lack. You certainly weren’t helpless before you received all your brands. And to be honest, I simply don’t have someone else I trust to lead a search like this.”

  “But Gabriel, Li, or Mosaial,” Jak protested.

  Skellig shook her head. She glanced at the others inhabiting her tent, many of which were watching them with casual interest. She waved Jak closer and spoke in a whisper. “Gabriel is not feeling well, and the others might be able to help but I don’t know them as well as I know you, Jak. Besides, on the off chance that Bretton and his people are still alive, they might have ulterior motives which have prevented them from returning. I can’t take the chance that Li and Mosaial would ally with him against us.”

  Jak knit her brow together. “You don’t really think that’s what happened, do you?”

  Skellig paused but in the end shook her head. “It’s far more likely that they are dead, and covered in snow, which is why the Sky Fae would be unable to spot them from above.”

  Jak swallowed. It was the honest truth, she agreed. That was most likely what happened to Bretton. What would she do if she discovered she had saved Bretton from the harsh, winter elements in the past, only for him to die here?

  “I’ll go if you want me to, Skellig,” said Jak with a shrug. “But I can’t guarantee that it will do any good.”

  “At the very least it will help assure the others that we’re being proactive,” Skellig said. “Thank you for being willing, Jak. I’ll make sure to send a Flamedancer with you, and a gnome if one is willing.” She sighed again and bent even further so that her elbows were resting on her knees and her hands ran through her short, blonde hair. “But I can’t guarantee that. Vander is becoming increasingly defensive when I ask any of the Fae for help. He pretty much speaks for all the Fae now. Yewin is the only Fae member of our original council who still talks to me.”

  Jak pressed her lips together. She stepped closer and put a hand on the major’s shoulder. This had to be hard on the woman. And Jak, admittedly, had done very little for the good of the group as a whole. Perhaps it was time to change that.

  “We’ll find those men and women, Skellig.” she said, with a renewed strength entering her tone. “Just tell me who to bring, and we’ll see it done.”

  Skellig looked up at Jak. “I appreciate that,” she said before standing. “It’s getting late, so let me negotiate with Vander to see if a gnome can go with you, and you can go in the morning.”

  Jak gave a faint nod, and returned to her area of the camp, where Seph waited for her.

  The next morning, she set out with five others. Two were Sightseers, who she would count on to spot the scouts from a distance. The third was a Flamedancer to help keep them warm at night. The fourth was none other than Yewin, who had volunteered after Vander refused to let a gnome go with Jak. Yewin’s abilities as a Bright Elf weren’t the kind that would keep them warm at night, but he could provide some much needed visibility in dimly-lit conditions. And perhaps his innate attraction to truth would somehow lead them in the right direction.

  But to Jak’s surprise, Viona, one of the scouts for the Shadow Elves, volunteered as well. Jak was pleased that the woman wanted to accompany her, knowing that not all of the Shadow Elves were as reclusive as Vander. Skellig appeared skeptical of the elf, but allowed Viona to accompany Jak anyway.

  Skellig gave them each a week’s rations of food, telling them to return by that time if they hadn’t found the others. “If you do not return,” she said. “We will have to assume that you met the same fate as the others. And I can’t risk sending out another search party like this.”

  Jak understood and wouldn’t blame Skellig for not coming after them if something happened. This was going to be dangerous, especially if Bretton had vanished for a reason other than dying of cold. Though she secretly hoped there was another explanation. Dying of cold seemed far too...pointless.

  They started in the direction Bretton had gone: east, or at least what they assumed was east on this planet, since the sun rose on that side. They followed the mountains which lay on their right or south side, searching as they went for any signs of more caverns, in addition to their search for Bretton’s crew.

  They continued that way for more than a day, stopping at night to huddle together on a dry patch created by the Flamedancer. Yet this did little to make sleeping easier, and Jak grew more and more exhausted as time went on. If only she had her Sleeplessness brand again, she wouldn’t need sleep. In fact, with all the other brands at her disposal, she wouldn’t have needed anyone. She could have gone in search for the missing scouts herself.

  But that was no longer an option. It would never be an option again if she couldn’t find a way to remove the effects of the Void brand, and that wasn’t looking very likely.

  Perhaps she should have asked Seph to come along. He was the only thing that kept her from falling into despair for what she had lost, the only one to fill that void inside of her. Out here, she was left with nothing but her thoughts for most of the journey.

  Viona remained silent for almost the entire trip, but Yewin managed to make mild conversation with her. Even that began to peeter off once they had been traveling for over a day. Talking took too much effort. And it was hard to carry a conversation when you kept checking every nearby lump under the snow to make sure it wasn’t a body. It was a sobering experience.

  “Yewin,” she said after several hours of trudging through the snow. “Can you try and link with me?”

  Yewin glanced at her sidelong. “We don’t have a troll here to provide the energy that requires.”

  Jak sighed. “I know, you don’t have to hold it for long. But perhaps we could get a glimpse at where Bretton is, and if that works, maybe we could do the same for finding shelter.”

  “I suppose I could give it a try,” he drew nearer and Jak raised a hand signalling to the rest of their group to stop. Viona eyed them, watching carefully.

  “Mostly, I just want to see if it still works,” Jak continued. “With the Void brand and all.”

  “I see,” Yewin rubbed his hands together slowly. “Well, we’ll see what happens.” He placed a hand on Jak’s shoulder, an action he commonly used before starting up the link.

  But Jak didn’t feel anything, and she slowly closed her eyes as she witnessed Yewin squint in concentration.

  “I’m sorry, Jak,” he said after a minute. “It appears your Void brand also prevents linking.”

  Jak said nothing in return, but simply started moving forward again. The rest of the company followed once they realized she wasn’t about to stop.

  Of course nothing had happened. Jak had known it wouldn’t, deep down. That was probably why she hadn’t tried it before. But the failure to link was yet another thorn in her side, a reminder that she was, for all intents and purposes, useless to the company.

  And so she did nothing but kept walking.

  On their second day, the sun came out, bathing everything for miles in a bright light that radiated off of the snow and all but blinded them. Well, blinded her at least. The Sightseers seemed to be doing just fine. They could deal with extreme brightness at least to some extent.

  “I think I see something,” said one of the Sightseers, suddenly. Sh
e was squinting, which for a Sightseer meant whatever she was looking at was extremely far away or difficult to see.

  “What is it?” Jak said, jumping on the news. “Is it them?”

  “I don’t know,” said the Sightseer. “There are some shapes up ahead that don’t match the typical snow-covered rocks. Whatever it is, it’s covered in snow.”

  Jak felt her spirits sink. So it wasn’t the scouts then. Or if it was, they weren’t alive. Still it was more than they’d seen so far.

  “Take us there.”

  The woman led Jak and the others ahead. Soon the other Sightseer noticed it as well, but they both said nothing as they drew closer and got a better look. That didn’t bode well.

  “I can see it too, now,” said Yewin as they neared. Jak followed his gaze and realized that she could also make out several objects of some kind that stuck out of the snow, right next to a huge boulder that must have fallen away from the mountain.

  The Sightseer was right, it didn’t look like rock. But it didn’t quite look like a human either. If they had died from the cold, they would have fallen or collapsed to the ground and died there. These forms ahead of them looked more like standing statues.

  They were statues. They had to be. As Jak and the others approached, they remained in place, unmoving but clearly humanoid in shape, though it was hard to tell by the way the snow draped over them. But they couldn’t really be statues, there was no intelligent life on the planet besides themselves. Jak knew that more than anyone, having recently created the place.

  A chill moved through Jak’s body as they drew nearer. She could see clothing on the statues where snow had fallen away. It matched those of Bretton’s group. Oh no, oh please no.

  She brushed the snow off the head of the nearest figure, fearing what she would see. A pair of bright blue eyes stared sightlessly back at her, and she took a step back.

  “No,” she said aloud.