As Winter Spawns

by Jason Hamilton

  “Go get the others, Perchel,” she said. “Tell them it’s safe now.” Then she began closing the distance between her and whatever it was that had fallen out of the flashes of light.

  Perchel flew away to get the others, leaving her alone. Soon, the dark objects in the snow grew larger and larger, until it became clear what they were. But...that was impossible.

  When she finally arrived at the spot, she finally confirmed what she saw. They were arms, and legs, and in some cases even heads. Body parts of all kinds were strewn around her. But not just any body parts. The arms ended in long fingernails that resembled claws. And the heads were human in shape, but the skin was gray, the teeth were sharp and pointed, and the eyes were eerily human.

  These were demon body parts.

  But where had they come from? How had they emerged from the strange disks that kept flashing into existence? Perhaps they were coming from some other…

  Suddenly, she recognized what the disks reminded her of. They were like the large portal she had created to reach Illadar in the first place. But they were much smaller, and didn’t last for nearly as long. But that explained why there were demon body parts strewn all over the place.

  “They’re portals,” she called out to Perchel and the rest as they rushed to join her.

  “What’s that?” said Girwrit, confused.

  “The disks. They’re portals like the ones I made to get here. They are probably coming from Earth.”

  “How could you know that?” said Perchel, hovering a few feet above the rest of them.

  “Because these are demon body parts. They could only come from Earth.”

  “And how could that happen?” said Girwirt with an alarmed expression on his face, his small body unconsciously leaning away from the nearest body part.

  “A portal could only come from the Pillars of Eternity,” said Jak, a small knot forming inside her throat. “Which means it could be one of two things…”

  “Either the Pillars of Eternity are acting on their own,” replied Perchel, “Or…”

  “Or someone is trying to use them to get here. But unsuccessfully it would seem.” She stared down at a demon head that lay near her feet.

  “So Cain is trying to get here?” said Perchel, his voice soft as he realized the implications.

  Jak nodded, “I would have to assume so.” Of course this wouldn’t be good news. Sure, she now understood what the strange disks were, though that didn’t make them any less dangerous, and now they knew that demons could potentially drop out of one if it managed to stay open long enough. Add to that the fact that if Cain finally managed to get the Pillars working properly, it wouldn’t be long before both planets were in ruin.

  “At least we know that the Pillars aren’t fully working for him yet,” she said. “Otherwise he would be able to create a stable portal.”

  One of the humans in her group spoke up. “But if he can do this much…”

  “He’ll figure it out eventually,” Jak finished. “That just means we have to work hard to find a way to survive. Otherwise he will find us completely unprepared.”

  What she didn’t confirm was that, if Cain did manage to come to Illadar, there would be no stopping him. Jak was no match against him, and even the combined power of the Fae and their human armies would not be enough. Seph and Gabriel were kind in their encouragement of Jak, to continue pressing forward and becoming an asset even without her brands. But all of that meant nothing in the face of what Cain could do.

  “Let’s keep moving,” she said. “It looks like those portals open up within a certain radius of each other, so if you see them again, run away as fast as you can and you might get out of range.”

  The others nodded before falling into step behind her. Well, all except Perchel who flew into the sky again. Jak noted with some trepidation that some of the humans were eyeing the Sky Fae warily. Trust for the Fae was wearing thin, even for those who were trying to help. Vander’s actions were beginning to have a much greater effect than she was comfortable with. It was affecting everyone.

  Girwirt seemed to feel the discomfort as well, for he jogged to the front of their party to stand next to Jak. She acknowledged him with a nod before fixing her eyes on the path ahead of them. They were probably close to where Bretton and the others stood like frozen statues.

  “Do you really like us? Or do you just need us for warmth?” It was Girwirt talking. Jak turned her head to stare at the little gnome. He stared back, not a hint of sarcasm on his face. He was being totally serious.

  “I...of course I like you,” she said, a bit taken aback. “You know that.”

  “And yet now that we’re here in this place, where it’s cold, you suddenly rely on us to keep you all warm.”

  Jak pressed her lips together, thinking carefully through her next words. Yes, Vander’s influence was reaching a lot of people. Even Girwirt, who despite all his sarcasm and generally crankiness, had up till now followed her without question, even he was doubting.

  “You’re thinking this is like before? When the Watchers put you to work in Mt. Harafast?”

  The gnome hesitated. “No, it’s not like that. You give us a choice after all. It just seems a bit concerning that we didn’t seem to matter to you before now.”

  “What are you talking about, of course you matter?” Jak responded. “All of the Fae matter. And we build on each other’s strengths. Right now your strength is the most valuable for our current situation, but it’s not the only one. Flamedancers are working just as hard, and the Sky Fae are helping with the scounting.”

  “Just us though. Most of the others are doing nothing.”

  Jak was pretty sure ‘nothing’ was not a good word for it. Everyone was pitching in somehow, just not as much as the gnomes. “I can see your point,” she said carefully. “But you remember how important the trolls were in the battle against the queen, or how Li, Mosaial, and Bretton worked to prepare food in the valley before we arrived. Everyone has their moment. We all pitch in at some point.”

  Girwirt ran a hand along his fiery hair. “Like the stories of what the Water Fae did at Skycliff,” he said, after pausing to think.

  “Yes, exactly,” Jak confirmed. “And in a way, we were all instrumental in creating Illadar. I couldn’t have done it without each of you.”

  At that, Girwirt let out a snort. “Hm, fat lot of good that did us. This place isn’t what any of us asked for.”

  Jak peered out at the snow-covered rock. “I think that’s mostly because there are still more Fae to come, at least that’s what the Book of Illadar suggests. They might help.”

  “Yeah, but where are they? You have so many humans with you, yet none of them have turned since we arrived. Maybe it’s because you lost your stick things.”

  Jak had no answer to that. It was true that no one had turned into a Fae for some time. Not among their people at least. Why was that?

  “Perhaps a lack of Relics is the reason,” said Jak. “But I’m not so sure. I have a feeling that we’ll learn more eventually. Perhaps the answer is just around the corner.”

  “It had better be because I can’t walk as fast as you giants, and my legs are growing sore.” Girwirt huffed and pointed at his fast-moving, stumpy feet.

  Jak smiled. “Come here, Girwirt. I’ll carry you for a bit.”

  She expected the gnome to protest, but after a moment’s hesitation, Girwirt accepted her offer and she paused just long enough to stoop down and let the gnome climb onto her back. He was heavier than she thought he would be, but maybe she was just forgetting what it was like to not have her Strength brand.

  They didn’t say much more for a while, which was uncharacteristic of the gnome. He usually had something to say, even if it wasn’t all that positive. Instead he clung to her back as she continued through the snow. There was something oddly comforting about having him there.

  Before long, she spied a familiar giant boulder, though it was honestly hard to tell with the snow and wind c
hanging the appearance of the landscape constantly, or covering it up. But yes, there was a specific rock that stuck out of the mountainside that she recognized. This had been the place where they’d found Bretton and his group frozen in place.

  But as she scanned the area, she could see no sign of their frozen corpses.

  11

  There wasn’t any sign of a frozen body anywhere in sight. Had she mistaken the location? No, this was definitely the same place. Perhaps the bodies had fallen over and were covered in snow.

  Jak pulled up short, and called back to the others. “Let’s pause here. The bodies of Bretton and his men were here before. Spread out and search through the snow to see if you can find them.”

  The others obeyed without further encouragement. Even Girwirt climbed off her back to help search.

  Jak waved a hand at Perchel, who flew closer till he was facing her directly. In a low voice, she said, “Perchel, see if you can spot any standing statues in the surrounding area. I may have mistaken the spot because I don’t see any sign of them here. Before, they were literally frozen while standing up.”

  Perchel frowned. “You think they got knocked down by the wind or something?”

  “Possibly, but I want to make sure I didn’t get the location wrong. I know it’s close, so if you could just do a circle and see if you can find them nearby.”

  Perchel sharply inclined his head, “At once.”

  “And Perchel?” Jak added just before he was about to take off. She remembered her conversation with Girwirt, and needed to make sure Perchel didn’t feel like he was being used either. “Thank you so much for all your help. We couldn’t do any of this without you.” Perchel smiled, “Thank you, Jak, and you don’t have to worry about me. I don’t speak for all of my kind, but I will follow you wherever you go. I got to see your true colors on Mt. Knot. I won’t forget any of that.”

  Jak grimaced. “I’m sorry for everything that’s happened since we got here. And for losing the Pillar you guarded for so long. You deserve better for following me.”

  “Let’s just find more shelter or a food source, and then we’ll have time to talk about what we deserve.”

  “I can get behind that,” said Jak.

  “I’ll see if I can find the frozen scouts,” Perchel added before flying up and away. Jak watched him go. Perchel was a good person. The Sky Fae had only joined them relatively recently, but already they were an integral part of their group. She could only hope that most of them shared Perchel’s healthy attitude.

  They spent the next few minutes searching for the bodies of Bretton and the other scouts that had died with him. But try as they might, they found nothing. Not even a spare article of clothing. Had she been wrong about the location all along? There had to be a lot of rocky outcroppings like this one. But she had been sure it was the same one. And they’d been traveling the right amount of time. They should be here. Perhaps Skellig had retrieved them at one point and didn’t tell her.

  She looked back at the mountain to once again confirm that the rocky outcropping and nearby boulder were the same as she remembered. But this time, she spotted something different. She tensed up immediately as a shape moved among the slope of the mountain. A dark shape. It was running on all fours.

  “Everyone to me,” she called. Heads turned to look at her, then away to see what she was staring at. The dark shape was moving at an astonishing speed down the side of the mountain. And it was coming right for them.

  “Is that…” began one of her human companions.

  “It is,” said another, this one a Sightseer. “That’s a demon!”

  Panic leapt into Jak’s heart. A demon? Here? It must have come through one of those shortly-lived portals, making it through before it could close and cut through its limbs.

  She glanced at the others. None of them had any combat brands. Jak didn’t have her spear, or any other weapon for that matter. What had been the need? The only living beings on this planet were those of their group. Or so they thought.

  “Does anyone have a knife?” she shouted. Her voice was shaking. She’d never been this defenseless against a demon. “Or a weapon of any kind?”

  “I have,” shouted the Sightseer. He extracted the tool from his belt, but it was clearly not a knife meant for combat. It was far too short. But it would have to do.

  The demon was fast approaching, coming at them in a perfectly straight line. There would be no running. Jak thought she could hear it snarl as it charged.

  “Everyone group together,” she called out. Facing the Sightseer she said, “Whoever holds the knife should be at the front. I can take it.”

  “No, it’s okay. I used to be a Watcher,” the man said. “I can handle it.”

  Jak felt naked facing down a demon without a weapon in hand, but she conceded. They bunched together just as the demon reached their position. But instead of leaping at the Sightseer who was closest, it flew through the air straight at Jak, who stood next to him.

  Jak let out a short scream as its massive form toppled onto her, knocking her completely to the ground. Instinct took over and she placed both hands squarely on the demon’s neck as it attempted to bite her. She had to keep its gnashing teeth away.

  But she could do nothing about its arms. Its hands, ending in long claws, slashed at Jak’s face and sides. Demon claws weren’t particularly sharp, since they were essentially elongated human fingernails. But that did not mean it didn’t hurt when several of them scraped across her skin. She cried out as the demon carved long gashes into her face, and she lifted her arms higher, trying to hold the demon’s gnashing head away from her as much as possible.

  Just then the demon yelped as the Sightseer’s knife plunged into its side. The Sightseer withdrew the knife and stabbed again, and again. With each blow, Jak felt its attention on her waver and its strength falter. Finally, it collapsed entirely.

  Jak lay beneath it for just long enough to catch her breath. Then she pushed it off and accepted the help of the Sightseer to rise to her feet. Her entire body was trembling.

  Never had she felt so helpless as she had in that moment. The only thing that saved her was her training, keeping the beast from attacking anything vital.

  Yet even in those few seconds after it leapt on her, and before it died, it had managed to cover her with scrapes on her arms and face. Those would need to be cleaned.

  It came at no surprise that the demon attacked her first. If Cain was still controlling these beasts, then she would still be the primary target, even without her powers. She looked down at the demon’s corpse. She remembered a time when she could take out an entire army of demons. Now...

  “Look!” cried the Sightseer.

  Jak followed his gaze back toward the mountain and her heart sank even further. Three more dark shapes were coming their way. This demon had not been alone.

  “Get ready,” she said, but her voice wavered. She wasn’t sure they could take on three demons with only the one weapon. The first had been problem enough. “They will come after me. Be ready for that, and see if you can anticipate their moves.”

  Surprisingly, Girwirt stepped forward, towards the three oncoming demons. Before Jak could protest, he buried his hands in the snow to touch the ground beneath. A sharp hiss escaped the earth and the snow immediately changed form, most of it melting away and steaming into the air.

  “Go, Girwirt!” she called, realizing what he was doing. Perhaps he could create a barrier of some kind, or even catch the demons in molten rock.

  The ground began to glow with a warm light, and gave off waving ripples of hot air. The ground in front of them was melting before their eyes as Girwirt worked his magic.

  The demons slowed to a halt as they came close enough to spy the small barrier of molten earth. Even they were wise enough not to go crawling across the glowing fire. Or at least their master was. But even Girwirt couldn’t make a complete circle in the time they had, and the demons knew it. They began flanking them, with two
moving to their left, and the third on their right, to bypass the lava threat and attack from two different directions.

  Jak swallowed. All that to be flanked on both sides. Girwirt realized what was happening and picked up a handful of the lava, its heat doing nothing to the little gnome. With a great heave, he threw it at the nearest of the three demons. The beast leapt out of the way just in time, the lava falling just short of hitting it.

  Jak braced herself. They were going to have to fight these demons directly, no matter what. She wasn’t sure she would make it out this time.

  Suddenly, the air around them grew cold. Or rather, far colder than usual. The light of Girwirt’s lava pit dimmed as it came in contact with the cold air, and the mist of Jak’s breath became more pronounced.

  But if she felt cold, it was nothing compared to the demons’ reactions. Each let out a yelp, and their bodies contorted. Actual frost began forming on their skins. It was like the cold Jak felt was actively targeting them. What was…

  She stared all around and immediately saw something that hadn’t been there before. Several human forms stood a short distance away. One had both arms out, pointed at the demons, and a sort of wind was emanating out of his hands.

  The demons continued screaming until the sounds turned into more of a whimper. Soon they were nothing but frozen husks in the snow.

  By now, the rest of them had turned and seen the strange figures behind them. Jak could feel the tension coming from each of them. She swallowed. Those demons had frozen in an instant. Had these strange people been the cause of what happened to Bretton and the others? They had to be. But how had anything else living arrived on this planet? Had they come through a portal too?

  She stepped forward, away from her fellow scouts and towards the others. One of the strange beings moved forward as well. At least they weren’t attacking them.