by Tara West
Kia wore a loose robe, just like her sister, but what alarmed Markus was the huge blade tucked into her belted hip.
“I-I do not remember,” he stammered. No use trying to pretend the Ice People didn’t have stones. Markus knew these women had already read the truth in his eyes.
Struggling to sit up straight, Markus pushed his back against the chamber wall. Feeling was starting to return to his numb limbs.
The two sisters shared another look of understanding before turning their gazes back to him.
“Now we know why Mother could never find the Ice People in her mists,” Ariette said. “The stones shielded them from her magic.” Arching a brow, she looked the boy over with an assessing glare. “Who are you and why have you come here?”
“I am Markus, son of Rowlen.” He paused when the pair gasped and covered their mouths with their hands. Jae had said her sisters could help him and he assumed these women were they, but he still didn’t dare divulge his true reason for seeking out Madhea. “I came to break the curse and to beg Madhea to call off her dragon,” he replied.
Kia’s face flushed as she glared at him from beneath pale lashes. “You are the cruel hunter?”
Markus vehemently shook his head and instantly regretted the dizzy wave that overcame him. “I am cruel no more. I have learned my lesson. I swear it.”
Ariette flew down and knelt before him. She leaned forward and looked intently into his eyes as if she were reaching into his soul. “There is truth in your face, but we cannot stop Lydra. She only obeys our mother.”
Markus’s head began to spin as if the very foundation on which he sat was about to collapse. He had come all this way, all for nothing. Now his sister was dead and the curse was still not broken.
“B-but my sister said...”
Ariette shook her head. “Jae is not your sister.”
“Stop, Ariette,” her sister scowled. “You’ve said too much.”
The woman looked up at Kia with a pleading gaze. “The boy must know. No one else can overcome Mother’s magic but her.”
Kia’s wings slumped as she dropped to the ground and knelt beside her sister.
“When our true sister was born,” Ariette said to Markus, “we stole her from her cradle and traded her for another babe in your village.”
Markus sucked in a sharp breath. “Why?”
“Mother would have twisted our sister’s mind and used her magic against us,” Ariette said. “Our sister will have even greater magic. We have seen it in the swirling mists.”
“Has not Madhea seen this as well?” Markus asked. “Won’t she know you’ve fooled her?”
Kia shook her head. “The swirling mists are rebelling. They no longer reveal all to her. Mother’s magic is waning. The Elements are gaining strength and fleeing her grasp.”
“The melting ice,” gasped Markus, his gaze darting from one sister to the other.
Ariette folded her hands in her lap. “Yes. Once the ice melts, Mother will have no power.”
“Then mayhap we should let it melt,” he said.
There was an edge to Kia’s outburst of laughter. “You do not know how vast this ice is. The whole world would be underwater.”
Ariette nodded. “Yes, and the more power our mother loses, the more power the Sea Witch will gain.”
Despite the chamber’s frigid air, Markus’s temperature rose. Even if he did destroy Madhea, his people would still be beholden to her evil sister. “I’ve heard there was another witch.”
Kia’s nostrils flared. “Eris, Keeper of the Sea, and she is more malevolent than our mother.”
“Our sister is the only way.” There was a note of desperation in Ariette’s voice. “She must destroy our mother and take her place as the Sky Goddess.”
Markus ground his teeth as he struggled to rein in his temper. “Why can’t you do it?” he asked the pair.
Kia’s wings snapped open and she took to the air. She scowled down at Markus. “We are not powerful enough to destroy Mother. Even if we were, Eris would seize control of Ice Mountain.”
Markus’s ire grew. He, a mere mortal, was willing to risk his life and fight Madhea, so why couldn’t these daughters overcome both witches themselves?
He coursed his fingers through his hair with a groan. “Then who is my sister? Who is this witch destined to kill Madhea?”
A moan beyond Markus caused Ariette to jump. She spun around while taking to the air. Kia clutched the blade on her belt. After flying toward their mother, the sisters looked over their shoulders at Markus.
“Our mother awakens,” Kia hissed as she flew back to Markus. “You must leave. Guard your stone well. Madhea must not know you have it.”
Ariette fluttered forward while twisting her fingers. “Mother will think her thunderbolt smote you to ash.”
Kia turned to her sister. “I will release the pixies and have them take Markus to his people.” With that, she flew into the mist.
Markus struggled to rise on shaky legs. He watched Ariette flutter around while twisting a knot in her robe.
“What of Jae?” he asked her.
Though the girl was not his true sister, he still felt a sense of guilt over her death. She had saved him from the mountain and paid for it with her life. How many more people would die on account of him?
The lines in Ariette’s brow softened. “Jae has been a good servant. We will see to it that her soul passes to the Elements.”
She glanced over her shoulder before turning back to Markus with glassy eyes. “I hear the pixies coming. You must go and never return or my mother will kill you for sure.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
As the pixies flew swiftly, the mountain passed in a blur, causing Markus’s head to spin. The freezing wind whipped against his exposed flesh, numbing his lips until he could no longer feel them. He shut his eyes and prayed to the Elements to help him survive the descent. Then he willed the warming stone to glow. Soon, heat infused his chest and eased the burning chill.
After several tense moments, the pixies came to a halt, pulling tightly on Markus’s clothes until his breeches wedged up his buttocks. Squirming against the pressure, he looked down to see the grassy ground only a few feet beneath him. Tremors from the buzzing pixies rattled his dizzied brain. They squealed and squawked before letting out high-pitch laughter.
The creatures dropped him on the ground and flew away. Markus landed on his feet, but stumbled before falling on his backside. He lay on the grass for a long moment, feeling dazed and confused as he stared up at the bright spring sky. Once the fog had shaken from his mind, he slipped out of his satchel and rolled off his shield.
When he came to his knees, Markus dug his fingers into the ground and relished the feel of the damp soil against his skin. Oh, how he missed home. It was odd how only that morning he had been scaling Ice Mountain, thinking he’d never live to see his home again.
Sitting up, Markus smiled at a squirrel staring intently at him from the bottom of a nearby pine. The animal must have been as dazed as he upon seeing a boy survive a drop from the sky. Markus spied a pine nut nearby, partially hidden beneath the soil. He unearthed it and rolled it to the squirrel. The creature snatched it up and squeaked his delight before scurrying up the tree.
Markus struggled to his feet, brushing ice and dirt off his breeches. He slowly unwrapped the fur mask from his head and tossed off his heavy cloak. He arched back his neck and cried out with joy before breathing in a deep gulp of fresh air.
That’s when he saw her standing beneath the branches of the pine, gaping at him while clutching a bow in one hand.
Dianna.
DIANNA STARED FOR A long moment at the blue-colored man who had been dropped from the sky by tiny, winged creatures. Who was he and why had he come here? For good or evil? Was he one of Madhea’s servants, sent to wreak destruction on her people?
She watched with fascination as the stranger fed a nut to a squirrel and then cried out as he stretched his arms up to the
sky. But when the man turned his gaze on her, Dianna thought her knees would buckle. She knew him. She had seen his features before, of that she was certain.
Dianna jerked back with trepidation as he took one step forward and then another.
She nocked an arrow and lifted her bow. “Halt!” she called.
The stranger stopped and splayed his hands wide. Dianna noted how his limbs shook.
“I mean you no harm, Dianna.”
Her heart pounded out a wild staccato. “Who are you and how do you know my name?”
As the figure drew closer, Dianna was momentarily struck dumb. Though he was lean and tall like the mighty pine tree, there was a boyish glint in his features. Was this man really just a child?
“Do you not recognize me?”
She arched a brow at the familiar ring in his youthful voice. “Should I?”
“Aye, you should.” The stranger nodded. “I am Markus.”
“CENTER YOUR AIM, DES. Flex your shoulders and put your back into it.”
Alec pulled back the boy’s shoulders while gently lifting the hand clutching the bowstring. Des aimed at the target and released his arrow. It landed just left of the bull’s-eye.
“Excellent shot, Des!”
Beside them, the boy’s dog, Brendle, yipped his approval.
Des’s shoulders fell. “No, it wasn’t.”
Alec patted him on the back. Despite his encouragement, the boy was still unsure of himself. “Your arrow landed on the target,” he told him.
“But not in the center,” Des whined.
“Don’t worry.” Alec leaned over and ruffled the boy’s mop of hair. “With practice, it will.”
Des’s eyes lit up. “Do you think I’ll be as good as your brother?” he blurted. Then he slapped his hand over his mouth. “I’m sorry,” he added, dropping his hands to his sides. “Dianna told me it pains you when I speak of him.”
“It does,” Alec answered, his chest tightening, “but my heart will ache for him no matter what.”
Though Alec tried to conceal his sorrow from Dianna and Des, he cried for his brother every day. Markus had to be dead. Alec had never seen or heard of the dragon since that day. He guessed that Markus must have let the beast destroy him rather than shoot it and allow Alec to die.
On the eve of his brother’s birth, Alec had vowed to Madhea that he would give his last, dying breath to make certain Markus did not grow into a monster, but he had failed. He had failed the Goddess and himself, but, most of all, he’d failed his baby brother. For that, Alec despised himself, but, if truth be told, he also held the same feeling for Madhea. Though he would never voice his thoughts aloud and risk bringing on another curse, Alec hated her with every breath in his body.
Markus was just a boy. The Goddess did not need to punish him so severely. She need not have killed their mother. Besides, where was Madhea when his father had brutally beaten him day after day? Why hadn’t she cursed his father for his cruelty?
All this had led Alec to believe that the Goddess cared nothing for the people of Adolan, and he was tired of paying homage to such a heartless witch.
“Alec, are you okay?”
He shook the fog from his head and looked down to see Des staring up at him with a slackened jaw. The boy pointed up at his face. “Your cheeks are turning red.”
Alec averted his gaze. He did not wish to dwell on more dark thoughts of his brother. “I need to chop wood for the fire and you should get back to your studies before Dianna returns home.”
Des scrunched his brows while scratching his scalp. “But we have enough wood to last us through next winter.”
“I know, Des.” Alec nodded toward their small hut. “Now go to your studies.”
The boy hung his head, turned on his heel, and dragged his feet toward the hut. His little dog, whose tail was set in constant motion, followed him inside.
Alec walked over to the woodpile and picked up the axe. He placed a large log on the ground and cut into it with a splintering crack; all the while his thoughts continued to wander. He needed to chop wood. Not only because the exercise revived his strength, but because he knew he wouldn’t stay much longer, and he wanted to leave Dianna with something to show his appreciation for all she’d done for him.
She had saved his life by healing his illness and infusing his body with a strength he’d never known. For that, he would be eternally grateful. If the villagers were to discover Dianna’s power, they would condemn her as a witch and demand she be offered on the pyre to the Goddess. But, to Alec, Dianna was not a witch. She was a blessing.
While Alec would like nothing more than to live out the rest of his days with Dianna and Des, there were too many daily reminders of his dead brother and cruel father. Whenever Alec happened on Markus’s favorite hunting glen, just beyond the ridge by Dianna’s hut, a pain would twist his gut as he was overcome by feelings of guilt. Many a time he thought he spied the reflection of his father’s dark eyes or heard his ghost call his name within the shadows of the nearby forest.
Alec knew he could not remain in his ancestral village for long. He had already spoken with Zier. Now that Alec was growing stronger, he had decided to accompany the trader to the sea in the early summer. Zier had told him of a small fishing village, where the salty air and smell of the ocean seeped into his skin and filled him with renewed vigor.
Alec thought he would very much like to feel this salty air and gaze upon the vast ocean. Most of all, he needed to escape this place that held so many dark memories.
“We have company!”
Wiping a bead of sweat off his brow, Alec turned to see Dianna striding briskly toward him. Beside her walked a blue man! Alec blinked hard and then shook his head as he looked into the man’s pale eyes.
Alec’s axe fell from his grip as his arms and legs suddenly felt weak. The man’s slanted smile... his pale mop of hair... the faint scar on his forehead...
“M-Markus?” Alec stammered.
“Aye, brother.” The blue man replied, opening his arms wide. “It is me.”
Alec was barely aware of his own actions as he staggered toward his brother, whose skin was such a pale shade of blue to be almost translucent! But nothing else mattered now that Markus was alive.
“Brother!” Alec cried, grasping him in a fierce hug.
As the two men held each other for a long time, Alec wept against Markus’s shoulder and he was surprised to hear his brother’s muffled cries as well. He’d rarely known Markus to shed a tear.
Finally, Alec pulled back and looked into his brother’s face. “I thought you’d been killed by the dragon.”
Markus shook his head. “No, I escaped. I’ve been dwelling among the Ice People.”
Alec’s gaze swept across his brother’s features. “Your skin and hair have changed.”
Markus heaved a sigh. “That is not all that has changed. My heart has changed as well.”
When Alec saw the sincerity reflected in the pale pools of his brother’s eyes, he nearly wept with joy. “Can it be?” he asked.
Markus grasped his brother’s hand and placed it over his heart. “Everything you taught me about kindness to animals, I finally understand. I’m sorry it took the witch’s curse for me to learn my lesson.”
Alec gasped. “Do not call the Goddess a witch!”
Markus’s eyes darkened. “I call her many things, but, aye, she is a witch and a cruel one at that.”
A strangled cry escaped Alec’s lips. Madhea would destroy him for sure.
“Do not worry, brother, she cannot hear me now.” Markus reached beneath his heavy cloak and pulled a small sack from around his neck.
“Has the curse been lifted?” Alec asked.
“Nay,” said Markus, opening the sack and holding out a pale rock in his hand, “but I wear a sacred stone that shields me from her eye.”
“Sacred stone?” Alec arched a brow as he eyed the smooth, flat rock, which was slightly smaller than Markus’s palm.
&nbs
p; “Aye, look.” Markus closed his eyes and held out the stone. Soon, it turned a bright crimson.
Alec’s jaw dropped.
Dianna walked up beside him and gasped. “How odd,” she said, peering at the stone. “What is that strange noise it makes?”
“Noise?” asked Markus as his brows drew together in a frown, making him look just as puzzled as her.
“Aye.” Dianna arched back and warily eyed the stone. “Almost as if it is whispering. Don’t you hear it?”
Markus shook his head. “Nay, it only glows. It doesn’t make any sound.”
Suddenly, an ear-splitting roar shook the very ground beneath their feet. Dianna jumped before unsheathing her bow. “I hope you heard that sound.”
Alec gaped at his brother. “The dragon? She still pursues you?”
“Aye,” Markus answered as he bunched his hands into fists at his sides. “The beast has awoken.”
“Brother, we must flee,” Alec said with a strained breath, as a pain stronger than he’d ever known struck him in the chest. Had he been reunited with his brother only to lose him again?
Markus slipped the stone back in its pouch before turning to Alec. “I must face down this thing myself.”
“But brother,” pleaded Alec, grasping Markus by the arm, “you cannot kill!”
IT PAINED MARKUS TO see the look of despair in his brother’s eyes, but he had no choice—he hadn’t come this far only to be killed by Madhea’s dragon.
He reached out to Alec one more time and wrapped him in a fierce hug. “Do not fear, brother.” Markus struggled to keep the emotion out of his voice as he spoke against Alec’s ear. Every muscle in his body tightened. “The stone protects us from the curse. This beast nearly wiped out an entire village. She must be destroyed.”
“Are you mad?” Alec pulled out of the embrace. The look in his glassy eyes was one akin to horror. “You cannot go after a dragon!”
Markus didn’t have time to argue. If he didn’t stop Lydra soon, he suspected she would attack the village. He nodded toward the small hut. “You and Dianna go inside where it is safe.”