Ice Burns Read online

  Twilight played across the forest, lighting the treetops aflame and starting the great morning chorus. Chandra was cheered by the sights, sounds, and comfort of dawn. She breathed it all in and noted that despite the damp and chill she was not cold where the cloak covered her. Underneath, her muscles ached from the journey and playing human perch to Frostwhite. The hawk had sensed morning and left to hunt at least an hour prior.

  The crashing call of water invaded her thoughts and grew in volume as they continued. At one point, it became so loud that Chandra thought Matta was going to step right into the river. When her ears began to hurt from the noise, they stopped at the water's edge, so close that the edge of her shoes were damp.

  “Now, we have to wait,” Matta said softly. She reached into her bag and pulled out two apples, one of which went to Chandra. They both munched on the fruit. Chandra skipped questioning Matta, because the look on the old woman's face told her it would be pointless. She had spent enough time in the woman's company to understand the subtle shifts in her expressions.

  After an hour of standing at the edge of the river, watching it tear past, Chandra saw something other than debris. Her green eyes were drawn to something moving, not with the current, but across it. She squinted in the new day's light but couldn't make out any details. It looked like a very large tree on its way to join so many others in some strange river graveyard of a forest downstream.

  “Oh, you’ll want to call down the hawk or he won’t be able to get in,” Matta said.

  Chandra frowned but didn't ask for clarification. Frostwhite caught the thought in the skies above them. He called out to her just before he dropped his heavy weight and settled on her shoulder. She was getting used to his landings. For such a heavy creature, he could be graceful as well. Chandra felt an odd motion in her head as if the bird was insulted by her comment about his size or questioning his grace, forcing her to bite off the laugh that tried to escape.

  After several long moments, the confusing debris from the river was in front of them. Chandra had not been far off; it was a massive portion from a tree that had been hallowed out. The log had a large opening carved into it as though someone had built a wardrobe but skipped the door and the base.

  Matta steeped forward and stretched toward the log, but it slid away from her and into the water, just out of reach. The old woman arched a silver eyebrow and frowned, withdrawing her arm. As soon as her arm was back at her side, the boat returned to the edge of the water. Chandra laughed and clasped her hand over her mouth at the odd reaction.

  “Stupid old man, as if he doesn’t know exactly who it is!” Matta grumbled in a loud voice. "I'd avoid using the boat if I could, you old coot."

  Chandra took another look at the hollowed-out log. An interesting way to make a boat, she thought.

  Her sightless eyes stared in the direction of the boat while she made a few annoyed noises. A smile suddenly lifted her face and she pulled something out of her bag. It was a tiny, shriveled pink mushroom which she tossed into the log boat. This time when Matta reached for it, she was able to grasp the edge. Chandra stepped into the icy water and reached for the edge of the boat to help Matta climb in, but it moved away from her.

  “Greedy bugger,” Matta sounded anything but upset as she laughed in an odd cackle that echoed despite the crash of the fast-moving water. She tossed two more mushrooms inside the boat and the whole thing turned suddenly; the open side was now accessible. Chandra reached out a wary hand and grasped the rough wood, its wet splinters scraping her hand. She helped Matta climb aboard before scrambling over the side herself. Frostwhite's talons were pinching her painfully and he was hissing as if he was a snake instead of bird.

  As soon as both women managed to sit, the boat moved away from the shore. The water splashed and sprayed them throughout the journey, and Frostwhite hissed louder. Chandra closed her eyes and conveyed an inquiry to the hawk. The picture she received was split; one of Frostwhite falling in the water and not coming out and another of black smoke wrapping around the craft and pulling them. Chandra shifted from where she was sitting and indicated that the bird could use her thigh as a perch instead, giving him more room to take flight if the boat were to capsize. The white hawk took the offer as soon as it was given, hopping down her arm and clenching her thigh painfully.

  Chandra knew magic pulled the boat but had a hard time believing it anything other than benevolent. If Matta had led them here, they were safe. She trusted Matta.

  A gentle thump announced their arrival on a distant shore. Chandra looked behind her and could not see where they had departed from. Frostwhite made a tiny noise, and Chandra closed her eyes. She was able to see the river was indeed a great width and that their journey had brought them into the southernmost tip of kingdom of ice. She stepped on the shore with a light foot, having shifted Frostwhite back to her shoulders. Her nerves were taught with the thought that somehow mage-hunters would know of her arrival immediately and spring from the trees to kill her.

  “What? You think there are monsters in the bushes?” Matta laughed.

  Chandra tried to look at ease and shrugged.

  “None here, child. You must be farther up the river for that,” Matta said and laughed as she walked toward the tree line.

  Chandra looked at the forest in front of them and could not see a way through the line of trees. It looked almost as though the trees grew into each other. She heard Matta sigh beside her.

  “You daft old fool! Let us through, already! You have to know it is us by now!” Matta yelled into the trees.

  “Who’s ‘us’?” a harsh voice called from somewhere in the tree line. “I don’t know anything about an ‘us’ coming! There’s only supposed to be this wicked old bat come to trade and pester me for information!”

  “Well, for once I bring you information!” Matta called back, and Chandra cringed. Was Matta going to trade the ‘information’ was that she had the girl who had killed Master Dreys.

  “Matta, I...” she began, about to say she was going to head back and take her chances when the trees parted.

  “I suppose I’ll have to take the chance, but this had better be good,” a shrunken old man said as the trees parted to let him through. His white eyebrows disappeared into his hair as he looked at Chandra. He tried to recover from his surprise and said, “I hope you haven’t brought this little one to be hid here. I haven’t the time or patience for children.”

  “Children!” Chandra exclaimed.

  Matta waved her hand to hush them both. Chandra glared at the white haired mini man who gave Matta a look as if to say that his point had been proven. Chandra fumed but did not speak again.

  “You will not provoke my ward in the hopes of seeing what she can do, Edvard,” Matta said with a stern look. Edvard looked slightly abashed that he had been spotted so easily in his ploy.

  “You know what she is, to a degree, but we have much to discuss that would better be done in private than on the riverbank.” Edvard eyed them both for a moment more and then nodded.

  “Leave your pet outside,” he said as he turned and waved to the trees that parted for him.

  “No,” Chandra said. She eyed his back and watched him turn slowly to face her. “He is not a pet, and he will not be left here.”

  Edvard opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He seemed to be trying to speak or speaking in a low tone as his mouth moved, but Chandra heard nothing. She only watched him without moving. Matta waved one hand sharply at Edvard in a chopping gesture.

  “Enough!” she said in a voice that made the trees rustle for a moment with the sound. It was not a yell but it was forceful all the same.

  “The bird comes, and that’s that, Edvard,” Matta told him.

  He glared at them both for a moment before turning his back on them. He jerked his head in the direction of the opening in the tree line. Matta smiled at Chandra and there was a twinkle in her eye that surprised her. Chandra had a feeling she had passed some sort of test with bo
th Edvard and Matta.

  The moment they stepped through the trees, the line closed behind them as soundlessly as it had opened. It felt as though it was a great drapery that opened and closed on command instead of trees. They walked all of five paces when the darkness of the forest gave way to bright sunshine and a massive outcropping of rock with a tiny hole in the face of it.

  Chandra squinted at the rock. It looked so tiny that she doubted Frostwhite could have squeezed through. Edvard did not stop, however. He walked up to the rock face and stuck his hand in the hole and disappeared. Chandra let out a gasp and heard him cackle. Matta tsked but did the same as Edvard had, and she too disappeared.

  Chandra swallowed heavily as she stood, looking at the hole in the rock. She turned to look in Frostwhite’s eyes. His liquid silver gaze did not waver and she took it as permission. Chandra placed one hand on the bird’s claws that gripped her shoulder before reaching her other hand forward and sliding it into the hole. She felt a tiny tug, and the hole widened so that she stumbled forward into an immense cave.

  She found Frostwhite was still perched on her shoulder despite her near-fall. When she looked, though, his feathers were sticking out as though he had been struck by a storm. One look into his face showed her he was not pleased with what had happened. She patted his foot and his grip released enough to bring feeling back to her shoulder.

  “Good entrance, don't you think? Very clever if I do say so myself,” Edvard cackled from a few feet in front of her. Chandra tore her eyes to the man who seemed to have a very pleased smile on his face.

  “Enough of your magical ego,” Matta said harshly. “We have much to discuss, but the girl and I need to rest.”

  Edvard frowned, obviously annoyed she had put an end to his preening. Grumbling, he walked farther into the cave.

  Chandra looked around as they walked. The rooms and halls were well-lit and furnished. Bold tapestries depicting heroic deeds draped from the walls and rugs lined the floors. There was such an abundance of nice things that they seemed to be strewn about like rubbish. There were items in disrepair sitting beside working items. Nothing seemed to be used on a regular basis, yet there it all lay.

  Everywhere there were sconces, housing a lit, un-melting candle. Chandra reached up to the flame, running her finger through it quickly. The light flickered and was hot like a normal candle, but there was no wax pooled at the base or dripping down the tall, white taper. Unless every candle they passed was brand new, there was something odd about them.

  “Clever, eh?” Edvard asked, uncomfortably close. Frostwhite ruffled his feathers at the man's nearness. “I created those candles myself. They hold fire, but never get used up! Genius! Too bad I can’t sell them without being carted off!” He cackled gleefully at his last statement as if the thought of such a thing was a great joke. Chandra cringed and met Matta’s eyes. Matta shrugged and rolled her eyes in Edvard’s direction.

  “Sleep, Edvard. We need sleep,” she reiterated slowly as if talking to a young child.

  The smile dropped from his face, and he nodded, tottering off ahead of them. He pushed aside a curtain covering an alcove that held two mats on the floor. Neither looked as though they had been used in a very long time if at all. Both looked full and had lots of soft-looking blankets. Matta nodded and entered the tiny area, settling immediately on the mat to the left of the entrance.

  “Let us sleep for at least a few hours before you come barging in to tell us about another one of your amazing creations,” Matta yawned with her whole mouth and Chandra had to cover a smile that turned into a yawn as well.

  Edvard nodded slowly as if trying to understand but having difficulty. When Chandra stepped past him and into the room, Edvard dropped the drapery and darkened the tiny space.

  “Sleep while you can, child. We'll not get much while staying with Edvard; I don’t think he ever sleeps. I think he might be able to help us, though,” Matta told her from deep in the darkness. “Oh, and tell your companion not to wander too far into the caves or he might not make it back.”

  Chandra frowned and sent query to Frostwhite about whether or not he understood what that meant. The bird radiated annoyance and responded with a picture of clear blue sky. Chandra nodded and promised him she would get him back outside as soon as she was able. She felt the great bird nudge and pick at her hair for a few moments before hopping off her shoulder. Chandra lowered herself to her knees and reached for the other mat. When her hands found the dusty but soft fabric, she inched forward and was asleep before she had fully lain down.

  23

  Matta shook Chandra but the darkness did not break to light when she opened her eyes. She remembered where she was, then. Time was irrelevant in the caves. There was no change in temperature to give any indications of day or night. Matta had moved after she had made sure Chandra was awake. She stood with the curtain open and watched Chandra trying to rub away the last visage of sleep.

  "I can feel new wrinkles appearing," Matta growled.

  Chandra rose to her feet and stretched out her arms. She offered one arm and felt it pulled down as the invitation was taken. Frostwhite's familiar weight shifted onto her shoulder, and she reached back to stroke sleek feathers. Chandra turned her head and looked into his opaque eyes for a moment. His projection of comfort was a thin shell over his boiling sense of restlessness. She needed to find a way to get him outdoors for a bit.

  “I’ll talk to Edvard about opening the doorway,” Matta said in her usual mind-reading manner.

  “Thank you,” Chandra said as Frostwhite made a soft keek. Matta nodded once and smiled.

  “You’ve changed, Chandra the Lost. Some part of you has humbled,” Matta told her with a small smile, stretching the wrinkles to her lined face like soft bread dough.

  “It's good to appreciate what you have and the efforts of those around you," the old woman paused. "Life is hard, and I fear you have only begun to be humbled by it.”

  As Matta walked off down the hall and Chandra followed, the young woman chewed on what the other woman had said. Chandra did not like the thought that killing a man was the beginning and fervently prayed that Master Dreys would be the only murder she would have to tally.

  Edvard sat at a tiny desk in the wide entry. It looked as though it might topple at any moment from the weight of three large books perched on it. He didn’t seem to notice he was in danger of losing his workspace because he was reading all three books in a dizzying wave. Chandra watched his eyes move across the books before circling and crossing in a pattern that would make a tornado envious. Chandra had to stop watching as it hurt her eyes to do so.

  “Edvard,” Matta said. He ignored her and continued his book circuit. She raised her voice a bit on her second attempt.

  His head snapped up as if she had slapped him. He scowled at her for a moment as if trying to puzzle out who she was before waving a hand at her as if swatting her away.

  “Food, Edvard. We need to eat,” Matta said in a half snarl that belied her impatience. Edvard made an odd grunting noise before pointing across the room at a blank expanse of wall. Matta sighed but went where he had indicated. She ran her hand across the surface of the wall, and it seemed to burst like a bubble to reveal an area of live plants and shelves with dry goods.

  Matta smiled and ran a hand along the tall form of what appeared to be an apple tree. The tree shook as if a breeze had rustled it, though Chandra felt no wind. A moment later, two apples dropped and Matta caught them deftly. She turned to smile at Chandra and hand her one.

  “How do you do that?” Chandra asked. She had seen Matta work with plants that were almost dead and coax them to fruit. It was unusual to see a mage get a plant to do anything other than grow and that took a strong connection between the mage and the lifespan of the plant.

  “What, child?”

  “How do you make the plants respond like that? It is almost as if they know you,” Chandra wasn't sure of a better way to describe it but continued. “With that tr
ee, and before in the forest with that ancient oak, you touched them and they seem to respond.”

  “I suppose they do,” Matta's face took on a gentle smile just before she bit into the apple.

  Chandra frowned at the old woman, some faint memory tugging at her, wanting to be remembered. Something she had learned about at Master Dreys’ estate. It was something about myths and magical creatures...

  “Don't think too hard, child," Matta cut in with a low chuckle, "you look as though you might cause permanent damage."

  Chandra stuck out her tongue and the woman laughed harder as she turned to whisper to various drooping plants that grew stronger under her attention. Matta gave them water, but it seemed as though the plants gained more from her contact than from anything in the pitcher she poured from.

  "I have faith you can trigger a memory to explain so many oddities,” Matta's rasping voice took on a sing-song quality that Chandra had never heard.

  Chandra remembered the tomes she had spent so much time with, alone in her solitude. They had been stacked around her in the quarters Master Dreys had placed her like a wall against the outside world that held her in the past by others' words. There had been books on magical history, books on famous magical families and books on the source of magic. She closed her eyes and saw page after page flip through her mind; each unique in content and form. She remembered the information about creatures of the past that had been a source of magic in themselves, linked with the core of the world as if the pages were in front of her. Creatures that no longer existed in the world but whom had been a force of their own, powerful and more in tune to the magic of the world than humans ever could be. There had been sprites, gryphons, wraiths and...