Queen of Ice (Through the Fire Book 2)

by Benjamin Medrano

  It just figured that Essryl would interfere like this. As much as a tiny part of her claimed that the dark elf might have a point about learning to face the dragon, Ruethwyn would love nothing more than to strangle the woman right now. Not that she could do so, as dangerous as Essryl was, but Ruethwyn could think wistfully about it as she glanced up at the unchanging sky.

  It was then that Ruethwyn stopped, though. Her eyes focused on one of the immense trees, and a glimmer of an idea came to her. It was barely the beginning an idea, but… all she needed was to strike the spot between Resvarygrath’s eyes with a spell.

  “With how he dodged earlier… I need to immobilize his head. That’s all I need to do, not strangle him,” Ruethwyn murmured thoughtfully, glancing at the rope again as the idea solidified. “His head is about thirty feet up, most of the time… and his fire breath hits about an eighty-foot cone. I can work with that, if I move fast.”

  The branch of the forest paths leading by the exit was about two hundred feet long and twenty feet across, while Ruethwyn had about fifty feet of rope. That said, what she needed to do was to create a trap. A pit was out of the question, Ruethwyn simply didn’t have the mana to create something big enough to more than inconvenience something of the dragon’s size. Most of her other options weren’t much better, but she had a thought. The tricky thing was that Elina might not agree to help, since it’d mean damaging trees. Not that they were real trees, which was the only reason Ruethwyn thought she had a chance of convincing the elemental.

  Taking a deep breath, the young elf tried to calm herself first, and to reach the proper state to call on her ally. Balancing the mana in her body was second nature, no matter how much it hurt, and that much she could do easily. The mess of her situation made it harder for Ruethwyn to steady her thoughts, but she managed that as well after a short time.

  Reaching out mentally, Ruethwyn whispered under her breath. “Elina, I call to you.”

  It took a moment for the dryad to answer the call, but that wasn’t unusual. Of all the elementals Ruethwyn had contracts with, the fey woman was one of the most whimsical, but at the same time, one of the most reliable. Tied to her tree as she was on another plane of existence, it was little wonder that Elina found the chance to see other people and places fascinating.

  Suddenly another set of thoughts laced themselves over Ruethwyn’s. Unlike the steadying influence of Umbra or Zaria, the mere introduction of Elina brought a smile to Ruethwyn’s face, as the infectious enthusiasm of the dryad washed over her, and swirling patterns of green and brown appeared along her arm and across her body. Also unlike the other two, Elina preferred not to just share ideas, but also to speak mentally.

  “Why, if it isn’t Ruethwyn! It’s been months since you contacted me last, and… ooh, what’s this place you’re in? It’s so pretty, and full of mana!” Elina said enthusiastically, her attention on the place where Ruethwyn was. “Still, you never call me for sightseeing… what’s it this time?”

  “It’s good to hear your voice, Elina. As for that… I’m in my end of year tests, and this space is a manufactured maze,” Ruethwyn explained, standing up and looking around to let the dryad see her surroundings more easily. “Unfortunately, that dark elf who saved me? She decided to interfere with the test. She blocked the exit with a barrier and created a version of the dragon inside with me. I have to hit him between the eyes with a spell to bring down the barrier.”

  “Ooh… that isn’t going to be easy, is it? Illisyr are odd, from what some of my cousins say. They don’t summon elementals often, either,” Elina chattered, her tone thoughtful but bright. “Getting one of their attention is certainly interesting, though! How do you think you’re going to hit the dragon? It isn’t going to be simple, I know that much. Dragons tend to, you know, dodge.”

  “I did notice that. I was hoping you’d help me set a trap… I’m thinking to try to drop a couple of trees on him when he passes,” Ruethwyn explained, looking at two trees.

  Elina went silent for a long moment, and Ruethwyn waited as patiently as she could manage, worried that the dryad was going to refuse. When she replied, the response wasn’t good, but not quite as bad as she feared. “But they’re trees! Big ones! Why would you want to drop them on a nasty dragon?”

  “I don’t want to. I can’t create a pit that could immobilize him, there’s no cliffs that I could use for a rockslide, and I’m not powerful enough to encase him in ice… it’s the only idea I have that has much of a chance of working,” Ruethwyn explained, growing a little more nervous. “Besides, here they aren’t, well… real. When I leave, this place will dissolve and it’ll be made anew for the next student to enter the tests, or it might be made into something else entirely.”

  “Oh. Well…” Elina hesitated, the dryad obviously unhappy about the thought. Finally, the dryad sighed and spoke more firmly. “Fine, then! I’m not happy about it, but I’ll help, Rue, on one condition!”

  “What might that be?” Ruethwyn asked, relief flooding through her.

  “Channel me during a festival or something, this year. I want to see interesting things! Then, you need to find a good spot to plant a number of trees equal to the number we damage here. It doesn’t have to be this year, but you have to summon me to nurture them,” Elina replied, her enthusiasm beginning to return.

  “I’d be fine with that, though… you know my goal will make it debatable whether or not I can carry those out, right? I might not succeed,” Ruethwyn said, wincing slightly. She heard a wolf howl, then the dragon laugh in the distance. He was getting closer, and that made her anxious. Even so, she didn’t want to make an unfair bargain with Elina.

  “I know, and I’ll accept that possibility. You’re a smart girl and a survivor. I’m sure you’ll figure something out… though avoiding the dragon would be easier. You’re sure you don’t just want to make a path around the barrier or something?” Elina asked, her attention on the forest wall next to the barrier. The dryad seemed thoughtful, but Ruethwyn shook her head.

  “I don’t think that would work. The barrier might extend farther, or the forest may be impenetrable. It’d be preferable, but… I also really don’t want to piss Essryl off,” Ruethwyn explained softly. “She’s far too dangerous, and I don’t think Master Mara could stop her.”

  “Fine. What did you have in mind?” Elina asked.

  Considering the time constraints she was under, Ruethwyn just shared her ideas directly with the dryad. Elina seemed to consider the idea for a few moments, and Ruethwyn could sense her interest, and a bit of disapproval.

  “It isn’t a bad plan, Rue, but your details need some work. This would go off too late for what you have in mind, and the trees would collapse early,” Elina replied decisively. “I’ll help, but I’m just using your plan and giving a few ideas. Succeeding is your problem.”

  “Of course,” Ruethwyn replied, relief coursing through her.

  Elina began to share her thoughts, as well as her magic, and Ruethwyn quickly got to work as the dragon slowly came closer.

  “Hmm… that is interesting,” Essryl murmured, studying Ruethwyn closely, as well as the patterns of magic across her skin.

  She’d seen Ruethwyn use atavism before, but she’d never been able to examine it properly. While she’d been watching the previous times, she was intrigued by how much detail the tests could give her into what the students were doing. There was a far greater degree of nuance to Ruethwyn’s magic than Essryl had believed before, though she hadn’t exactly been trying to look terribly closely.

  The shift in Ruethwyn’s body had been subtle but distinct, and the sudden appearance of an elemental’s soul within Ruethwyn… it was something that could have bad consequences if used wrong, she imagined. Essryl tapped her lips, considering the young woman as she got to work. She could only hear half the conversation, but she had the vague gist of things.

  Ruethwyn’s spellcasting was quick and fluid, and Essryl’s smile widened as she realized what she was doi
ng, murmuring. “Clever girl. It’d never work on My Lord for real, but against this shade… why, it just might work.”

  Leaning forward, Essryl’s sense of anticipation was heightened as she watched and waited, eager to see how the confrontation would go. Whether it succeeded or failed, things would be over quickly.

  Ruethwyn hunkered down behind the small berm she’d raised, waiting for Resvarygrath now that she’d unleashed another magical search, though this one was far more localized. If he decided to fly she wouldn’t have a chance at all, but the paths were narrow enough he shouldn’t be able to spread his wings enough for flight. It did make her wonder how he’d landed, to begin with, but she’d been more concerned about his presence the first time than how he’d arrived.

  The spells she’d cast so far made Ruethwyn a bit concerned, since between everything she felt like she’d drained at least a quarter of her mana reserves, possibly as much as half. It gave her a fair amount of room to use spells, but she wouldn’t have a lot of time to attempt much else.

  “Even without magic, he’s still a dragon. Without magic, well… I’m not much,” Ruethwyn murmured, prompting a soft mental giggle from Elina.

  The thump of footsteps was barely audible, but the vibration through the forest floor made Ruethwyn swallow hard. She didn’t think it’d set off her trap, but she eyed the trees nervously. They swayed slightly, but no more than that.

  “Ah, there you are, little snack,” Resvarygrath’s voice echoed as his head turned the corner, the mark she had to hit as large as the palm of Ruethwyn’s hand and obvious. The dragon came around the corner, speaking further. “Wolves… they’re far too stringy for my taste. You’re much better, and it’s about time that you stopped running.”

  “Shut up, you titanic lizard!” Ruethwyn deliberately insulted the dragon, taking aim and activating her wand.

  The water spear lanced through the air, but the dragon dodged it, his eyes narrowing and smoke emitting from his nostrils as he demanded. “What did you just call me, you pathetic mortal?”

  “I called you a lizard. A gigantic lizard with an obsession with collecting shiny objects, just like a magpie,” Ruethwyn retorted. “Like I’d want to be eaten by something as pathetic as you!”

  “Mortal rat! Never mind enjoyment, you deserve to die!” Resvarygrath bellowed angrily, and Ruethwyn channeled mana into her shield as his head pulled back and he inhaled sharply.

  An instant later, his head shot forward, and instead of a torrent of flames, a ball of fire almost as large as his head spat at Ruethwyn, whose eye went wide. She didn’t know he could do that.

  Fortunately, she’d put mana into her ring, and her barrier flashed to life. Instead of the usual sphere, this one was a green, wedge-shaped barrier, with multiple layers at the forward edge. She’d designed it for the cone-shaped breath she was used to, not this, so Ruethwyn hunkered down and braced herself.

  The fireball hit the shield almost at the same time… and ripped apart. The edge split the ball of flame cleanly in two, and Ruethwyn watched with pure joy as the secondary enchantments repelled each half, sending them flying past on either side of her to explode dozens of paces past her.

  “What—no, now you die, mortal. I will not stand for your insults!” Resvarygrath snarled, the dragon looking oddly shocked.

  He charged forward, his immense form surprisingly fluid as he left massive footprints in the ground. As he charged, Ruethwyn let the shield drop as she hissed, channeling mana and beginning another, more complex incantation which Elina had knowledge of. It was going to take longer than it’d take Resvarygrath to reach her, but thankfully Ruethwyn had planned on that.

  Halfway to her, a few dozen feet from the exit barrier, Resvarygrath hit the invisible rope that was ten feet up, forming a tripwire across the path. The rope pulled hard, going through a pair of makeshift rope pullies on either side of the pathway, and their pressure was enough to set off Ruethwyn’s trap.

  Elina had helped Ruethwyn weaken the trunks of the trees on either side of the path carefully, leaving them right on the verge of toppling into the path, and also set up to split into sections that would fit between the trees and tumble down on the dragon. The first pull started a chain reaction, and in moments, the two trees on either side of the path came crashing down in waves of logs on top of Resvarygrath.

  The dragon bellowed in pain as tons of weight crashed down on him, and Ruethwyn winced at the sound. He didn’t look too injured, though, and her blood ran cold as the dragon began to move beneath the logs. Fortunately, she hadn’t stopped casting, and seconds later, she finished the spell before he could begin to rise.

  Roots ripped free of the earth like tough serpents, or possibly like ropes themselves. The roots lashed out over the logs and the dragon’s exposed neck and head before weaving together like a vast net and clamping down, forcing Resvarygrath to the ground. Ruethwyn’s heartbeat quickened as she stood, almost disbelieving as Elina let out a mental cheer.

  “You think… this can hold me?” Resvarygrath growled, and the sound of creaking came from the roots. “I will not—”

  “I wasn’t trying to trap you for long. I only needed you still for a few moments,” Ruethwyn retorted, disbelief still coursing through her. Taking aim, she added, “Besides, doing this for real is a ridiculous thought.”

  The lance of water from her wand was unerring, and Resvarygrath only had an instant to stiffen before the blast struck the marking between his eyes. A shattering sound echoed through the forest, and the dragon stopped moving completely, cracks expanding through his body almost like he was made of glass. He slowly began to shatter and collapse on himself, and Ruethwyn stared in fascination as the barrier vanished.

  “Well, that was fun! You’d best let me go and get out of here, Rue,” Elina said, her voice bright with entertainment. “Don’t forget your promise, either!”

  “Thank you, Elina. I couldn’t have done this without you,” Ruethwyn replied, smiling slightly. “I won’t forget, promise.”

  The elemental vanished as Ruethwyn released her, and the young mage sighed in relief. Her body was aching from the use of so much mana, but at last, it was done. She glanced at the spot where the dragon had been, but decided to abandon the remains of her rope. From a howl in the distance, wolves might be approaching as well, so she needed to get out of here.

  Rushing to the now-open passage, Ruethwyn quickly approached the miniature hall and hesitated, looking at it closely. There was no obvious way to activate it, and it didn’t seem like a trap, so she touched it.

  The world warped around Ruethwyn and there was a popping sensation, then she appeared back in the tiny chamber where she’d started. Seconds later, the door rumbled open, and she blinked at the light in the hallway, all the other doors closed.

  “Ruethwyn, congratulations!” Master Mara exclaimed, hurrying into the room and grinning. “It only took you two and a half days to pass! I wondered how long it’d take you, considering everything.”

  “Thank you, Master Mara, but—” Ruethwyn began, only to be interrupted by clapping and a soft, female laugh from the doorway.

  Essryl stood in the doorway and grinned. “Indeed, congratulations, Ruethwyn… I’m very pleased to see that you passed my test.”

  Ruethwyn felt herself pale as she saw the dark elf, and at the same time Master Mara spun around.

  This could be very bad.

  Chapter 20

  “Master Mara, no!” Ruethwyn blurted out as the teacher’s hand darted for a wand, almost about to panic. She’d seen how fast Essryl could react, and she doubted the teacher knew just how dangerous she was. Her panic began subsiding as the teacher paused, his gaze sharp as he stared at Essryl.

  “Why? I don’t know who she is, but there aren’t any Illisyr in the nation, Ruethwyn, and she’s intruding,” Master Mara replied flatly. Essryl’s soft laughter interrupted before Ruethwyn could respond, though.

  Essryl hadn’t changed since Ruethwyn had last seen her, or a
t least not much. Her skin was still like polished ebony, and her bright purple eyes had the vertical demonic pupils. Essryl was beautiful, too… and the dark elf smiled widely, looking comfortable in her metal-reinforced leather armor, armor which was almost as dark as she was. The way her tail flicked behind the Illisyr reminded Ruethwyn like a cat toying with its prey, and she shivered slightly.

  The dark elf’s presence caused very mixed feelings to bubble up in Ruethwyn. At the moment, she was feeling less charitable, but she still knew that Essryl was one of the most dangerous people she’d ever met. Possibly more dangerous than Resvarygrath.

  “No Illisyr in your little kingdom? Of course not, aside from me. There’s almost nothing here to make my people consider it worthwhile,” Essryl said, her voice amused as she walked into the hallway. “As to why… isn’t it obvious? Ruethwyn doesn’t want you to make an extremely ill-advised attack on me. She doesn’t want you getting yourself killed.”

  “Who in all the hells are you?” Master Mara growled, his fingers twitching toward his wand. “If you think I’m going to be intimidated—”

  “Master Mara!” Ruethwyn interrupted, her eye going wide.

  “What?” the teacher demanded, barely glancing at Ruethwyn.

  “She’s Essryl, and she’s the one who… who healed me after the dragon attacked Mellesyn,” Ruethwyn explained, swallowing hard. “From what I’ve seen, I really don’t think fighting her is a good idea.”

  “Ruethwyn is right. I’m Essryl Demara, servant of Resvarygrath, Lord of the Golden Dominion,” Essryl said as Master Mara stiffened, her smile playful as she glanced at Ruethwyn. “I believe that most references to me by the people of your land are closer to ‘that dark elf witch,’ however. Insulting, but I’m usually not around to put them in their place.”