Crown of Ice

by Victoria Gilbert

  “Sounds like wind whistling through something.”

  Luki stops and waits at the edge of the light. His nose twitches and the fur on his back bristles as I approach. “What is it, boy?” I thrust out the ball of light and stare into the darkness beyond the wolf. There’s a different smell to the air.

  “Another chamber, I think.” I walk forward slowly, my hand resting on Luki’s head. As we climb over a rise of stone, a breeze tickles my face. “Watch your step,” I call out as Kai stumbles over the ridge and grabs my shoulders to steady himself. I shrug him off and hold the light before us.

  A rounded ceiling rises above an empty chamber that’s not as large as the entrance but also not as damp. The musty odor tainting the air since we entered the cave is replaced by the scent of banked fires and ash.

  “Someone’s been in here, and recently.” Kai strides in front of me. He glances about the shadowy cavern. “No trace of anyone now, though.”

  “Not here.” I walk to the center of the room and swing the hand cradling the light toward one wall. “See there—another passageway. I can feel air blowing. There must be a linked chamber.”

  We cross to the passage, Luki trotting before us. I move ahead of Kai and slide through the narrow opening, turn a sharp corner and step into a bright shaft of light.

  “Thyra Winther,” says a reedy voice. “Welcome, Snow Queen, to my home.”

  Chapter Ten: Into The Darkness

  I DOUSE THE COLD FIRE in my hand and stare at the bundle of rags that has spoken to me. The opening above my head cascades fresh air and light over my body. Following Luki’s gaze I stare up at an azure circle of sky as a hawk shrieks and perches on the edge of the opening.

  “I don’t believe we’ve met.” I step forward, allowing Kai to follow me into the second chamber.

  “And Kai Thorsen. I welcome you also.” The dark figure rises to its feet and stretches out one knobby arm. He’s dressed in a tattered black robe, cinched about the waist with a piece of baling twine.

  “How do you know my name?” asks Kai, as the hawk swoops down and lands on the ragged creature’s forearm.

  “I know much about you both.” The speaker is a man, his face a map of wrinkles, his eyes sunk into his face like raisins in dough. Although thin as a skeleton, he stands straight as a spruce and his bald head almost touches the low edge of the arching ceiling. “I’ve been watching you for some time.”

  “Watching us? How?” I clasp my hands before me to still my restless fingers.

  “Oh, through a bit of that mirror you’re trying to reconstruct. It can show many things, you know. Not just reflections.” The old man uses two fingers to strokes the hawk’s sleek back.

  The bird’s piercing gaze is fixed on Luki, who stands at attention, his nose twitching.

  “Your wolf is contemplating my hawk as dinner. Perhaps you should warn him not to tangle with a raptor.”

  “We require the fragment of the mirror you hold.” I kneel and place one arm over Luki’s quivering back. “It’s needed to complete a task assigned to us by a powerful mage.”

  The man’s laughter crackles throughout the cavern. “Mael Voss?” He wipes his eyes with the back of his free hand. “Is that how he styles himself these days?”

  I watch the hawk loosen and clench its talons against the man’s bare flesh. “He holds sway over a great realm.”

  “Of ice and snow and unending cold. Of nothingness.” The man shakes his head. “I am Holger, by the way. I know Voss from long ago. Mention my name to him when you see him next. You may judge our relationship by his reaction.”

  “I have limited conversation with Master Voss.” I rise to my feet and cross to stand before Holger, meeting his amused gaze with my iciest glare.

  “Very wise, little queen.” Holger examines my face without exhibiting a trace of the typical human reaction. “So, you seek my shard of magic glass?”

  “We seek three fragments.” Kai steps up beside me. “We’ve reason to believe they remained here in this cave when Voss shattered the mirror.”

  I cast Kai a swift glance of approval. Faced with the oddness of Holger’s presence and the possibility of other threats lurking in the shadows, Kai’s voice remains steady. I study his profile for a second, noting the tension in his jaw. Scared, but resolute. Indeed, a most unusual boy.

  “Alas”—Holger flicks his wrist and the hawk sails from his arm to perch on a high ledge of stone—“I possess only the one piece. Though I do know where you might find the remaining two. They were stolen from me, you see, by other visitors to my home.” Holger folds his lanky form and sits on a pile of bearskins.

  “I’m surprised anyone else could find you.” Kai crouches in front of the old man. “So, will you help us, Holger? It’s quite important we complete the mirror.”

  “Ah yes, lest the Snow Queen melt into a wraith.” Holger’s dark eyes bore into my skull. “And how old are you now, Thyra Winther? Seventeen, if my information is correct.”

  “There are still a few months left before my birthday.” Through the soft wool of my breeches I feel Luki’s warm body press against my leg. “I’ll complete the mirror before that day.”

  “Perhaps, though you must find the other shards as well.” Holger motions for Kai to rise. “You needn’t beg, young man. I will tell you, as it means nothing to me. The other two pieces reside at the university in our nearest city. Some men took them from me long ago, on a day when I was out hunting for food. Explorers, I suppose they were.” Holger shrugs. “All I know is I returned to find several sets of footprints and two fewer pieces of the mirror. Thankfully, I had my largest shard with me.”

  Kai bows his head. “Thank you for telling us that much, Master Holger.”

  Holger’s thin lips stretch into a smile. “But you, Kai Thorsen, what do you achieve by assisting our lady of the snows? Her love, perhaps?”

  Color rises in Kai’s pale cheeks. “No, that isn’t my goal.”

  “What then?”

  Before Kai can speak again I step forward and kneel at the old hermit’s bare feet. “I’ll beg you, Holger. Please grant us your fragment. It’s all that stands between me and an eternity of suffering. It can prevent the destruction of everything I hold dear.”

  “You mean your mind and your free will? Yes, I know you, Thyra Winther.” Holger examines me as if I’m a newly unearthed artifact. “If I do not grant you my shard, will you take it from me? Do you have that power?”

  “Whatever power I possess, I’ll use.”

  “I have no doubt of that.” Holger tents his boney fingers and appraises me. “Strange, the girl who wept over nothing, whose heart was more tender than green shoots of grass, has become cold and hard as a glacier.”

  I stand as Kai turns his head to gaze at me. I refuse to meet his eyes. “I’m much changed. Living with Voss will do that. And I do have a rather pressing deadline.”

  “So you do. The question is”—Holger leans back against the rough cave wall—“what do I gain from this transaction? You have nothing to trade with me, Snow Queen. And I do not think allowing Mael Voss to achieve eternal life is really in anyone’s best interest.”

  The old man’s face hardens until it resembles the stone behind his head. His eyes gleam with the predatory glint I’ve seen on the faces of polar bears.

  “You see, young Master Kai,” says Holger, “the mirror holds more power than Voss ever guessed.”

  “Yes, I’ve heard ... ” Kai grunts as I stamp my boot across his instep.

  “The mirror possesses wild magic.” Holger closes his eyes, as if lost in thought. “It cannot easily be mastered, once made whole. I fear it may work great harm upon the world. Voss will not be able to control it, for all his boasts. He has not the strength.”

  I gather my magic and send it rocketing through my body until a pale blue light illuminates my skin from toes to fingertips. “If you don’t give your fragment to me, I’ll tell Master Voss where it resides. If I fail, and fade into a wraith
, he’ll simply conjure another Snow Queen to complete the mirror. She will know where to find you, unless you leave this place, which I suspect you can no longer do, and live.”

  Holger slumps, becoming nothing but an assortment of bones wrapped in rags. “You guess correctly, Snow Queen.” His voice thins into a wheezing thread. “I can no longer leave this cavern. Fortunately I have long since shed the need for food, though my birds still bring me flagons filled with snow.”

  “You still require water.” I walk forward until I’m looming over the old man.

  “Yes, from time to time.” Holger looks up at me, his eyes dull as bits of charcoal. “Very well, Lady of Snows, I will give you my fragment. But only if you promise to use your considerable powers to keep the mirror safe once it’s made whole.”

  “Once it’s complete”—I toss my head until my white hair shoots sparks in the dry air—“I don’t care what happens to the mirror. If you wish, I’ll promise to lock it away, never to be seen again by any mortal soul. Just give me the fragment.”

  “Very well.” Holger reaches into the folds of his robe and pulls out a glittering shard. “But tell Master Kai the truth first.” He holds out his fist, the piece of glass hidden by his clenched fingers.

  “What truth?” Kai moves to my side.

  “Ask her what the mirror can do.” Holger stares straight at Kai.

  “I know. She already told me.” Kai reaches to enclose Holger’s fist with his fingers.

  The hermit squawks something that might be a laugh. “Ask again.”

  I focus my energy on Holger, ignoring Kai’s attempt to catch my eye. The old man’s eyelids flutter. His fingers loosen and the mirror fragment slides smoothly into Kai’s palm.

  “What do you mean?” demands Kai, pocketing the shard. He leans in and grips Holger’s shoulder. “He’s fallen asleep, Thyra. Can you wake him?”

  I shake my head. “No, I’m afraid that’s beyond me.” Of course, it isn’t, but Kai doesn’t need to know. Just as he never must learn I slowed Holger’s heartbeat and sent the old man into a stupor. I watch as Holger’s head bobs and his sharp chin drops onto his chest.

  I don’t know if the hermit will wake in time to take the water he requires to survive. Images of Luki’s mother and the struggling form of Kai’s father flash through my mind. But I can’t consider such things now, not with one more piece of the mirror in our possession.

  “We should go.” As I stride toward the passage, I call forth another globe of light and whistle for Luki, who waits until Kai treads slowly behind me before bounding in front of us. Passing into the outer chamber I hear the hawk’s piercing cry followed by a rush of wings.

  “WILL HE BE ALL RIGHT?” Kai shifts awkwardly on the seat of the sleigh. He lays his gloved hand on my arm as I gather up the reins. “Holger was so still when we left, I thought perhaps ... ”

  “Perhaps what?” I shake off his hand and yank up my hood, shadowing my face.

  “Perhaps the shard was keeping him alive. He said the mirror has greater magic than even Voss knows.”

  “I think Master Holger likes to exaggerate.” I cluck at the ponies, who take off from the ledge and gallop into the clear sky.

  Kai’s very quiet as we travel back to the palace. He keeps one hand in his pocket, obviously fingering Holger’s shard. “You were a bit scary back there,” he says as we fly over sparkling fields of snow.

  “That was the idea.” I press my spine into the rigid seat of the sleigh. I wonder if I slowed Holger’s heart too much—crossed the border between sleep and death. I sigh, knowing I shouldn’t dwell on such thoughts.

  Luki stretches his neck over the seat, sniffling at my ear. I gently push his nose away. He whimpers and drops his head onto Kai’s shoulder. The boy lifts his free hand and pats the wolf absently while staring blankly at the drifting clouds.

  I still see Holger’s bald head bent over his limp hands. I slap the reins and the ponies pick up speed. Never mind, I think, my eyes fixed on the white horizon. Such thoughts hold no power. Let them fade. Let it all fall away.

  Chapter Eleven: Deceits And Diversions

  KAI IS RESTLESS. AFTER a night spent calculating and arguing over equations, we placed Holger’s fragment into the mirror this morning. Now Kai wants to travel to the university to collect the two other pieces.

  “I’ve something I need to do first,” I tell him as we stare into the looking glass.

  “What’s more important than recovering those fragments?” Kai’s brown eyes rake over me. The color yesterday’s cold and wind whipped into his face has drained away, leaving him pale and drawn.

  “I told you—I’ve other responsibilities.” The truth is Bae has returned with news of Gerda, but I can’t tell Kai that.

  “So I’m stuck here, I suppose?” Kai picks up another piece of glass and holds it over the dark section of the mirror.

  “Yes, stay here with Luki.”

  Curled up in the sunlight spilling through the room’s tall windows, the wolf raises his head at the mention of his name. His amber eyes regard me steadily. He has aged rapidly in the last few months and now resembles an adult wolf more than a pup. But he’s still all legs and tail and head. He hasn’t quite grown into his bones.

  “Keep him locked in here when I leave so he won’t try to follow me.” A little smile curves my lips. Luki is likely to follow me anywhere, even into danger.

  “Luki, it seems we have been given our orders.” Kai leans over the mirror and slides a few pieces about, his eyes narrowed in concentration. He does not look up when I turn and stride to the door.

  Luki rises and pads after me, but I press my hand into the dense fur of his chest and push him back as I close the door. I hear whining and scratching before Kai calls him away. There’s a flutter in my stomach, and I bite the inside of my cheek to refocus my mind. It’s a strange sensation, realizing any creature bears that much love for me.

  I make my way down several icy corridors, careful to illuminate the walls before I step into each passageway. At the end of one hall is the chamber I seek—a simple storeroom. I step inside and head for the black trunk pressed against one wall.

  Bae’s news is sending me on another journey. Apparently Gerda’s been located at a country estate, the same estate where gossip claims a young man also seeks refuge. A brilliant scholar, the boy is the new ward of the Stryker family, whose wealth is piled as high as the timber they cut and sell. In two days the boy returns from the university. The Stryker clan is taking the opportunity to throw a grand ball to introduce the boy to their friends and neighbors. According to Bae, Gerda’s convinced this mysterious young scholar is Kai.

  Of course, I know better. But I won’t forgo the chance to confront Gerda and convince her to return home. She’s already astonished me with her ability to track any information that might lead her to Kai. Her success causes me concern—I see another hand behind her actions. On her own, I don’t believe Gerda presents a major threat to my plans, but I fear she’s gained the support and protection of Sephia. Logic leads me to think the enchantress is using Gerda as a pawn in her war against Voss and, by extension, me.

  So, like it or not, I must pause in my search for the missing fragments to chase down Kai’s friend and get to the bottom of Sephia’s plans. Bae tells me that Clara, the youngest of the Stryker children, has taken an interest in Gerda, who appeared on their doorstep, cold and hungry, a few weeks ago. I silently thank the Strykers’ well-known devotion to charity and Voss’s transformation of Bae. I’ve puzzled over the mage’s decision to grant the reindeer the power of speech, but perhaps Voss’s magic whispered something of the future. He obviously sensed I’d need a servant who could convey messages.

  I slowly lift the domed lid of the trunk. Nestled in the black velveteen interior is a jumble of delicate garments. I sift through the velvets and satins until my fingers close about a hank of silk. Pulling the garment from the trunk, I hold it up against the soft blue light emanating from the walls. It�
��s a pale gray silk gown, shot through with threads of silver and lavender. Tiny opalescent beads are sewn into its puffed cap sleeves and larger pearls encrust the low neckline. I lay the silk against my plain wool gown. The dress is sized perfectly for me. Just the thing to wear to a ball.

  I suspect the silken gown is out of fashion, but that’s of no consequence. I plan to disguise myself as a lady from a distant land, hoping my foreignness will excuse any oddness in my dress. I certainly can’t attend a ball wearing one of my woolen gowns.

  Rummaging through the trunk I uncover a pair of delicate satin slippers. Balancing the shoes on top of the folded gown, I close the lid and wonder again why Voss has such garments stored in the palace. When I first discovered the trunk I surmised it was the discarded clothing of a former queen, but logic soon disproved that theory. Voss chooses his Snow Queens from surrounding towns, not royalty. No ordinary village girl would own such finery. I shake off my curiosity as I step back into the hall. It’s a mystery, and will remain so. I’ve no intention of asking Voss who owned these elegant garments. Personal questions are a sure way to evoke his wrath.

  It’s time to track down the young girl whose determination surprisingly seems to match my own.

  FREYA PAWS NERVOUSLY at the ground as I slide the gown and slippers, carefully wrapped in a linen shift, into my saddlebags. I’m wearing my white furs over my chamois traveling clothes. Not my usual riding habit, but the furs are the only cloak I own that matches the elegance of the silk gown.

  As we take to the sky I consider my options. If Gerda is protected under Clara Stryker’s wing, I’ll need to tread carefully. It won’t do for me to be barred from the estate before I’ve a chance to talk to Gerda alone. I plan to use whatever magic is required to convince her that the Strykers’ ward is indeed Kai, and that any interference will damage his opportunity for a first-class education and untold riches. I calculate such an argument will convince Gerda to abandon her search for Kai and return home. But I must meet with her before the young man arrives at the ball. Once she sees he isn’t Kai, she’ll undoubtedly resume her quest. I can’t allow her to slip through my fingers again.