Frost & Bothered (Discord Jones Book 4)

by Gayla Drummond

  After a few minutes, I opened my eyes to check my progress. It wasn’t bad, about a third of the way across.

  Kethyrdryll was continuing his job of keeping the drakes busy. I climbed slowly to my feet and started walking in wide circles, shaking my fingers to restore circulation.

  Logan’s voice sounded in my head. Do you need us to keep marking the edges?

  “No, come on out. Be careful, though.” If my bridge broke under their weight, at least they had a chance to make it to safety before the drakes noticed.

  Reaching the edge of the river again, I knelt and put my fingers back in the water.

  Even with contact, it was using a lot of energy to freeze so much water. I began sweating in earnest.

  By the time the shifters reached me, I’d frozen the second third of my bridge. “We might need to camp early. This is wearing me out.”

  Logan purred, stepping close as I stood up. Need a lift?

  “Thanks, but I’d better walk ahead and test.” My incomplete bridge was swaying slightly right, with the current. “And I need to hurry, before the middle breaks off.”

  Okay. He said something to Connor in big-cat speak and the lion nodded. They followed me at a distance of ten feet as I jogged forward.

  “Final phase.” I knelt and touched the water again, hoping I didn’t end up with frost bite.

  Dizziness struck when I rose, and I staggered forward, wishing I were home in front of the fireplace, with a big mug of hot chocolate with tiny marshmallows floating on it. The shifters caught up with me. I threw an arm over each pair of shoulders. “I’m tired.”

  They kept me upright, walking me the rest of the way and a safe distance from the bank.

  I’ll be back, Logan said, and trotted away.

  Connor purred as I pulled on my glove while leaning against him. We watched Logan as he stopped where Kethyrdryll would notice him. The elf sent a final snowball-laden whirlwind over the river and turned his horse before urging her into a gallop.

  He’d reached the middle of the bridge when Logan yowled, drawing the drakes’ attention. A few swam over to try to attack the tiger, but the rest disappeared under the water.

  I focused on the elf. “Come on. Go faster.”

  The mare stumbled three quarters of the way across when a drake slammed into the ice bridge. She skidded forward on her knees, back legs slowing.

  Kethyrdryll didn’t miss a beat, throwing the reins over her head and leaping out of the saddle. The ice bridge shuddered under a second impact, and a drake lunged out of the water, snapping at the elf.

  Ice groaned, creaked, and cracked under the pair.

  “Crap!” I tried to refreeze that section, but the drake’s ungainly thrashing caused more cracks. “Run!”

  Kethyrdryll snatched hold of the reins and pulled. Selwin lunged to her feet, blood dripping down her forelegs.

  She tried, but her stiff-legged jog wasn’t fast enough as the cracks spread. Kethyrdryll hauled on the reins, pulling her as the drake wallowed closer.

  I hit it with a blow of telekinesis, knocking its head away so it missed the mare’s hind quarters by inches.

  Logan rushed past us, turned, his hind paws skidding, and bounded out onto the ice.

  The cracks were spreading. The horse stepped in one with a hind hoof, her head jerking up and yanking Kethyrdryll off his feet.

  A second drake surged out of the water, and ice broke under its weight. The mare’s hind quarters slipped into the water, and the elf howled her name.

  I ran, concentrating, and lifted her to more solid footing. Logan reached them, snarling and rearing to slash at the drake’s face. He scored and the beast roared.

  “Come on,” I yelled, blinking at the bright dots threatening to blind me. Leandra barked, cutting in front of me, and I tripped over her to face-plant in the snow.

  It knocked the breath out of me. The hound grabbed the hood of my coat in her jaws and dragged me away from the riverbank. I managed to roll over and saw Kethyrdryll coaxing his horse the final few steps.

  Logan was backing up, his tail lashing. I closed my eyes for a second, dragging in a painful lungful of air before re-opening them. Just as the center of my ice bridge broke and a third drake shot out of the water on the far side. It landed right behind Logan, breaking the ice underneath them.

  Drakes and tiger fell into the water.

  The elf yelled out an incantation, dropping his reins and rushing back toward the riverbank. Connor roared as he ran past. Leandra kept dragging me backward. “Let go.”

  She ignored me. I spotted Logan’s head as it broke the surface, and an arrow flew over it, landing in a drake’s eye as the monster loomed over the tiger.

  “Swim!” I screamed and tried to gather enough energy to use my telekinesis. Kethyrdryll was firing arrows one after another, each thunking into the drake’s face.

  Connor roared, trying to distract the drakes while standing at the river’s edge.

  Logan reached a chunk of ice and clawed his way half onto it.

  All I could manage was a wimpy TK boost, lifting him fully onto the ice chunk. But it wasn’t too far from the river bank. He’d have to jump.

  Logan crouched, his ears flat, and a breath later, leaped. At the apex of his jump, a smaller drake burst out of the water and nabbed him.

  Both disappeared and I lay there, unable to process what had happened for a second.

  I sat up, frantically searching the river’s surface. Connor retreated, slinking toward me with his mouth open, deep moans rolling out of him.

  Kethyrdryll was looking too, and still firing arrows at the drakes showing their heads above the surface. One by one, the creatures retreated, sinking below the water.

  Everything was quiet.

  Logan was gone.

  “Cordi.” Connor squatted down and held out a steaming mug. “Soup.”

  “Thanks.” I burned my tongue on the first sip. “How’s the horse?”

  “Kethyrdryll is wrapping her legs, says she’ll be fine in a day or two.”

  “Good.” We could stay put until then, in case Logan came back. I stared at the river and shivered.

  “You should come in where it’s warm.”

  “Can’t move. My legs went to sleep ten minutes ago.” I petted Leandra’s head, and she responded with a faint tail wag. The hound lay across my thighs, and my back was against the trunk of a tree. I had a great view of the water as it sparkled under the moonlight between breaks in the clouds.

  Connor quietly said, “I’m sorry. This is my fault.”

  “No, it’s not. You weren’t the only person we were looking for, and none of us chose to get swallowed by that damn portal.”

  He turned and dropped onto his butt, to look at the river. “You think he’s alive.”

  “I’m not going to believe he’s dead unless I see his body.” Or parts of it. My stomach considered returning the soup. I convinced it not to, because the rest of me really needed food. My headache had faded, thanks to a draught of some pain remedy Kethyrdryll had on hand.

  The elf had dropped to one knee and kissed my hand for helping to save his horse. She’d been one of only two friends he’d had for eight years.

  I thought he’d say something more, but he’d risen and set up camp, leaving the thorn barrier open on its river-facing side. He’d also brought me a leather cloak and a cushion to use while I kept watch.

  “If there’s anything left to see, it’ll come up miles downstream.” Connor’s hands flexed on his legs. “Do you want me to go look?”

  The first fat snowflakes began falling while I considered his offer. I looked at the sky, filling up with dirty gray clouds, and shook my head. “I promised your dad I’d bring you home. Be hard to do if you fall into the river in the middle of a blizzard, or freeze to death.”

  “Be hard to do if you sit out here and freeze to death,” he said. “You should come inside.”

  “In a little bit.” I drank more soup, and kept watching the river
until the snowfall grew too heavy to see that far.

  Leandra stood and shook, snuffled at my face, and left us for the pavilion. Connor had to help me to my feet. He grabbed the cushion and cloak before putting an arm around my waist. My legs wobbled the first few steps, feeling heavy and useless before blood began circulating. “Ow, that hurts. Don’t let a hound use you for a pillow.”

  “Can’t say I see it happening.”

  We stopped to peek in at the horse, who raised her head from a big pile of hay and softly nickered, stretching her neck to hold out her nose for us to pet. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

  A few more pats and we went inside. Kethyrdryll was sitting at the table, gazing into his bowl of soup. He looked up and jumped to his feet when he saw us. “Are you injured?”

  “No, Leandra’s heavy and used my legs for pillows. I’ll be fine in a few more minutes.” I patted Connor’s hand and hobbled to the table under my own power. “The soup’s good. You should eat yours.”

  “Of course.” The elf sat down again.

  “If no one minds, I’m going to take a bath,” Connor said. We didn’t mind and he left the main room.

  “There’s no sign of him?”

  I shook my head. “Not yet. Can I ask you a question?”

  “Certainly.”

  “Why are you nice to them? Your brother likes to pretend they don’t exist, and Alleryn’s kind of snooty to them.”

  “They’re people.”

  “I don’t think Thorandryll thinks so.”

  He half-smiled. “My brother has a fragile ego.”

  That pulled a laugh from me. He didn’t join in. “Wait. You’re serious?”

  “Thorandryll appears confident, but appearances can be deceiving. He dislikes shifters because when he was young, not even into his third decade, a human woman he fancied chose a shifter over him.”

  “Ouch. And then his wife,” I hesitated when Kethyrdryll raised his eyebrows. “He told us about Dalsarin and her.”

  “I’m surprised.”

  I leaned back to untie the belt of my coat. “And then there was Carole, but you can ask him for details. All I’m going to say is she did him dirty.”

  Kethyrdryll shook his head. “He’s been singularly unlucky in love. It’s why he ... ‘does stuff,’ I believe was the way you put it.”

  New view of Prince Snooty Pants, and I wasn’t sure I liked it. “He’d be more likeable if his ego weren’t in overdrive.”

  “Perhaps. Selwin will be healed and ready to travel in roughly two night’s time. I must ask what your plans are now.”

  I took a deep breath. “We keep going. If Logan ... he’ll find us when he can.”

  “You care greatly for him.”

  “He’s my friend, and clan.”

  “More than that.”

  “Yes.” I had no intention of elaborating because I’d think about our lunch, and the kisses, and start crying. If I cried, I’d be admitting he was dead.

  Logan hadn’t given up on me when Dalsarin had turned me into a dog, or when Merriven tore my neck open. I wasn’t giving up on him. It had been a smaller drake than the others. Maybe a baby or a runt adult. Shifters were tough, and Logan was strong.

  Kethyrdryll gazed at me for a few seconds before changing the subject. “More soup?”

  SEVENTEEN

  I expected a visit from Sal once I’d gone to bed and fallen asleep, but he didn’t drop in, and that was worrisome. The little god always showed when a case led to mortal peril.

  Instead, I dreamed of walking around the empty rooms of my new house, and of climbing the ladder to the attic. The attic was gone, and I stood there with my head just above the river’s surface, face to face with a drake. Its breath smelled like rotting fish, and fresh, bloody furrows marred its snout and neck.

  “Where is he?”

  The drake opened its mouth wide, and it made all the sense in the world to climb in. Once I had, the creature closed its mouth and swallowed. I went rushing down its throat, which felt and looked like one of the covered slides at a water park. The slippery ride ended when I landed on a concrete floor in front of Logan’s car.

  The headlights came on, and the engine purred. I stood and realized the car was empty, but the driver’s door was open in silent invitation. No sooner than I slid behind the wheel, the door slammed shut and the car was driving across snow-covered terrain, more snow falling from a dark sky.

  “He’s dead, Miss Jones,” Thorandryll said. I glanced over to find the elf in the passenger seat. He wore all black. “We will mourn the passing of the black tiger in due time.”

  “The car knows where he is. The drake told it.”

  “Hungry mouths spew lies.” Thorandryll had a dagger. He sliced the dash and blood spilled from the cut. “You should be more concerned about the darkness.”

  “The way is lit,” I said, looking out the front windshield at the twin beams of light. “There’s always light at the end of tunnels.”

  “Unless it’s night.” Thorandryll made another slice in the dash, freeing more blood. “This is perpetual night.”

  “You carry your own light, Discordia,” Mr. Whitehaven said from the back seat, his eyes glowing red in the rearview mirror. “Your own fire.”

  “You’re going to get yourself killed.” Nick leaned forward from his seat beside my boss. “How many have to die before you understand?”

  “Understand what?” I shivered and looked down at the floorboard. Blood covered my feet and moved higher.

  “People like you need cages.”

  “I won’t live in a cage.”

  “A cage will keep you from hurting others.” Nick sat back and faded from sight.

  “How many have you hurt?” Thorandryll asked, carving more lines in the dash. “How many have died because of you?”

  “She wanted to live. To be young and beautiful forever,” Merriven whispered in my ear. I looked in the rearview mirror to meet Mr. Whitehaven’s gaze.

  He smiled. “You can control the very elements with naught but a thought. Hear and influence the thoughts of others. Rather terrifying, isn’t it?”

  The blood had reached the tops of the car seats, starting to creep up my thighs, and it was freezing cold.

  “It’s because of you I live in fear.” Betty had taken Thorandryll’s place. “You’re dangerous. My children are going to die because of you.” She stabbed the dagger into the dash. “I’m going to die because of you.”

  “No, I won’t let that happen.” Dark shapes appeared, running beside the car. Wolves.

  “How’s the maze-building going?” Jo asked, and walls of ice shot up on either side of the car’s path. The wolves edged closer, their eyes gleaming gold and orange and yellow.

  Mr. Whitehaven was gone. My witch buddy grinned from the back seat. David sat beside her with his nose buried in a book.

  “Have you been practicing?” Jo waggled her eyebrows, then lifted a cup from our favorite coffee shop. “New blend.”

  The hot scent filled the car, nutty, rich, and slightly sweet. I looked down to find the blood had reached my waist. “We’re going to drown.”

  “Drowning’s better than being eaten by wolves,” David muttered, pushing up his glasses. “Look at those teeth.”

  The car turned right, fishtailing around the corner. Its rear panel struck a wolf, knocking the animal into the ice wall with a sickening thump.

  “Nasty creatures, they are. Vicious and greedy.” Thorandryll had returned. Betty was gone. “You can’t trust those who wear two shapes.”

  A steady sound came from outside, not quite a flapping noise, but close. I leaned forward to peer through the windshield at the sky. A large, pale shape flew above the car.

  “Dragon,” David remarked. “Interesting creatures. Not many of them left.”

  The dragon flew higher, disappearing from sight, and the car slowed to a halt. I sat back, blood rippling from the movement. It was chest-high now.

  “You have reached your
destination. Please exit the vehicle and have a nice night,” a robotic female voice said. The wall in front of the car had a door set in it.

  “What are you waiting for?” Thorandryll asked, holding out the dagger. “Take this, Miss Jones. You’ll need it.”

  “Thank you.” The blade was warm and pulsed in my hand. “It’s alive.”

  “Not for much longer,” Jo said. “Better hurry, Cordi.”

  Wolves swirled around the car. “Are they going to kill me?”

  The car door opened and the blood poured out. My head turned and I met the amused gaze of a green-eyed man with antlers rising from the top of his head. “The Hunt can’t begin without you, child. Come with me.”

  “Where?” I climbed out of the car, ignoring my blood-soaked clothes and the circling wolves.

  “Through the door.”

  I was in front of the door without having walked to get there. “What’s on the other side?”

  “I don’t know,” Cernunnos replied. “Strange. I should know.”

  The door knob was silver, and warm to the touch. I opened it. There was nothing on the other side except darkness.

  “Ah.” Cernunnos chuckled. “You have to jump.”

  Clutching the dagger, I peered into the darkness. “There’s nothing there.”

  “Of course there is. The night hides many things.”

  Someone grabbed my arm, pulling me away from the door. Nick stared at me, his eyes golden. “Things that want to kill you.”

  “All that live, die, and death clears the way for new life.” Cernunnos threw back his head and bugled. Nick released his hold on me, turning into a wolf. “You’re running out of time, child.”

  “Okay.” I turned to face the doorway. “I can do this. I just wish I knew what ‘this’ was.”

  “Dummy,” Ginger whispered. “You do this all the time. You did it with me.”

  My heart froze. “Did you want to die?”

  She smiled, her skin turning gray, and collapsed into a pile of ashes.

  “No time to waste.” Cernunnos pointed at the doorway. “Choose to jump or choose to die.”