Scorn of the Sky Goddess

by Tara West

  Simeon didn’t stand a chance.

  She was out of options. Though she doubted her strength after her encounter with the gargoyles, and she feared unleashing her magic would expose her to Madhea’s eye, she had no choice. She refused to let Simeon die.

  She sent her spirit soaring to that magical place, flinging it with a gasp, then snapping it back like a whip. “Freeze!” she cried, throwing out her arms.

  The cascading snow halted, suspended in midair, hovering over Simeon’s head like a frozen wave of water. He pulled Dafuar free, then glanced at the monolithic crest above him. He turned to Dianna, eyes wide with shock, before slinging the old man over his shoulders.

  She raced to him, floating snow crystals coating her hair and face. When she reached him, she noted two things. One, his mahogany skin glowed like polished wood in the moonlight that shone through the curtain of snow. And two, it was hard, very hard, not to throw herself into his arms and kiss him senseless, knowing she’d nearly lost him to nature’s fury. Elements save her! She’d fallen in love with Simeon.

  “Come on!” Together they plowed through the snow and across the frozen lake until they were out of the avalanche’s shadow.

  MARKUS DRIFTED IN AND out of consciousness so often, he had no idea how many days had passed or if he was still alive. Each time he came to, he heard the old prophet mumbling something unintelligible.

  He woke again, squinting as he tried to focus in the dark room, lit only with a few mite crystals. Jon slept beside him in a fetal position, shivering under a thin fur. Odu sat in front of him, mumbling and holding his hands over the floor.

  Markus leaned up on his elbow, wincing as pain shot through him. His ribs hurt as much as ever, though he was growing accustomed to the pain. “What are you doing?” he asked Odu.

  The prophet leaned over a hole carved in the ice, which was so deep, he couldn’t see where it ended.

  “Summoning the stones,” Odu answered.

  “What?”

  “How do you think I found them the last time?” Odu chuckled.

  “I-I don’t know.” Markus thought on it. He’d no idea where the stones had come from, just that Odu had brought them to Ice Mountain three hundred years ago.

  “I called them from the recesses of the earth,” Odu said.

  Strange how the old prophet sounded so lucid when normally he made not a scrap of sense.

  “Ah, there’s one.” The water in the hole bubbled and boiled as if a pod of kraehn were feeding and then a stone popped up, catapulting out of the water like a flying fish and landing in Odu’s hands. “This was the chieftain’s stone.” Odu winked at Markus. “She will have a rude awakening.”

  “Where are the other two?” Markus looked through the small window into their cell. Luckily the guards had their backs to them.

  Odu lifted the hem of his robe, revealing two stones. “Here.”

  He could hardly believe what he was seeing. “You have all three? Will the chieftain know to find them here?”

  “Why would she? We’ve been locked away for days.” He nodded to their cell door, an impenetrable block of ice the chieftain herself had sealed shut with a stone. “She will accuse others though.”

  “I hope no more are outed because of us,” Markus breathed, sagging as he thought of Ura by herself. Had she survived alone on Ice Mountain, or had she perished? Between the snowbears, avalanches, and the vindictive ice witch, odds were not in her favor.

  “You fear for your bride.” Odu leaned back against the wall, tucking the stones under his bony legs. “Do not worry. Ura will not fail us.”

  He grimaced, laying gentle pressure on his sore ribs as he laid down on the fur. “For Ura’s sake, I hope you’re right.”

  DIANNA NUMBLY FOLLOWED Ryne, who carried Ura. Tar trotted at his heels. She held tight, mayhap too tight, to Simeon’s hand as he wordlessly carried Dafuar over his shoulders. The old man looked to be unharmed, though his pack had been shredded.

  She kept checking the avalanche behind them, but it appeared to be solidifying as the temperature dropped. There was no sign of Madhea flying down from her tower in the clouds. Mayhap she’d heard the avalanche but hadn’t bothered to check its destruction. It would be like her not to care.

  Ryne kicked down several doors until he found a hut to his liking, one that was larger than the last, with another cauldron of frozen food.

  Simeon quickly set to warming the fire while Dianna ran her hands over Ura’s bruised and battered body. Ura was thin and in need of nourishment, but other than a few frostbitten toes and fingers, and two busted shins, she was fine. It didn’t take long for Dianna’s healing magic to work, thanks to Aletha’s help. She did encounter something odd, though. She thought she’d felt an unusual energy coming from Ura’s abdomen. A seed had taken root. Had this simply been an illusion, or was Ura carrying a child? If so, was Markus the father? Dianna hoped so, for her brother had risked his neck and returned to Ice Kingdom because of the pretty ice girl.

  Ryne wrapped his sister in thick furs, and Dianna eagerly waited for the girl to wake. What had happened to Markus? She’d get little sleep this night, worrying over her brother.

  Dafuar was more difficult to heal. After removing his furs and robe, she was shocked to see he had a broken back and bleeding organs, where the beast had punctured both sides of his stomach. He hadn’t complained of his wounds, or she would’ve healed him first. It was a wonder he’d survived at all.

  Eventually the old prophet mended as well. The exertion of healing two people left her feeling spent and hungry. She ate a bowl of fish soup from the cauldron. It wasn’t as tasty as the venison stew in the other hut, but it served its purpose.

  Tar happily ate what Dianna couldn’t eat. Rather than let the soup go to waste, she fed him a few more bowls and gave some to Dafuar, as well.

  Ryne scooped the broth from the soup, holding it to Ura’s lips and forcing her to drink as she drifted between a fitful dreamlike state and being awake. Eventually she sat up and appeared fully aware of her environment.

  “I know you’re tired, Ura, but could you please tell me what happened to Markus?” Dianna a sked.

  Her eyes brimmed with tears. “They’ve imprisoned him and Father.” She wiped her eyes. “They’re going to starve them to death.”

  Ryne jumped to his feet and paced in front of the hearth. “They will come to regret this.” He pounded the wall. “I will make sure of it.”

  “Flaming Elements!” Dianna slowly stood, clenching her hands so tight, her arms ached. “I will burn every one of them to the ground if they so much as harm my brother.”

  Easy, Dianna. Neriphene chided. Remember your blood oath.

  Dianna swore under her breath. “I know.” She’d never actually raze an entire city. She wasn’t like her mother. But surely she wouldn’t break her oath if she ensured those responsible paid for their crimes.

  “Dianna? I thought it was you.” Ura set down her cup of broth. “You are my husband’s sister?”

  “Husband?” Dianna and Ryne said in unison.

  Her blue face turned a soft shade of pink as she focused on her hands. “We were only just wed.”

  Ryne reached his sister in a few long strides, falling beside her on his knees. “But you’re both so young.”

  “He’s almost seven and ten, and I’m almost eighteen winters.” She toyed with the frayed end of her fur. “Our parents were our age when they wed.”

  “You couldn’t have waited for me to return before marrying?” Ryne pouted. “I would’ve liked to have been there for the ceremony.”

  Great goddess! Did Ryne really need to make everything about him? She was happy Markus had wed Ura, for she remembered how much he’d pined for her.

  “I’m sorry.” Ura reached for her brother’s hand. “The others were gossiping about Markus living with us. Besides, I love him.” Her eyes watered with fresh tears. “I didn’t want to wait.”

  She wondered if Markus and Ura had planned to
have a child so soon. She hoped she was wrong, for the world was too volatile for an innocent babe as long as Madhea lived.

  You’re not wrong, Dianna, Aletha said. I sensed the seed, too. She has a long way to go. Hopefully Madhea will be dead by then.

  “I hope so, too,” Dianna whispered. Now she had one more reason to destroy her mother—the life of her unborn niece or nephew.

  Ura tossed the fur off and threw her legs over the side of the cot, sucking in a sharp breath. “Ryne, Dianna, the mists revealed Madhea in Ice Kingdom.”

  Ryne jumped to his feet. “What?”

  Dianna’s heart came to a dull thudding stop. “Oh, heavenly Elements,” she breathed, “save the Ice People if Madhea has found out where they’re hiding.’

  “That’s why we were trying to steal a stone,” Ura said. “To protect Markus, so he could deflect her magic and shoot her.”

  “Let me guess.” Ryne tapped a booted foot on the worn wooden planks, his mouth twisting in a snarl. “The Council didn’t believe you, which is why you were outed.”

  Ura nodded as more tears cascaded down her face. “Ingred has taken over the Council. She thinks we’re liars and thieves, and there’s no convincing her otherwise.”

  “Don’t worry,” Dianna said, doing her best to keep her composure despite the rage that threatened to split her skull in two. “I’ll convince her, and I’ll make sure she regrets the way she’s treated you and my brother.” And their unborn child..

  Chapter Sixteen

  Dianna was frustrated they couldn’t scale the mountain faster, but Dafuar had insisted he come along, that the Ice People would be more willing to listen to him, as the stones rightfully belonged to him and his brother.

  She wasn’t so sure the Ice People would care where the stones came from, as long as they were able to keep possession of them.

  Ryne said he knew of a faster way to gain entrance to Ice Kingdom, and after two days, they found themselves at the very spot Ura claimed to have been outed. Unfortunately, they also found a corpse lying nearby, his face frozen in horror, blank eyes staring at the sky.

  “Who is this?” Dianna knelt beside him, petting Tar’s back while he sniffed the body.

  “Bane Eryll.” Ura knelt beside her. “He was outed weeks ago.”

  Odd that he would still be so close to Ice Kingdom’s entrance instead of trying to find his way down the mountain. She gazed up the ledge above them. Bane had to have fallen from there. The ledge stretched at least five men in height from where he had fallen, its outer edges crumbling. Had he slipped, or had he decided to end his life?

  Ura stood, frowning. “I thought he’d been eaten by a snowbear. Though I never cared for him, I hope the Elements are kind to him in the afterlife.”

  Dianna looked at Ura, surprised to see a lone tear slide down the girl’s cheek. “I take it his body hasn’t been here all this time?”

  Ura wiped her tear, turning away. “I would’ve seen him when they outed me.”

  “Do you think it was an accident?” Simeon asked as he shivered beside Ryne, watching the ice dweller melt a hole in the ice with the stone Simeon had been carrying.

  “I don’t know.” A strange shiver coursed down Dianna’s spine, and she couldn’t escape the feeling that she was being watched. She peered at the sky. Had Madhea seen them? “But I think it’s a bad omen.”

  Tar’s low growl was not reassuring. What did he see?

  A frigid wind tickled the hair on Dianna’s nape. Hide, the wind whispered.

  Dianna! Nepherine’s shrill scream was laced with urgency. Get below! We sense Madhea is near!

  She turned to Ryne, who had melted a hole large enough for a person to squeeze through. “Madhea is coming! We need to get below now!”

  MADHEA HAD NOT COME to do battle. She was there to ensure the fall had killed Bane. While she peered over the ledge, observing the small party near Bane’s lifeless body, she was struck by the familiarity of the beautiful blonde witch—Dianna.

  Her child.

  Rowlen’s child.

  Her breath caught in her throat, and she clutched her sore stomach. How easy it would be for her to toss a deadly bolt at Dianna’s chest. The girl wouldn’t even see it coming. Then Madhea could spring into the air, flying out of bowshot from the others in her party.

  If she killed her child, she’d rid herself of the threat for good. Magic pooled in Madhea’s fingers as a dark voice within her soul urged her to strike.

  But then Dianna looked up, her mouth falling open as she squinted at the sky. Madhea stepped back out of view, losing her courage. When she summoned the nerve to look over the ledge again. Dianna and her party had gone. They’d disappeared down a hole in the ice, leaving Bane’s lifeless body behind.

  Madhea cursed herself a fool for letting Dianna slip away. She feared the girl had come for Markus. If they escaped Ice Kingdom, Madhea’s plan would fail. She needed the boy hunter. Though she was weak, she had no choice. She had to attack Ice Kingdom, but first she needed to collect reinforcements.

  DIANNA FOLLOWED URA down the ice column while Simeon and Ryne helped Dafuar and Tar. She had thought her ice scaling skills were decent, but Ura put her to shame, deftly descending like a spider sliding down a thread. Mayhap it was because Dianna was distracted by the scenery. She was in awe of this place, which was like a crystal wonderland. Ice spikes thrust down from the iridescent ceiling like giant frozen teardrops while others, some as wide as mighty pines, shot up from the ground, reaching almost to the top of the cavern, which was at least ten men in height.

  Two ice dwellers were waiting for Ura at the bottom of the massive cavern, spears aimed at her back. “Stop! Trespasser!” they yelled.

  Dianna knocked them back just hard enough that their spears fell to the ground, and they landed on their arses with shocked grunts.

  When they scrambled for their weapons, she threw them back again.

  One of them shot to his feet and pointed at her, screaming, “Madhea!” Then they ran out of the cavern, sounding the alarm.

  Dianna and Ura landed on solid ground just as a dozen armed men raced into the cavern. She knocked their spears out of their hands, wedging the tips into the wall. She drove the men back, and they slid across the ice like their arses were well oiled.

  “Madhea! Madhea!” more men hollered as they charged her.

  Again, she pushed them back. “I’m not Madhea!” she hollered. “I’ve come to speak to your chieftain.”

  Just as Simeon and the others jumped to the ground, a tall woman with a massive beak nose, who looked like a giant blue bird, marched into the cavern, armed men at her sides. “Calm yourselves, that’s not Madhea.” She pointed at Dianna. “This witch doesn’t have wings.” She turned a beady-eyed glare on Ura. “You have been outed. You’re trespassing.”

  Ura jutted hands on her hips, bracing her legs. “Unjustly outed without a fair trial, Chieftain, but I will go as soon as you bring my husband and father to me.”

  The chieftain turned her iron-eyed glare on her brother. “Ryne? Where are the others?”

  He stood beside his sister, arms crossed. “Bring me my father and brother-in-law, and I will tell you.”

  Ryne’s loyal dog stood beside his master, lips pulled back in a fanged snarl.

  The chieftain threw up her hands, her voice turning shrill. “What have you done with my son?”

  More ice dwellers gathered around the bird woman, all various shades of blue, with hair that looked like ice crystals. Some grumbled and cast Dianna and her party accusatory glares while others shook their heads, scowling at their chieftain.

  Ryne’s voice echoed across the cavern. “You will not know where he is until I see that my family is safe and well.”

  The chieftain had the nerve to laugh. “They were thieves.”

  “They were trying to warn you Madhea is coming,” Dianna said, “and you fools refused to listen.” Even now Madhea could be upon them, if Nepherine was right.

  I am rig
ht, Neriphene scoffed. Madhea was watching you, and she could descend at any moment.

  Dianna backed up next to Simeon as the chieftain and Ryne argued. When she tapped him on the thigh, he slipped a stone into her hand. “Thank you,” she whispered, her knees wobbly when she realized a battle with Madhea could be imminent. She didn’t like standing under a ceiling of ice spikes. If Madhea were to collapse the roof on their heads, they would all perish.

  “I demand you release my son!” the chieftain’s voice ricocheted off the spikes, like hail striking a shield.

  “What of the others who accompanied me, Chieftain?” Ryne smirked, clearly enjoying goading the woman, whose face had turned a deep purple. “Do you not care for their fates?”

  “Them, too.” The chieftain shrugged while others whispered behind her.

  “Show me my family first,” Ryne commanded. “This is the last time I tell you.”

  The chieftain laughed. “Or what?”

  “Or this!” Dianna shot a bolt at a long spike hanging from the ceiling. It broke apart, shattering when it hit the ground by the chieftain’s feet, sending people frantically scrambling.

  Remember your blood oath, Sindri warned.

  “I have not forgotten,” she grumbled. But the Ice People didn’t know about the oath not to use her magic to harm innocents. As far as they were concerned, she was a vindictive witch who would destroy their kingdom if they didn’t release her brother. That’s what she wanted them to believe, since they needed to make haste before Madhea arrived.

  The chieftain stepped over the shattered ice, grinding a shard into the ground with her boot. “Well, if Madhea didn’t know where we were before, your destruction will certainly alert her.”