Blood Winter

by Diana Pharaoh Francis

  The men turned away reluctantly.

  The woman swung back around to examine Gregory. Her mouth pursed. “You look wrung out. You need something to eat and drink. I have a stew going. It’s not much, but it’s filling.”

  “It’ll be perfect,” Thor said, even as Gregory started to shake his head. “And he thanks you for it.”

  With a frown, Gregory brushed away the snow from a log and sat on it.

  “I’m perfectly fine.”

  “Right,” Max said as she joined them. “You look it, too, all scarecrowy and anorexic. You could be voted Missoula’s most handsomest zombie.”

  The witch scowled at her but accepted the bowl and spoon that his patient handed him. “Isn’t it a little late to be cooking?” he asked with ill grace.

  “You’re welcome,” the woman said as she returned to her pot, giving it a sharp stir before poking at the fire. “You try being sick and having two sick boys. Time might get away from you, too. The fire went out with the snow, and then Cody started crying, and there wasn’t anything I could do but hold him—”

  Her mouth pinched shut. Gregory looked as if she had just spanked his nose with a rolled-up newspaper. He scooped up a mouthful and gulped it down. His eyes bulged, and he gasped.

  “Don’t you like it?” the woman snapped.

  “It’s good. Just hot.”

  “You might have noticed that it did just come off the fire,” she pointed out.

  Thor snickered, and Max grinned at Alexander. He only stared. A moment later, her expression turned troubled, and she looked away. It left Alexander feeling . . . nothing. It was like looking at a stranger.

  What has happened?

  This sudden cessation of feeling could not be real. Could it? Was it magic? Was he under a spell?

  His brows winged downward. Would he know if he was? And then—would he want it broken? Would he want to go back to the torment that was loving Max?

  He could be done with that dreadful, shredding, gnawing desperation that tore incessantly at him with rusty claws. Every moment of every day, he felt as if he was caught up in a storm that left him seasick and drowning. The need for her was crushing, ugly, inescapable. All of that could be over forever.

  Did he want it back? Perhaps more important, if this was a spell, what else had been done to him? The thought was more than unsettling. He did not feel, smell, or taste foreign magic on himself. But would he even know?

  His musing was interrupted by Max.

  “I need to talk to you,” she said, looking first at Gregory and then at Thor and Alexander. “Is Tyler back yet?”

  “Why do I get the feeling I am not going to like this one bit?” Thor asked.

  Gregory looked up at her and then back down. He had finished his stew and scuffed the snow away from the dirt beneath his feet. He took the spoon and dug an anneau—a circle enclosing a five-pointed star enclosing a triangle. At the center was a small dot. He dug it deep into the hard soil. The spoon handle bent, and he straightened it again. When he was satisfied, he touched the center of the anneau with his forefinger and whispered a chant. The anneau glowed bright green and then faded away. But instantly, a bubble seemed to grow around the campsite. It was probably twenty feet in diameter and contained the tent and the fire pit, along with parts of the hovels on either side. Within, the snow ceased to fall. Instead, it dusted the top of the invisible dome. Heat from the fire stopped vanishing into the cold night and instead began to warm the now-enclosed space.

  Gregory gave Max a defiant look and stood, handing his bowl back to the woman. “The stew was delicious.” He turned to Max. “I’ll listen, but I plan to stay and help these people before they die of an epidemic.”

  Max gave him a long look and nodded. “Everybody has choices to make,” she said, and Alexander’s mouth dropped open and then snapped shut.

  Was she under some sort of spell, too? They needed Gregory to fight Sterling.

  “Did you bump your head?” Thor asked, clearly thinking the same thing. “Or maybe someone gave you a frontal lobotomy?”

  Her mouth quirked, but the smile did not reach her eyes. “Not that I noticed. Let’s talk. Somewhere a little bit private.”

  “You can use my house,” Kara said, having now joined them. “No one will bother you there. Help yourself to the cider.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I’m going to go pull the Board together.” Kara looked up at the snow collecting on top of the protective bubble and then at the woman Gregory had helped. “Okay if we meet here, Lena?”

  Lena nodded. “Of course.”

  “Good deal. I’ll be back shortly.”

  Max silently led the way back to Kara’s shed. Tyler joined them just outside the door. The five of them could barely fit inside. Thor and Tyler sat on the bed, and Alexander stood at the foot. Max poured cider for everyone and sat down at the table. Gregory had found a knife and was carving an anneau symbol into the floor. Soon Kara would also have a magic bubble protecting her home.

  “I take it you’ve got a plan?” asked Thor. The orange striped cat had appeared on his lap and was nuzzling furiously against his knuckles as he pet her.

  “I do.”

  “We’re going to hate this, aren’t we?” Tyler asked, his lips pinching tight.

  “A lot. But it is a plan, and it could work.”

  “Let’s hear it,” Thor said, casting Alexander a worried look.

  Alexander merely leaned against the wall, listening.

  “Thor and Alexander, you two go find Tris. Tyler’s going to go get Giselle.”

  “And you?” Alexander asked, rubbing his finger over his upper lip. “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to go become Benjamin Sterling’s newest follower.”

  ARE YOU FUCKING NUTS?” THOR EXCLAIMED, jumping to his feet. The cat squalled and dove under the bed. “You can’t hide what you are. He’ll kill you for sure, if the sun doesn’t get to you first.”

  “He won’t kill me fast. I should have enough time to find Kyle and the kids and then take them out through the abyss. As for the sun, I’m going to take the Amengohr amulet with me,” Max said. “Takes the sun out of the equation.”

  The amulet made a Shadowblade invisible at night and allowed her to walk in the daylight without getting cooked extra-crispy.

  “You will require far more food than usual to sustain it. You will not get anything like what you need from Sterling, if you get any food at all,” Alexander pointed out.

  He was bizarrely calm. A few hours ago, her announcement would have sent him into a raving frenzy. Max’s heart spasmed, and tears burned in her eyes. She blinked them away as she tried to swallow the rock that rose in her throat. Tyler still hadn’t said anything. His silence was unnerving.

  “I don’t intend to take long.”

  “And what if he prevents you from stepping into the abyss?” Gregory pointed out.

  Max shrugged. “It’s a chance I’m willing to take.”

  “You’re nuttier than squirrel shit,” Thor said, his Texan drawl becoming more pronounced. “He could swat you like a fly. It’s suicide. Tell her,” he said to Alexander, his blue eyes sharp with accusation. That Alexander should care more, that he should want to stop her.

  Instead, Alexander said, “Is that the whole plan? You go in alone and do an abyss rescue?”

  “I can’t risk any other Blades and Spears,” she said, matching his even tone. “I’ll be the only one with the amulet.”

  “Giselle will not go for this at all,” Gregory said.

  “It’s not like she’s around to object. Phones stopped working. We don’t have time to waste waiting to track her down.”

  “Waiting for her to spank your ass and tell you no, you mean.” Tyler spoke at last.

  Max smiled and cocked her head. “So we don’t need to ask her. We already know what she’ll say.”

  Tyler made a frustrated sound, then swung around and punched his fist through the wall.

&nb
sp; “I’m not sure Kara was looking for a window,” Max said.

  “Fuck you,” he said, his back to her. He pulled his hand back in. Blood streaked his arm from where the wood and metal had cut deep gouges. He turned to glare at Alexander. “Why aren’t you trying to stop her? You know this is crazy, even if you have suddenly gone mental and forgotten how you feel about her. What’s your fucking problem?”

  Frustration sent Tyler’s Blade to the killing edge. He was strong. Nearing to Prime, really. Max looked at Alexander, waiting for his reply.

  “There is no use in trying to stop her,” he pointed out. “She is going to do it with or without us. May as well try to figure out how to help her. Maybe she will not die.” He said it offhandedly, like he was talking about a flat tire.

  It was like a kick to the chest. The breath went out of Max, and it was all she could do not to fall onto the floor and curl up around the hurt. But then anger rescued her. So he was done with her. So what? It had to happen sooner or later. She’d known that all along. Pull up your big girl panties, and deal with it, she told herself.

  “I would prefer that we had Spike or one of the Grims,” Alexander added after a thoughtful moment.

  “Well, we don’t,” Max said tartly. “What we have is a guy with too much power who hates witches and isn’t afraid to torture people.”

  “It’s a lousy plan,” Thor said, but without force. He had already given in. “What are you going to do if he pulls magic on you? Or locks you up in a dungeon and you can’t get out?”

  “If I get into trouble I can’t get out of, I expect you guys will get me out of it.” She pushed her hair behind her ears. “I’m not crazy,” she said quietly. “This is the best way to find Sterling before he kills Kyle and the kids. If I can’t kill him, you will.”

  “Your cheese done slid off your cracker,” Thor said. He wiped a hand over his mouth, then nodded. “All right. I’m done arguing.” He glanced at Alexander. “You going to say anything that doesn’t sound like you’ve been possessed?”

  Max noticed that Alexander twitched and stiffened, but then he shrugged and slid his gaze to her. “Be careful. Do not get killed.”

  “Yeah, because that would bother you a whole bunch,” Max said. Damn. She wished she could pull the words back. She didn’t want him knowing how much she hurt.

  “Anything else you want to say, Tyler?” she asked.

  “No,” he said, not looking at her.

  She stood. “All right. I’m out of here.”

  “Wait!”

  Tyler grappled her close, wrapping her tightly in his arms. His throat worked, but no words came out. The tears she’d been holding slid down her cheeks. She wanted to promise him that she’d be back, that she wouldn’t die. But she couldn’t lie to him. Instead, she settled for, “See you when I see you.”

  With that, she plunged down through her inner fortress and out into the abyss.

  THE AMULET WAS IN ALEXANDER’S APARTMENT. SHE dropped just inside the door and stood. Everything within was neat. The bed was made, and there were no decorations anywhere. It looked like he’d never lived there at all. Maybe that was the way he liked it. Once he moved on, he moved on all the way.

  Still, he’d left the amulet there instead of bringing it to her apartment. She’d never questioned that choice, assuming that he’d get around to it eventually. But maybe it was a sign that he’d been holding something back against the time when he’d be done with her. She couldn’t imagine ever being done with him.

  Pain rolled through her like thunder across the great plains. It shook her, and she leaned back against the wall, her hands on her knees. She drew a harsh breath. How was she going to survive this pain?

  Stupid, she told herself. It wasn’t deadly. People didn’t really die of broken hearts.

  She forced herself to straighten and went to the closet. A few clothes hung inside, but there was little else there. Alexander had brought nothing from his previous covenstead and had little time to accumulate more. What he did have was in Max’s apartment. She’d have to move it back. She’d do it now if she had the time, just to keep from having to watch him do it later.

  Despite the fact that his room was warded so that it only opened to him, Alexander had made an effort to hide the amulet. Giselle had created the wards and could walk in anytime, and locks didn’t hold Max. On top of that, Magpie occasionally had the power to walk through locked doors, whenever a true prophecy was riding her. Plus there was always the possibility that someone could break into Horngate and find it, someone like Sterling.

  The amulet was hidden in the wall in the back corner beneath a shoe shelf. The shelf was screwed in, and Max resisted the urge to yank it out with brute force. Instead, she lay on her stomach and reached under. There was nothing to indicate that anything was hidden there. The magic that hid the compartment was gypsy smoke magic, and it left little trace of itself to be noticed. The spell had been laid by Alexander’s sister Valery when she’d visited Horngate.

  Max snorted to herself. Visited. As if it had been social and not a life-and-death fight against a rising Fury. The same fight that had ended with Niko’s death and the two angels lying in the vault in magical comas.

  She gritted her teeth against the memories and shoved them down.

  Her fingers prodded into the corner, meeting dry, roughly finished stone. She felt along the corner, looking for the right spot. It was small. A keyhole, really. It took Max nearly a minute to find it. She poked her finger through the magic guarding it, clamping her teeth against the sudden surge of pain. It was like sticking her finger into an electric pencil sharpener. She could feel it shredding her skin and nipping at her bone.

  Undaunted, she shoved deeper until her finger was completely inserted. The lock was a test of endurance. Even Alexander had to endure this particular annoyance when he wanted the amulet.

  That was the point, he’d told Max when Valery had set it up. Even though the amulet provided Shadowblades with the miracle of walking safely during the day and invisibility at night, it took as much as it gave, quickly sapping the wearer’s strength. It would be easy to wear it to death. Thus, it was necessary to make even him think twice before using it.

  Several long minutes passed. Max held herself still, letting the locking spell have its way with her. Finally, the pain stopped, and there was a give. The stone around her finger melted away to reveal a hollow in the rock. She scooted forward, turning her hand up awkwardly beneath the shelf. The tips of her fingers brushed against soft cloth. She pinched it and twitched her hand, pulling it off the little shelf it rested on.

  The bag fell into her hand, the amulet a heavy weight inside.

  Max blew out a relieved breath and waited for the next part of the lock. It didn’t disappoint. Something clasped her wrist, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to wrestle free without destroying the amulet in the process.

  Fire engulfed her hand. She could feel her skin bubbling and charring. Illusion. Maybe. Alexander had only pulled out the amulet once when Valery set the locks, and Max hadn’t been there to see it. But she could smell her flesh cooking. It could be illusion, her mind insisted. But the pain was all too real.

  She rested her head on the cool stone of the floor, closing her eyes and enduring. Finally, the flames stopped, but the tightness banding her wrist remained. Valery wasn’t done. Sadistic bitch. Max smiled despite herself. The smoke witch was just following orders. Alexander had wanted something that was tough even for Max. He knew her ability to open locks and wanted to be sure that when she did, she really meant it.

  Max steeled herself for whatever came next.

  Nothing happened.

  She frowned and jerked her arm. The bands holding her wrist compressed, and she felt her bones bending.

  “Holy Mother of fuck,” she muttered. “Are you going to pull my hand entirely off?”

  But she knew that the last test was to get her hand out. So she pulled, turning onto her side and bracing her feet against
the wall. With every ounce of increased pressure, the banding on her hand tightened. Bones cracked, and her hand went numb. She couldn’t even tell anymore if she was still holding the amulet.

  Max gritted her teeth and yanked with all her might. Her shoulder popped out of its socket, and the magic band tightened more.

  She yelped and relaxed for a second, trying to think. Brute force wasn’t getting her out. Dropping the amulet might, but that wasn’t an option.

  Still, she’d never met a lock she couldn’t break. Alexander wouldn’t have let her come to get this if he didn’t think she could figure it out.

  So what should she do? And then it suddenly hit her. It was devious and perfect for protecting the amulet, and if Max was wrong, she was going to have to go through the whole process all over again.

  One by one, she forced her fingers to uncurl from the amulet until it was lying flat on her palm. Then she slowly turned her hand over and pulled it out of the hole. It came easily. And so did the amulet. It remained in her palm, defying gravity.

  Max stared at the soft gray felt bag, then collapsed back onto the floor, her eyes closing in relief.

  A few seconds later, she sat up and examined her hand. None of it had been illusion. Her fingers were mangled, her wrist collapsed down to an inch diameter. And why not? Valery knew that she and Alexander healed quickly. And Alexander knew enough about the lock to minimize the damage to his bones getting the amulet out.

  “Fucker could have warned me,” Max murmured out loud, startling herself.

  She heaved to her feet, shoving the amulet back in her pocket. She carried her arm against her stomach and left his room, crossing the hall to her own. Inside, she found socks and boots. She pulled on the socks awkwardly, using only one hand, then stuffed her feet into the boots without lacing them.

  Max glanced down at her wrist. It was pushing outward, regaining its shape. Her mangled hand was also repairing itself. But she needed a good calorie boost to optimize her healing and to prepare herself for wearing the amulet. Which meant bearding Magpie in her kitchen den. And the witch was probably going to give her an earful.