by Dawn Steele
Snow White picked herself up. She stole a look at Ghost to see if the younger girl was all right. When Ghost removed her hands from her face, blood streaked from her eyes. Thank God she’s already blind, Snow White thought morbidly. She was torn between helping Ghost, who seemed calmer now, and preventing something similar from happening to Kalle.
The King’s ominous voice stopped her. “No, I won’t, father. I won’t kill her.”
“Kalle?” Snow White’s throat felt like someone had rammed a fist through it. It wasn’t clear if the King was speaking in Finnish or German, but she understood him perfectly.
Like Ghost, he did not notice her. He took a step forward, then another step. “I intend to take her as wife,” he declared. “You are dead. You can’t stop me with your mad lies.”
Unease washed over Snow White. Kalle was talking about her, she was certain.
Kalle suddenly clasped the hilt of his sword. “I will not cut out her heart. For the last time, father, she is not a demon!”
Snow White’s blood ran cold.
“Leave him to his own demons. He has chosen to be the way he is for a reason,” said a voice beside her.
Gorm towered above her, and the sight of him made her cringe. Gorm’s head was at an odd angle. A purplish bruise circled his neck. His clothes wore blood and dirt stains, and his bone-braided hair glistened with grease.
He pointed to his neck. “He did it to me, your lover. Snapped it like a twig.”
Snow White was speechless. She swung her head all round. Gustav and Kalle had vanished. She was all alone with her latest ghost.
“There’s plenty you don’t know about him,” Gorm went on. “He’s a killer.”
Snow White found her voice. “He killed you only because you would have killed him.”
“Would I? A bargain is a bargain. He was supposed to lead me to the city paved with gold. Before we got there, he butchered every one of us in cold blood. He left our bodies to welter in the heat and be pickings for the crows. What sort of man does that, I ask you?”
Not a man. A sensation of ants ran down Snow White shoulders. “You’re not real,” she repeated for the umpteenth time that day.
“Whether I’m real or not, your lover is not who you think he is.”
“Ex-lover.”
“Semantics. You have not wormed him out of your marrow. He lies there, a maggot feasting upon your conscience. How much do you know about him anyway, you who are about to enter his lair? Would he be waiting there for you with all his kin, ready to slaughter you at will?” Gorm’s expression turned calculating. “Even you . . . who have bedded this creature and now carry his seed in your womb.”
Snow White involuntarily clutched at her abdomen. The fear rose to her face in a hot flush. “It doesn’t matter. I’m here right now with an army to stop it.”
Gorm’s gaunt face lit up in a cunning smile. “Your lover has a face you won’t allow yourself to imagine. The abomination he fathered lies within you, nourished by your own blood, leaching your very life. Cut it out!”
“No.” Snow White clasped the dagger she kept by her side. “You’re not real!”
“Can’t you feel your hair and nails falling out as your flesh melts in its consumption? Smite it before it’s too late.”
Snow White looked at the dagger in her trembling hand.
“Cut it out,” Gorm commanded. “Plunge the dagger into your very womb and cast the evil thing out!”
For a terrible, bewildering moment, Snow White saw herself knifing her own womb and slicing deep. The pain struck her as if it was real. She pictured the child – thing – within shrieking, its half-formed mass of a face raked apart, its squirming red limbs grasping futilely at the glistening membranes that held it. She blinked, and blood streaked across Gorm’s face like an eclipse.
“Do it,” he said. “Get rid of it before it claws out from your belly, flapping its tail.”
“No!” Snow White cried in agony at the image.
She flung the dagger at Gorm. It sailed through him. His image flickered, and then he vanished. Shakily, she looked all around. She was alone again. The sky was a lilac bowl above her head. Her horse had drifted to the foot of a cliff and was grazing the bright yellow flowers that dotted the shrubbery. The wind lifted her tresses, and she could smell pine on it, and the harsh iron tint of blood.
A strange shadow fell upon the ground. Above her, she heard the beating of many wings. Like a gargantuan arrowhead that could only belong to the gods, a dark cloud of birds massed behind her. Ravens. They angled closer and unmistakably swooped for her head.
The nightmare of her stepmother turning into a raven hurtled back at full blast.
Ice needling every part of her body, Snow White sped to the mountains, forsaking her horse. The ravens screeched. She ran and ran, almost stumbling over pebbles and rocks that skittered the uneven tufts of grass. Behind her, the wings of the ravens fanned a fetid, deadly breeze. She could smell carrion on their breaths and feel the terrible heat from their bodies. She did not dare look back. The Pass weaved and twisted. The rock walls of ochre, red and amber seemed to taper, funneling her into a trap. The rustling of feathers fanned her ears. Something sharp nipped at her right shoulder blade.
With a cry, she surged forward and threw herself at the sudden opening. The vista of a shimmering green lake and tall, cloud-capped mountains flooded her eyes. The soft scent of water struck her face. At the edge of the lake, a figure perched motionless, his back turned to her.
It was Aein.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“Aein!” Snow White cried. She made for the lapping green waters of the lake. The pulse at her throat fluttered at a thousand wingbeats per minute. Briefly, she took in the gorgeous vista of mountains surrounding the lake, the highest peak of them being Mt. Nordstrom. Their walls were so steep and rocky as to be seemingly impenetrable.
He turned. His face was as beautiful as ever. He was surprised to see her, but not unduly alarmed. Sensing light and space and the sudden cessation of wings, Snow White risked a look backward and almost stumbled on a hillock. The ravens had all vanished. She paused, uncertain if her eyes were playing tricks or the challenges thrown by the Pass did not extend beyond it. Her feet slapped upon loamy grass, such a contrast from the rocky ground of the Pass. Had she truly left all her terrors behind?
“Snow White,” Aein called. He began to run towards her, his long legs gaiting easily across the divide. “How did you get here? Why did you – ?”
As he came closer, his strides became more uncertain, hesitant.
She knew what he wanted to say. Why did you come, despite everything that has happened between us? His expression wore so much love, hope and pain that a knife twisted in her gut. At this moment, she knew that she loved him – even though he was an Otherworlder.
Dread raked its sharp fingernails across her heart. When Aein’s angelic facade was torn away and he wore his true insect face, would she still feel this rush of complex, alternating emotions? Would her spirit shrink as she gazed upon his six waving blood-red limbs?
“Aein,” she said softly, then faltered. She wondered how he’d react if he knew a two thousand-strong army waited outside the mountain enclave, ready to exterminate his family should she give the word.
They were only ten feet apart.
“Did you – ?” He hesitated, and then continued with a slight tremor in his voice. “Did you come for me?”
The lump in Snow White’s throat hardened. “Aein, I’m here because – ”
Something strange struck her. She frowned. “Where are the Bambenga?”
He looked crestfallen. “I am still waiting for them.”
“What do you mean?”
“They are still in the Pass. Before we entered, we were warned that there are some who must wade through their ghosts longer than others.”
“Oh.” Snow White was thunderstruck. “Then we have to go back and get them.”
“I tried, but I could not
find them.”
“How long have they been there?” Snow White thought of Ghost, Kalle and Gustav, trapped with their specters. Surely she could just go back and pull them out? The Pass wasn’t that long or wide, they would be easy enough to find.
A pause. Then Aein said, “Three days.”
“Three days?” Her blood ran cold. These were her friends. She pictured Nevue and Ravanne, who had been so kind to her, wandering around the Pass, ravenous and driven rabid by African ghosts. Ghost and Gustav were still in there, as were Kalle and his men. If something happened here, how would she alert Kalle’s army? She thought of all their plans to stop the invaders, derailed before they could even begin.
Oh God.
She turned immediately to run back into the Pass. But a blurry hand with lightning quick reflexes seized her arm.
“It is no use,” Aein said. “I tried. It is a maze in there and I cannot bear to lose you again.”
His touch was as warm as she remembered. Funny, because she almost expected it to be cold, knowing what she knew now. She wondered if he was thinking about their child – the poor, little unformed thing that must be born into a world as broken as its parents. All the pain and regret of their parting bubbled to her throat.
Gingerly, he touched her scarf. “You wear this now. Why?”
“You should know.”
“I do not. This is as much uncharted territory for me as it is for you.”
“Aein, there’s something you should know.” She forced herself to bravely plow on. “I brought some people with me. To safeguard my world.”
“I do not blame you. I would have done the same.”
“Well, there are more than just a few people. There are – ”
Someone ran out of the Pass, shrieking. Snow White saw with a start that it was Nevue. She was followed by Ravanne, whose lips were blood-streaked. Ravanne fell upon Nevue savagely, hands going for Nevue’s neck.
Aein sprinted towards them, and after a beat, Snow White followed, her heart thudding.
“Stop it!” Aein yelled. “You’re no longer in the Pass.”
When the Bambenga women showed no signs of responding, he pounced on Ravanne, who was on top, and ripped her off Nevue. This was no small effort as the Bambenga woman was as ferocious as a cobra. She clawed at Aein, kicking him. Snow White threw her entire weight onto the struggling Nevue.
“Usurper!” Ravanne spat at Nevue. “You’ll never have leadership of the tribe as long as I breathe!”
“It was never yours to begin with!” Nevue shot back.
“Will you both stop it?” Aein seized Ravanne’s arms and twisted them behind her back. The Bambenga woman gave a yowl. Her muscles seemed to slacken a notch even though she was still breathing hard. In Snow White’s firm embrace, Nevue ceased squirming a little. It was a while before their collective breathing slowed and Aein could let go of Ravanne.
“It wasn’t real,” Snow White said. “Whatever it was, it wasn’t real.”
Nevue looked ashamedly away. Ravanne’s expression was mutinous, until she saw the mountain and the lake. A look of beatific wonder crossed her face.
“Oh!” she gasped.
“Yes,” Nevue said dully, “it was my vision too. Perhaps he,” she gestured towards Aein, “would have to choose the more worthy of us.”
“I am not choosing anyone,” Aein declared.
Lost in their moment, Snow White felt a trickling on her thighs. She looked down, and to her horror, a dark blood stain began to spread around the crotch of her pants.
“What’s happening?” Nevue cried.
Aein rushed to Snow White’s side as her knees buckled. “I am here for you,” he murmured as he propped her shoulders and swung her up in his strong arms.
A wave of dizziness struck Snow White. Green zigzags danced before her eyes. Otherworlder or not, she knew Aein loved her as deeply as she loved him, probably more so. The final walls of her own prejudice crumbled, buffeted by the warmth of his body.
Flustered, Nevue regained her composure while Ravanne hastily smoothened down her clothes. Together, they carried Snow White to the lake.
“Am I going to lose the child?” Snow White said weakly.
Aein shook his head, uncertain.
Suddenly, every doubt she ever had about this babe leached away as Aein immersed her in the waters. She pictured the poor child – possibly a hybrid of its father and mother – crying out restlessly for her as she turned her back on it. A deep burst of shame swept through her. The water was cold but alive, as though charged with bubbles that weren’t discernable to the naked eye. How could she ever have contemplated murdering her own flesh and blood?
She clung to Aein.
“I am not going to let you go.” His voice vibrated comfortingly in his chest.
“Is there anything we can do for her?” Ravanne asked Aein.
How odd, Snow White thought. The tribal elder, who must have seen more than a hundred births, asking the male Otherworlder about womanly matters.
“I do not know,” Aein said soberly. “I can only hope that the blood in her will heal her faster than normal humans.”
They were interrupted by the flapping of massive wings. Her vision of the sky partially blocked by Aein’s head, Snow White scrambled out of his arms in sudden terror. Water splashed into her eyes and mouth, causing her to swallow it the wrong way. The ravens were back, she wildly thought, until she blinked to see a strange bird angling in from the other side of the lake. When it came closer, Snow White saw that it was not a bird at all but a flying contraption made from wood. It resembled a ship but for its cream-colored cloth wings that beat up and down.
“Nothing can shock me anymore,” Ravanne muttered, “so color me dead.”
Snow White was inclined to agree.
As the contraption descended, she noted in amazement that it was rather small, the size of a covered barge. It landed gently on the shore a short distance away from them, and skidded a few feet across the soft grass.
“Are you all right?” Nevue asked Snow White. She unwrapped her own head scarf. It unraveled into long yellow and black garment.
“I’ll live,” Snow White said. The trickling of blood had indeed stopped, though she couldn’t be sure because she was still in the water.
Nevue handed her the scarf. “Wrap this around your waist.”
Snow White hastily did as she was told.
Aein cautioned, “Wait here.”
He waded out of the water as a figure alighted from the vessel. Snow White and the others watched from the lake, the wind chilling her through her wet clothes. Aein tentatively approached the figure. Words were exchanged, carried over in spurts.
“Where are your spears?” Snow White said in a low voice.
“We left them back in the Pass,” Ravanne said.
“When we were trying to kill each other,” Nevue added.
Snow White strained her eyes. The newcomer was an old man with a bald pate fringed by long white hair. He wore a white cotton garb in two pieces that draped around his body like a dress. His arms were bare and as brown as a walnut. Surely such a benign-looking creature couldn’t harm Aein?
She treaded carefully out of the water, followed by the others. She clutched at her sodden shirt, unconsciously wringing the water out in drops. Her body shivered in the wind. When she came closer, she saw that the old man’s arms were covered in sores. His hands were missing fingers and he wore the disfiguring lumps of leprosy.
“Aein!” she called. “Be careful.”
The old man raised his rheumy eyes to regard Snow White. He was watchful in the way of a stranger in a strange land, and Snow White was suddenly struck with the knowledge that she – they – were being tested.
“Snow White,” Aein said, his face shining. “This is my brother, Awl.”
Yes, she suspected as much. It also meant the endgame was here.
The brown old man cackled and said something in a foreign tongue, all high-pitched chittering
and vowels. Aein replied in kind. The brothers then embraced each other with genuine affection. Snow White’s skin prickled despite herself. Prejudices ran deep, she knew. How would her fellow men ever be able to accept Aein and his kind when they couldn’t even accept their own?
Aein turned to her and the Bambenga. Tears sparkled in his eyes, something that shocked Snow White, who had never seen Aein cry.
“I am sorry,” he said. “I know you do not understand what is going on, but I have not seen my brother in many moons. He was telling me his story. I will try to translate as he does not speak your tongue. He was tutored in the Eastern languages, as was fitting for his mission.”
Snow White locked eyes with Awl. An understanding passed between them. We both love Aein. He loves us both.
We don’t have to be rivals.
“He arrived in the eastern part of your world,” Aein continued, “wearing the disease you call leprosy.”
“Why did he do that?” Snow White said.
“Awl is my oldest brother. In Spora, he is considered the most beautiful of all the princes. So he chose a body the reverse of what he is – to see how your people would react to him. In his state, he walked the streets of the eastern city. Mothers turned away from him in disgust. Children laughed and threw stones.”
Awl’s gaze flitted from Snow White to Nevue and Ravanne. With her heightened senses, Snow White felt no malice from Awl, merely a scientific curiosity.
“He was driven to a leper colony and accepted as one of them. He learned to find beauty within them. Many who were whole aided them, bringing baskets of bread and fruit left over from the market each day, and tended to their wounds with poultices.”
“Does your brother have a verdict?” Snow White asked, afraid to hear the answer.
“Even though there is cruelty and barbarism in your world, there is also kindness and compassion in equal measure. For every evil deed, there is a good one to counter it. My brother intends to vote against colonization.”
Snow White released the breath she didn’t know she was holding.
“So you didn’t have to convince him?” she asked Aein.
