Crown of Ice (15 page)

“What’s in there?” I fight to keep my voice light, displaying none of the excitement I feel.

“Oh that? Just a closet where we store some artifacts. Things collected over the years. Scientific curiosities and the like.” Daman glances at me. “Would you like to see, Miss Thorsen?”

“If it’s not a bother.” I give him my best imitation of a proper young lady’s smile.

“Not at all. But I’ll have to leave you after this, I’m afraid. Need to make that lecture, you know. I dock the students’ grades if they are late so I must set a good example.” Daman pushes open the door and leads us into the storeroom. A mullioned window allows in enough midday light to illuminate the laden shelves.

My fingers are twitching now. I sense the mirror’s beckoning magic. I clasp my hands demurely before me. “The shards are here,” I mouth at Kai when Daman’s back is turned.

Kai doesn’t falter. “Well, Professor Daman,” he says smoothly, “thank you so much for showing us about, but we don’t want to keep you any longer. We’ll just find our own way out.”

The professor turns to face us. “Yes, I must go. Perhaps, Master Thorsen, you’d like to sit in on my lecture? Just to get a taste of what you can expect next year.”

I can tell by Kai’s rapid blinking that he’s attempting to solve this problem. “Uh, that’s very nice of you, Professor. I’m not sure, though, if I should leave my sister …”

“Nonsense,” I say firmly. “You should go, Kai. I’ll simply wait for you in the main hall. I believe I saw some benches there, along one wall.”

Kai shoots me a glance but I refuse to acknowledge his glare.

“You are very observant, Miss Thorsen,” says Daman. “Indeed, there is some seating in the entrance hall.” He smiles encouragingly at Kai. “Your sister will be quite safe there, I assure you.”

“Oh, I’m sure she will be, sir.” Kai waits to grip my arm until Daman steps out of the room. “What are you thinking?” he hisses at me.

“I’m thinking,” I reply, under my breath, “that the good professor will be occupied with his lecture and you’ll possess a wonderful alibi when you’re seated right in front of him. And no one will suspect”—I allow a cold smile to flicker over my face—“your sweet sister of stealing anything from a dusty old storeroom.”

Kai releases my arm and steps away. “You can be quite terrifying, you know,” he mutters.

“It’s a talent,” I rub my arm. Somehow the sensation of Kai’s touch always seems to linger longer than it should.

Daman insists on escorting me to one of the benches in the front hall before he leads Kai into an adjoining lecture hall. I watch as other students run in from outside and pile into the room. Many dash inside just before the heavy oak doors are closed. A few stragglers find the door shut in their face and turn away, their expressions ranging from dismay to elation. I wait until the hall clears before I rise and make my way back to the storeroom.

The tingling returns to my fingers as I enter the small room. I move to the center of the wood plank floor and drop my hands to my sides. Clearing my mind of everything except thoughts of the shards I allow my feet to carry me to the shelving that lines one wall. I hold one hand over each shelf, until my fingers flutter. Dropping my hand onto the surface of a glass curio box I feel the magic of the mirror radiate into my body.

I gently lift the glass box with both hands. Blowing off a layer of dust, I glimpse a jagged, glittering object. I clutch the box to my bosom. The lost pieces of the mirror are in my possession.

The box is locked, but that’s of no consequence. I rub my fingers over the lock, willing it to release, and the lid springs open. Peering into the velvet-lined interior, I spy only one shard.

“So where’s the other one?” I mutter, glancing about the room. Carefully lifting the shard out of the box, I wrap it in my silken handkerchief and tuck the small bundle into the bodice of my gown.

With the first shard secured, I attempt to sense the second piece, to no avail. There’s no other pull of magic in the room. I move back to the shelf where I found the box and search again. My fingers, scrabbling over the wood, fall upon a piece of heavy paper the size of a calling card. I lift the paper and carry it to the window to read the faded writing. It’s a label that details where and when the mirror shard was found. “Nothing is known of its powers,” the note reads, “except that it appears to exert a strange hold over anyone who keeps it in their possession.” At the very bottom of the card is a notation in another hand—“Another piece was found but lost on the journey home, when we encountered the wanderers who haunt the forests outside the city.”

This does not touch me. It won’t defeat me. Let it go.

After several deep breaths I brush the dust from my gown and make my way back to the entrance hall, where my cloak’s draped over the back of the bench. I grab the wrap and pull it about me, tight as a comforting embrace. Staring at the wooden doors of the lecture hall, I decide to slip inside to hear at least a portion of Professor Daman’s class. It might be the only opportunity I’ll ever have to attend a university lecture.

Fortunately the heavy doors are not locked. I pull one slightly ajar and shimmy through the narrow opening. Keeping my back pressed against the wall, I slide to a point where I can see the front of the lecture hall.

Professor Daman is illustrating a point by writing on a large slate board. I watch his plump hand move across the dark surface, creating an equation that takes my breath away. It’s simple, yet elegant. As he speaks I realize that I can follow his explanation of this mathematical theory without difficulty. It’s perfectly logical; I wonder why I never conceived of this particular calculation before.

I glance about the room until I spy Kai’s dark head. He’s sitting to one side, his gaze focused on Daman. There’s an expression on Kai’s face that I’ve only seen before at Inga’s church, illuminating the faces of the most devout believers.

As I listen to the professor’s brilliant explication of another theorem I sneak glances at Kai, knowing my face must reflect the same wonder and delight. To sit in classes like this, and learn, and be able to reach beyond what my own mind can conjure is a dream—one I know I can’t entertain for longer than this lecture. But Kai can obtain this goal, if he can only leave his village.

My lie rolls up like a ball of acid in the back of my throat. Kai loves his father, of course, and wants him returned to health and vigor. There’s guilt, too. But more than that, much more, I realize, is Kai’s need for his father to be well enough to take care of the mill. Because without that gift Kai may have to sacrifice his university dream to support his family.

I slip back through the doors and walk slowly across the hall. Settling on the bench with great deliberation, I stare at the dome above my head. Phases of the moon. The passage of time caught in a never-ending cycle. I close my eyes for a moment, allowing my mind to entertain the thought that I’ve held at bay for some time now. Only two months remain before my eighteenth birthday.

The doors fly open and a whirlwind of young men pours into the hall. They’re gesticulating wildly and trying to talk over one another as their eyes glow with the light of new ideas. Amid the beaming faces, Kai’s shines the brightest. He strides to me and grabs both my hands, pulling me to my feet.

“It was amazing, inspiring, brilliant! You should’ve been there, Thyra.” He blanches as he realizes what he’s said.

I lean forward to whisper in his ear. “It’s all right. No one can hear you amid this din.” I pat the neckline of my gown. “I found it. One of the shards. I have it.”

“One?” Kai releases my hands and steps back. “I thought …”

“The other was lost in the forest.” I slip my hand through the crook of his arm. “Now escort me out like a good brother. We can talk more later.”

We walk in silence until we reach the edge of the university grounds. I hitch up my skirt, exposing my breeches and earning shocked glances from a cluster of students. Staring them down as I untie Freya, I finally toss my head and look away. I stroke the mare’s velvety neck for a moment before laying out my plan.

“You must return,” I tell Kai. “Take the mirror fragment we found today and carry it safely to the palace. Then you can continue to work on reconstructing the mirror while I track down the final shard.”

Kai swings up into his saddle and sits facing away from me. His dappled-gray gelding side-steps nervously as Kai fiddles with the reins. “I suppose that’s the most rational plan, considering our deadline.” He wheels the horse around to face me. The glow from the lecture has faded from his face. “But how do you intend to locate this lost fragment?”

I mount Freya in one swift movement and turn her toward the city gates. “The card said that the other shard was lost to the wanderers who haunt the forest beyond this city. I’ve heard of these people—a band of homeless folk who roam far and wide. I don’t know if I’ll find them in the forest, but I may be able to glean information on their current whereabouts.”

Kai’s brown eyes survey me solemnly. “And you think they still have the mirror piece after all this time?”

I shrug. “I don’t know, but it’s our only lead. I must pursue it.”

“Very well, then. Give me the shard and I’ll make for the palace. I only hope”—Kai takes the small silken bundle from my hand—“I can find my way back.”

“I can help with that.” I pull Freya up close beside Kai, until our knees are touching. I urge Freya slightly forward and whisper magic into the gelding’s twitching ear. Backing Freya off, I meet Kai’s bemused gaze. “There. He knows what to do now. Let him carry you home.”

“So I just hang on?” Kai tucks the wrapped shard into an inner pocket of his tunic. “Well, I suppose it’s better than getting lost.”

Outside the gates of the city Kai turns to me again. “Are you sure you’ll be all right, Thyra? I don’t know anything about these wanderers, but they don’t sound like they’d welcome strangers.”

“I’ll be fine.” I shake off my altered appearance until I’m once again the Snow Queen. “Don’t forget what I really am, Kai.”

“I never forget that.” Kai bends forward, granting me the ghost of a bow.

I straighten in my saddle and cast Kai a frosty smile. “I’ll meet you at the palace soon. With the final shard.”

Kai kicks his horse into a trot. “Safe travels, Thyra,” he calls over his shoulder, “and happy hunting.”

I watch him ride away before turning Freya about and urging her into a fast walk. We follow a narrow path that leads into the forest. I don’t know what lies within that gloomy green cathedral, but I’ll brave any danger to find the final shard. Nothing can scare me more than what waits for me if I fail in my mission. The wraiths’ words never leave my mind, their hollow voices howling my doom. “Soon you will be one of us. Soon.”

No. Never.
I urge Freya into a gallop and we plunge into the woods.

TRUTH IN THE SHADOWS

Spruce trees tower over my head, their heavy branches bobbing and swaying in the light breeze, infusing the air with the sharp scent of pine. The forest’s sunk in a hush—Freya’s hooves ring against the occasional rocks that stud the path. I listen in vain for the sound of birds or small animals rustling amid the leaves and undergrowth.

Something urges me on, despite the folly of my quest. Kai’s right—it’s unlikely that the lost fragment’s still in the possession of those who stole it. There’s also no guarantee that the wanderers currently roam these woods. But a gentle force tugs me forward. It’s as if a thin, silken line’s attached to my breastbone—a thread of magic unreeling off an unseen spool.

The pull grows stronger as Freya and I move deeper into the forest. As I guide the mare down a side path the reins flutter in my trembling hands, and I know the shard is here, somewhere close.

The path ends in a large clearing ringed by a motley assortment of wagons and carts. A clump of shaggy horses and ponies mill about under one stand of trees. In the center of the clearing a fire pit’s piled high with ashy logs, their dark hearts glowing red. A dozen people turn and stare at me. They have strong-jawed faces weathered brown by the sun, their noses and cheeks chapped pink by the wind. Their eyes and hair are dark as newly turned soil, save for one or two whose fiery locks blaze in the gloom. I cast a bit of magic, taming my appearance until I’m simply a gray-eyed girl with dull blonde hair pulled back into a single plait.

“What have we here?” asks one of the dark-haired men as he strides toward me. “A creature pale as a ghost. Are we to be haunted?” He’s short, but his well-muscled arms bulge beneath his white linen shirt. He’s wearing a brightly embroidered black vest and brushed leather breeches tucked into knee-high boots.

“I am no spirit.” I swiftly dismount and tug down my skirt with a flourish as I stand face-to face with the man. “My name is Thyra Winther and I’m searching for something that belongs to me.”

“And why would we”—the man’s black eyes flash—“hold anything of yours?”

“I can feel it.” There’s no point in denying magic. I suspect that these people believe in its existence and respect its power. “It calls to me.”

The man looks me up and down before thrusting out his hand. “Nicu Ravn. Leader of this group of wanderers.” He clasps my fingers tightly and pulls me close. “You are more than a young woman trespassing in our woods, aren’t you, Thyra Winther?”

I lift my chin and counter his bold stare with my iciest glare. “As I said, I’m a seeker. Tracking something that’s been lost for many years. I’ve reason to believe it’s here, and I’ve no intention of leaving until I obtain what’s rightfully mine.”

“Really?” Ravn’s bushy eyebrows rise to the ragged edge of his thick bangs. He releases my hand and his gaze flickers over the faces of the people who’ve formed a circle about us. “The young lady wishes to reclaim her property. But I don’t think we’ve anything of hers, do we, my friends?”

The crowd shouts out a chorus of “no” liberally laced with jeers and laughter.

I slide my hand down Freya’s neck, soothing her. “You may not recognize this object. It was lost long ago.”