Read Wintermoon Ice (2010) Online
Authors: Suzanne Francis
Wintermoon Ice (2010) (24 page)
The familiar stench greeted her as she unlocked the door. Suvi did not hesitate on the slippery ladder, though the voices seemed louder and far more present than usual. The lights were brighter too, and flickered like white fire on the wet walls of the sewer tunnel. The vision of the yellow flowers drew her downwards -- her last chance to leave the misery and cold of winter behind forever.
The others crowding the space before the portal were just as surprised as she was when she stumbled into their midst.
* * * *
The searchers had left, packed up with their shovels and picks on galeet-drawn sledges. Equipment left by the Grond had been stripped and cannibalized, and the weapons hidden away for another day, another war. Major Jack Bennett wandered amongst the fallen bunkers, feeling more and more lost. But he would not leave.
The ice and snow had frozen his grief, left him anesthetized.
When he returned to Litchfield, summer would be in full swing -- the baseball season would have started. But there would be no Katy to cheer from the stands. His pain would thaw into a raw, black ache. He shook his head, wondering how he could possibly go back to playing a
game
for a living.
And anyway, no one but Tom Finn had ever been able to catch his knuckleball properly.
It wasn't easy to cry, not in these temperatures, because tears froze almost as soon as they formed and rimed the lashes with uncomfortable icy grit. But Jack did.
His aide de camp approached, and coughed diplomatically. "The truck is ready to move, sir. I held them as long as I could. Are you ready?"
Jack turned away from the lake and stepped between the ragged mounds that the bombs had carved across the frozen landscape. She might very well be amongst them, one of the many unidentifiable heaps of ash and bone. He would never know.
And that was the worst part, really.
"All right, Pierson, let's go. Can you get the driver to drop me on the way to town? I have some business on the
Ayedeen Road
, close to the beach."
Pierson looked at him worriedly. "Yes, sir. But shouldn't you go back to the barracks first? You haven't had anything to eat all day."
Jack shook his head hopelessly. "I'm not hungry."
"The men are sorry for your loss, sir. They asked me to tell you. Said you were the best commander they ever had, for all you were from offshore."
"Thank you, my friend," Jack said gravely. "It means a lot to me."
With one last look at the wasteland, he followed Pierson to the truck. The drive back took hours. Jack dozed, though the frozen logging road gave the truck's suspension hell. As his eyes opened and closed, the scene flickered and changed. Katy in a bed, covered smooth and white with a blanket, just like the sculpted hillocks of snow passing by the truck windows.
Her chestnut hair lay on the pillow, spread out like a fan. When he saw her face, he somehow knew he was dreaming. She looked at peace, though medical machines surrounded her, and an IV drip. Jack wanted to say something, anything, to wake her, to bring her back to him.
"Katy," he whispered. "Katy love, where are you?"
A white uniformed woman leaned over and adjusted the pillows. Katy's eyes fluttered open and then closed again.
The nurse spoke in reassurance, though she was not sure her patient could understand. "You've had an accident, Miss Doe. But you are in St. Luke's hospital, and we are taking good care of you. You will be fine in a couple of days. Fine." She patted her arm and left.
The truck slewed round a mud-filled corner and woke him.
"Katy!" Jack jerked up straight and looked around. The driver paid strict attention to the road, not wishing to embarrass his passenger. Jack turned away from him, tucking his arms into his sides, curling up in an effort to stop the pain. It didn't help.
* * * *
Calaan recognized her first, and quickly drew his side arm. The other grey-uniformed men gazed at Suvi with undisguised interest.
She stared at his handsomely brocaded greatcoat and polished leather boots. "You! What are you doing with my window?"
He smiled, and suddenly looked much older than sixteen. "But Suvi, it is our window now. Your government ceded it to Berengarth, quite 'fair and square' as you people say."
Suvi's eyes rested on the barrel of the gun. "I gave you a home. You and all your friends. And you betrayed me, you mangy son of a dureg. How could you?"
Calaan's associates murmured at this insult, and one stepped forward with his beefy fingers drawn into a fist. "Do not speak to the Kepitan so, whore!"
Calaan quickly stepped between them. "Leave it, Braxy. Bind her -- gently please. When the Commander comes, we will ask him what to do." He turned his back and holstered his weapon. His men tied her arms and legs, but not without a certain amount of groping and suggestive whispers.
"Take your hands off me, Grond scum." She struggled with them furiously and one bloodied her lip in retaliation. Calaan whirled, caught the offender by the sleeve and pulled him away.
"Go and see if there is anyone else in the building. She might not have come here on her own. Take Jeri with you. And make sure that hatch at the top of the ladder is locked." They saluted sullenly and departed.
He squatted and then wiped the blood from her chin with a clean handkerchief. "Sorry about that. The men in the ranks are tired of the cold weather. It makes them a little crazy sometimes."
She frowned and spat a petal of bloody sputum at his feet. "I don't want your stinking apology, traitor! I can't believe I defended you in the dining room that first morning. Hist! You must have been laughing to yourself the whole time."
His voice was surprisingly soft. "I know you will not believe me, but I truly appreciated what you did. There are few of your people who possess such courage, Suvi. Many times I... regretted the task my Kolonel had given me, but I must follow orders. Do you understand?"
"Of course. I understand perfectly. You took advantage of the food and shelter I gave you and your friends to plant bombs all over Severnessa."
He shrugged. "Another order. What would you have me do?"
She closed her eyes and twisted her head so that he could not see her face. "Only what you did, Calaan. 'Twas just the right thing for a Snake."
He touched her hand and kept his voice very low. "Come now, Suvi. You don't believe in that Soli nonsense any more than I do. We in Berengarth disposed of that antiquated arrangement years ago, when the Imperial Commander took control of the government. Now a man -- any man -- may work in whatever field he wishes."
Her eyelids parted a fraction. "And folk may live where they like?"
Calaan nodded proudly. "Take me, for example. My father was a shoemaker in Arkanjela, a very poor man. But I was clever -- studied languages, became an agent when I joined the Grond. I make good gelder, far more than my father ever saw. Even managed to save quite a lot. Now that the war is over I want to buy some land up in Fareniis, close to
Lake
Copaheg
."
That brought sparks of amber fire to her eyes. She spat, "You filthy Berengarther. You would sully my birthplace? I loved it there."
"I know..." He glanced quickly back over his shoulder. The others were occupied throwing bits of brick into the noisome water, watching the brown rings spread and intersect. His voice grew even softer, so that she had to strain to hear. "Why do you think I chose it? I want to give you a home -- just as you did for me."
This was totally unexpected. Tears doused the fire. "Calaan..."
"Shhh..." he hissed, catching sight of the others returning. "We can talk about it later." His voice deepened and he spoke with scorn. "Why are you here, Miss?"
Suvi frowned, but played along. "I came back to Carina to use the portal. There is nothing left in Severness for me. Why won't you let me go, pisscock?"
But the sharp eyed Serjent had already seen more than he thought proper. "What is this, Kepitan? Consorting with the enemy now? I don't think the Kolonel would be very impressed."
Calaan rose and then crisply straightened his cap. "I have no obligation to give account of my doings to you. But I was questioning her, that is all."
"Timms said you had gotten a little bit too close. I have an obligation to include this in my report, unless..."
He scowled. "Unless what, Serjent?"
Braxy looked over to Suvi and gave a predatory smile. She shrank back, for though she did not speak his language, his intentions were clear. "Give us some time with her. Just turn your back for a while. The Commander won't be here for several more hours. You can even have a go if you..."
With a furious roar Calaan decked the Serjent, and he flew backwards into the fetid sewer. The others crowded around him, and he came up with his knife drawn.
Calaan whipped out his pistol. "The next man who moves will die. Do I make myself clear?"
Braxy let his knife hand slowly fall, but only as a feint. A brick whistled from behind him, and hit Calaan in the temple. He staggered and dropped the gun. Suvi screamed his name and tried to gain her feet. Jeri held her down as the others surrounded the fallen man.
He struggled weakly as Braxy kicked him in the stomach and pounded his face with the brass knuckles. "So, Kepitan! How do you like this, eh? Who will die now, do you think? And when we have finished with you then we will have a lovely time with your girl over there..."
"No. Suvi..." He screamed as a heavy boot came down on his fingers and ground them into the brick.
The rending, cracking sounds made Suvi want to vomit. She screamed and screamed, though the man guarding her stifled her mercilessly in an effort to make her stop. "No! Leave him alone, you murderers."
Calaan's voice, in between his cries of agony, floated through the air, sounding childish and uncertain, just as it had when she first met him. "Sorry... Suvi... I was meant to... protect. Protect you... I failed."
Braxy turned, and wiped his bloody hands on his shirt. "Now, little darling, I speak in your tongue because I want you to understand exactly what we have planned for you. The rest of our Company will be here in a little while, but we have plenty of time to play before then."
Droplets began to fall from the coved brick ceiling.
Drip... Drip... Drip...
She tried bluster. "You won't get away with this. Killing your commanding officer is still punishable by a firing squad, even amongst you lawless Grond."
Drip...
Braxy spoke with soft menace. "But we didn't do it, did we? You did. We tried to stop you."
"I will soon tell your precious Imperial Commander the truth when he arrives."
Drip...
He laughed at this, a thoroughly unpleasant sound. "You had better pray you won't be alive by then. Because if by some miracle you are, we'll just cut your tongue out."
She struggled uselessly against her bonds as they approached her. A shower of dust from the ceiling made them all look up.
"Let... her... go..." Calaan groaned.
"That's an order, you idiots.
She's too important..."
A second drip started.
"Shut your bloody face!" Jeri turned back with his knife raised high.
The drips came fast, in a staccato rhythm that sounded just like the beating of a heart.
* * * *
When Jack reached Lut's shack, the sun had just peeped over the horizon. He climbed the unsafe steps, and banged on the door. No one answered. "Lut? Are you in there?"
He looked over the mist and into the rising sun. The
Sweet Poppy
bobbed prettily in the waves. The rowing dory lay on its oarlocks in the sand, above the high tide line. After trying the door again, his vigorous pounding forced it open.
Jack stood still for a moment, amazed. He had never seen Lut's house so tidy before. But Lut himself had gone, leaving a note propped on the table. Jack read it and swore, both in jubilation and fear. There was nothing he could do but hurry back down the beach and towards the road, wishing he could travel the way the others did.
Luck was with him. A farmer in a truck saw his uniform and stopped. "I need to get to Ebbetsfeld right away. The back gate. Can you take me?"
The farmer ruminated on this for a moment. "Aye. But what's your hurry? Thought it was all over, I did."
"I did too," said Jack, happily. "But I was wrong."
Tessa
When the Beautiful One comes, the winged warrior must fight with his eyes closed.
Powwaw Speak: Shamanic Wisdom of the Irrakish
, Theodore Black, PhD
* * * *
A shrill noise woke Tessa. She groaned and tried to extricate herself from Jakob's arms. "What is it?" he mumbled, and pulled the quilt over his head.
"My phone. Let me up. I need to see who it is."
The phone beeped again, insistently. Tessa groaned when she saw the clock on the wall -- 6am. She struggled upright, stole one of the blankets wrapped around Jakob, and tottered over to the table.
"Jesus. It's Jane. I had better call her back." Tessa hit redial and waited.
"Dr. Piper."
"Jane? What is it? What's happened?"
Jane's voice sounded strained. "You had better come down here. Right now."
"Where's here?"
"St. Luke's."
"Are you all right?"
"I can't talk. Go to the third floor nursing station and ask for me."
"Jane? Jane?" Tessa shut the phone and looked helplessly at the brushed metal cover. "She hung up on me. But she sounded pretty upset. I need to go to the hospital."
Jakob's head emerged. "What?"
She threw a cushion at him. "Go back to sleep. I'll handle it." Tessa pulled on her clothes from last night and grabbed her keys.
Jakob burrowed under the blankets for a few seconds and then sighed. He slid off the couch, dressed quickly and met Tessa outside as she climbed in the driver's seat of the Volvo.
It started with a cough. Tessa rolled down her window. "Where are you off to so early?"
"Grandmother's. I want to ask her about the mirror -- and see if she will make me some breakfast," he added, with a grin. "Be careful."
He kissed her through the driver's side window and ambled barefoot down the path to Ellie Rayne's cottage. The gear box gave a protesting thunk as Tessa threw the Volvo into reverse and backed out of the drive.
She made it to the hospital in record time. It seemed quiet, and not in the grip of some otherworldly attack as she had feared. After leaving her car in the public lot, she sprinted the quarter mile to the main building. The lobby, dressed in soothing greens and browns, greeted her with a hiss of air-conditioned calm.
Tessa studied the information board, and then took the elevator to the third floor, which housed the general ward for ill and injured patients.
"I'm looking for Dr. Jane Piper, the pathologist," Tessa said breathlessly to the nurse at the station. He finished the form he had been filling out, and then looked up. "Is she here? Is she... all right?"
He drawled in a bored voice. "As far as I know, Lady. You want to wait here a minute?" Another nurse passed by, staring at a clipboard. "Which suite is our Jane Doe in?"
"350B," she answered, without looking up from the file.
Tessa squirmed impatiently. "Can I see Dr. Piper? Please..."
He picked up the phone, spoke for a moment, and then hung up. "She says to go on back. Down that hallway, and to the left. But it isn't strictly visiting hours, so you can't stay long." Tessa waved her hand vaguely in his direction as she sprinted away. "And no running in the hospital!"
The door to Room 350B was closed. Tessa knocked once and pushed on the latch. She saw Jane, standing reassuringly upright next to a hospital bed. The woman in the bed stirred and sighed, but seemed to be unconscious. A drip and monitoring device screened most of someone sitting in a chair. A man with blond hair, cut close.
Jane turned, but it was the man who spoke, words thick with fatigue and fear. "She shouldn't be in here."
The voice belonged to Tom Finn.
Jane grabbed Tessa and dragged her from the room.
"Jane! What in the hell is going on?" Tessa shook her head in amazement. "That was Tom -- the guy I told you about. From the past..."
"Shhh... Don't say anything else. Come on. Let's get some coffee. I'll explain on the way."
"But... But..." She had to run to catch Jane as she retreated down the hall.
Once they stood in the anonymity of the elevator, she spoke. "He brought her to my apartment late last night. At first I didn't believe he knew you, but when his story checked out with yours I decided I had to help. We brought her here and I pulled a couple of strings to get her admitted as a Jane Doe."
Tessa shook her head at Jane's seemingly inexhaustible supply of favors. "Who... is it? In the bed. Is it Suvi?"
Jane shook her head. "I don't think so. Tom won't tell me her name, but she has red-brown hair and green eyes. She doesn't look anything like the pictures I've seen of your grandmother."
The elevator discharged them into the basement level cafeteria. Tessa found a quiet corner table, while Jane got the coffee.
"Is she going to be all right?"
Jane nodded as she polished the steam from her glasses with a napkin. "She had some serious internal bleeding, but we stabilized her last night. That guy Tom is an amazing surgeon."
"So what happened?"
Jane looked up and waved. "Here he comes, you can ask him yourself."
Tom pulled a chair up to the table and sat, then rubbed his crew cut wearily. "Hello, Tessa."
She gave him a guarded greeting. "Tom... Why are you here?"
"I had to bring her somewhere. She got hurt in the shelling."
"But why St. Luke's, for god's sake?"
"You told me your friend was a doctor, remember? I thought she could help." He gave Jane a grateful smile. "And she did. She found an empty operating theatre and assisted with the anesthesia. We had to do everything very quickly and quietly." He gulped down his steaming hot coffee and put the mug back on the table.
Tessa sat back in her chair. "Was that a good idea?"
Jane shrugged. "She almost certainly would have died, otherwise."
She could only take Jane at her word. "Who is she, anyway?"
Tom stared down at the brown ring in the bottom of his empty mug. "Katy Bennett. She is ... a colleague of mine. I'm sorry if I caused any trouble. As soon as I can, I will take her back to Severnessa. Probably by tomorrow."
"You can't move her until she regains consciousness," Jane said flatly.
Tessa frowned. "She hasn't woken yet? That can't be good."
Jane shook her head. "She is still very weak, but it isn't clear why."
Tom stood, swaying slightly. "Katy will pull through. I know it."
Jane gazed at him. "When is the last time you had some sleep, Tom? You can't keep going on coffee and sweet rolls forever."
"I don't know. Maybe three days ago? It doesn't matter. Right now, I have to go back to Severnessa and talk to Jack. I left a message with Lut, about Katy, but I didn't have time to explain anything properly. You will take care of her, won't you?"
Jane smiled. "Of course."
After Tom left, Tessa said wryly, "You are taking this all very well, Dr. Piper."
"What else am I supposed to do? I didn't exactly get a choice. You dragged me into all this." Despite her words, Jane actually looked quite pleased.
"I know, and I am sorry." Tessa reached over and patted Jane's hand. "I've been a rotten friend. Forgive me?"
Jane's voice was brusque. "Nothing to forgive. You know I..." The sound of Tessa's phone interrupted her.
Tessa took the call and listened for a moment. "OK. I'll be there as soon as I can." She dropped the phone in her bag and dug for her car keys. "That was Jakob. He says there is something wrong with Ellie. I have to go. Keep in touch," she called back over her shoulder. "I want to know when Katy wakes up."
* * * *
When she reached Ellie's cottage, Jakob met her at the door. "Grandmother is in bed," he whispered. "She looks fine, like she is just asleep. But I've been trying for half an hour to wake her."
Tessa followed him through to the bedroom. As he had said, Ellie lay on her back, breathing peacefully, with her eyes closed. Tessa shook her shoulder. "Ellie? Wake up." She sighed, but did not stir. "Maybe she had a stroke in the night. We should call an ambulance."
As they passed back into the kitchen, Jakob asked, "What did Jane want?"
"God. You won't believe it. Tom Finn showed up at her door last night with some injured woman, named Katy. Apparently..."
Jakob stopped abruptly and put a hand to his forehead, as though it pained him. "Katy... Bennett?"
Tessa nodded as she picked up the phone, preparing to dial 911. He took the handset from her and placed it back in the cradle. "What are you doing? Ellie needs to go to the hospital."
He shook his head. "We can't take her any closer. Sweet Ods, this is bad. He couldn't have known though."
Tessa looked mystified. "What on earth are you talking about?"
"Katherine Ella Bennett is my grandmother."
"But you told me that Ellie Rayne was..." Tessa sat down abruptly. "My god, are you saying they are the same person?"
He nodded slowly.
"So now there are
two
of them -- in
Cloudy
Bay
?"
He nodded again. "That's why we can't wake her. The presence of this other has halved her anafireon -- her life force. Ellie is in grave danger as long as her younger self remains here. Is my cousin
Fyn
at the hospital now? I have to talk to him."
"
Cousin
?" Tessa shook her head. "One of these days you really must explain your family tree to me. But anyway, no, he isn't. He said he had to go back to Severnessa."
"Then I had better go too. Stay here with her. I'll come back as soon as I can, but it may take me awhile. I'm nowhere near as good at navigation as Lut is."
Tessa stood suddenly, and laid a hand on Jakob's arm. "Yesterday at Joe's, Ellie showed me what the mirror could do. Did she tell you that?" He shook his head quickly, impatient to be on his way. "She breathed on it, and then I saw a face I recognized. I thought it was you, but now... I think it must have been your brother."
He frowned. "So?"
"He looked hurt -- maybe badly. If he is in Severnessa, it might be dangerous. You need to be careful."
Jakob pulled away, and spoke stiffly. "Why didn't you tell me about this before?"
"I'm sorry. I guess I just forgot about it in all the excitement yesterday. Are you going to try and find him?"
"No. Why should I?" He stuffed his hands down into his jeans pockets and turned away from her.
She softly called him back. "Jakob... Tom told me something, the night I went to Severnessa. He said you blamed Lut for your wife's death, but it wasn't really his fault. Why would he say that?"
He whirled, eyes blazing, fists clenched. "What the hell? Was he saying it was
my
fault? Because it wasn't. If she hadn't been so stubborn..." Jakob covered his face with his hand. "I don't want to talk about this now." But when Tessa took his arm and led him to the couch, he came willingly enough.
"Tell me what happened. Jack and Tom can wait a few moments."
"It happened just like I said. She went to Rythis and they were waiting."
"Oh. And you are sure he set the whole thing up?"
"Yes!" He bent his head. "I guess. If she had just listened to me, then..."
He stopped talking, and ran his fingers through his hair. Tessa sat silently, waiting for him to continue. Eventually he did, in a very low voice. "She wanted to come with me, to hunt for Tristan. In some ways, Maia was a lot like you."
Tessa gave him a surprised sideways glance. "Like me?"
He grinned humorlessly. "Plucky but daft. I told her to go home -- back to Mornguard, but she wouldn't listen. We argued, and she called me a brainless piece of shite. I'm sure you can sympathize."
Tessa only nodded.
"We were passing close to Rythis, and she said she was going to stop there if I wouldn't agree to her coming along with me." He took a deep ragged breath and Tessa took his hand. "I let her go on alone, because I was angry. Lut had said it was a safe place, so I didn't think..." His lips began to tremble. "I didn't think she would be in any danger." A sob escaped before he could stifle it. "I went back afterwards, and found what was left of her."
"Oh Jakob. I am so sorry."
"I know. And so am
I.
Very, very sorry." He raised his head and gazed at her through tear-filled eyes. "Now do you understand why I wanted to keep you safe?"
Tessa kissed him rather than answer his question. "Go on now. Find your brother and help him. It is the only way you will ever truly be at peace with yourself."
"All right. I'll try. But Lut won't accept any help from me, I promise you."
* * * *
Tessa sat by Ellie's bed, watching her sleep. The old-fashioned lilac colored chenille bedspread rose and fell, as though it held life as well as warmth within it.
Probably been here since the forties
, Tessa thought -- much like Ellie herself. Where had she come from? And why had she changed her name? Tessa had quite a few questions to ask Ella Rayne, but they would have to wait until she woke.
If
she woke.
She studied the woman's pale hands. The veins stood out, carving the flesh into ridges and valleys, the contours of age. At that moment, Ellie looked very, very old.
Tessa's mobile rang, a muffled sound by the time it reached the bedroom from the kitchen. Tessa rose, sighing, and crossed the floor, sliding her feet along the rough but perfectly clean pine planking. She stepped over a colorful rag rug that Ellie had woven.
Tessa put on the kettle, then checked the call log.
Jane
. Good, that meant Katy had woken -- they could move her as soon as Tom returned.
But Jane's voice, when she answered Tessa's return call, sounded curt and worried. "We've got problems. Katy is going downhill, fast. Dr. Peters has just given the order to shift her to the ICU, but because she is a Jane Doe with no insurance, they want to move her to City General first. You had better let Tom know."
Tessa sat down at the table. "I... don't think I can. And Jakob has already gone. Is she going to be all right?"
