Chapter TWO
Harry ground his teeth. "Fix her," he growled.
Winter regarded him with a calm expression. "Why?" he asked simply.
"What?" Harry blinked in confusion. "What do you mean why?"
"I mean why should I release her? She would make a nice addition to the landscape, don't you think? Besides, it would serve as a warning to anyone else who wanted to visit my home uninvited." He pointed a long weathered finger at Harry. "Don't think you're getting off the hook just because I froze your friend. I haven't decided what to do with you yet. Your punishment must be two fold. I will punish you for coming to my home and punish your mother for sending you here."
Harry stiffened. "Leave my mother out of this," he growled. "She's done nothing to you."
"She sent you to break into my home. That is what mortals call an invasion of privacy, is it not?"
Their conversation was interrupted by a shadow that appeared right next to Daphne's frozen self. The shadow solidified into a small four-legged figure. There was a blast of blue flame and Daphne's icy prison evaporated.
"Hmm," winter stared at the tiny hound standing next to Daphne. Before he could react, there was another flash of fire. Harry's icy chains vanished in a puff of steam.
"You little traitor," Winter said sounding amused. "Soul fire is the only thing that could've melted that ice. Tell me child, why would you betray your Lord and master?"
The little hound glared up at him, her red hair fanned out behind her as if blown by an invisible wind and her blue eyes flashed. "You didn't save my parents,' she snapped. "You allowed them to be torn apart."
Winter waved a dismissive hand. "That decision was not mine. It was a decision made by your grandparents. Since I need good guard dogs to watch my home, I had no problem with them discarding the weaker members of their species.
The little hound's eyes blazed. With an inarticulate cry of rage, she unleashed a wave a fire at her former master. The blue flames roared towards winter and stopped inches from his face.
Winter chuckled. "Make a wish," he said. Taking a deep breath, he blew on the flames. They flared before winking out. He smiled at the shocked hound. "Did you really think that would work against me? I am older than you can possibly fathom."
The little hound glared at him. She knew better than to try again. It would be pointless. Much as she hated to admit it, she was no match for him. She watched as Winter stood and approached her. She tensed, ready for whatever came.
Winter stopped right above her. "You have betrayed me," he rumbled, reaching down to stroke her hair. "Nevertheless, I am not unreasonable. We can chalk this up to you being an overemotional child. You will have to be punished of course, but I will not be too harsh with you. In a few years you may be the best of my hounds." A slight smirk twisted his pale wrinkled lips. "That is, of course, if you can avoid becoming part of the hunt yourself."
The little hound leapt backwards, away from his caressing hand. "No," she hissed, sounding more like a snake than a dog. "I will never be part of the pack again; I would rather die."
Winter calmly turned and walked back to his rocking chair. Sitting down, he regarded the hound with a blank expression. " You choose to throw my offer of mercy back in my face. Very well, if the offer is refused, it is no longer valid." He raised a hand, tendrils of ice beginning to form at the tips of his fingers.
His rocking chair flipped over throwing him to the floor. Rolling out from under the chair, he stared up at Harry standing above him.
"I see; you do have a little fight in you."
"I won't let you hurt anyone anymore."
Winter rose gracefully to his feet. "Aren't you the little hero," he mocked. "Boy, do you realize how many times I've heard that over the millennia?"
"Harry didn't bother to answer. Throwing out a hand, he unleashed a bolt of lightning at the ancient elf.
Winter casually froze the lightning bolt solid with a twitch of his finger. Catching the frozen lightning, he examined it curiously.
"I thought you were trying to stop me, not give me presents."
With a grunt of irritation, Harry waved a hand. Daggers appeared out of thin air, flying at Winter's face. They too froze and fell to the ground, shattering into tiny fragments.
Winter smiled. "My turn." With a twitch of his finger, he sent Harry flying backwards, crashing into the wall.
Blinking the stars out of his eyes, Harry looked up just in time to see a bolt of green light smash into Winter's chest. Glancing over, he saw Daphne standing there, her wand drawn and pointed directly at Winter's heart. Glancing back at Winter, Harry saw him straighten, rubbing his chest.
"That hurt," he said glaring at Daphne. He clicked his fingers. Daphne's wand flew out of her hand and Winter caught it. He examined it curiously.
"I forget how weak wizards have become," he said thoughtfully. "It is so sad to see how a race declined over the centuries. With a deft flex of his wrist, Daphne's wand snapped with a loud crack.
Winter dropped the pieces of the wand to the floor and turned back to Harry, dismissing Daphne. "Now, where were we?"
"About here," Harry said as he threw a bag of white powder into Winter's face. The elf stumbled backwards, coughing and spluttering. He rubbed at his eyes frantically. Tears ran down his cheeks.
He tripped over his chair and fell flat on his back, still clawing at his face.
"Salt," Harry said smiling nastily. "I never leave home without it." He turned to Daphne. "Thanks for the distraction." He pointed a finger at Winter.
Silver chains rose from the pocket of his cloak, wrapping around Winter from neck to ankles.
Daphne's lips twitched. "You owe me a new wand," she said tonelessly.
Nodding, Harry turned back to the bound Winter. "Feel like answering some questions?"
Winter glared up at him. "You cheated," he roared. "You do not fight with honor."
"Honor is for duels. When you're fighting for your life, anything goes."
Winter flexed, straining against the chains. He smiled suddenly. "Silver," he said happily. "You should know this won't hold me for long."
Harry gestured at the chains. "I don't need them to." He pointed out the runes and sigils etched into the metal. "My mum made these. She warned me that you may not be very cooperative, so she made those chains, drawing on the power of ley lines to charge the spells. While you are bound in those chains, you must answer any question put to you by the one that bounds you. In other words, I ask and you answer."
Winter glared hatefully up at him. "When I get free, I am going to tear the flesh from your bones."
"Maybe, probably," Harry conceded, "but I think I can hold you off long enough to let my friend escape." He clapped his hands together. "Now, to business, how did the elves become vulnerable to iron?"
Winter struggled. His mouth opened and closed several times. After several seconds, he began to speak.
"A thousand years ago, the elves were the strongest magical race in existence. We had three courts: the Seelie court, also known as the light elves, the Unseelie court, also known as the dark elves, and Avalon, also called the shadow elves. The three courts lived in harmony for several centuries, but then we noticed a problem. The children of the Seelie court began to develop an allergy to iron. Its very presence weakened them, and its touch burned them severely. My parents and I investigated. We found the cause. The Seelie court had always been concerned with the purity of their blood. Over a few hundred years, they had taken their blood purity to the next level. They were marrying brothers to sisters and fathers to daughters. These incestuous unions had mutated their genetics producing this allergy to iron.
We had to hide it. It was the only way."
"What did you do?" Harry said, his eyes glowing.
"I am an elf," Winter said. "My parents and I performed a blood spell. It made our entire race including us, unable to enchant iron. If we were bound in iron chains, we were helpless to escape."
Daphne frowned fiercely. "How could you cast a spell to affect an entire race? You don't have that much power. Even if your parents helped, there's no way you could cast a spell to effect all elves."
"You have no idea how complicated the spell was. You are correct that I didn't have the power alone, but my parents were Alberich and Mab the King and Queen of Elphame. With their power combined with my own, we were able to cast the spell."
"If it's a spell, there must be a way to break it," Harry said beginning to pace.
"It was a triumvirate spell. As long as one of the three casters remained alive, the spell would remain in place."
Harry leaned close, fire flickering at his fingertips. "You cast a spell to protect an incestuous court. Did you even make them stop screwing family members?"
The silver chains binding Winter's limbs had begun to glow. "I guess you could look at it that way," he growled. The runes and sigils etched into the chains began to fade. "Why would we interfere? Each court has the right to govern themselves as they see fit."
"Not when that courts decisions hurt an entire species," Daphne said coldly.
Winter straightened in the chains. "I've answered your questions and suffered your scorn long enough. Now you shall pay for binding me."
The runes etched into the chains flared one last time before vanishing completely. A blast of icy wind knocked Harry and Daphne off their feet. There was a cracking sound and a tinkling as of broken glass. By the time they had climbed back to their feet, Winter was free. He nudged the chains with the toe of his boot.
"Fantastic spell work," he murmured, kicking the chains aside. "I'll have to go and see your mother after I deal with you. I can't allow anyone with the strength to bind me to live."
Harry took a step forward. "Stay away from her; she's suffered enough."
Winter stepped towards him and glared down at him menacingly. With a wave of his hand, Harry was thrown across the room. He slammed into the wall behind him with a grunt and he tried to move, but Winter kept him pinned to the wall. Daphne tried to rush him, but she found herself pinned next to Harry.
"I went too easy on you," Winter said conversationally. "I should have snuffed you out when you first entered my home, but I was curious."
Winter's mental hold tightened. Harry could hear his bones creaking at the strain being put on them. It was getting hard to breathe. He gasped, straining to take in air. Darkness encroached on the edges of his vision. A look at Daphne showed she was turning blue.
"I could crush you to death," Winter said matter-of-factly, "but I think you deserve to suffer for daring to bind me."
Harry watched as Winter drew a spear from behind his back. The shaft appeared to be made from roan wood. Strange runes were carved the length of the shaft. They looked almost serpentine and appeared to be moving."
"This is my personal weapon," Winter explained. "You see, if you are stabbed in the heart with this, then you die quickly. He raised the spear, showing them the razor sharp silver tip. "If the wound is anywhere else," he trailed off. "Well, then you die slow. Your body will freeze from the inside out." He stepped closer to them, his grey eyes sparkling happily. "Who wants to go first?"
Harry strained against Winter's hold, but with no result. Seeing his struggles, Winter turned towards him. "Oh good," he said, "A volunteer. I think I'll put this in your leg. You shall live long enough to realize the folly of crossing me."
He raised the spear above his head, took careful aim, and screamed in shock and pain, dropping the spear. Harry felt Winter's hold slacken and gave an enormous jerk. To his surprise, he came free from the wall. He fell to his knees, panting heavily.
Looking over at Winter, he saw him hunched over, clutching his leg. Harry could see that his pants were torn and stained red. Looking to the right, he saw the tiny hound backing away, her mouth stained with blood.
"Thanks," he called.
The hound nodded, staring at Winter fearfully.
"You," Winter snarled, straightening up. "You traitorous little bitch. You are going to pay for that. The wild hunt is too good for you. Yes, I am going to rip you apart myself."
He leapt at the hound, but Harry threw out a hand, knocking him backwards. Winter leapt to his feet and whirled, pointing a long finger at Harry. "So you want to go first," he roared. "Fine, I will oblige you."
Harry felt power gathering in the air and dove to the ground. There was a loud 'crunch.' Looking up, he saw that Winter had blasted a hole in the back wall of his cabin. Snow blew in through the hole. Within seconds, the floor was covered in a white powder.
"That's not natural,' Harry called to Daphne as he rolled away from the hole.
"You think?" Daphne called dryly.
Looking down at the floor, Harry noticed the broken pieces of Daphne's wand. Grabbing the piece with the point on it, he lunged, plunging the broken bit of wood into the bite wound on Winter's calf.
Winter grunted in pain, and kicked out. Harry felt his nose break as Winter's foot connected solidly with his face. He sprawled on the floor, trying to blink the stars out of his eyes. Turning his head, he spat out a mouthful of blood. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Daphne lunging at Winter from behind. He blinked. She had no weapons. What was she playing at?
Daphne came in low, grabbing Winter around the knees and taking them both to the ground. Winter struck out with a fist, aiming for Daphne's face.
Daphne leaned back, avoiding the punch. She waved a hand, conjuring a ball of fire and hurling it into Winter's face.
Winter brushed the flames off his face and sneered at Daphne. "Little witch, your magic can't hurt me." He backhanded her in the face, splitting her lip, and sending her tumbling backwards.
"But mine does," Harry said, and with a flick of his fingers, Winter's long hair burst into flames.
Winter howled like a wounded animal as the smell of scorched hair and burning flesh filled the cabin. He whirled around, nearly hitting Daphne in the face with his flaming hair. A sudden shower of snow fell from the ceiling dousing the flames. Leaping to his feet, he ran at Harry, hands outstretched.
Harry tried to dodge, but Winter was moving too fast. Winter's foot hooked neatly behind Harry's leg and Winter's hands clamped tightly round his throat.
"I'm not going to use magic," he hissed in Harry's face. "I think I'm going to choke the life out of you."
Harry struggled against Winter's grip and he felt his consciousness fading. He struck out blindly, his fist connecting with Winters nose. There was a crunch and Winter howled in pain. His grip slackened slightly and Harry rolled away.
Scrambling to his knees, he looked up just in time for Winter's fist to connect with his jaw. His eyes rolled back and he slumped to the floor.
Winter stood over Harry, breathing heavily. "Good," he said wiping blood from his face, but not good enough." He raised a hand. Wind whirled in his palm. In the center of this mini tornado, tiny razor sharp shards of ice spun rapidly. "I'm going to cut you to pieces," Winter said to Harry's unmoving form.
Daphne watched as Winter raised his hand. She readied herself for an attack. She didn't know what she could do against something this powerful, but she was not going to let her friend die. She looked around the floor, searching for something she could use as a weapon. Her eyes lit on Winter's spear, lying forgotten in a corner. She lunged for the spear just as Winter brought his hand down towards Harry.
Harry opened his eyes a crack and saw Winter lowering his hand towards his face. He waited until the last moment then he kicked upward with all his strength. There was a meaty thud as his feet connected with Winter's nuts.
Winter's eyes went wide and he hunched over, his hands instinctively going to his groin. Thus he didn't see Daphne rear up behind him and plunge his own spear into his back.
Winter stiffened. Slowly, he turned to face Daphne. Reaching over his shoulder, he jerked the spear out of his back. The spear came free with a wet sucking sound. Blood poured from the wound unheeded. "Did you really think that would work?" Winter wiped his blood off on his pants as he spoke.
Daphne shrugged. "Worth a shot."
"Let's see how you like it," Winter said stepping towards her.
There was a blast of fire. Winter stumbled back, barely avoiding the flames. "I think not," a woman's voice said firmly. "I will not allow any harm to come to these children."
Winter looked up and glared at the newcomer. "Summer, how dare you trespass on my land?"
The woman brushed a strand of golden hair out of her face. Her eyes, the color of burning leaves, were fixed on Winter's face. "Now," she said mockingly. "Is that any way to talk to your sister?"
