The Ice Storm

Chapter Twenty-three

Virginia felt the anger within her rage as she helped Willem up from the floor. It beat against her temples, seeking an outlet, any means of unleashing itself. She wondered briefly if the change that half wolfs went through during times of stress or anger felt to them like a vast relief, a physical transformation to mirror the mind. It made her wish fervently for just an ounce of that blood in her veins. But humans as always made do with little in the way of physical strength and much in the way of thinking and planning. Revenge was not solely a human trait, but it was one they were masters of. Will moaned quietly and abruptly the anger passed, leaving Virginia with a cold empty feeling. But at least she could concentrate now.

Lifting the lamp over his body, she felt tears come to her eyes as the light revealed his injuries. He was a mass of bruises and bite marks, several of which festered and ran with infection. She recognized the shape of the bites. They were wolf marks on his skin, deep punctures caused by long canines. Had he gotten them in an attempt to fight his way out, or had they been dealt out later, when he was tied and helpless? His face was pale and sunken with privation, making him look even less like his brother Wolf. Except the eyes; they were still the same. They were open now, gazing into hers with an edge of madness lurking in their depths.

"Will? It's me, Virginia" she said softly, bringing her hand up to his nose so that he might get a good fix on her scent. He sighed and closed his eyes again. To give herself something to do, Virginia gathered up one of the blankets from the bed, tearing it into strips which she wetted with water from the pitcher. Carefully she bathed his face and those injuries that seemed to her to be the most obvious. From the blackness of the bruises she guessed that underlying damage to bone and tissue was likely, but there was little she could do about those for now.

"Virginia?". His voice was weak and barely audible, but it roused her from the half-sleep she had fallen into, dozing in the hard backed armchair next to the bed. Virginia had no idea how long she had been asleep. Hours most likely, to judge from the protesting muscles in her back. She moved awkwardly to bring him water ladled from the pitcher. He drank deeply before making a gallant attempt to sit up and look around him. "No food I suppose?" he asked, his face a grim smile.

Virginia couldn't help but smile back at him. How typical of a half-wolf. Thinking with their stomachs. "No Will. She brought me food earlier, but that was before I knew I would be having you as my guest"

"Pity"

"You wouldn't have liked it. It was porridge" Virginia said, reaching to ruffle the fur on his lanky tail. He made a face.

"Eh, what do you think I've been living on?"

"Oh really. Now that's inhuman, as Wolf would say. I wonder how they manage to grow crops here anyway. Isn't this whole Kingdom one big icefield?"

"No, they have farmlands to the east. And they do have a summer, or sorts, when the power of even the Ice Queen wanes enough to allow the ground to thaw"

"It's hard to believe, given all that I have seen of the land" Virginia replied, thinking of the barren wasteland she and Yacobe had passed through. Though to be true, the land that seemed devoid of life had provided for them. Virginia guessed it was simply a matter of knowing how to live here.

"So, I'm assuming we lost then?" Will asked.

"Sorry?"

"The war. We lost right? Midwinter has passed and the Eigth Kingdom has devoured everyone already. That's why you're here isn't it? We're all prisoners. Is Wolf here? What about Wendell and the other leaders?"

Virginia looked closely at her brother-in-law. For an awful second the though flashed through her mind that perhaps he wasn't confused, and she was the one who had lost track of time. Maybe she had been here for months already. But no. She reached out to hold his hand, still bound with the old bandage to cover the hole that one of Scarletts soldiers had put in it with an arrow.

"No, Will. Midwinter is yet to pass. It's close though. But I'm sure it hasn't. I don't know for sure, but I last saw you only a month ago, in my room at Castle White. You were going to track the ghost-wolf".

Wills eyes grew wide as he listened. "By the moon, how have I lost track of time!" he exclaimed softly.

"It happens Will. Easily"

"But then...how have you come to be here? Surely, I must be dreaming this..." he said, voice trailing away. Virginia pinched his arm gently.

"No, not a dream. I'm really here Will. Yacobe came back for me. He stole me right out of the Castle one night. I haven't seen anyone since then. Not Wendell, not Wolf, no one. Only Yacobe and now, her, Rhoswen"

"But how? Where is my brother? How and why would he not have found you? Even the best could not outwit him, especially with you as the prize". Virginia felt a stab of anger at his words. Dammit, but when would everyone stop thinking of her as a 'prize'? Once again, she let it go. Will of all people meant her no harm or disrespect.

"I sent him away, Will. I sent him back to the Second Kingdom with Scarlett just a few days after you left us. She was determined to go, and I in my foolishness gave him to know that it would be a good thing for him to accompany her. Of course he did it, even though he was not happy about it. Damn it that he is so trusting of me. I have sent him on a fools errand and now look at where we all are. I don't know where he is Will. He might even be dead because of me". Hot tears rained down Virginia's face, causing little clouds of steam to form in the chill air. She wept uncontrollably, the guilt and fear rushing over her in great waves that seemed like they would never end.

Willem held her awkwardly in his arms. An hour passed, or maybe more, before Virginia felt the tide of emotion start to ebb away. She felt drained and empty, but like always, the tears had helped cleanse her mind. With effort, she could focus once more. Will's kind and patient face blurred as he came close to kiss her brow.

"I would know it if my brother were dead. I don't know how, but I know I would. So fear not, little sister. But he is far from here and we must rescue ourselves now. But Virginia, there is something I do not understand about all this"

"What is that?"

"Well, ah, you. Your pregnancy to be exact". To her surprise, he blushed as he gestured to her swollen belly. "Something strange is working within you Virginia. You are so much closer to birthing than you should be, or I am no wolf. But I am supposing that this is not a new idea for you"

"No, you are right. There is something different about this cub. In a way, my daughter is the reason I am here Will. She is what they all seek to own for themselves. They say she is something called the...". Virginia broke off her sentence suddenly. Her whole body froze, growing tense and relaxing. Her stomach clenched in fear. She was dimly aware of Wills hand as he placed it softly over the swelling flesh. In fear, she met his eyes.

"Too soon Will, it's too soon..." she gasped as another telltale contraction gripped her.

"That may be, my sister. But nothing will stop this thing now. We will work together, you and I, but one way or another, your daughter-in-a-hurry has made the decision. She will be born this very day".

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Wendell had been given a set of toy soldiers once. In his childhood playroom he'd lined them up, opposing forces bristling with tiny spears and swords. Later, he'd been schooled in warcraft and battle, in the way of tradition rather than the fact that anyone ever believed he'd have to use such knowledge. There had been widescale peace in the Kingdoms since before he was born, a legacy of his esteemed Grandmother Snow-white and her 'sisters' who had formed the lands, put down the naysayers and ensured a fair go for all. The occaisional raids by the Trolls or the Eighth Kingdom wild men were few and far between. Wendells army had had no trouble in defending their lands, and Wendell had never once seen battle. Nor had he ever killed anyone.

Now, as he lay crouched in the snow, he felt his boyish notions ebb away. Where was the trumpeting, the amass of armour and pennants, the lines of willing warriors? Where, indeed, was the battle itself? He raised his head a fraction. Across the fields, rising from the snow like a great frozen flower was the Ice Palace. Wendell had only seen it depicted in the rare drawings of the even rarer artists who managed to visit the Kingdom and return in one piece. Despite his fear, Wendell knew that he was looking on a thing of rare beauty in this land. It was not made completely of ice, he knew, but ice clung to it, ice had inspired it and ice would protect it. Underneath the slick and frozen exterior lay white stone walls, crafted into graceful spires that tapered upwards to jagged peaks. It was fully as large as Castle White, he guessed, and like a great iceberg of the northern sea it likely extended a long way into the earth itself. Somewhere, down in that cold ground was Virginia.

"Look, here comes another troop" whispered someone close by. Wendell watched as the long drawbridge was lowered. The tramp of booted feet filled the air once more. Long lines of tall men and the shorter statured wolf hybrids crossed the bridge and turned on to the road, heading off in an easterly direction this time. Towards the Second Kingdom. Wendell hoped that Scarlett had been able to organise her army well enough to meet the threat that marched towards them now. The Second Kingdom army was well regarded as the best in the Kingdoms. He hoped they would be able to hold out long enough. But the Second Kingdom was much farther north than his own was, much closer to the freezing death spell about to be fulfilled on this very day. Midwinter had arrived and it was now or never.

His feet scraped along the frozen ground for a moment as his body tried to will itself to move how his mind wanted it to. But a strong hand clamped down on his shoulder, halting his forward movement.

"Be still, young King. It is not time yet" The voice was Giles the half wolf. In the dim light Wendell looked back to see the wolfs' eyes aglow with green. Giles smiled, showing his fangs broadly. "You seek revenge, and blood, young King, and you shall have it soon enough, but do not move too soon and waste what little advantage we have garnered, yes?". Wendell could only nod, but the wolf patted his shoulder as if to say he understood. Waiting was tiresome indeed. But Wendell knew the wisdom of his more experienced soldiers and allies was far greater than his own. They had gotten them so close without detection. For hours they'd lain quiet, watching troop after troop of Eighth Kingdom soldiers file out of the castle, heading off south, west and east. A morose thing to watch, but in a way it was to their advantage now. Surely the Ice Queen would not expect an attack on her very palace. Perhaps only a token force of guards had been left to watch it's walls.

Wendell raised his head slightly once more to stare at the forbidding palace. In one of the higher towers, a pale light shone from a narrow window. For a moment, Wendell thought he saw the glint of golden hair as someone paused to look out. Wendell held his breath. Did she see him? Did she know of the danger? She had magic, this woman, the ability to scry and locate her enemies. Would she be tempted to seek him out once more? Wendell found that he almost hoped she would. She would frown and curse when he told her where he was. Right outside your door! Better run and tell your evil mistress that King Wendell of the Fourth Kingdom has come calling!

Wendell had to bite back a laugh. Several of his men looked aside at him. They were all as tense as he, he realised. One by one they matched his grim smile. Many of them would likely die today. I could die, he thought, but the idea did not terrorise him as it once would have. He was ready.

Wendell glanced over at the captain of his guard. A brief nod, that was all that was needed. Across the way, the last of the soldiers had passed out of the palace, disappearing into the snowy waste. Wendell hoped they would travel swiftly, and not think to look behind them. Servants were scurrying forward now, labouring to crank the heavy drawbridge into place.

"It's time, my friends" Wendell said. His voice came out strong. Then, in a blur of motion, they were up, all on their feet and charging silently down to the palace walls. The wolfs outpaced the human soldiers easily, all of them, but for the King.

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The Magic Axe made short work of anything it struck, but it still needed mortal muscles to wield it. Wolf took a moment to catch his breath. Even in the gloom that he stood in, several dozen feet from what had been the surface of Coven Lake, the blade still shone with the magic that enspelled it. Wolf wondered briefly if the Axe felt at all cheated that it had been robbed of his neck that day in the Disenchanted Forest when Tony had signed him up for a potentially fatal guessing game.

Little footsteps coming back down the passage he had hollowed out made him raise the Axe once more, lest Alice catch him resting. The diminutive cub had been a rather good slave driver in the past few hours, he had to admit. More than once Wolf had caught her, staring downwards as if entranced, her lips moving soundlessly as she apparently communed with the dragon, keeping the beast appraised of their progress.

Wolf still had doubts over the reception said creature would give them, but it was too late to stop now. Most of the ice had been cleared away, leaving only a thin crust through which the image of the dragon rippled. Wolf wondered what the dragon was thinking, and more pertinently, why it was not even trying to help. Surely such a strong and powerful being could have begun to shatter away what remained of her prison?

Scarlett came trudging down the passageway, trailing what remained of her cloak behind her. She and Alice had fashioned it into a sled of sorts, using it to take the broken ice chunks away from the digging surface as Wolf waded his way down.

"How's it going?" she asked, rubbing her hand over her face wearily. Wolf had to admire her. She'd proved her worth many times over, toiling beyond the point of exhaustion.

"Nearly there. But for one problem that no Magic Axe will be able to solve that is" Wolf said. Both Scarlett and Alice stopped at his words. They knew what he was referring to. Alice went to the face where Wolf had just finished clearing, putting her eye up to the clear barrier.

"I can see it, uncle Wolf. The arrow. Can't you see it?" she said.

"Yes, I have seen it for a while now. But Alice, it may already be too late. To pull an arrow from any living thing is dangerous in itself, much less a magic arrow. It may not come out at all, or if it does, the dragon may still die"

"She knows this, uncle. But she is willing to risk it all the same" Alice replied, once more in that eerie tone of a child who is not really a child but a tool for greater souls to manipulate. Wolf sighed and took up the Axe.

Once, twice he tapped carefully at the ice. Sharp edged shards fell around his feet. There was a sudden hiss in the air, and a scent, at once new and yet recognized. The scent of a dragon. Peering through the narrow chink, Wolf could see, glinting as bright as if the sun shone on it, the silver fletching bound to the end of an arrow. Scarcely an inch remained in view. The rest was buried in flesh, a small round of pale pink flesh where once had been a scale. A missing scale. With a chill, Wolf knew exactly where that scale was.

"Uncle?". Alice was pressing against him, trying to worm her way between his body and the crack. Wolf backed away in a daze. What were the chances? Virginia's gift given dragon scale had left the beast vulnerable in it's most vital place. Who had engineered this? How many greater forces were behind things, and why? Alice was threading her tiny arm back into the hole, trying desperately to reach the arrow haft. "Uncle, help me! I can't reach it!". Someone brushed past him. Scarlett, going forward to kneel at feet of the mired dragon.

"Alice, let me try" she said softly. For a moment, Wolf was sure that the girl cub would strike the Queen away, but something in her relented finally. Scarlett inched her hand through the narrow opening. Wolf knew the moment she touched the arrow by her indrawn breath, her sudden tensing of muscles as she prepared to pull it forth. "Ready?" she muttered, but to whom Wolf could not tell.

With a wet sucking sound and a rush of blood scent, Scarlett braced her legs against the floor and pulled the arrow free. She flew backwards under the pressure, skidding across the rough surface. Wolf caught her before she slid into a sharp wall. Black blood steamed on the ice, dark with streaks of red flashing through it. Drops of it had landed on Scarletts clothes, causing them to smoke gently. Her hand was clenched tightly around the shaft of the arrow. Wolf knelt to help her to her feet.

"Don't let it go" he murmured, gesturing the the bloodied silver. Scarlett nodded her agreement. Wolf was unsure if the thing would still be inclined to head straight for the next living heart, but he wasn't going to take any chances with the hearts he currently shared the world with. He took up the Axe once, more, brandishing it.

"Come on then, she-dragon!" he shouted, hearing his words echo in the confined space. He let the Axe fall again and again, exposing the tough scaly hide. Bit by bit, the dragons head was freed. It was enormous, easily the size of one of those odd driving machines that Wolf had seen everywhere on the roads of the Tenth Kingdom. It lay at an angle, eyes closed. For a moment, Wolf was sure...

Then, with a barely detectable shudder, the eye opened to look straight at him. It was a brilliant sapphiric blue, slitted pupil like a cats. Wolf thought that he had never looked into anyones eyes, so beautiful and so terrifying at the same time. By the moon, what have we done? The thought flew through his mind as the dragon opened its mouth, showing teeth the length of his arm. Wolf reached out automatically for Alice, but the cub evaded his grasp, moving forward to stand directly in front of the gaping maw. Wolf felt his heart come to a standstill as the girl reached out to touch the skin as confident as if it were a sheep.

"Zaphira" she piped.

The dragons mind-voice boomed through Wolfs head, making him put his hands up to his ears automatically. "Zaphira". There was a pause. "Yes, that is my name. A long time have I slept the dreamless sleep here. I thought myself as the last of my kind to fly free over the world. But there is another one who sleeps still and cold. He has called to me. I will go there"

The shattering sound of cracking ice filled the cavern as the dragon arched its back. Out to the sides, the dormant wings stretched, inch by inch through the thin covering that was left. Great shards fell here and there, and this time Wolf did manage to grab at Alice, pulling her out of the way. Scarlett had already turned to make her way topside. Below them the earth shook and they all fell several times trying to escape the collapsing cavern. They made it out with barely seconds to spare. Wolf hustled them several yards from the ruined lake surface before he turned back to see the most incredible sight of his life.

The dragon shot out from the icy rubble like a cork from a long overdue bottle. The great wingspan hovered over the three of them, casting the day into night. Zaphira threw back her head to trumpet a loud bugle like call. Her sinuous tail thrashed and cut the air above with a whistling sound. She was the traditional greenish colour of dragon folk, with pale yellow breast and belly scales. Just under her throat was the pink space left by the missing scale. It oozed black blood still, but it was slow now, already healing itself from the touch of the enchanted silver arrow that had pierced it. The wings beat slowly and just slightly out of normal timing, reminding Wolf that it had been far too many wolf generations since they had flown over the Kingdoms. The dragon was the most magnificent thing he'd ever seen.

Wolf couldn't help it. He howled, long and low and musical. Dimly he was aware of Alice joining her song to his, and then a new one, Scarlett herself taking up the song for her very first time. Above, the dragon Zaphira tilted her head, listening, and then with a great sweep of her tail and wings she settled once more on the ice. The long claws on her feet gripped the surface as she leant her head forward.

"I hunger!" she bellowed in their minds. Wolf thought it impossible for a dragon to smile, but this one did as she surveyed the now silent wolf pack. "But...it will wait. I fly now to my lost kin, and..." she inclined her head towards them again, "to yours".

One of the huge feet moved forwards, scraping the ice. Zaphira stared at them, at her outstretched foot, then back again. Wolf stared at the dragon. Impossible, but he knew there was no mistaking the dragons intentions.

"Huff puff!" he muttered. "You've got to be kidding!"