Icebound (Legends of the Shifters Book 2) (15 page)

“I
wish I could’ve let you sleep longer, but something urgent came up.”

She
leaned up on her elbow and cracked her eyes open again. “Well?”

I
tilted my head. “Did Prince Matthias give you a black pendant?”

Her
eyebrows lowered. “How did you know about that?”

I
looked down at the bed cover to avoid her eyes. “Have you been seeing ghosts?”

She
didn’t answer straight away. I glanced back up to see that her face had gone
white and pale. “Have you been seeing him, too? He told me I was the only one
who could see him because I carry the pendant.”

“Partly
true,” I said. “He wanted me to see him. But Cecile, Niko isn’t a ghost.”

A
look of confusion, almost anger, passed across her face. “What else could he
be?”

“He’s
a sorcerer. A spy,” I answered.

Her
face turned steely. “How do you know?”

“Because
he was my trainer in the conservatory. I’ve seen him work magic.”

Her
eyes widened, and then water began to pool in the corners. She jumped up from
the mattress and ran to the dresser across the room. After pulling it open, she
tossed aside the things in the drawer, which was made up mostly of
underclothes. She pulled out the phantom stone and held it out to me. “Take it.
Take it far away.”

I
grabbed the gem and looked back up. “Shouldn’t we tell your father?”

She
bit her lip and shook her head. “No. He has enough to deal with without knowing
that most of his secrets have been given away.”

“Won’t
he find out eventually anyway?” I said.

“Maybe,”
she said, crossing her arms. “But at least for now, he doesn’t have to know.”

I
took a step back. “Where should I take it?”

“I-I’m
not sure.”

“Should
I just leave? To find the dragon?”

She
shook her head. “Father wouldn’t be happy about that, and frankly, neither
would I. Isn’t there more you want to learn?”

“Is
there?” I asked, eyebrows raised.

She
shrugged. “I don’t know. If I were you, I would put it off as long as possible.
Aren’t you afraid of death?”

My
scar felt prickly as I became aware of it.
Death is inevitable.
“What’s
there to fear?”

She
leaned against her dresser. “Pain, of course.”

I
nodded. “I don’t look forward to that. But Cecile, how much longer do you think
I have?”

She
looked back at the stone. “For what?”

“For
death, for war? I might as well get going now before any of it hits,” I said.

She
pursed her lips. “I don’t want to be the one responsible for the ruin of the
kingdoms. If you think that it’s best to leave now, then go ahead and leave.
Just take that thing with you,” she said, nodding at the pendant. “Throw it
into a dark cave or something. Somewhere miles from here.”

“How
do I get out of here? There are bars on the windows and guards around every
corner.”

“Not
a problem,” she said. “I have an escape route.” She walked to her window and
pushed aside the curtains. “Most windows don’t have this.” She opened the
window to expose the bars, but unlike mine, hers had a latch and hinges. A
padlock was hooked through the bars to prevent people on the outside from
opening it. Cecile pulled back the curtain a little more to expose a key hung
on a nail that had been hammered to the wall.

“Hurry,”
she said as she handed me the key.

I
disabled the lock and let the grate swing open. It made no sound.

“Are
you sure you’re not going to come back?” she asked.

“I
don’t think I have a choice,” I answered.

She
tilted her head to the side. “Don’t you ever question the prophecy or the last
phoenix? We don’t know for sure if you’ll die from the plant.”

“But
there’s a chance. Besides, I’d rather have it behind me.”

She
sighed and then took me by surprise when she placed a hand on my shoulder. “Go.
Defeat the dragon. Just know that there’s a warrior here who will fight with
you if the time comes.”

I
smiled. “Thank you.”

She
watched as I turned and transformed into the phoenix. It was a tight fit
through the window grate, but soon, I was out in the open air, speeding away
with the phantom stone gripped in my talon. I kept waiting for an alarm to sound,
but there was no shout or roar or any indication that anyone had noticed my
departure.

That’s
good. One less obstacle to worry about.

I
headed east, toward the one place I suspected the dragon to reside.

I
remembered the man that protected his small village on the coast from natives.
He’d said he’d seen a shadow fall over the forest years ago. And I still
remembered the time when my feet hit the sandy shore only to collapse under me
as a roar sounded in my head.

The
dragon was somewhere on the Isle of Ginsey. I was sure of it.

-Chapter Twenty-four-

Onwin
was a large country, and certainly a daunting one. There were guard towers and
flight brigades everywhere. The fact that I intended to get to the Isle of Ginsey
through Pira made the trek through Onwin even longer, but I’d rather a longer
trek through Onwin, where I was a friend to the king, than having to go through
Ginsey.

It
took me two days to get to the wall of Pira, the country where I intended to
drop off the pendant. During the journey, I could sometimes feel the pendant
grow hotter. I assumed it was because Niko was trying to get through to me, so
I would quicken my speed, hoping that in his spirit form, he wouldn’t be able
to keep up with me. It was probably a stupid concept, but nevertheless, I saw
no sign of him. In the back of my mind, I knew that didn’t necessarily mean he
wasn’t watching. He could be recording my every move and reporting my position
to his king.

As
the wall drew closer, it seemed that the prairie grass was growing thinner.
From up above, the land beyond the wall appeared brown and desolate with not a
drop of water in sight. With my enhanced eyesight, I could see that the men
manning the wall were hot and sweating, some even daring to strip away some of
their armor.

I
knew it would be impossible to keep from being seen. In fact, I knew that they
probably had already spotted me in the cloudless sky. To keep from being shot
at with arrows, I knew my only option would be to climb as high in the sky as
possible. I hefted myself upward, gaining altitude, never letting my eyes rest
as I watched the men scrambling on the wall once they sensed my plan. I climbed
and climbed until the air was deathly cold and so thin that it choked my breathing. 
Even with my keen eyesight, I could barely see the guards below.

Once
I was sure that I had gone far enough past them, I angled myself downward into
a dive, my lungs aching for a breath of fresh air.

I
had no doubt that they would send a flight brigade after me, so there was no
time to stop. I flew quickly, guided on by the wind at my back that was no
doubt pushing the others faster as well.

After
a few minutes of mindless flying, I noticed something on the surface. There was
no water to be found, but down below, in the cracked earth, there were strange
shaped green plants. At first glance, they looked like people in bizarre green
clothing, holding their arms up in surrender, but when I flew a little lower, I
could see that some were misshapen or surrounded by dry, dead bramble patches.
A few even had blossoms on them.

After
flying past hundreds of those peculiar plants, something peaked over the
horizon, something that I at first thought was an odd shaped city. Then, as I
got closer and closer, the shapes began to look more like blocks. Plateaus.

It
took longer than I thought to pass over the first one, but after it dropped
off, I noticed something on the lower ground. Rows of white tents, printed with
the red snake of Pira, hundreds of armed people walking between them. The
queen’s soldiers.

Heart
pounding, I hurried to gain altitude once again, keeping my eye out for anyone
who noticed me and hoping that they would think me one of their own.

They
didn’t.

All
at once, I heard shouting and from the largest tent, a flag flying high above
it, a woman stepped out.

Immediately,
I felt the feathers on the back of my neck stand up. I didn’t get a very good
look at her, but she was thin with raven-black hair whipping in the wind. Even
in the heat, she wore a pelt of some kind wrapped around her otherwise
sleeveless shoulders. She held a black spear in one hand, and raised it to the
wind as I watched.

My
flight faltered, and I had to strain to pick up speed. She was trying to ground
me with magic.

I
kept the memory of my parents in my mind and pushed onward. It was then that I
heard a scream sound from below. With one glance backward, I saw the woman’s
spear coming toward me, but she had missed by a long shot. She now stood
weaponless, glaring up at me as I got farther and farther away.

Heart
pounding, I continued on. The sun was getting low and my mind and body were
growing weary. Plateau after plateau passed before I came to a deep canyon,
where the river had worn itself down almost a mile of solid rock. It was the
first sign of water I’d seen since Onwin.

I
swooped lower, keeping an eye out for any enemies that might be clinging to the
sides of the cliffs. Birds flitted from cliff face to cliff face, but I could
only hope that none of them were shifters. Grass crowded the bank, the water
roaring through the ravine and pulling some of the greenery down into its swift
current.

I
dropped down until I was only a few feet from the water and opened my claw. The
pendant slipped from my grasp. I watched as the water swept it downstream.

Just
watching it go, I felt as if a weight was lifted off my shoulders. I flapped
back up to the side of the cliff and landed on a ledge, digging my claws into
the cracks to keep from falling into the river. Just having the moment to rest
my wings felt wonderful. A little bit of my energy started to return.

Then,
just when I was ready to take off again, agonizing pain ripped across my back.
Taken by surprise, I lost my grip on the side of the cliff, and fell into the
rushing water. The current dragged me down and tossed me against the rocks.

The
last thing I remembered was pain splitting the side of my head, and then I was
out.

*   *   *  
*   *

When
I woke up, there was a steady roar. I cracked open my eyes, scared at what I would
find, but it was only a waterfall in the distance. I pushed myself up with my
wings in the shallow pool I’d been pushed up into. The water was pink with
blood, but there wasn’t a scratch on me…besides the new scar that tingled on my
back.

I
shifted into first form and coughed water out of my lungs. Once I was able to
take a steady breath, I studied my surroundings.

Gone
was the constant orange of the desert, replaced instead with grays, greens, and
browns of woodland. I wasn’t sure where the river had taken me, but it had to
be either southern Ginsey or northern Pira. I’d rather the latter than the
first.

I
reached around and traced the veins of scars that now lined my back, another
reminder that I might not have much longer.

Before
getting to my feet, I took in a few deep breaths and scanned the woods for
anything suspicious, anything that scented my blood or my fear. From what I
could tell, nothing hid in the shadows.

I
took in a deep, rattled breath and closed my eyes, trying to regain my energy
so I could continue the journey. I had no idea where I was right now, but I
only hoped that I would still be able to find my way to the Isle of Ginsey. I
opened my eyes and looked up at the sun which had sunken low behind the trees.
That was west, which meant that the Isle of Ginsey would be somewhere behind
me.

I
changed into the phoenix and took off, circling back around until I was pointed
away from the sun. The new development of the scar made flying uncomfortable.
Each flap of my wings made the skin across my back feel too tight. I narrowed
my eyes and pressed on stubbornly.

Just
before the sun set, I studied my surroundings. Off to the right, I could see
the greenery becoming sparser. That was the direction of the desert. To my
left, the land rippled up into mountains. I didn’t think I was in Ginsey yet,
but if I went that direction, it wouldn’t be long before I was. Kurt was
probably just two days flight away, and yet, there was nothing I could do for
him.

What
if I join their side after I defeat the dragon? Kurt would be safe…
I
banished the thought. That was exactly what they wanted, and I knew that Kurt
himself wouldn’t want me to make that decision. I forced my mind to come back
to the mission at hand. I just hoped that I was going the right direction.

*   *   *  
*   *

I
flew until I hit the coast, but I’d apparently been pointed in a slightly wrong
direction. Though the days here were colder than they were in the desert, I
still expected the island to be further north, so I angled my body toward the
left, the tips of my wings cutting through the air as I shifted course.

The
rain hadn’t started to fall yet, but I expected it to soon. I almost hoped it
would just to cool my stinging back. Nevertheless, it held off. For miles, I
saw nothing but darkness below me, but then in the distance, I saw light
filtering through a thick layer of fog. I headed in that direction, ever
conscious of my exhaustion. I descended into the fog slowly, avoiding a few
branches before finally landing on the sandy shore on the side of the mainland.

As
soon as my talons touched the ground, I shifted into first form and walked
toward the lake. My throat was parched and my scar ached for the cool water. I
waded in until it was up to my waist, and then dove. Underwater, I could hear
my thundering heartbeat in my ears. I listened as it slowed considerably in
only a few seconds. I came back up for air after about a minute, shivering with
cold.

I
waded onto solid ground and focused my energy on drying off. The water steamed
from my body, joining the fog around me. I laid down on the sand and looked up,
breathing in a sigh. I closed my eyes and let the sounds of the forest lull me
to sleep.