I have no answer.
Only the image I cannot stop seeing and the certainty that something is terribly wrong, and we have somehow walked into the thick of it.
‘It was an army,’ I whisper. The rest of the words are swallowed up, the fear of what they mean too terrifying to consider, let alone say aloud, because armies are only ever needed for one thing.
For war.
Chapter 58
No one questions what I saw. No one doubts that my mind, my visions, somehow took me to an army of Rottings. Not aloud, anyway. And part of me wishes they would. Maybe if they questioned my sanity, it would make me do the same.
‘Do we need to go back?’ Caz suggests. ‘You said it looked like the Sunken Temple. Should we be heading back there? Maybe that vision has the answer to … to … to …’
It’s as if the word is stuck in her throat. She lifts her hand to her neck, her eyes meeting mine as clarity dawns, followed almost immediately by an expression of horror.
William. That was what she was going to say. Maybe the vision has the answer to what’s happening with William. But apparently the vow doesn’t like to be broken. Thankfully so, since Kyor is standing only a couple of feet from her.
‘To controlling your powers,’ Benny finishes for her.
‘Right … yes, that’s what I was going to say.’ Caz nods her head vigorously. ‘To controlling your powers.’
Thankfully, Kyor doesn’t seem to notice, although I suspect Ruben, like Benny, is well aware of what she was about to say.
‘Maybe the Issen are behind the Rottings?’ Ruben tries, backing up Caz. ‘Maybe going back isn’t a bad idea.’
I’ve barely even contemplated the question when the pressure hits, this time accompanied by an icy burn on my middle finger. My eyes shoot down to my ring.
‘No,’ I say with a conviction that comes more from the item than myself. ‘We can’t have come this far just to turn back. The mountains are only a couple of days away. We find the Issen, just as we planned.’
Silence follows my words, but Kyor quickly breaks it. ‘You heard her,’ he says, moving towards Elska. ‘The weather’s going to get worse from here on out. We should make the most of these last few hours of daylight.’
No one objects again. We get moving.
‘I’m notthe only one who can’t feel my toes, right?’ Benny asks as we trudge through the snow.
We have no idea exactly where we are, all having agreed that staying away from the front lines was the sensible thing to do. While there are undoubtedly routes to the Issen lands from the battlefields, there is also the distinct possibility of us getting killed trying to get through. In a mountain range the size of this one, it makes sense that there’s more than one place to pass through, and we’re hoping to find a ravine or valley so we don’t have to risk summiting one of the mountains – if we even reach the damn things.
The visibility has been decreasing with every passing hour, and for the last four hours we’ve been without the horses. Though they’re better equipped to handle the freezing temperatures than we are, the terrain means they would only slow us down. It feels like every ten minutes we’re switching between clambering upwards, scrambling on our hands and knees over sharp rocks, or wading through the snow, and we’ve not even reached the base of the mountain range.
After my slippage to the cavern of Rottings, we picked up our pace, yet we barely managed four hours of walking the day of my vision before we had to give up. Yesterday was little better as we held outleaving camp, hoping the weather would clear, only for it to get worse. And even though we’ve travelled since dawn this morning, progress is slower than I’d like.
From the occasional grunts and remarks from Fen, I’d say the wolves are struggling almost as much as we are, though I know there’s no chance of Fen admitting it.
‘And the tops of my ears, too,’ Benny continues to whine. ‘I’m pretty sure I’m going to lose them soon. You can still hear without the tops of your ears, right?’
‘Don’t worry, we’ll set up camp as soon as we find somewhere appropriate,’ Ruben replies. ‘I’ll get you warm then.’
‘I think I might have to jump the queue on that one,’ Kyor replies. ‘Benny got more hugs last night than I did. And he’s not alone with the ear issue.’
‘Is this a hug with you and Rose, or just you by yourself?’ Ruben replies. ‘Just checking as I’m open to either.’
A bolt of lightning flashes across the sky, but it’s barely a crackle compared to what Kyor’s capable of.
‘Okay, I get it, you want me to yourself.’ Ruben grins, and though Kyor rolls his eyes, I see the humour dancing there.
‘Any chance that the next friends you make could be slightly less dickish?’ Kyor asks.
‘Maybe, but I doubt it,’ I respond, grateful for the smile I feel tugging at my lips. Grateful for the way my friends are trying to make this feel like some fun adventure rather than the worst thing we’ve endured since the Retterheld.
