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And then, as Hyto laughed, I began to scream.
Chapter 10
Hyto held tight, the strand of hair still around my throat. “At any moment, I could break your neck. Suffocate you. Rip your head off your shoulders. So I suggest you quit screaming.”
I shut my mouth and waited for death—I knew that was why he was here. But instead, he reached up with another tendril of hair and caressed my cheek.
My stomach lurched. “The wards will have gone off. Smoky will be out here, searching for me.” I struggled to talk against the restraint, my throat hurting.
“I don’t think my son will be doing any such thing.” He motioned, and out from behind a towering evergreen stepped the man Giselle had described. He bowed briefly to Hyto. “Meet Asheré, my snow monkey. He negated your wards with a blink of the eye. So nobody’s going to know anything.”
Panic set in. Oh Great Mother, he’s going to kill me here, and I’ll never have a chance to say good-bye to my loved ones.
I was about to beg him—Just let me go and I won’t say a word—when the words died on my lips. Hyto was beyond reason. He wouldn’t listen to me. He hated me. And I didn’t beg. My sisters in danger? My friends’ lives on the line? I’d be groveling on the floor. But I would never grovel for my own life.
“Nothing to say? No protestations? No begging for your life?” He looked at me quizzically, then let out a snort. “Well, no matter. But I can’t go without leaving a calling card. Asheré—prepare the girl.” He threw me to the ground and I stumbled.
Asheré grabbed me by my arms and I opened my mouth to scream again, but with a single word from the monk, my voice fell into silence and I could no longer speak. I struggled but another word from him and I couldn’t move, standing still as night.
We stood there, watching Hyto as he moved to the side. I felt like I was in a dream—as frozen as one of the icicles on the house. Images of my sisters flashed through my mind—they would carry on, but I would miss them so much.
And Smoky, Trillian . . . Morio . . . who would find my remains? I prayed it wouldn’t be one of them—or my sisters. Let it be someone who wouldn’t hurt as bad. My cousin . . . Chase . . . anybody but my family.
Would they mourn for me? I thought of Maggie and tears began to roll down my cheeks. And Iris—at least I knew she would be happy now. Even in the midst of this war, she would have a glimmer of hope.
My thoughts leaped to my father. Would he regret cutting me off? Would he see my soul statue shatter? Would he hold the remains in his hands, wondering what had happened to his little girl? Or would he sweep them away, his heart still as hardened as it had become?
Moon Mother, I thought, please, let my end be easy. Let me go quickly. Let me wander the night with your Hunt, let me find my way to the Land of the Silver Falls and reunite with my mother.
And then Hyto caught my attention. He focused on one tree near the beginning of the trail and, with a loud roar that echoed from deep within his throat, he let forth a stream of flame from his mouth, setting one side of the fir on fire. As it lit up the night, he ripped my cape off my shoulders and tossed it on the ground near the tree.
What the hell? He could just leave my charred body here as a message to Smoky. That would do more than the cape.
Hyto caught the question in my eyes. A deep rumble echoed from his gut. His laugh was like a sledgehammer.
“A calling card, my dear. Simply a calling card. Because you are only half of the equation. I want my son to know I own you. I want to crush him with the knowledge that you belong to me now.”
No . . . no . . . As I realized what Hyto was saying, I frantically tried to move, tried to break the spell, but I couldn’t budge.
He leaned down to stare me in the eyes. “Remember? I promised you when we first met, Anything my son owns is mine, to use or abuse as I see fit. When Iampaatar comes to my dreyerie to rescue you, I will have shattered you so far, so hard, that there will be only little shards of your life left for him to pick up. And then, and only then, will I destroy him.”
I began to shut my mind down as I realized that Hyto really didn’t mean to kill me. Not yet. No, he meant to take me and break me and tear me to shreds. As the panic started to build, he gathered me in his arms and we began to turn, slowly at first, then faster and faster until the world became a blur and I lost consciousness.
I came to on a pallet. The first thing I felt was sharp hay poking into my side. The next, a scratchy blanket covering me. My clothes were still on—a good sign. I wasn’t paralyzed anymore, but I forced myself to stay still. In the past, I’d learned that it was better to play dumb until I knew what was going on. Keeping my eyes closed, I strained to hear every sound I could.
The wind. I could hear the wind howling. It echoed, like it was outside blowing past an entrance. A building high on a mountain? A cave? The air felt thin, too—and that would back up my guess that we were at a higher elevation.
Shivering, I realized that I was cold, even beneath the blanket. The chill was icy, far colder than it had been in my backyard. In fact, the scent of the air . . .
Oh no.
I knew where I was—at least the general region. I was somewhere in the Northlands. There was no mistaking that icy haze that hung in the air, filled with magic and the energy of the ice and mists. Hell. Hyto had meant it when he said he was going to carry me off.
I listened for any movement but couldn’t sense anyone else near me, so I slowly opened my eyes and looked around. Cavern. I was in a cave, near a fire that burned brightly. I scooted over to it and rubbed my hands in the heat, then warmed my face near the flames, trying to avoid the stray sparks.
After a moment, I noticed a pot of liquid hanging over it and I found myself incredibly thirsty, but I knew better than to taste it without knowing what it was. For all I knew, it could be a death potion. Gingerly, I stood, pulling the scratchy blanket around my shoulders for warmth. My body hurt, and my head was foggy. I realized that we’d come through the Ionyc Seas. Hyto would be able to travel through them because he was a white dragon.
A ring of stones had been sheltering me from a larger part of the cavern and I hesitantly stepped beyond them, moving into the shadow near the cavern walls. Maybe I could get away. Maybe I’d luck out and there’d be an inn nearby? But I couldn’t stay if there was one. Hyto would figure it out and burn the place to the ground. No, I had to manage to grab supplies and run. Run . . . where . . . ?
