Firebrand
Page 18

The king would have Weapons, Karigan tried to remind herself. This girl had no one. No one, but her.
The whirlwind appeared to take notice of her, and she lunged. Alas, this one was not as easy to dispatch. It skated around her in erratic patterns, and the ice needles and wind made it difficult to see. She shielded her face with her hand—she did not want to lose her one good eye. The more the creature spun, the more ice that layered the floor and walls.
I have fought on ice before came the unbidden memory, but she hadn’t the time to consider its source as she slipped and tried to maintain her footing with the whirlwind bearing down on her.
She hacked into it. The swirling funnel was wide enough now that she buried the sword up to the guard, and ice particles shredded her knuckles. The blade struck the creature’s skeleton, but it did not shatter like the smaller ones.
She withdrew the sword and hacked again with nearly the same result, but as she backed away, her feet slipped out from beneath her. One moment she was standing, and the next she was flat on her back. The creature roared toward her. She tried to rise to her feet, but could gain no traction. In a moment, it would have her. Would the frozen survive, or were they already dead?
The ash girl sprang into action and threw a shovelful of hot coals at the creature. It skittered aside, but as the coals hit the icy floor, steam rose and caused the creature to pause long enough for Karigan to climb to her feet. The coals melted through the ice layered on the floor and smoldered on the carpet beneath.
Karigan slid around the creature and stabbed into it. The hilt of her sword was slick with her own blood. Was it only wishful thinking, or was the whirl of ice thinning? Might it finally be weakening?
She thrust once more, and the wind, with all its spinning ice particles, dropped, unveiling the creature within. It clacked its jaw of jagged teeth at her. It carried no icicle dagger, but an ice sword, and when she crossed blades with it, its sword rang as though made of steel.
As the creature had been fast in its whirlwind form, so it was also fast with its sword work, and she had to use all the advanced moves Arms Master Drent had taught her. She slid and scrambled to keep up. As she tried to drive past its guard, it suddenly lurched and hopped, looking down at its boney feet, which were melting on the burning carpet. It roared like a windstorm, and then toppled over.
She hacked at its spine. When it still clacked its jaw at her, she stomped on the skull repeatedly until it cracked and shattered. She stood for a time, panting hard.
“Sir Karigan?” came a little voice.
She had almost forgotten the ash girl, who was just now stepping tentatively away from the hearth. “Anna, isn’t it?”
The girl looked astonished Karigan knew her name. “I—I have an extra handkerchief.” She held the white cloth out like a flag of surrender. When Karigan just stared stupidly at it, she said, “For your hand.”
Karigan looked down at her scored, bleeding hand. She’d barely noticed it before, but now it stung like the five hells.
“Here.” The girl came forward hesitantly, as if warring with her own timidity, but when Karigan held her hand out for her, she bound it with assurance.
When she was done, Karigan flexed her fingers. “Thank you.” The melting creature beside her appeared to be dousing the burning carpet. She stamped on singed fibers just to make sure.
“Anna, I need to reach the king. Do you—”
She was cut off by a new burst of wind as another creature appeared at the far end of the corridor. Anna looked like she might faint, and Karigan grabbed her arm and dragged her as fast as she could into the main hall. She paused to ensure they would not rush headlong into another whirlwind.
When she saw the way was clear, she said, “Ready to run, Anna?”
Anna nodded, her face pale.
“Good. Follow me and keep up best as you can.”
The unnatural wind picked up as the creature skimmed its way toward them from the side corridor. It then paused, possibly to investigate the slushy remains of its comrade.
Karigan and Anna sprinted down the main hall past dozens of ice statues. Karigan glanced over her shoulder, and noting that Anna struggled to keep up, she moderated her pace. When she saw a whirlwind ahead coming down the main hall, she seized Anna’s arm again and hauled her down another side corridor. They pressed their backs against the wall, their breaths ragged. Across from them was a frozen soldier, his arms thrown up defensively, his expression one of agony. Anna whimpered.
“It’ll be all right,” Karigan whispered. It had better be. Always in the back of her mind was her concern for her family and King Zachary.
“Anna,” she whispered, “I have a certain ability—I can make us fade out so maybe that creature can’t see us.” Anna looked at her in bewilderment, but let Karigan take her hand. Karigan called on her fading ability, and her vision went gray as was usual. Anna gasped beside her.
The whirlwind passed by their corridor. She counted to ten and then dragged Anna out into the main hall once again. “Don’t look back,” Karigan admonished her. The first whirlwind still followed them, and the second was beginning to reverse its direction to also follow. It was clear they could sense her and Anna even when faded out, so she dropped the fading as they ran. Keeping it up was pointless and would only exhaust her.
They ran, passing beneath a chandelier, and once more she hauled Anna aside, this time stopping at the winch that hoisted and lowered the chandelier.
“They’re getting close!” Anna cried. “And there are more coming!” She turned and hid her face as if this would make them vanish.