“Yes.” Danielle raised her voice. “Talia, please try to remember that not all of us share your gifts.”
“So stay out of my way.” Talia stopped in the middle of the road to wait. She had already spotted one bandit perched in the trees. The pheasant had landed almost within arm’s reach, and he was trying unsuccessfully to shoo it away.
Others stepped out from hiding. Talia counted seven, including the one in the tree. Add a few more coming up behind, and there could be as many as a dozen. They looked more cold and miserable than dangerous. Most were bundled in jackets and furs, making it all but impossible to tell male from female. The apparent leader brandished a gleaming hunting knife twice the size of Talia’s blade.
“Put that toy away, girl.” A woman, middle-aged from the sound of it.
Talia gave a quick peek over her shoulder, making sure Danielle and Gerta were staying back. They had dismounted, and were standing behind the reindeer. Good thinking.
“Nobody’s going to hurt you,” the bandit woman went on. “Not unless we have to.”
“I want that one, Mother,” said a girl wearing a goatskin wrap. “The red-haired one with the pretty boots and the fancy jacket.”
Talia smiled and pulled out a small purse. The two closest bandits raised weapons. One carried a small spear, the other a leather sling. From the way it hung, he had already loaded a stone or metal shot. Talia simply twirled the purse, then tossed it to the ground with a clink. “You’re welcome to all the gold we have. All you have to do is take it.”
She glanced at Gerta, who nodded and turned to face the other way. Gerta’s magic should make sure nobody came up from behind. Talia turned her attention back to the man with the sling.
She didn’t have long to wait. He looked to his leader, and the sling drooped slightly.
Talia whipped the knife through the air. It lodged in his forearm, and he fell back with a cry. Talia was already twisting to the side by the time the spearman threw. She slapped the spear away and grimaced. She would have a bruise on her forearm from that one.
For days she had faced demons and wizards. She had lost her best friend and stood helpless to protect the prince. She had watched the capital of Allesandria fall, and throughout it all she had wanted nothing more than an opponent with whom she could stand and fight. Now the bandits had given her that opportunity.
The battle was disappointingly short. Most of the bandits had fallen or fled by the time Talia squared off against their leader. Of the five that remained, three were unconscious or choosing to pretend. The other two were crawling away. Talia grinned and twirled a single-edged short sword she had taken from one man. “That’s a nice knife you’ve got there…”
Soon Talia, Danielle, and Gerta were bundling their newfound supplies together. The bandits hadn’t been carrying much, but they had extra cloaks and blankets, not to mention better weapons.
“You enjoyed that.” Danielle sounded like she hadn’t decided whether she should be annoyed or amused. She strapped the short sword to her belt. “And where did you get that purse?”
“You don’t want to know.” Talia tucked the bandit woman’s knife through her belt and hid a second, smaller dagger in her boot. “Besides, better I deal with them than our darkling friend.” She rubbed her arm.
“Let me see that,” said Gerta.
“I’m fine.”
“Flesh and bone against spear?” Gerta scooped a handful of snow. “Sure you are. Hold this against the arm for the swelling.”
Talia hissed as Gerta pressed the snow to her arm, but she didn’t pull away. “It’s just a bruise.”
“You’re lucky.”
“Luck had nothing to do with it.” Though her timing was off. She had grown too used to the added strength and speed of the cape.
“Come on,” said Danielle. “If you’re through playing, we have fairies to find.”
The next day and a half passed without incident, as the darkling carried them higher into the mountains. The air was colder here, freezing the inside of Talia’s nostrils each time she inhaled. With fewer trees to block the wind, she had taken to riding with her head down, the hood of her stolen cloak pulled low.
The darkling stopped without warning, twin reindeer shaking their heads in unison. When he refused to move, Talia slid to the ground and stretched. The snow was ankle-deep, swirling in the wind like the desert sands of home. “What is this place?”
“We’re on an old mining road,” said Gerta. “The mountains are riddled with them.”
The reindeer stepped together, melting into the darkling’s humanoid form.
“This is where we’ll find help?” Talia searched the landscape, finding nothing but snow-covered outcroppings, gnarled trees, and the overgrown hint of the old road.
“They’re watching us.” Gerta turned in a slow circle. “I can’t tell you where it’s coming from. There could be a glamour of some sort. If I had my mirrors-” She flinched. “Snow’s mirrors, I mean.”
Danielle blew on her hands for warmth before tucking them back beneath her arms. She straightened and called out, “I am Danielle of Lorindar. The Duchess of Fairytown said you would help us.”
“The Duchess is far too free with other people’s secrets.” The voice came from an orange-hued rise of rock to their left, which appeared to have been carved away to clear a path for the road. Knife in hand, Talia moved cautiously toward the rock.
Green-tarnished metal poked through the drifted snow at its base. Talia knelt, brushing away the snow to reveal a copper cone that appeared to have been hammered point-first into a crack in the rock. The rim was pitted, and flakes of metal fell away at her touch. Warm air wafted from a small hole in the back of the cone.
Danielle crouched beside Talia. “We wish to speak to Bellum and Veleris.”
“And so you have.” This was a new voice, deeper than the first. “We’ve granted your wish. Now go away.”
“Please,” said Danielle. “We need your help.”
“Ask for her still-beating heart,” said the second voice, chuckling. “See if she’s serious.”
“Hush.” That was the original speaker again. “All are welcome here, Princess. To the right, you should see a small doorway.”
Talia and Gerta dug away more snow until they found a square doorway built into the earth, edged by stacked stones. A rusted ring hung from the center. “That door wasn’t there a moment ago,” said Talia.
“It was.” Gerta was frowning at the door. “We just couldn’t see it.”
Danielle reached for the ring, but Talia moved to stop her. “Let me. We don’t know what’s on the other side.”
Talia yanked, and the door scraped open, revealing a tunnel that sloped down into the darkness. Fog puffed out like the breath of the mountain. Wooden beams were pressed into the earth, forming crude stairs.
“Don’t stand there all day,” said the second voice. “You’re letting the heat out.”
“And what’s waiting for us at the end of this tunnel?” Talia asked. There was room to enter, but she would have to crawl. Meaning anyone on the far side would have an easy time dispatching intruders.
“Only one way to find out.” Laugher followed her from the metal cone. “We meant what we said. Everyone is welcome to enter. Whether you’ll be allowed to leave is another matter entirely.”
CHAPTER 18
The stairs were worn, but dry. Roots poked through the walls and ceiling of the tunnel like white threads. Danielle crawled on hands and knees, her shoulders brushing the dirt and boards to either side.
“You think they’ll help us?” Gerta asked from up ahead. She had conjured a small light from the setting sun, capturing a soft orange flame which scurried ahead like a flickering mouse.
“The Duchess wants Jakob.” Speaking the words gave strength to the despair Danielle had worked to hold at bay. She clenched her throat, swallowing the fear until she regained her self-control. “Until we save him, she gets nothing.”
Sweat trickled past one eyebrow, down the side of her cheek. She paused to loosen her jacket. Only a short
