Winter, White and Wicked - Shannon Dittemore Page 0,102

the road—a mighty cascade of it. Everything turns gold and then white, even the shadowy places in the cab. Nothing is left in darkness. The light sears something in my eyes, whatever it is that lets me see the world. And then it’s cold, so cold, and everything falls silent.

CHAPTER 26

The Abaki—those staggered across the road and those climbing up onto it—are all frozen solid. Statues of white snow. I reach through the hole Kyn punched in the plastic and I push against the monster fixed there. Its rigid form slides to the highway, and the ice shatters like panes of glass.

I see Mars now. He’s standing near the drop-off, the sea tossing behind him all the way to the horizon. Beneath his feet the ground is as churned and swollen as the waves, the wet rock busted. His eyes are green and his face is black. He sways and then crumples.

“Mars Dresden!”

It’s Hyla. Her cry jolts Kyn and me into action. We climb out the hatch, kicking aside frozen Abaki as we slip and slide our way to the ground. Hyla gets there first. She turns Mars onto his back and we all gasp.

The blisters start at his mouth but they don’t end there. Like creeping vines, the frostbite spreads across his face. Blue and black, decaying skin and kol, it’s hard to separate one from the other.

Tears sting my eyes as I drop my gaze to the cliffs below. If Mars’s lightning froze the monsters there, I can’t tell. Fog clings to the rock, veiling the craggy face, but all is quiet.

“He’s alive,” Kyn says, his ear to Mars’s chest. “He’s breathing. He’ll be OK, Hy. His body will heal and the kol will . . . reload or whatever it does.”

“He’ll be OK,” Hyla sobs, shoving her goggles up onto her forehead, dirt streaking her face.

Kyn slaps Hyla on the back. “I’ve seen it before, yeah? He’ll be OK.”

“Have you seen it?” I ask Kyn quietly, my question for him alone.

“Yeah,” he whispers. “Only, I’ve never seen the frostbite so—” he makes a swirling motion in front of his face.

“How long will it take?” Hyla asks. “For him to recover.”

“Could be a while,” Kyn says, looking to me.

“Mars said it was unpredictable,” I say, remembering our conversation. “That kol replenishes itself but he never knows how long it will take.”

“Let’s get him inside the cab, Hy,” Kyn says, stifling his own sorrow. I feel the resolve of it, his decision to lock it up and shove it away. His intention stiffens my spine. If we keep it together, Hyla will do the same. If we keep moving, the soldier will remember her duty.

“It’s a good idea,” I say. “Get Mars away from the cliff here, let the kol in his blood do its thing. We’re going to have to figure out what’s wrong with the Dragon before we can go anywhere anyway.”

I stand, hoping Hyla will do the same.

Kyn slides his arms under Mars’s shoulders and raises his brows at Hyla. “You got his legs, yeah?”

It’s another moment before she moves, but when she does, her actions are strong and intentional. She stands, moves to Mars’s feet.

I give her the best smile I can muster and turn toward the Dragon. That’s why I don’t see it start. I’m looking the other way—looking at the mess I’ve made of the rig—when a firestorm of dread consumes Kyn’s emotions, burning them all away until there’s only this: Hyla is going to die.

“Watch out!” Kyn cries.

I turn to see a monster bury Drypp’s axe in the soft place between Hyla’s shoulder blades. She howls, reaching for the monster, grabbing hold of its arm and flinging it into the road. The Abaki bumps its way over the ruined rock and disappears over the opposite side. Hyla reaches for the axe now, which is plunged deep in her back. Beneath her feet the ground trembles, the road crumbling and falling away.

“Move, Hy! Move!”

She tries to step, but the ground moves faster and she’s falling.

Kyn and I are there, just feet away, when Hyla reaches out, one long arm and then two. Kyn snags her wrist and we’re going to be OK. She’s going to be OK.

But Hyla’s not small and her momentum is too much. Her hand slips through both of Kyn’s.

“No!” Kyn yells.

Hyla’s fingers catch on the rock and her body collides with the cliff face. Her goggles fall from her head, tumble away toward the sea. It’s a hard drop,