Winter, White and Wicked - Shannon Dittemore Page 0,103

but she’s safe, clinging to the stone with trembling hands, blood drenching her back. Kyn’s reaching for her, his stomach flat to the road. I’m reaching too, wishing I had longer arms. Wishing I could magic Hyla up and . . .

Could I?

Could Winter?

Of course she could.

But Hyla’s got it. With great effort, she swings one hand up and grabs hold of Kyn’s arm.

“I’ve got you. I’ve got you!”

“Your other arm now, Hy!” I say. “Almost there.”

Hyla’s golden face is white, slick with exertion, but she lets go of the rock and puts all her trust in Kyn’s grip. Kyn pulls and I crawl over to help, grabbing Hyla’s wrist, doing very little but not wanting to lose her. Her conviction and her warmth. Her loyalty and—

She roars.

A monster has her leg. Through the fog, I can’t tell how many limbs he has, but he has a head. It’s a bald wrinkled thing and it’s growing closer.

“Flux,” Kyn hisses. “It’s climbing up.”

The monster uses Hyla’s body as a ladder, scaling her long legs, wrapping itself about her waist. A knobby hand reaches up and grabs the axe still wedged into her back.

Hyla roars again, but there’s more agony in the sound this time. Less rage.

“Don’t you dare let go, Hyla!” Kyn yells.

But she’s going to. I can see the determination in her scowl. “Don’t do it, Hy!”

“I will not let this monster onto the road,” she yells. “Not with Mars so weak.”

My knife! I sit up, pull the knife from my belt and let it fly. It’s my last one, my last weapon, and I can’t remember if the bone handle says Sylver or Lenore.

The knife pierces the monster’s thinning cheek. Its mouth opens, but if it screams, I can’t hear the sound. With one hand it gropes, trying to free the knife. Hyla takes advantage of the Abaki’s divided attention and launches a leg backward, her boot striking one of its rotted limbs. Another kick and the monster loses its grip. Its hands open and close looking for something to grab and find only air. The Abaki’s limbs break free of its spinning torso and the monster plummets to the rocks below.

Hyla’s stopped fighting, her hands loose. Kyn’s grip is the only thing keeping her from the angry sea below. It’s not until we get her up and onto the road that I realize how badly she’s hurt. She’s sprawled on her stomach, her breathing thin and ragged, the axe still embedded in her back. Her jacket and trousers are sodden, her boots full of blood. I reach for the axe handle, trying to understand, trying to remember how Drypp’s birthday gift got out on the highway.

“Get back, Sylvi,” Kyn says, pushing me away. “You can’t.”

“But—”

“You can’t. If you’re bleeding at all . . .”

I don’t understand, not right away. It’s the cold sick dread in Kyn’s gut that gets me there. If my blood mingles with Hyla’s, if it heals her . . .

The desire to run is strong. To jump headfirst into the Kol Sea and let the monsters fight over my pieces. I can’t be tethered to yet another person. I can’t.

But I won’t just let her die either. Not if I can save her.

“Kyn,” I say, reaching for my knife. “It’s OK. Let me—”

But my knives are gone. And Drypp’s axe is buried in Hyla’s back. I’ve nothing to open my hands with. It’s OK. I’ll pull the axe free and use that.

“I can fix it,” I tell Kyn. “I can help her.”

“No, you can’t, Sylvi. You can’t.” His voice catches and he clears his throat. “She’s dead.” After a moment, he stands, leaving Hyla there on the ground. Just feet from Mars. The smuggler looks like death, but his chest rises and falls. Hyla’s has gone utterly still.

“But you were dead. You were. And I—”

He’s moving toward me now. “She wouldn’t want you to.”

A wet laugh lodges in my throat. “Of course she would. She’s Paradyian and they’re so, so . . . She has a husband! And children! She has a debt to pay. You can’t take that from her. She has to live!”

Tears fall from his eyes, but his voice is steady. “She made me promise. She made Mars promise.”

“What are you talking about?” I’m trying to see past him, trying to see Hyla.

But Kyn’s moving me away, his hands firm on my arms. Moving me back against the Dragon.

“After the mines, Hyla saw what it cost you to do what you