Blood of the King - Khirro's Journey Book 1 Page 0,112

to the expanse of snowy ice before him.

One foot in front of the other. Almost there.

“Almost there,” he repeated aloud, his words whipped away on the howling wind’s response.

He stared ahead at where he thought the shore should be, the blowing flakes dizzying him as they spun about his head. The blizzard quickly filled in the bare streaks left in the snow by his shuffling gait. He advanced carefully, distributing his weight equally between both feet, and soon saw shapes of jagged boulders lining the shore.

The snow is abating.

He moved forward more quickly. Twenty yards from shore, the ice cracked beneath his feet, loud as a thunderbolt to Khirro’s ears. He halted, dispersing his mass equally. The sound ceased, the ice held. He looked at his feet, then at the shore. A tentative step forward brought more reaction from the ice, a sound like thick cloth tearing. Khirro hesitated, fear knotting his gut. The vial radiated warmly against his chest, fortifying him, prompting him on. The ice creaked again, forcing his decision.

Khirro dropped the oar and broke into a run, feet slipping in the snow and on the ice it covered; his legs pumped but carried him nowhere. The deep-throated groan of the ice grew in volume and he wondered if he was destined to drown after all when his feet gained purchase and he bolted forward. Snow pelted his face as the wind attempted to push him back. His hands curled into awkward fists, contorting his frozen fingers inside his gloves. The cold air burned his ears.

He reached the shore and clamored up a boulder, feet slipping on its frosted surface. The ice’s growl stopped, like an animal giving up the chase. Khirro spun around, safe atop the rock, breathing heavy mist into the waning flakes of snow and saw his companions crossing the frozen lake. He waved his arms, directed them around the cracked ice. Ten minutes later, they stood safely ashore catching their breath. Khirro hugged Elyea close, felt her body quiver against his.

“Where do we go from here?” Shyn cleared snow from a rock and sat. His cheeks were red from the cold, his gray stubble frosted.

“In my dream, the keep could be seen from the shore of the lake.” Khirro scratched the sparse beard on his cheeks, scanned the area, then pointed. “That way.”

“We should hurry,” Athryn said. “We do not want to lose any lead we gained on our pursuers.”

Ghaul snorted. “I doubt we’re any farther ahead after that cursed lake,” he said. “We would have been better off going through the forest.”

No one responded as they reslung packs and shields. Silently, they picked their way from the shore, over icy rocks and through banks of snow, Khirro leading the way, following the memory of a dream.

Chapter Forty-One

The keep stood a hundred feet high, and nearly as wide—a squat sentinel standing alone in the woods—yet they almost walked past it.

“More sorcerer’s trickery,” Ghaul grumbled.

Devoid of doors and windows, the tower appeared much like Khirro dreamt it. The stone comprising it was black instead of gray, the glittering a result of hoarfrost. Despite its stature, the ancient cedars and redwoods surrounding it dwarfed its size.

Shyn placed a gauntleted hand against the wall, brushed away frost. “There are no lines of mortar.” He looked up the tower’s face to the gray sky above; the snow had ceased. Khirro didn’t know if it was daytime dimmed by clouds or night brightened by snow. “It’s like someone carved the keep rather than built it.”

“Impossible,” Ghaul said.

“Nothing is impossible,” Athryn said. “Not for the Necromancer. How did you get into the keep in your dream, Khirro?”

“I didn’t.” Khirro glanced away from the others. If his cheeks weren’t already reddened from the cold, embarrassment would have accomplished the task. “The dragon attacked before I entered.”

Ghaul looked at Khirro. “Dragon? You said nothing of a dragon.”

“It meant nothing. A dragon statue that came to life in my dream.”

“The rest of your dream has proven true,” Elyea said. “The lake, the keep, everything.”

“I didn’t dream the giants, or the serpent. I didn’t foresee the heat or the cold.”

“It makes no difference. There is no dragon now,” Athryn said. “Had we found out a day ago makes no matter. We must find the entrance quickly.”

Shyn nodded. “I’ll go up to the roof,” he said unbuckling his belt. “You search the wall for a secret opening. There’s a way in somewhere.”

He strode away removing his armor as the others split into pairs. Khirro and