Wicked As You Wish (A Hundred Names for Magic #1) - Rin Chupeco Page 0,137
color and dropped to her feet.
Right. She shouldn’t be touching anything.
In the wake of all the stillness, Maidenkeep loomed over them. The stones were carefully whitewashed to gleam, though the thick ice clinging to its walls made that point moot. To her inexperienced eyes, it appeared capable of withstanding a long siege, though the ripped, mangled banners draped across its turrets and the thick rust on the lowered bridge’s hinges indicated it had not been used for that purpose in a long time. Looking in, Tala saw a small compound marked with a high enclosure separating it from the rest of the city.
But the castle had fared worse than its surroundings. A good chunk of the outer walls had fallen, as if blown apart by some immense force. At least one tower had been destroyed, and a big swath of the courtyard lay under piles of rubble. How had Alex escaped all this? Tala wondered. Contemplating the extent of the carnage, she wanted to weep.
There was a feeble protest from inside the backpack she carried, and the firebird poked its beak out into the cold night air.
“Just a little longer,” she promised, gently tapping the beak back in. “Let’s not advertise your presence yet.”
The firebird grumbled but retreated, its restlessness channeled into a small seeping ring of heat that surrounded her, keeping Tala warm even as the snow picked up and the clouds darkened overhead, poised for another storm. Even with the firebird’s skill, her breath left her lips in thick puffs of air.
“Has it gotten colder somehow?”
“I’d be surprised if it hasn’t.” The firebird hadn’t provided him with the same degree of heat, but Ryker was unperturbed by the chill. “I’m told Mother unleashed the strongest of her magic here. This was where the frost began and first spread, so it only makes sense for the worst of the cold to linger.”
“And this does nothing to you?” Tala snapped, angry at how calm he sounded. This must have been a vibrant city. There should have been shops and schools and houses filled with life and people. The Snow Queen had turned it into a wasteland. “All these people dead by your queen’s hand, and you don’t feel anything?”
Ryker sighed. “What do you want me to feel? Regret? Guilt? I don’t have any of those to spare anymore. I made my decision, and I’m bound to it.”
Tala turned away. “You’re a monster.”
“If I were a monster, I would have let you drown back in the swamps.”
“And that’s the difference between us. You think one act of kindness, even self-serving, is enough to not make you one.”
They walked across the bridge, but something broke into the growing silence.
“What the hell is that?” Tala strained her ears. It sounded—it almost definitely sounded like a roar.
Ryker’s demeanor changed; now he was wary, on edge. Worried. “Why is it here?”
“Why is what here?”
The ogre lumbering out of the front gate gave her the answer. It must have been here for some time; icicles grew along its sides like barnacles, and stalactites jutted down from its arms. It took one look at them both, threw its head back, and screamed again.
Tala backpedaled immediately.
“Stop!” Ryker shouted. “You will obey me!”
The ogre ignored him. It took another heavy step forward, and then another. Hands clenched and teeth bared, it loped toward them with startling speed.
“I said stop!” Ryker commanded again, but Tala was already barreling into him, shoving them both out of harm’s way as the ogre drove its fists into the ground where he’d been standing.
“There’s something wrong with it,” Ryker rasped, struggling to his feet with some difficulty.
“Ya think?”
The firebird struggled out of her pack and flew up into the sky.
“Get back!” Tala yelled at it, but the bird only looped effortlessly through the air and shot several arrows of fire at the hulking beast.
The ogre swiped at it with an arm, and an unexpected hail of ice followed with the movement, sending them all tumbling back. The firebird took the brunt of the attack; it sailed over Tala and crashed into the palace courtyard.
Tala swore and followed.
“Wait, Tala!”
The ogre attempted to swat at her again, but Tala clapped her hands before her. The hail struck within range of her agimat, and everything around them exploded.
When the smoke lifted, Tala was stunned to find herself upright and uninjured, save for a ringing in her ears. Something was burning. Whatever had ricocheted off her agimat had taken out another section of wall, black smoke snaking upward.