Wicked As You Wish (A Hundred Names for Magic #1) - Rin Chupeco Page 0,146

them dispersed to give way to a lighter sky filled with pinks and yellows. At a nearby castle, soldiers lost their composure and whooped, raising swords as the shades they were engaged in battle with cowered, retreating as the winter did.

In another village, snow thawed on makeshift graves, and warmth replaced the chill. In its wake, a young girl lying with her head above the ground took a deep breath and opened her eyes—the first of many others.

But in Maidenkeep, Tala stumbled back, reaching behind her to brace herself. Instead of her fingers finding cold, solid stone, she found herself leaning back into emptiness where a wall should have been.

She turned, but it was too late. She was tipping right into the mirror’s polished gleaming surface, into her own horrified reflection, and then she was falling.

33

In Which a Sword Makes a Choice

The earthquake came at a bad time, and nearly knocked Ken off his feet. “What the hell was that?” he heard Nya yell from somewhere nearby, and he started in her direction.

It was the curtains that told him what was up. They were defrosting at an alarming rate, dripping puddles on the floor. All around them, the castle showed signs of doing the same; decade-long ice literally melting off the walls.

“Something’s melting the frost!” Zoe neatly bisected a shade with her whip. “It might be affecting the original barrier!”

That might be so, but the ice maiden was doing her damnedest to prevent that. Ken swung his blade, sending the rest of the shades flying.

“Hey, you!” he hollered, leaping forward to aim for her neck. The ice maiden turned, and the sudden flurry of cold wind nearly knocked him off his feet. More stalagmites nearly a dozen feet tall pushed out from the ground, blocking his path toward her.

The woman laughed victoriously, but was abruptly cut off when Zoe raised the Ogmios, face pale from the strain. Lightning flew, but the ice maiden raised her own hands and a shield constructed from ice formed before her, deflecting the strike. Zoe shook her head and flexed her whip again. Icicles shot out from the ground toward her, but Cole was quick to put himself firmly in their path, Gravekeeper decimating those and any other shades that came close. Some of the shadows he cut with his scythe seemed to rebel, turning to attack other nearby brethren.

The mirror shimmered once, twice, and then the room was suddenly filled with more people.

“Inoue!” The roar was loud despite the din, and Ken’s mouth dropped open as Lola Urduja strode in, clad in a wrapped muslin skirt and a collarless blouse wide across the shoulders, looking like an actress in a period piece play instead of one entering the battlefield. One sweep of her abaniko sent several shadows’ heads rolling. Tito Boy followed at her heels, his cane stabbing through another dark form. Other Katipuneros leaped out of the mirror, all brandishing more fans and, in General Luna’s case, another shiv.

“They’ve breached the barrier,” Ken said, his hopes rising. “Hey, Zo! They made it past the frost!”

And then Lumina Makiling emerged, her features grim, hands already weaving counterspells. Shades shrieked when she drew too close, and they melted like acid through paper as her agimat did its deadly work. The others formed up behind her, fans sweeping and cutting more creatures in half.

West had literally begun mowing down anything else unfortunate enough to be in his way; trunk and massive feet dancing the two-step over flattened shadows, clearly having the time of his life. With Loki behind him, Ken fought his way through the rest. Distracted by Zoe, the ice maiden barely had time to evade Ken’s attack, and one more assault from the girl was enough to shatter her ice shield.

The woman let out an inhuman shriek, and a wave of hail bowled them all over, sending Ken and Loki skidding to the floor. The Juuchi Yosamu clattered to the ground.

Laughing now, the ice maiden bent down. “So much for Avalon’s best and brightest,” she mocked, hefting the blade expertly in one hand. The ice gathered around her once more, manifesting sharp spikes for blades. “Ironic, for the Bandersnatches to be snuffed out before their kingdom can see the light of—”

She paused, staring in horror at the Juuchi. “No!” she shrieked, then tried to dislodge the sword but couldn’t. Her eyes locked on to the shining silver blade’s surface, starting at something only she could see. “No!” she screamed again and swung madly about,