Chapter 36
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
PARIS
After I came back to life again, Aidan went for his next attempt at killing me for good.
Ugh.
My spine broke on an icy rock as I bounced down the mountainside, leaving me paralyzed.
But the head injury I also endured soon took me out.
I came back to life next to the rock, shivering on my back.
Fuck this.
“Still didn’t work?” Aidan bellowed from above me.
I glanced up and saw the fucker on a thin ledge, his long gray coat flapping in the wind.
One slip and he’d plummet into a garden of exposed rocks below.
Here’s hoping!
From this point on, the mountain became more sheer, a pit of icy spikes below my position before another slope took over.
What a gauntlet of death. And so high up, giving me a great view of mountains, forests, and, well, more mountains.
Damn.
Magical light flared in Aidan’s hands. “Target practice, I think.”
He spoke his intent, firing a bolt of electricity into me. I convulsed, tumbling over the edge, careering headfirst into the pit of ice spikes.
Oof. Now that one came fresh out of a nightmare, the pain unreal as my body suffered the impact.
I’d like to never experience that again, please.
But I resurrected once again, this time at the edge of the pit.
Now then, what an interesting turn. The piece of shit howling his head off up there on his ledge hadn’t anticipated this, had he?
I could slide down the next slope; nothing but smooth, moonlit snow ahead of me.
Drawing on a surge of adrenaline, I went for it and leaped onto the slope, taking on the stance of a skier, rapidly gathering speed. No wobbles, only smooth skiing.
Hell to the yes!
My heart slammed into my ribs, my adrenaline burning hot like an engine pushed to its limits. The slope plateaued at the bottom. Not the end of the mountain by any means, but maybe about halfway.
Altitude issues would probably kill me, but screw it. As long as I could keep on running.
I hit the end of the run, using the speed to propel me forward, my elvish lightfeet keeping me upright.
I poured everything into my run, sensing the presence of moss growing beneath the snow. Hardy moss, offering me a massive boost, the fuel I needed to leap over a ravine.
Whoa. That’d taken me by surprise. Thank fuck I never fell down there. Talk about playing into Aidan’s grubby hands and totally screwing myself over.
The level ground sloped again, gently this time, but still riddled with crevasses, littered with boulders. Wrangling my fear, I pushed on, focused on getting off the mountain.
Not even the thin air or the searing pain in my skull held me back.
I can do this!
Aidan appeared before me, right at the point where the slope steepened again.
Bollocks!
I picked up speed, meaning to barrel into him.
“I have an array of weapons at my disposal,” he yelled, pulling out a gun. “This.” He blew out my left kneecap. I went down, face planting in the snow.
“Fucking hell!” I screamed.
Shit! What if I triggered an avalanche?
“And this.” He set fire to my jeans with his magic. “Also this!” He roared the last part, flinging a knife into my chest.
Fuck!
I forced myself into a roll, the snow dousing the flames. But Aidan hit me with a different spell. A poisonous ooze slithered through my veins, freezing me as it worked its way to my heart.
It killed me in three minutes.
There had to be a way to end this mad cycle of death and resurrection.
Waking up, I met his golden eyes. He grabbed me by the throat with both hands, strangling me. His hands were clammy, frustration contorting his face.
Tough shit, prick. I’m never dying properly by your hand.
I kicked him in the balls. He keeled over, letting out a string of abuse.
“Same to you!” I snapped back, getting my snow surfing on for the second time.
A bazillion earthquakes shook my head, and my nose started bleeding again. But I didn’t falter, reaching the bottom, navigating a less steep slope, leaping over crevasses, fighting the cold.
Aidan killed me with his gun when I reached a glacier. A good thing, really, because I came to with a new burst of energy.
After I clocked him with a nifty uppercut, I slipped into the maze of tall seracs, a creepy silence falling over the night.
Damn this place.
Wide crevasses hung open like hungry mouths, those seracs leaning over me, on the precipice of tumbling and turning me into a pancake.
But I soldiered on, not allowing the fear to break me.
You’ve got this.
Eventually, I cleared the maze, letting out a whimper of relief when I hit the other side.
Phew!
There were more plants and trees making themselves known now beneath the snow. Below another series of slopes was a forest of firs painted by moonlight. The air was better at this altitude, working with me instead of against me for the first time in my descent.
So, I powered on until I reached the empty base camp near the edge of the forest. I had no idea when climbing season started and didn’t give two shits. Even if there were folk hanging around here singing the campfire staple ‘When the Stars Speak Your Name,’ they wouldn’t be able to help.
Only I could help me, as long as I stayed alive and kept going.
“Oh, Paris!” Aidan bellowed from above.
And off I charged.
Greeting the trees, I crashed into their welcoming embrace. They thickened around me, darkening, filling me up with energy, doing me a favor while I fed them back.
I loved our teamwork.
“Run, elf! Run!” Aidan roared and laughed, sounding like he was on my right.
I pushed on, waiting for him to pop up in my path. But he didn’t, and he wasn’t waiting for me when I came out the other side, running straight up to a tall wall of iron.
“Dammit,” I grumbled.
The black and bumpy iron monstrosity ran in both directions as far my eyes could see. Ridiculously tall, a real eyesore in this pretty landscape of mountains, snow and trees.
But no wall would ever stop me.
I got to work, the bumps rugged and deep enough for me to gain purchase. Dodgy as hell, but doable. With many a deep breath, my teeth clamped down on my bottom lip, I went up. Pushed myself into my executioner zone, wrapped in determination.
I can do this.
The wind beat at my back, suddenly kicking into a higher gear as if to challenge me.
You can’t win, it howled. Nothing but death for you tonight.
Fucker said a lot for wind.
I seemed to be on a lucky streak, reaching the top without much of an issue.
Too easy…
I paused at the top, straddling the wall, the cold iron freezing against my groin.
Some weird popping kept attacking my ears. I rubbed at them, observing the way ahead.
A deep valley spread out before me, its banks lined with more firs and snow, a frozen river cutting through the center of it.
“Okay,” I said to myself, “time to—”
Howling cut me off.
Wolf howling, baying at the full moon.
I realized my mistake then.
I’d only gone and climbed the Lost Valley wall.
Of course, it was big and imposing. It kept feral werewolves, those who’d lost themselves to their beast beyond repair, in this makeshift prison.
The popping came from the layer of sound only a wolf could hear, only a mild irritation to me.
A toll to keep them in should they even try climbing up here.
Shit.
Werewolf law prohibited feral wolf execution unless deemed necessary. Every life was seen as precious, so this prison got built to allow the doomed ones to live.
Or so I’d heard. That didn’t extend to wiping out executioners.
Right, I had to get off this wall on the correct side. I’d go around. Yeah, it’d be miles out of my way, but I didn’t want to take my chances in there.
I started to sing in case, you know, Caer wanted to lend a hand.
Aidan took the opportunity to appear before me, also straddling the wall.
“Hello!” he yelled, stabbing me in the neck, then slapping me across the face.
I fell, smacking the ground with a gross snap of almost every bone.
It took a few minutes for me to bleed out, then go through the rigmarole of death and resurrection.
On the wrong side of the wall.
Dammit!
I got to my feet, scanning my surroundings.
Okay, okay, okay. I had this. I had to have this.
The wind picked up again, stirring the trees, every hair on my body responding with prickle after prickle.
Don’t let it get to you.
Rolling my shoulders, longing for a thick coat, I waved at the trees. They sent me their essence, bolstering my senses.
Follow the river. According to my sister, it was always the best course of action. She’d told me so a few times while we were on the run.
“It’ll always lead you somewhere,” she’d said.
I’d put that advice to good use right now.
There was a cluster of rocks close by with a small opening ringed with ice. A frozen spring, the source of the river.
“Follow the river, follow the river,” I repeated.
Man, I wished Silvanus was here. At least he had some awesome body heat and could fly. I missed him hard, hoping he was okay.
The fire…
Don’t think about it yet!
I got moving.
“Watch your step, Paris Raine.”
I paused, glancing up and over my shoulder. Aidan was still there, giving me a wave, swinging his legs.
I flipped him the middle finger and broke into a jog.
Rustling in the trees on my left soon got my feet freezing.
Don’t stop!
A set of yellow eyes shone in the dark, a howl sounding on my right.
My toes curled in my trainers, the cold seeping into my bones.
Time to draw upon my executioner skills to outrun werewolves.
“Don’t even think about climbing back up here!” Aidan bellowed.
I flipped him another middle finger.
Three more sets of eyes appeared, growls rolling from the sloped forests, my bladder weakening.
Being torn apart was going to suck.
Big time.
You can do this.
Follow the river.
The wolves weren’t moving, simply watching from the dark. I mean, why not? Size me up first, then go for the kill.
Fuck this. I wouldn’t let them have me. I wouldn’t die again tonight.
I was so over it.
On the count of three, I launched myself into a run, the wolves rushing from the trees at the same time.
Fuckety fuckety fuck!