Chapter 19 #2
“I’ll pour a stiff drink and sing over your corpse as the crows pick at your flesh,” the gnome snarled.
I sighed. It was going to be a long journey to the ice caves with this little mongrel in tow.
But soon the howling wind drowned out the brute’s murderous rambling. It was hard to say which was worse: the ravings of a half-drunk gnome that smelled like the inside of a rotting carcass or the icy bite of snow peppering my skin like minuscule daggers.
As the trail narrowed, we were forced to ride single file along the treacherous switchbacks.
Our horses stumbled often and periodically needed coaxing down the crumbling trail.
Anytime our movements dislodged a chunk of rock and sent it careening down the mountainside, they’d throw their heads back and emit a high-pitched, nervous whinny.
After hours battling the terrain in an increasingly frigid gale, we rounded a bend to find ourselves facing a solid wall of ice that seemed to glow blue against the silver sky.
The ice rose so high that the top disappeared in a swath of thick clouds, and the anemic sunlight gleamed off a small frozen lake that had formed at the base from the snowmelt.
As we made our way around edge of the lake, I realized we were not facing a solid wall of ice as I had thought, but rather twin sides of a narrow gorge, scarcely big enough for two riders to pass abreast.
My stomach clenched as we paired off to enter the canyon — Adriel and Sorsha at the front with me and Kaden behind. Walls of ice rose up sharply on either side of us, too slick and tall to even consider climbing, and the gorge itself seemed to go on forever.
Craning my neck, I saw nothing but churning clouds above, and it soured my stomach to think there was no way out of the canyon other than through.
“Turn back,” slurred the gnome, who’d finally given up on his insults and had succumbed to weeping. “At least grant a male a sip of fire whiskey before hauling him to certain death.”
“Quiet,” Adriel growled, casting an uneasy glance up the imposing wall to our left.
Ice cracked and groaned under the thick layer of snow that covered the trail, and I found myself wondering how often huge chunks broke off from the canyon walls and plunged into the gorge below.
Sorsha’s mare let out a nervous nicker, tossing its head and refusing to go any farther. Our party came to an abrupt halt, and I felt something small and wriggly slide down the top of my thigh before bouncing off my booted shin.
I looked down just in time to see the gnome’s grubby woolen cap disappear as he grabbed the bottom of my mare’s tack and used it to swing himself onto the path behind us.
A low moan of dread slipped out of me, but then my mare gave a startled jolt.
I stiffened, gripping her reins tighter as she bucked up with an anxious cry.
Adriel wheeled around at the commotion, saw the smelly gnome shooting down the trail the way we’d come, and let out a furious growl. I winced, still clinging to the reins for dear life as my mare windmilled her forelegs in fright.
The next thing I knew, Kaden had reached over and grabbed my horse’s reins to steady her. Adriel dismounted in one fluid leap, tearing off after the escaped gnome.
Once all four of my mare’s hooves were on the ground again, I tilted my head up and caught a flash of white skirting along the top of the ice wall to our left.
I blinked. It had to be my eyes playing tricks on me.
Snow was falling thick and fast. I must have just caught an errant flake in my lashes.
But then I glimpsed another flicker of movement.
Forgetting all about our bait, I stared up at the yawning expanse of snow and ice overhead. Something — multiple somethings — were definitely moving down the canyon, but they were too far away for me to see in detail.
Then a high-pitched clicking noise reached my ears — a sound that made every hair on my body stand on end. Kaden followed my gaze up along the wall, and his face seemed to drain of all color.
“Heccanids!” he bellowed, unsheathing his sword.
Adriel skidded to a halt halfway down the path, whipping around and jerking his head skyward. Whatever he saw had him drawing his twin swords, and I decided that I’d rather face the things on my own two feet than on the back of my skittish mare.
Sliding off my mount, I drew my own swords and stared up the canyon. That horrible clicking sound intensified, and my skin crawled as the creatures came into view.
My stomach turned over, heart punching against my ribs.
The heccanids were unlike anything I had ever seen before.
Nearly the same size as my horse, each creature’s bulky midsection was covered in a coarse white hair.
And protruding from the center of its body were six ungainly legs, each tipped with a sharp claw that seemed designed to grip the snow and ice.
Lethal-looking pincers protruded from their maws — the source of that horrible clicking.
They snicked together in a purposeful rhythm. A language only they could understand. Glistening black eyes shone from their thick white pelts, and they seemed to glide rather than climb down the slick ice wall.
They were headed straight toward us.
“Shit,” Sorsha bit out, gripping her mare’s reins in one hand while drawing her sword with the other.
Suddenly, the escaped gnome felt like the least of our worries. There had to be two dozen of the horrible things — some sliding down the wall ahead of us and some behind.
We were trapped.
“Cut off their legs, then impale their heads,” Kaden yelled for my benefit, charging at the first of the creatures to hit the ground and hacking wildly with his sword.
The heccanid gave an angry hiss, which morphed into an ear-splitting shriek as Kaden’s blade sliced through its gangly limb. Thick yellowish blood splattered the snow, and bile rose in my throat.
My mare, no longer encumbered by my weight, turned and galloped off in the direction we’d come, drawing two of the creatures after her.
My stomach pitched, but I didn’t have time to worry about her. Two more heccanids were skittering toward me, and damn, they were fast.
The snow and ice didn’t impede their progress. If anything, they seemed to gain speed from the slick terrain — using it to propel their bodies down the wall.
As the creatures advanced, my gaze homed in on their round, bulbous heads and their horrible maws dusted with long, thin hairs. The nearest one clicked its pincers as if to indicate they should target me, the other responding with three rhythmic chirps.
Shit.
The heccanid lunged, shooting forward faster than I’d anticipated. I thrust my sword up, but the creature’s momentum sent me sailing backward.
I hit the snow on my rear, scrambling back to keep out of reach of those horrible pincers as I hacked again with my blade.
The creature squealed and danced up on its hind legs, one of its forelegs spewing that thick, yellowish slime.
Blood.
A small measure of satisfaction trickled through me when I saw that I’d severed its leg above the claw.
Pressing my advantage, I made another wild slash with my sword, but the beast danced out of reach just as the other galloped forward.
Bracing an arm under me, I surged to my feet at the same moment the second heccanid attacked. This time, I thrust my sword up — aiming for its bulbous underbelly. My blade sank in a few inches, and the monster shrieked and scampered back, taking my weapon with it.
Cursing, I drew one of my daggers just as the first beast I’d wounded came skittering around for another attack.
I gasped as its pincers swung toward my face, but then a blade cleaved through the air, and the creature let out a high-pitched death cry.
I looked up in time to find Adriel glowering down at me, the decapitated head of the heccanid at his feet. The thing was still flailing wildly, though it could no longer see or pierce us with its sharp pincers.
Guilt stabbed at my insides. If I hadn’t insisted that we treat the gnome more humanely, the heccanids might not even have noticed our presence. But I couldn’t think about that now.
I lunged toward the heccanid I’d pierced through the abdomen, swinging my other sword in an attempt to decapitate the monster. It whirled out of reach, but the royal guard stabbed at it from behind.
Another horrible screech, and the thing retreated, though one of its companions advanced with an incensed hiss.
The royal guard and I attacked in tandem, his strikes sure and efficient as I hacked and slashed wildly with mine. This was not the lethal dance I’d trained for. Unlike vampires or even demons, the heccanids’ movements were erratic. Unpredictable. And I was out of control.
Thick yellow blood sprayed the snow, and my ears itched with that awful clicking sound. But then Adriel brought his blade down in a brutal stabbing motion, and the heccanid’s muffled death cry told me he’d pierced its skull.
Wiping sweat and gore from my brow, I turned to face the small army of monsters that Kaden and Sorsha were fighting back-to-back.
We stormed toward them to join the fray, but there were too many. Each time one of us managed to sever a limb or decapitate a beast, another seemed to take its place. Putrid blood sprayed, slicking the hilt of my sword and soaking the hair that had tumbled loose from my braid.
I could feel my muscles growing fatigued. Feel my grip slipping on my sword. My movements were becoming slow and uncoordinated, each slash of my blade weaker than the last.
One of the heccanids fell before me, and another of the horrible things launched itself over the flailing, furry corpse — pincers outstretched and legs splayed.
It struck with unfathomable force, knocking me flat on my back and sending my sword sliding across the ice. I couldn’t breathe. The heccanid was too heavy, and it was crushing my chest.
As those horrible pincers clicked, extending toward my throat, I knew I was going to die.