Chapter 20
“For a girl who hates butterflies, you seem to rely on them a lot,” Cedric noted.
Guess he could see it too. “Not on purpose,” I grumbled. “What’s it doing?” The butterfly flitted through the windshield and hovered over the hood.
“I do believe it wants you to follow it.”
And so we did.
The Corolla back home drove like a dream compared to the shitbox we acquired.
The floor, mostly rotted and lacking a mat to hide the giant holes, meant I could see the road as I drove.
The Flintstones might make it look fun, but I’ll tell you, it was actually terrifying as I worried my foot would accidentally scrape the asphalt, get caught, twisted, dragged.
Shudder. I could imagine so many bad scenarios.
We only drove our rusty prize for a few hours, ditching it in a town and stealing another parked by someone who’d just pulled into work and actually left the keys in the ignition. Who the heck did that? Apparently, a guy who ate a lot of fish. Geezus, his car reeked.
Over the next few days, as we drove east following the golden butterfly, we swapped less and less often, as opportunities grew few and far between.
The towns became smaller. The roads rougher.
Our latest vehicle, which had all-wheel drive, was one Cedric recommended we keep because as he said, “I don’t think we need to worry about cops pulling us over out here. ”
“Where is here, anyhow?” I queried. The Russian signs didn’t provide handy English translations, but at least, the butterfly kept leading us via actual paved roads.
“We’re in Siberia, which makes sense as a hiding place for elves, as it is the least densely populated region of Russia.”
The problem being when the butterfly wanted us to leave the icy roads bordered in snow and head off into the wilderness.
Since I didn’t dare ditch the car and go on foot, especially not knowing how far we had left to go, and given the fact it was frost-bite cold, we spent some time looking for an alternative method of transportation.
The snowmobile we borrowed had a full tank of gas, plus one strapped to the back.
From the house—whose occupants slept because I forced them to, which required me ignoring Misha’s imagined frowning disapproval—we also took some food and cold weather gear.
While the stealing did still twinge my conscience, I assuaged it by reminding myself I had to complete my quest for the greater good. Surely, I’d be forgiven?
Driving a snowmobile proved interesting to say the least. When I first throttled the machine, I almost fell off, as it jerked forward with more force than expected. Cedric protested from his protected spot inside the duffel-type bag I’d strapped to the seat in front of me.
“Whoa. Watch it.”
“You wanna drive?” I snarled.
“I just might so we both live.”
Smartass. I got the hang of it soon after and even ended up enjoying how the machine powered through the snow. The glowing butterfly flitted ahead, dancing and weaving, leading me who knew where—hopefully not off a cliff.
We drove for hours. Stopped to refuel and have a snack. Then rode again. We’d set out mid-morning, and by late afternoon, with daylight waning, I began to worry. My straying attention led to me plowing into a soft drift and getting stuck.
“Fuck.” I swung my leg off the machine and eyed it. Snow covered the nose. I tried to dig at it first with my mittened hands. Then tried gunning it. No amount of trying to rock it forward or in reverse made it budge.
Giving up, I sighed, “I think we’re stuck.”
Cedric poked his head from the bag. “Well, that’s not good.”
“No, shit, Fur-lock. I glanced ahead, where the butterfly hovered. “Do you think it’s much farther?”
Before Cedric could reply, the butterfly began to spin before exploding in a shower of sparks that sped through the trees toward the mountain we’d been aiming for.
“Guess that was supposed to be an answer.”
Hoping my epitaph, if my body was ever found, didn’t say, And here lies the idiot who thought she would hike thru Siberia, I carried only what I might need. Water bottle, box of cookies, and a flask of vodka to keep my belly warm.
We trudged, the lack of any kind of path making it tough.
The snow sucked at my boots. The deep chill penetrated my winter gear.
It didn’t help Cedric chose to ride draped over my shoulder as extra weight.
God forbid kitty’s paws get cold. I could have probably used magic to keep us warm, but I didn’t want to tire myself in case I had need of it later.
When we exited the forest, the mountain, while not massive in height, did pose a dilemma.
“We’d better not have to climb,” I grumbled.
“Perhaps there’s a way through,” Cedric stated. “Or could be the elves are inside the mountain.”
That didn’t sound right from what Misha told me of his home, but we’d come too far to turn back now.
With no way of knowing where to go next, since the butterfly had dissipated, we headed for the icy wall of rock.
As we got close, Cedric pointed with a paw. “I do believe that black smudge is the opening of a cave.” A cave where we could maybe camp out for the night. Build a fire for warmth and not become frozen meat Popsicles.
“It better not have any bears inside,” I huffed as I hastened for it before we lost every last ounce of light.
The sensation hit suddenly, and I jerked in surprise. “What the hell?” I felt different, even as I couldn’t explain how.
But Cedric could. “We’re in a dead zone for magic.”
“What? How?”
“If I had to guess, this area, possibly even that entire mountain, is threaded with argencae. Interesting, as I didn’t believe it existed on Earth.”
“How else would Papillon have it peppered throughout her house?”
“Good point. I’ll admit I’d assume some had been smuggled from Infernal, but given its rarity, that did seem unlikely.”
“Should we keep going? If we come across anything dangerous, I won’t be able to protect us.” Should have grabbed a frying pan.
“In good news, if we can’t rely on magic, neither can anything else,” Cedric pointed out.
“So what’s the bad?”
“The Yeti that has emerged from the cave doesn’t seem pleased by our presence.”
“The what?” My gaze went from the ground stealing my ability to touch magic to the very large, shaggy creature lumbering in our direction.
Fuck.
Me.
Which brings us to the part of the story you’re already familiar with, where Cedric got forcibly adopted by an abominable snowman. As for me, I ended up a prisoner of the elves I’d been seeking. So much for the glory the voice had promised me.