Beckoning Shadows

Chapter 8

Cold wind wailed through the icy mountains, cutting right through Delta's three layers of clothing and chilling her to the bone. She shivered and pulled her hat lower over her ears, but it was a futile attempt. Just the short exposure to the wind made her gloved fingers sting; she shoved them back in her pockets for a brief reprieve.

Her foot caught on something buried underneath the snow, and Delta plunged face first into the snow, spluttering as it filled her eyes, nose, and mouth. The cold sunk deep into her skin, sending an intense chill down her spine.

Kaia Tor's voice, muffled by the screeching wind, reached Delta's snow-filled ears. "Keep up, Delta."

"Coming," muttered Delta, lifting her face from the snow. She pushed herself up and struggled to catch up to the small group lead by Kaia, stumbling through the knee deep snow. They abruptly stopped, giving Delta enough time to reach them.

"There's the village," said Kaia, point to the dark valley below them.

Delta squinted at the hazy mess of black and gray and silver that was the valley. Thick and heavy snow was being flung about by the vicious wind, creating an almost impenetrable wall of snowflakes between them and the village. Perhaps she could spot an indistinct speck of orange wavering in the storm, but it was so faint it could have been her imagination.

Kaia stepped forward, beginning their descent down the steep slope. Sighing, Delta started after her, only to trip over another buried object, this time finding herself tumbling down the slope. The world turned to a dizzy blur of white and gray and she rolled down the hill, frigid cold seeping through her entire body.

Just as she thought her tumble would never end, the blur abruptly jerked to a stop as Delta slammed into a shelf of rock. Disoriented, she sat up, seeing that the rock she had landed on jutted out from the land, square and unnatural, without a trace of snow on its surface. She looked up the slope, where Kaia was standing arm outstretched, palm facing Delta.

"Are you okay?" Kaia's voice was barely audible over the wind.

"Yeah," muttered Delta, scrambling to her feet. Her face burned with heat as she watched the group approach her; they'd all witnessed her fall, and she had to be saved.

Kaia's face, locked in a perpetual deadpan, emerged from the snowy haze, followed by the other guards. She was the only one unaffected by the cold; the others shivered violently as they stumbled after her.

"I thought you'd do better in this environment," she stated as she approached. "Can't you control the snow?"

"Actually, I can't," snapped Delta. "I'm not used to working with water in a different form."

Kaia frowned, clearly disappointed, but said nothing. With a flick of her hand, the shelf of rock slid back into the hill, and she marched forward, leading the guards past Delta. Scowling, Delta found her footing and followed them.

After a hike that seemed to last five years, they reached the bottom of the valley, where indeed a village was nestled. Even in village standards it was small, a scattering of houses with glowing windows and a handful of empty public buildings, presumably connected by paths buried deep under the snow.

Kaia lead them to the nearest cabin, warm light spilling out from the windows, even with the curtains drawn. She rapped loudly on the door. A sliver of a face appeared between the curtains for a moment, but the doors didn't open. Kaia, unfazed, went to the next house and knocked again--there was no answer.

They repeated the process a few more times before, finally, someone opened their door. A wave of light and heat poured out from the house, so intense that Delta half expected it to melt the snow around them. Squinting at the bright orange light that assaulted her eyes, she could discern a silhouette standing in the doorway. He demanded something in an unfamiliar language.