The Wrathful Mountains (15 page)

“I can’t answer that,” Kaiya replied. “The wind
did not reveal those events to me.”

“I don’t suppose it matters now,” Tashi said. “The
future is what matters. We will set this right.”

“Be careful, both of you,” Galen said. As soon as
he spoke the words, he felt foolish, but it was all he could think to say.

“We will,” Kaiya promised. “And you be on your
guard as well. This camp isn’t entirely safe.”

T
urning their
backs to the mining camp, Kaiya and Tashi began their ascent in search of the
first rune stone. A light dusting of snow fell from the sky, soft crystals of
ice plinking against the rocky terrain. Kaiya shook her head as she compared
her own booted feet to Tashi’s bare skin. The two had grown up in the same
region under quite different circumstances. It was amazing how the pair could
be so different. Even with magic, Kaiya had no desire to walk barefoot through
the high elevations. The mere thought sent a shiver through her body.

Seeing her companion’s shiver, Tashi tried to
reassure her. “The snow will pass soon.” Tilting her head skyward, she counted
the fast-moving clouds. “No more than fifteen minutes,” she said.

Kaiya nodded, content with the estimation, though
she wasn’t feeling much of the cold. In truth, the only thing she felt was
worry that she would not achieve her goal in time. If the Gawr awoke fully, it
would take far more power than she possessed to lock him back in his dungeon.

Moving along a high ridge, they reached an iron
bridge that would carry them away from the mining camp and into the mountain
wilderness. Kaiya hesitated only a moment to glance back toward the city, where
life went on as usual. Taking a deep breath, she stepped onto the bridge, a
rusty groan releasing itself from the rarely used crossing. A deep chasm lay
below them, descending into depths unknown. Paying the drop no heed, the
sorceress pressed on, the priestess following close behind.

Safely across the bridge, Kaiya planted her feet
firmly in the soft snow. Before she could take another step, the mountain
roared to life. A low rumbling, followed by the clanging of boulders echoed
across the chasm, the ground quaking in response. Knocked off-balance, Kaiya rolled
toward the bridge, slamming her back against the iron rails. Scrambling to her
feet, the sound of grinding echoed in her ears. She gritted her teeth against
the noise and looked back in time to see the end of the bridge give way.

Tashi grasped at the rails, the bridge teetering
precariously. In an instant, it swung free, the continual shaking of the
mountain loosening the iron pegs where the bridge was secured. Without
thinking, she leapt, hoping desperately to make it to the other side. She
failed. Her body hit hard against the edge, her fingers grasping at the edge of
the gap.

An unexpected calm settled over the priestess, her
fingers freezing in the snow. Looking into the chasm’s depths, she felt at
peace. Would the fall kill her instantly? Or would she linger, injured, until
she finally succumbed? In this moment, the answer mattered not. How easily she
could release her grip and make her way back to the arms of her beloved sister.
None would mourn her loss. The strength in her hands weakening, and the weight
of her body growing heavier, she chose the easiest route—down.

Steadying herself on her knees, Kaiya cursed the
incessant shaking. It made concentration extremely difficult. Still, the wind
was beside her. The sorceress called it to herself, channeling it through her
heart, her eyes flashing silver. The wind obeyed, gusting toward the falling
priestess as her hands lost their grip on the ledge. Her focus held firmly upon
the spell, Kaiya manipulated the wind, working against the pull of gravity. With
a flick of her wrist, she righted the priestess, and guided her upward to solid
ground.

Her mind reeling from the fall and sudden rescue,
Tashi shook her head to clear it. Kaiya slumped, burying both hands and knees
in the snow. Fighting the pull of the world’s depths had been no small feat.
She would need time to recover, and she welcomed the wind as it comforted her.

Finally, the quaking ceased, the crash of falling
rock no longer pounding in their ears. Tashi pulled herself up on her elbows
and dared to look down into the gap.
Not yet, Annin,
she thought. Rising
to her feet, she moved to the sorceress’s side and gently laid a hand on her
back. “Are you all right?” she asked.

Kaiya gave a quick nod. “I’ll be fine. I just need
a few minutes.” The wind still swirled around her, quickening her absorption of
its power. Its sense of urgency matched her own. “Were you injured?”

“I am fine,” Tashi replied, then added, “thanks to
you.”

Knowing the avalanche would have affected the
camp, Tashi climbed higher on the ridge. Squinting her eyes to the distance,
she could see the city had been hit hard. Houses had collapsed, and mounds of
snow and rock lay piled against what was once a row of shops. Small figures ran
in all directions, likely hurrying to aid those who had been injured.

Slowly ascending to Tashi’s position, Kaiya also
looked upon the destruction. Closing her eyes to the scene, she hung her head
in an attempt to hide her tears.

“Should we go back?” Tashi asked. “They might need
your help.”

Her heart yearned to return. Was Galen injured?
And what if the miners were trapped in a cave-in? Magic might be the only way
to free them. But the wind whispered a warning, and Kaiya knew the path she
must take. “The best help I can give them is to stop the Gawr,” she said. “The
attacks will only increase if we don’t go now.” Putting distance between
herself and the camp should draw the Gawr’s attention away from the innocent.
It was her the Gawr wanted, and she would go to it.

“It fears you,” Tashi said. “That’s why it attacks
the city. It hopes to stop you.” This was not about her. She woke the Gawr, but
Kaiya could force it back to its prison. She was a great threat to the dead
god, and Tashi would protect her with her life.

“We have to keep moving,” Kaiya replied.

Though concealed beneath layers of avalanche, and
the natural decay of time, Tashi easily picked out the pathway once followed by
her predecessors. The route was in her blood, a homing instinct to a place she
had never visited. How she knew the way, she couldn’t explain. Perhaps the
spirits of her ancestors revealed the path, guiding her feet along their
journey.

“We have to climb here,” Tashi said, her eyes
scanning the cliffside for a way up.

“There,” Kaiya said, using magic to illuminate a
worn iron ring, the first of many. The Ulihi had installed a series of thick
metal loops to ease their passage to the rune stone. Kaiya couldn’t be more
grateful. She was no skilled climber, and without the handholds, she would have
to resort to magic to make her way upward. The strain on her stores could leave
her vulnerable, and there was little chance she wouldn’t encounter some
resistance. Saving her magic was vital. Though the wind would replenish her, it
would take time that she might not have.

Grabbing hold of the loops, Tashi easily pulled
herself to the top of the cliff and knelt down to assist Kaiya with her climb.
The dwarf made her way up with ease, surprising the priestess. “You’re more
nimble than you look,” she said, smiling. Dwarves were more likely to force
change on the mountain than take it as it was. She was pleased that Kaiya had
not resorted to magic to make the climb.

As she pulled herself up, Kaiya spotted movement
from the corner of her eye. “Look,” she whispered, pointing to the right.

Tashi’s mouth fell open, her eyes wide with
wonder. “A snow cat,” she said.

Only steps away from their position, a large white
cat with gray and black spots paused to observe the newcomers, its green eyes
flashing in the dull light. Staying only a moment, it cared not for the
intruders. Powerful muscles rippled as it turned its gaze elsewhere, trotting
away to places unknown. Kaiya and Tashi marveled at its grace as it disappeared
among the gray and white backdrop.

“They are extremely rare now,” Tashi said, a hint
of regret in her voice. Like her own people, these cats had lost much of their
territory to dwarven development.

Reaching out, Kaiya attempted to glimpse the cat’s
mind. There was no malice within it, nor did it feel an urgent need to feed or
protect its territory. She let out the breath she’d been holding, content that
the snow cat wouldn’t be lying in wait for them. To her delight, the cat left
tracks, revealing a familiar pathway. This was the area she had seen in her
vision. The rune stone had to be nearby.

“It’s near,” she announced. A slight tingle danced
on the end of her nose, alerting her to the presence of magic.

Tashi’s eyes drank in the area. Yes, this had to
be it. Something told her she was in the right place. But where was the rune
stone? Shouldn’t it have a place of honor here among the endless sea of stone?
Frantically she paced every corner of the small plateau, hoping to find what
she sought. Had the ancestors steered her wrong as a punishment? Or was she
wrong that they were guiding her? Perhaps that was something she wanted to
believe, and they hadn’t truly lent their aid. Her hopes sinking, she thought,
I’ve
managed to fool myself, and I’ve brought Kaiya to the wrong place.

Carefully choosing her steps, the sorceress
followed the magic emanating from the mountain. Stopping before an arched rock
formation, she said, “It’s buried.” Brushing the snow away with her hands, she
uncovered a pair of narrow stone doors concealed within the rocks. A thin layer
of ice covered the structure, giving it the appearance of a natural formation. This
place, however, had been created with care, the work of the Ancients.

Among the ice she found a handle and tugged it.
The door protested, but finally opened, revealing a descending stairway. “I
have to go down,” she said.

Standing at the entrance, Tashi asked, “Can’t you
cast the lightning from here? You could strike the ground.” Wouldn’t that be
enough power to hit the rune stone beneath them? The forbidding darkness before
her sent a chill through her body. Had her ancestors truly visited such a
place? The odor of mold and dust found its way into her nostrils, adding to her
apprehension.

“It’s too deep for the magic to reach,” Kaiya
replied, a tiny flicker of light dancing on her hand. The staircase turned
several times below her, leading deep into the earth. The spell could not be
performed from the surface. Sensing Tashi’s fear, she said, “You can keep watch
over the entrance.”

Straightening her back, Tashi replied, “There
could be danger down there. I will go below with you.” Every fiber of her being
implored her to wait at the top, but she could not. If the sorceress was going
below, Tashi would follow and protect her from harm at all costs. No other
could activate the rune stones should tragedy befall the sorceress.

With her mind fixated on the sky above, Kaiya
called forth the lightning. Above her the clouds gathered, darkening to summon
their power. A surge of energy unleashed, the heat crackling through the cold
mountain air. The sorceress channeled the blast, sparks dancing over her
unmoving form. A burst of light erupted in her right hand, spinning and
swirling above her palm.

When Kaiya attacked the stone beast in Tashi’s
village, the priestess had witnessed firsthand the power the sorceress could
wield. But seeing the magic fluttering in her hand, Tashi was amazed. Nature
itself had come to answer this dwarf’s call, obeying her desire to harness its
power. This was not the tricks employed by her own profession. This was true
magic. Feeling its power so near her, she felt humbled. No need for the gods;
elemental magic would save her people. Suppressing a smile, she thought,
The
dead god should fear this one.

An unlit torch awaited the pair as they stepped inside
the cavern. Kaiya’s captive lightning would provide enough light to see, but
once it was spent, the two would be left in darkness. Grabbing the torch, Tashi
tipped it toward Kaiya, who allowed a spark to catch the wood. A silver flame
burned brightly, its energy vibrating through the handle. Tashi’s heart swelled
with pride as if she were wielding the magic herself.

Steadying her breathing, Kaiya led the way down
the stairs. Maintaining the lightning took an incredible amount of
concentration. Should her focus waver, the spell would lose power. There had to
be enough left to activate the rune stone, or she’d have to try again. The lack
of moving air as she traveled deeper underground unnerved her. With no wind to
replenish her magic, she would have to step carefully. There would be no power
to spare.

As she descended, dusty webs brushed against
Kaiya’s face, settling in her hair and wrapping themselves around her arms. Her
instinct was to brush them away and look for the creature that had created
them, but she could not. All of her focus stayed on the spell in her hand,
though the light flickered slightly as she tried to wiggle her nose free of a
line of web.

Coming to her aid, Tashi brushed the webs away.
“How can spiders stay active in this cold?” she wondered. As the words left her
mouth, she wondered if some other creature might live in this place, one that
wouldn’t be happy to have visitors.

The staircase twisted on, four flights down
finally bringing the pair to a lit shrine. Dried reeds thatched together
provided a roof, while strips of bark surrounded the rune stone. Granite in
color with a painite inlay, the stone had been placed on a pedestal at eye
level to an average Ulihi. Nearly square, it measured a foot in both height and
width, except for the upper right corner. For some reason it had been chipped
away and left uneven.

Holding her torch high, Tashi studied the stone.
It was beautiful work, the Dwarf’s Heart glistening in the pale light. A shadow
moved at the corner of her vision, drawing her attention to the left. Waving
the torch, she studied the small, circular chamber. There was no one but her
and Kaiya. Listening in the stillness, she heard no living thing, but a slight
rotten smell found its way to her nostrils. “I don’t like this place,” she
said. To her, it felt like a place for the dead, where evil spirits might
dwell.