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 thanthrough.
“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 howoften 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 —multiplesomethings — 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.
