Screams erupted as it billowed past the rim, blocking the sun. Thick, snake-like vines slid between the fangs and into the dark holes of its eyes.
My throat bulged and burned, the words scratching as they bolted out of me.
“This was only a warning.” My voice shook the crater’s edge, scraping against the ice. “Tell your leaders Solkar’s Reach is protected by The Huntress. And I will not back down,” I chanted. “We’ll parlay. Onmyterms.”
The wisps of blue smoke twisted harder inside the jaws of the great beast.
“Now get off this land before the ice swallows you, too,” I growled. “This is your only chance.”
Dax shivered as the mist rushed over the rim, the wisps turning to tendrils that charged forward.
Terrified roars echoed from above. Fifty or so, no more.
So the Northern Clans hadn’t sent their full force upon us.
Sylvester circled above, his excited screeches announcing their cowardly retreat.
The mind could always be controlled faster than the body.
On my cue, Dax pulled his power back with a hiss. The elongated skull dropped back down toward the ground, like a beast resting after a bloody feast. The sun shone upon us again as the smoke dissipated.
He swayed on the spot as the wisps jumped back into him.
I tightened my hands in his, keeping him upright even as my own body shook from the strain.
“You alright?” I whispered.
He nodded and licked his lips, but said nothing. “Is it gone?”
“Yes.”
Only then did he open his eyes. They were wide and reddened.
“Thank you,” I said, holding on tighter to his fingers.
I was one of the very few people who knew how this display, untainted by death as it was, had taxed him.
But it had done its job.
Around us, the warriors were terrified. They’d put even more distance between us, some muttering prayers.
I nodded at Vylkor, who looked caught between old fears and new admiration. “Do we have palaver portals with the Northern Clan leaders?”
He tilted his head. “Northern leaders usually parlay on top of the Sky Summit.”
“Is that in Solkar’s Reach?”
“No.”
“Then we’re not doing that.”
They already knew I was here. The last thing I needed was them knowing I was trapped.
“The Warden of the Silence has to verify good intentions and truth,” he said. “You’ll not know if they’re lying to you.”
“They’ve just attacked us. The time for good intentions has passed.” I turned to the sky and whistled at Sylvester, who floated down with the grace of a being that could go wherever his feathers wanted. He landed on my shoulder gently.
“Thank you for sounding the alarm.” I nuzzled his soft head, digging my nose into his feathers.
