The Ascension Page 4

  The sensation hurried through him then, in a rush of metamorphosis that sent bones and flesh shifting along new paths. Rio fel to his knees as he stretched and twisted, the strain of it ripping huge tears in his clothes. He somehow managed to struggle free of the chain shirt before it crushed his changing body, but the effort used up his last reservoirs of control.

  Rio lay there as the transformation rippled through him, and afterwards, as he panted, his tongue lol ing from his mouth. He tried to get to his feet, and found that those feet were now paws. He tried to cal for help, and al that came out was a howl. Managing to push himself to al fours, he trailed a struggling, stumbling path to the nearest fountain, seeing over the lip of it with an effort and staring at his reflection.

  Except that it wasn’t Rio’s reflection. Where there should have been a teenage boy with dark there should have been a teenage boy with dark hair, chiseled cheekbones and piercing eyes, now there was only a wolf. A huge, powerful looking, grey-haired monstrosity of a wolf, certainly, but that wasn’t much of an improvement. Part of Rio was repulsed by the very sight of it. Part of him, however, seemed to recognize it, as though something about the image resonated deep within him.

  Rio didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t go back into the party like this. Even if people didn’t attack him on sight, he couldn’t let Gem see him like this. Not when Sparks looked perfect by comparison. If she saw the monster he had become, there wouldn’t be any chance for him, and Sparks would probably be ready with some scathing comment to make it even worse. Rio shook his shaggy head. He couldn’t stay here. Not like this.

  At a bounding run he set off back towards the forest, the distance disappearing in great, leaping strides. As he did so, Rio couldn’t help thinking that Jack and Kat, left behind at the castle, were definitely the lucky ones.

  ********

  Snow covered the world as far as the eye could see, though since more snow was fal ing in thick waves, that wasn’t very far. Two figures, a boy with deep red hair and a darker haired girl, trudged through it, dressed in clothes of the deepest black that stood out like holes against the ice. At least, Kat trudged. For his part, Jack strode through the frozen waste with a strength that didn’t seem about to wane.

  Exhausted and frankly bored, Kat currently hated him for it.

  “When are we going to find somewhere to stop? I’m freezing.”

  “Are you through?” Jack asked. Kat felt the last vestiges of her temper evaporate.

  “What’s that supposed to mean? Of course I’m freezing. We’re stuck out in the snow. We’re both freezing. People wil probably find us out here, looking like giant ice-lol ies,” Kat said in her British accent.

  Jack gave her a blank look.

  “What you’d cal Popsicles.”

  “Oh.” The boy shook his head. “Kat, I’m not even cold, and I don’t think you are either. You’re not even cold, and I don’t think you are either. You’re not shivering. Think about it.”

  As if to validate his point, Jack stuck one hand in the snow, made a snowbal , and threw it at her.

  “Hey! That’s cold!” Kat was just about to grab a snowbal of her own to back up the rebuke with some punitive action when it occurred to her that actual y, it wasn’t that cold. “Al right, so maybe it wasn’t, which is weird, but that was a real y puerile way to prove a point.”

  “Effective though,” Jack pointed out. This time Kat did throw a snowbal . Jack dodged it. “You’re right though, it is a quandary. How can we be out in the snow this long without even being cold?” Kat shrugged. As far as she was concerned, as long as they weren’t freezing to death, it didn’t real y matter. Of course, it didn’t help them with other problems, such as working out where they were or finding their way to anywhere that wasn’t just an endless field of snow.

  “You know,” she grumbled, “I bet the others are having a fine time of it, stuck back in the castle while we do al the tedious work finding Henry Word.”

  “We don’t know that they were left behind,” Jack pointed out. “They probably might not have arrived where we did.”

  “Where else would they be? Anyway, wherever they are, they aren’t hiking through al this snow.”

  “You just don’t like being bored.”

  Wel , that was probably true, but it wasn’t like Jack had to point it out. Vexed now, Kat threw another snowbal at him. This one hit, but since he couldn’t feel the cold it didn’t make much difference.

  “Oh, come on,” Jack said. “If we keep moving, we’re bound to run into something eventual y.”

  “Knowing our luck,” Kat pointed out, “it wil probably be something that wants to eat us. It usual y is.”

  Jack ignored that and trudged on stoically through the snow. With a sigh, Kat set off in his wake. She wasn’t sure if she preferred this new, decisive version of Jack, but at least he was good at clearing the snow out of the way.

  Chapter 5

  Gradual y, the snowstorm spent its energy, dissipating the way Jack had known it would. After al , back home in Alaska, he saw them often enough, though the idea of not being so much as chil ed by one as he walked through it wasn’t exactly normal.

  Unfortunately, now that there wasn’t a barrage of snowflakes in the way, Jack could see something move in the distance. A white dot on the horizon formed a familiar shape against the desolate backdrop, and it seemed to be coming closer.

  “Kat?”

  “What?”

  “I think there might be a polar bear stalking us.”

  The girl gave him an angry look.

  “Jack, that isn’t funny.”

  “It’s not meant to be. Look.”

  He pointed to where the bear was closing on them. Closer now, Jack could see that it was huge, even by the standards of its kind. The thick fur of the creature looked nearly impregnable, and its claws looked like they could tear and kil with ease. It sped towards them inexorably.

  Jack grabbed Kat’s arm and dragged her into a run, knowing even as he did that it was too late. Bears were faster than humans. Although these bears were twice as large as normal bears, they appeared to be just as fast.

  “Surreptitious,” he said as they ran, hoping that the ruler word would have its usual effect of making them hard to spot. Kat did the same, and Jack saw her take on the shadowy shimmer that marked the word. It didn’t seem to make any difference to the bear, though Jack guessed that, between the beast’s sense of smel and the tracks the pair of them were leaving in the snow, it probably didn’t need to see them to hunt them.

  The bear was just steps away now, and Kat chose that moment to stumble, sprawling in the snow as it reared up above her.

  “Emulate!” Jack yel ed the ruler word, and half a dozen extra Kats appeared. The bear’s claws swept through one and it disappeared. It would buy them a second or two, but Jack knew it would take more than that to help Kat. The moment she tried to move away, it would be obvious which one she was.

  In what he hoped was an intrepid move and not simply a stupid one, Jack threw himself at the bear. It shouldn’t have worked. Even with the extra bulk and strength he had gained in the last couple of months, the bear should have been stronger. In what turned out to be a fortuitous moment though, Jack brought his fist around sharply, punching the bear squarely on the nose. The bear blinked and sat back on its haunches, as though in disbelief that some human boy would have the temerity to try something like that on him.

  “Run!” Jack yel ed to Kat, and thankful y she did. They set off together at a frenetic pace, weaving trails through the snow as they headed for a series of ice boulders that looked like they might provide at least some cover. Perhaps if the bear lost sight of them, they might be able to slip away. Speed wouldn’t get them anywhere, but maybe a little guile would.

  Thoughts of escape fled Jack’s mind as a deep growl came from ahead of them.

  “Another bear?” Kat asked. Jack skidded to a halt.

  “That can’t be right,” he said. “Polar bears
are mostly solitary hunters when they don’t have young, and-”

  “And there’s the Jack we know and love,” Kat interrupted. “Look, is this real y the moment for discursive thoughts on the habits of bears? Unless you’re about to tel me that they real y only eat either honey or marmalade sandwiches rather than people, we need to find another way to run.”

  Jack nodded, he turned, looking for a good route across the snow. He’d barely started forward when another growl came from the direction that he had picked. Turning round, he tried again, only for the same thing to happen.

  “They’ve surrounded us,” Kat said. Jack nodded.

  “Which is strange. Bears really don’t do this.” As he said it, Jack scanned the area around them for anything that might help. A way out, something that might deter the bears. Anything.

  There was nothing but the snow, and the ice, and four huge, furry forms pacing towards them with the four huge, furry forms pacing towards them with the kind of languid menace that made it clear the bears knew they had their prey trapped.

  “I suppose we could throw snowbal s at them until they get bored,” Kat suggested, though Jack could sense the edge of panic to it.

  “If I use the asylum ruler word, it might keep them off for a while.”

  “Do it,” Kat replied.

  Jack did. A shimmering dome closed over the pair of them, translucent enough to see the advancing bears through. They paused a little way away, apparently trying to figure out what was happening. Jack doubted that would last.

  “How long do you think this shield wil last?” Kat asked. Jack shrugged.

  “I don’t know. Any ideas how we’re going to get out of this?”

  Kat shook her head.

  “At least we have time to think of something, though,” she pointed out.

  Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to be that simple.

  One of the bears, Jack thought it was the one that had original y chased them, padded forward to sniff at the dome. It pul ed back, as though sniffing at something odious, but then reared up onto its hind legs. It seemed clear that it intended to smash down in an effort to crush their tiny bubble of safety, and with the protective barrier in place, Jack and Kat couldn’t even move out of the way.

  “Stop.”

  The word wasn’t loud, but it was clearly audible above the icy wind. It was a woman’s voice, imperious in tone and with not a hint that it expected anything other than obedience. The bear pul ed back, retreating to join the circle of its fel ows with only the querulous hint of a growl.

  Into that circle stepped a woman. She was no older than forty and walked across the snow, her feet seemingly glided on the powdery whiteness. They were bare, and her dress of dark silk seemed too flimsy for the Winter. Her hair was white, iridescent like glass with diamond facets, with blues and greens and hidden flashes of light running through it.

  Her fingers seemed to be almost pure ice. She was beautiful, but there was a harshness to it that made Jack shiver. Her icy blue gaze, when she turned it on them, was one of absolute authority, promising wrath for any infraction. The polar bear that had growled hunkered down submissively beneath its glare.

  “That’s… that’s the woman from my dream,” Kat breathed. Jack raised an eyebrow.

  “I thought you said she was old and wizened.”

  Kat shrugged.

  “Ok, maybe I exaggerated. She’s older than me.”

  The woman moved closer, regarding the pair of them through the shimmer of the shield around them in a way that said to Jack that she was trying to assess them in some way. She glanced back over her shoulder.

  “Are these the two?”

  “Yes, My Queen.” The voice that answered her was a deep, baritone rumble, and it took Jack a moment to realize that it was coming from the cowering polar bear. “I tracked them from the Apex where they first appeared in Feyland.” The woman nodded. She placed her hand casual y on the bubble surrounding Jack and Kat. Ice spread from her touch, so cold that it found the point at which even magic froze. In seconds, the bubble around them was more like a glass sphere, shattered into shards that looked jagged enough to slice

  deep lacerations into flesh. The woman looked past them. “Take them to the Court.” Dark figures, seemingly made of a combination of ice and shadows, stepped forward.

  They took Jack and Kat by the arms, lifting them to their feet gently, but with the unspoken intimation that they could be moved less gently if they wanted.

  Jack found himself led from the circle of bears to a spot where a sled waited.

  Next to him, the men of ice and shadow lifted Kat into the sled. It was a huge thing, formed with runners that probably used whole trees in their construction. The framework was of ice, but it was ice that looked more like steel, so cold that it had hardened to something stronger. The furs of creatures Jack didn’t recognize sat across the front of the sled, covering Kat to her neck, and Jack found himself bundled beneath them as wel . A pair of polar bears stood impassively as they were polar bears stood impassively as they were harnessed to the sled, and only then did the white-haired woman step onto the back of it.

  Jack opened his mouth to ask her what was going on, but the woman forestalled his questions with a glance. She waved her stick above the bears and a tendril of ice shot from it to crack like a whip, spurring them into rapid motion. The sled sped across the snow so fast that it was al Jack could do to hang on. Beside him, Kat gripped the steely ice of the sled so hard that her knuckles turned white.

  How long did they traveled like that, Jack didn’t know. With only the flat, unchanging sameness of the landscape as a guide, it was hard to keep track. Only when the sled approached a broken, ravine scattered section of the ice did Jack get a sense of any landmarks, and by then, he was too busy staring at the structure that rose above it al .

  The castle stood at the center of a lake of limpid water that was somehow unfrozen among the ice. It towered with sides of sheer ice, reflecting the sun from every frozen surface of its buttresses and towers. Shadows clustered around it as though in flocks seeming to devour the modicum of light that made it there, and the only way through to the entrance seemed to be a single span of hardened ice as long as any bridge Jack had seen. The sled came to a halt before that bridge.

  Jack looked up at the woman behind him, and she leaned down so that he could feel her cold breath on his face.

  “Do you remember?” she demanded. Jack shook his head automatical y.

  “No. Who are you? What is this place?”

  “I am the Winter Queen, and this is my home, but that is not the question. The question is who you are, Jack Frost.”

  “That’s not my-”

  Before he could protest, the Winter Queen reached down to lay a frozen hand on Jack’s head.

  The cold of it felt almost refreshing, like coming up for air after diving in deep water. Jack blinked.

  “I remember. I’ve been here before. It’s crazy, but I’d swear I have.”

  The Winter Queen smiled.

  “You have.” She looked from Jack to Kat.

  “Many years ago, the Summer Queen took my children, a boy and a girl, from me. They sent them to be raised by mortals, thinking that I would not find them. Yet now, just days before our greatest battle, my Jack Frost and my darling Katherine have returned to help me secure the hegemony of Winter.”

  Jack looked over to Kat, who looked positively shocked for a moment before final y smiling.

  “You know, this explains almost everything about my life. Do I get to wear lots of black?”

  “As much as you wish,” the Winter Queen replied. Kat’s smile broadened.

  “Perfect.”

  Chapter 6

  The party continued, and Gem found herself starting to become enervated by the dancing, even if it was with Sparks. As good a dancer as Sparks was, they couldn’t dance forever, even if the musicians in the corner seemed indefatigable.

  Besides, that wasn’t why they were there. Sparks
deserved to enjoy his moment of acclaim as the Summer Prince, but sooner or later they had to start looking for Henry Word. As the next dance drew to a close, Gem pul ed back from Sparks.

  “Tired already?” he asked.

  “Wel , we have been dancing for a while now,” she pointed out. More seriously she added, “I’m going to have a look around and see if I can’t find out anything about where Henry Word went.” Sparks nodded.

  “I’l come with you.”

  “No.” Gem shook her head. She wanted Sparks to enjoy the celebration. She didn’t want to foster any il feelings among the fairy folk by taking their prince from them either. “Enjoy your moment.” Sparks caught her arm.

  “Gem… I just wanted to say…” He paused, apparently trying to work out what he did want to say.

  Or at least an eloquent way of saying it. “Al this… I feel like I’ve come home, but it doesn’t change what I feel. I care about you for you, not just because you’re beautiful, or the ruler of Anachronia, or anything like that. Now that I’m… not what you thought, I hope it won’t change things for you.”

  Gem grinned.

  “It turns out that you’re much more interesting than before. I think I can live with it.” That elicited a sigh of relief from Sparks.

  “I was so worried that you might not feel that way.”

  If Sparks had been worried about finding the right thing to say, Gem decided that he need not have worried. He had managed to convey his feelings perfectly. As a way of elucidating her own, she reached up to kiss him, only to pause as the Summer Queen’s hand settled on Sparks’ shoulder.

  “I hope I am not interrupting,” the beautiful woman said, “but there are people you must meet, my son. In any case, you have both managed to exasperate my court by not dancing with more of them.”

  The chastisement was a mild one, but even so Gem glanced around. A few of the fairy folk did indeed shoot furtive glances Gem and Sparks’ way, as though trying to work out whether to interrupt the pair of them.

  “I’m sorry,” Gem said. “I’l go and mingle, if it wil help.”