The Ascension Read online

  She had bigger concerns, though. Gem suspected that just wandering up to the Winter Queen’s home and demanding the return of her father wasn’t going to work, so she needed a plan to get him out of there. In books, of course, people always found a secret entrance, or scaled the wal s at night, or simply showed up with a conveniently recruited army. As someone who had recently checked her own castle for exactly that sort of thing, Gem couldn’t see the first option being realistic, while the second required more in the way of climbing ability than Gem suspected she actual y had. As for the third option, that would have worked better if she hadn’t just left the werewolves behind.

  As far as Gem could see, that left either persuading the Winter Queen to let her father go, or simply hoping that the strength of her ruler words would be enough to defeat someone whose innate power meant the whole of Winter on her side. Put like that, persuasion had to be the better option, but how could she do it? What would convince a fairy queen to do as Gem wanted? Gem couldn’t think of anything that would sound like more than empty platitudes.

  She was so busy thinking that, when the forest gave way to snow dappled moorland, Gem forest gave way to snow dappled moorland, Gem nearly stepped out onto it without thinking. Only the sound of voices ahead gave her pause. Heather grew in clumps over the ground ahead, and low dips and rises could have disguised a smal army, so long as that army didn’t mind sitting down. Wanting to judge the potential danger, Gem crouched low and crept forward, ignoring the spongy softness of the ground beneath her feet. At least it mitigated the sound of her footsteps.

  Taking up a position among a clump of gorse bushes, Gem peered down into a low depression that seemed to be the source of the voices. From where she crouched, she could see a smal group of the fairy men pitching rough tents and bantering among themselves as they kept out of the sweeping wind. Horses stood nearby, sleek looking things whose breath steamed in the air. A couple of the men sharpened weapons, while another put roots and vegetables into a pot. One of them, a bard perhaps, started to sing softly until another of them, dark-haired and even more handsome than the rest of them told, censured him, reminding them al that the last thing they wanted was to be spotted.

  That made Gem take a closer look at them.

  She had assumed on first spotting them that they had to be some of the Summer Court’s men, simply because they looked so much like them. The Summer Court, however, would hardly have any reason to be secretive so close to the werewolves’

  home. It was only when Gem’s eyes picked out a snowflake insignia on their clothes that she realized who these men had to be. They were Winter Court knights.

  Of course, that begged the question of what they were doing there. Not that Gem could simply ask them. Their task was obviously secret, so if they saw her, they were likely to think of her as a liability.

  Gem didn’t want to think about what might happen then. Instead, she had to settle for running through the possibilities as she tried to remain very, very stil .

  There was something ominous about the fact that they were camped so close to the tent-vil age of the werewolves. Did these Winter Court knights intend to bring some calamity down on that vil age? Clearly, Gem had no way of knowing for sure, and she wasn’t certain how much damage such a smal group of knights could do anyway, but she didn’t want to find out. She found herself thinking of Nina and al the cubs that had played around the pair of them as they sat, and Gem knew that she couldn’t risk even the possibility of these fairy men harming them.

  Gem resolved to sneak back towards the forest, then run for the vil age. If she hurried, she might be able to get news to the werewolves in time.

  The actual sneaking was easier said than done.

  Gorse bushes aren’t designed to be snuck through, and Gem found herself holding back a stream of invective as she tried to back out, only for the thorns of the thing to catch and snag on her dress. Was she going to find herself caught, not because she had made a noise or given herself away, but simply because she had chosen the wrong type of bush to hide in? That would be embarrassing. Also potential y lethal, but mostly embarrassing.

  The thought made Gem look down into the little dip in the ground again, just to make sure that no one had spotted her. It seemed peaceful, but the silence among the others just seemed to accentuate the absence of at least one of their accentuate the absence of at least one of their number. The dark-haired man who seemed to be in charge wasn’t there. So where was he? Just the thought that he might somehow be creeping over the moor towards her made Gem panic, impaling herself on numerous tiny points as she fought to get clear of the gorse bush’s grip.

  Gem sensed someone close to her, but a hand clamped over her mouth before she could cry out. She thought about driving an elbow backwards, but caught up as she was, it was difficult to move even that much.

  “Gem.”

  Rio. Gem started to turn furious eyes on him, but settled for hugging him close as best she could while tangled as badly as she was. This close, and with him dressed in just the brief clothing of one of the werewolves, Gem could smel the clean freshness of him.

  “Rio, what’s-”

  Rio put a finger to her lips in silent admonishment, and Gem got the message. They were stil far too close to the knights below. Gem gave her tangled dress a pointed look, and Rio seemed to understand. His lithe fingers picked at the points where the thorns held Gem fast, prying her careful y free until she was able to fol ow him in a low lope back towards the forest. At the edge of it, Gem paused.

  “Rio, how did you find me?”

  “I got your note, and I knew that with something this important at stake you wouldn’t slow down to wait. It’s just as wel that wolves can run faster than people.”

  Gem could just imagine it. Rio in that huge grey wolf form, covering miles at a speed she could never have managed.

  “You have been watching me for a while, haven’t you?” Gem demanded. Rio gave a shrug that was probably supposed to be nonchalant, but it didn’t go with the seriousness of his expression.

  “After last night, I wasn’t sure how you would react. I thought it was better to keep an eye on you from a distance.”

  Last night. It would be down to that, of course.

  The trouble was, Gem stil wasn’t sure that she had an answer for Rio. She certainly wasn’t sure that it was the time or the place to have a rerun of their was the time or the place to have a rerun of their argument. Not with potential enemies so close.

  Instead, she decided to focus on the more immediate problems.

  “Rio,” she said, “those men down there are Winter Court knights. We should tel someone back at the werewolf camp.”

  Rio looked disappointed for a moment. After al , it probably wasn’t the answer he had been hoping for. Stil , he nodded.

  “You’re right. We should hurry.”

  He turned and took a few paces into the forest, so that Gem had to rush to catch up.

  They struck just as Gem caught up with him.

  Fairy knights leapt from hiding places between the trees without so much as the tremble of a leaf to presage their arrival. She saw three of them tackle Rio at once, bearing him to the ground before he had a chance to react, let alone change form. More grabbed her before she could even think of reaching for the knife at her belt, forcing her down onto the ground and drawing her arms painful y behind her.

  From there, Gem had to watch while they tied Rio, using thin chains that Gem suspected he would have no chance of breaking. Worse, they forced a form of muzzle over his head, in a move that seemed designed as much to abase and humiliate as it did to protect the knights.

  “Let him go,” Gem demanded, but they ignored her. Instead, Gem felt something wrapping tightly around her wrists until she was bound almost as thoroughly as Rio was. While they kept Rio pinned down, the knights lifted Gem to her feet in a single adroit movement that suggested they had done it many times before. She stood there, held between a pair of them, wondering what
they had planned.

  The dark-haired fairy who seemed to be in charge chose that moment to step from the trees.

  This

  close,

  he

  seemed

  almost

  impossibly

  handsome, while the proximity al owed Gem to make out the vibrant green of his eyes. He seemed just a few years older than Rio and her, but given where they were, Gem didn’t trust appearances. There was an air of confidence and coolness about him that Gem suspected might have made people mistake him for a rock star back on her world. The newcomer wore a sword at the side of his dark armor, and wore a sword at the side of his dark armor, and moved with the sort of fluid grace that suggested he was probably deadly with it. He gave Rio a cursory glance before looking more closely at Gem.

  “It seems our task went better than I could have hoped,” he said, in neat, control ed tones. His smile reminded Gem of the edge of a glacier. “I was worried we might have to be out here for days.”

  “Who are you?” Gem demanded. “What do you want?”

  The man curtailed her questioning with a shake of his head.

  “Al in good time,” he promised. “For now…” He gave a series of short orders to his men, and they sprang into action, taking Rio and Gem back to their camp only for the time it took to dismantle it with brisk efficiency. In just minutes, it was as if they had never been there, for al the traces that were left behind. Their leader stood by Gem throughout it, keeping a hand on her arm in a relaxed but definite grip that made it clear she wasn’t going to be able to run off.

  “You know,” he said, almost conspiratorial y,

  “they weren’t nearly this quick setting up. I think the presence of a beautiful woman has encouraged them to show off.”

  Gem ignored him. One of the other men brought a black horse around, holding it while the leader mounted. He reached down and, as casual y as if she had weighed nothing, seated Gem in front of him.

  “A wolf and a queen in one swoop,” he said.

  “Back to the court, al of you. My aunt wil be pleased, for once.”

  Chapter 12

  How long the journey continued after that before she found the courage to speak, Gem did not know. Certainly, it was a while, because the landscape disappeared under the steady thrum of the horse’s walking gait. Rio wasn’t mounted, but instead had to walk surrounded by Winter Court knights. Although Gem was too far away to spot the acrimonious look in his eyes, she could guess at its presence. It was enough to prompt her into speech, and she turned so that she could see the face of the warrior riding behind her.

  “You said that you were taking us to the court.

  Which court is that?”

  “You can see our insignia, Queen of Anachronia.” There was a hint of irritation in it. “That we are heading for the Winter Court should not be too hard to work out from that.”

  So, he knew who Gem was then. She should have guessed as much when they first caught her. Of course, if he knew that, it gave her options. Gem drew herself up as best she could while seated on a moving horse, doing her best to look regal y aggrieved.

  “If you know who I am, then I demand that you release me and my friend. Treating a queen like this is an affront, and I would have thought your manners would be better.”

  The fairy knight behind her shook his head.

  “Can you real y believe that?” he looked like he might laugh, but didn’t. Instead, his gaze lingered on Gem for several seconds. “I suppose my manners have been less than impeccable.” He reached down, and Gem found her hands freed. It was an improvement, though since she was al too aware of the presence of the man behind her on the horse, it wasn’t like it presented a real opportunity for escape.

  “I hope that is better?” he enquired, with only a faintly mocking note to show that he could guess what Gem was thinking.

  “A little,” Gem al owed. “Now, who are you?

  You lead, and you are from the Winter Court. You are their king, perhaps?”

  Gem knew that the odds on that were low, but it seemed as good a way as any to flatter her captor.

  Heaping on the plaudits might be just what was needed to persuade him to be helpful. This time, the fairy man did laugh.

  “Hardly. The flattery is appreciated, but I am no king. I’m not likely to become one at this rate, either. I am Devon, knight of the Winter Court, and until recently the heir to my aunt, the Winter Queen.” Gem had guessed closer than she might Gem had guessed closer than she might have thought, it seemed, though it also looked like this Devon had spotted her game. That might actual y work for her though. After al , hadn’t medieval knights been keen on exactly that sort of overblown praise, mixed in with the odd pithy comment to show their cleverness? Especial y around women. Gem had read about medieval ideas of courtly love, and the admiration of noble women as almost a game. Her time in Anachronia had shown her that there was a serious edge to it, but stil , it seemed like something she could exploit.

  “Until recently?” Gem inquired. “I can hardly imagine that you might have fal en from favor.”

  “Ah, but you haven’t met my aunt.” There was a light note to that, but it faded quickly. “Truth be told, s h e rescinded my position the moment the two idiots showed up.”

  Gem didn’t have a clue what he was talking about, and it must have shown on her face.

  “Perhaps I am being too cruel,” Devon said,

  “but I, of al people, have a right to be upset. Two young fools showed up the other day, and now my aunt insists that they are her long lost children, Jack Frost and Katherine.”

  The names made Gem pause as the motion of the horse took them further across the snowy ground. Could Jack and Kat have made it through after al ? She didn’t know. The only thing to do was to keep Devon talking.

  “What do you say, Devon?”

  He gave a one-shouldered shrug as the other gripped the reigns.

  “I’l say whatever my aunt tel s me too, if I have any sense. Of course, since she’s not around, I can point out that, even with remedial tutoring, they both know nothing of our customs, or of our magic. I have been relegated behind two people who wil be next to useless in the battles to come, and who, even if they are my cousins, seem to have no interest in becoming what they must be. The girl in particular…

  she whines about everything, and from what I hear she was even prepared to argue with my aunt. I admire the bravery of it, but not the sagacity.” That definitely sounded like Kat to Gem.

  Hearing Devon say it made him seem a little less distant and intimidating too.

  “So how does the Winter Queen even know that they are her children?” Gem asked. “Or is it just Kat’s love of black that gives the game away?” That got the ghost of a smile from Devon, and he winked.

  “There’s the tale, milady. They are the right age, of course. The Summer Court stole my aunt’s children some sixteen years ago, as you would reckon time. They have a few signs of being fairy changelings, and Winter Court ones at that, given that they do not feel the cold. Also, they are from the right world, since the Summer Queen left them in the mortal realm. It is your home too, I believe?” It seemed that Devon real y did know about her. Gem nodded.

  “It is. So, what did I do to merit you finding out al about me?”

  “Wel , the Winter Queen does like to keep her eye on the many worlds. Anywhere the ice goes, she can look. Or rather, I can look, since it is my job to watch and bring anything salient to her attention.”

  “Oh, so you’re a warrior, and somewhere in line to the throne, a n d you do intel igence work.” Gem didn’t have to feign the impressed note in her voice. “Of course, you haven’t said why you watched me.”

  She got a polite smile in response.

  “Perhaps I thought you were worth watching.” They were back to the games, it seemed.

  Gem didn’t mind.

  “Of course,” she pointed out, “if you have been watching me, then you wil know that I c
ould kil you with a word.”

  “You could,” Devon agreed. “I am ful y aware of how you became Anachronia’s ruler. Tales of your bravery and beauty has traveled far. I’m sure if you wanted to kil me, you would have. It makes me wonder what use you have planned for me. I assume there is something pragmatic about this?” Gem ignored that.

  “If you try to hurt me, or hurt Rio, I wil .” Gem saw Devon look round to where Rio stil trudged along, guarded by his men.

  “Ah, the werewolf.” He sounded like he had only just remembered Rio’s presence. Gem wasn’t sure if that was a good sign. “I am sorry that he cannot be unchained. I trust to your probity, but not to his. I wil not risk the safety of my warriors.”

  “And yet you’re talking about “battles to come”,” Gem said. “Won’t there be casualties in those, on both sides? Wouldn’t temperance be a better option?”

  “I believe I told you before that I was not a king.”

  “What does that mean?” Gem demanded, sharply enough that the horse skittered sideways for a step. Devon soothed it with expert skil , before returning his attention to her.

  “It means that to disobey the orders of my aunt would be treason.”

  “Even for you.”

  “You think that queens do not kil their families?”

  Gem knew the answer to that one. In the middle ages of her own world, royalty had often barely hesitated.

  “This war could see your men kil ed,” she pointed out. “It could see you kil ed.”

  “I do have some prowess with a blade.” Devon scanned her face careful y. “Besides, why would you care? You have only just met us, milady, would you care? You have only just met us, milady, and I suspect that wishing one’s captors wel is not a common thing. Surely you would want to see me kil ed.”

  Gem shook her head. She would never want that. She abhorred just the thought of al the kil ing that a war would bring.