Stealing Snow (18 page)

Magic. The word rattled around in my head, shaking loose the possible from the impossible.

I’d seen big magic by the River Witch. I had never expected magic in the hands of normal people. I wasn’t sure if this was real or a trick like Kai thought it was.

The man in front of the table was barely impressed with the revived flower. He argued over the price.

“But will it heal her?” he demanded to know.

“It will do whatever you want it to do,” the girl said, but as the words came out of her mouth I saw one of her fingers twitch.

When the man cast his head down, digging in his pockets for money, the girl winked at me.

No part of me wanted to see the outcome of this transaction. If it wasn’t real I didn’t want to know. And if that girl was taking advantage of this man’s desperation, I didn’t need to see it.

Before I turned away, the girl caught my eye again.

“Anything you want to buy?” the girl asked, taunting from a distance.

I walked away without replying.

My hunger gnawed at me. I found myself returning to the fruit stall. Its owner, a burly woman, was distracted by the still-growing orchid that now reached the top of the booth.

I reached out for one of the tiny blue apples. I nodded at Gerde for coins. She reached into her dress pocket. A loud whistle from a high-pitched instrument sounded. I turned, sure I was caught. Someone had recognized me. Gerde must have thought the same thing, because she stepped closer to me protectively.

But no one was looking at me. Or Gerde. The commotion was at the center of the market square, up on a podium.

All eyes were focused there.

A guard in blue held a small boy by his wrist. A woman ran to the boy’s side, her face full of alarm.

What had he done? I glanced back at the stall owner, who was staring at the guard and the boy.

Just then, a handsome, stoic man joined the woman on the dais. The family tableau paralyzed me for a second and reminded me of the River Witch’s story about my mother and father.

“He didn’t mean it. Please,” the woman begged the guard.

“Isn’t there something we can do?” the man asked. He stuck
a hand in his pocket as if he were considering whether or not to offer a bribe. “Punish us instead,” he bargained.

“He’s just a little boy,” the woman added.

The boy looked from parent to parent with growing awareness that he was in real trouble.

What did he do?

He couldn’t have been more than ten. I could feel his fear even from a distance.

I thought about the feeling I got in my gut when I did something wrong at Whittaker. I knew there would be punishment, but ultimately the orderlies were more at risk than I was. From the look on this boy’s face, whatever was coming must be much, much worse.

“You should have thought of that before you told him that story,” the soldier said again.

“You’re right. It’s my fault. I should be punished,” the mother offered again, trying to move in front of her son.

“Please,” the father said beneath his breath.

“He was spreading the story to the other children, and he told them she has returned. You know the King’s Law. No one can speak of the Princess. To say that she is alive and well is treason.”

My heart fluttered in my chest at the words “Princess” and “treason.”

“It’s just a story children tell one another—like the boogeyman,” the man reasoned again, trying to make the guard relate to his son.

A shadow crossed the guard’s face.

From beyond the crowd came the sound of armor moving quickly.

Everyone turned and parted as one.

A man clad in reflective black armor strode confidently through the gap left in the crowd. It was impossible to see the color of his eyes through the slits in his helmet, but they seemed black.

“It’s the Enforcer,” Gerde answered when I tugged at her sleeve. “They say the King can see through his eyes.”

I pulled my hood up on the witch’s cloak. I didn’t know if that was even possible, but I did not like the idea of the Enforcer laying those eyes on me.

“Sing your little song for the Enforcer,” the guard demanded as the man in black made his way to the platform.

The boy whimpered.

“It’s not a request, boy,” the guard said. He shook the child roughly, which caused his mother to sob, turning into her husband’s shoulder. The entire market square that was loud and bustling just moments ago was now silent, everyone watching.

The boy cleared his throat and began,

She brings the snow with her touch,

They think she
’
s gone, but we know

She will come again,

She will reign in his stead,

She will bring down the world on his head
.

Oh come, Snow, come…

The boy’s voice quavered as he sang.

And then for the umpteenth time since I had left Whittaker, I felt fear seize me. The boy was singing about
me
, and he was about to be killed for it!

“We should go.” Kai breathed into my ear. “Now.”

But I was mesmerized by the scene before me. The Enforcer’s sword caught the light in the circle. Silently, he looked from the boy to the soldier.

“We will make it so that the boy never speaks again. That is the punishment,” the guard declared. “Your child will learn his lesson. And so will you.” The guard laughed, but the armored figure at his side showed no emotion.

My fear doubled—for the boy and for myself.

I closed my eyes and tried to wish it away. Somewhere in my chest I felt a burning feeling grow.

“Snow,” Kai hissed.

There was an urgency and an edge in his voice. He was protecting Gerde again and maybe me. But how could he do that when what we were seeing was beyond me?

“We need to get out of here.”

But I was fixated on the little boy’s terrified face. Anger could will out fear. They were going to hurt that boy, and everyone was going to stand by and watch. I didn’t care who the Enforcer was in that pile of weird metal. He could not do this.
I would not let him do this
.

I took a step forward … and someone in front of me screamed.

The crowd went wild. People ran off in all directions, pushing and shoving one another to get away from me. Something was
clearly wrong. I looked down at the ground and saw a spiky needle-sharp frost spreading across in a circle around me. I had done this. Without thinking. Without knowing. I wasn’t sorry though.

“He’s here! He’s here … The Snow King is here!” someone screeched.

But it was me.

The once-organized crowd devolved further into chaos in seconds.

Kai grabbed my arm. “No more arguments. We leave.”

“But the boy!” I protested.

“Nothing will happen to the boy now,” Gerde said pragmatically, nodding to the market podium. But there was emotion in her voice. She was not immune to how close he’d come to the blade.

The boy and his family saw their opportunity to escape. The mother pushed her son gently and whispered something in his ear.

The boy hesitated for an instant and then broke away into the chaos.

“Get him!” the soldier ordered.

I expected the Enforcer to chase the boy, but he was rooted to the spot. Instead he cocked his head and looked in my direction. Clearly he had noticed I was the one who had created the frost. The jig was up.

“Kai’s right,” Gerde said, sounding frightened for the first time.

Kai studied me a beat and then took the lead. “This way…”

I shook my head, my eyes still on the Enforcer, who was now staring at me and was getting down from the platform.

Gerde’s eyes opened wide. “You can’t.”

“Can’t what?” Kai demanded.

Gerde moved in front of me, blocking my path and ignoring Kai. “It’s too dangerous. You won’t find him this way. You’ll be killed.”

“Find who?” Kai said. He sounded different.

I put my hands on Gerde’s shoulders. “You know I need to go. I might not have another chance.” I pleaded with her silently to understand.

“Will someone clue me in to what’s happening, or are we just going to stand here and get trampled?” Kai snapped. “Or worse, captured?”

“The River Witch will not be pleased. You know that.” She looked at Kai for backup, but he just glowered at her. Around us people were still running in all directions, crying for mercy as snow poured from the sky. “She’s here to find the boy she loves. His name is Bale, and we think the Snow King has him.”

Kai was unreadable. He looked from me to Gerde and back again. Then his face fell, just enough for me to see it there: humiliation, pain. It hurt me to see it, but time was running out. I didn’t want to leave Kai like this, but I had to move. Now. Before people started to notice where all the swirling snow was coming from.

“The Enforcer can lead me straight to Bale. That’s what Jagger told me.”

“But the River Witch promised to help you with Bale,” Gerde argued.

The circle of snow at my feet began to pile up. I was getting upset. The Enforcer was striding closer.

“The witch promises a lot of things,” Kai said, putting a hand on her shoulder. He wouldn’t look at me, but I was grateful for his help just the same. Or maybe he was just helping himself and Gerde. I would finally be out of the way.

Was he helping me because of the kiss? Did he want me gone because he didn’t feel anything for me? Or because he did?

“I won’t run,” I said with gritty determination. “Not now. So either stay and fight or save yourselves.”

“I can’t let you do this,” Kai argued as we both watched the Enforcer grow nearer.

Gerde’s eyes met his for the briefest of seconds. They had sacrificed so much for her secret.

“Gerde, no …,” he said, reading her.

“I won’t let you fight him alone,” Gerde cut in—and in a flash, she had transformed from girl to beast. Fur and feathers ripped through her dress, and she crouched on all fours, her back arched like a cat’s. With a blood-curdling snarl, she leaped toward the Enforcer, blocking his path to us.

The Enforcer drew his ax and swung it at Gerde, but she easily jumped out of the way. She landed on all fours, teeth bared and muscles taut.

Kai ran toward the Hopper, the only weapon at his disposal. Unlike Gerde and me, magic wouldn’t save him.

The Enforcer gave me a steely gaze. He was completely undeterred by Gerde and strode mechanically toward me, crushing the snow under each heavy footfall.

I remembered what Gerde had said about the Snow King seeing through his eyes. And I remembered the River Witch’s and Gerde’s Champions. Was the Enforcer human? Or was he the King’s Champion, an ice man held together by armor?

There was nothing left to do but summon the snow. I closed my eyes, slowed my mind, and let loose a burst of icy cannonballs. A dusting of frost fell softly down around me as each blast hit its mark.

I watched as the Enforcer stumbled back, but I was surprised to see him regain his balance and continue toward me. Gerde attacked him again, but the Enforcer merely deflected her advances as if she were made of tissue paper. She fell in a heap in the snow. She let out a quiet whimper, and her body shifted back into human form. She was naked and shivering atop the pile of snow. He had hurt Gerde.

I raced to her side. She stirred. In the distance I heard the Hopper approaching. Kai was coming.

In order for the Enforcer to lead me to Bale, I had to defeat him first. But now I wanted to kill him.

Gerde’s eyes fluttered open and then closed again. She was only half-conscious, but alive. Relief and guilt washed over me.
Have I made a mistake? Can I really do this?
I wondered if the Enforcer was cold underneath that armor. I wondered if he felt anything at all.

I let loose a series of icicle spears, pinning the Enforcer to a nearby tree. Just as I let my guard down, of course, that’s when all hell broke loose.

An army of Snow Beasts surrounded Gerde and me. Their teeth gnashed, and their giant paws scraped the ground in anticipation.

“Gerde, get up,” I ordered.

But she didn’t respond.

I sent an avalanche at the beasts, and it seemed to wipe them out. The wave of snow rose and crashed over them. Bone and ice and debris fanned out as the wave crested behind where they had stood.

I let out a sigh of relief, but it was too soon.

Pieces of the beasts unearthed themselves and dragged themselves toward one another in slow motion, like drops of mercury pooling back together. And then I heard the sound of metal crashing against ice. It was the Enforcer. He had freed himself from the tree.

He moved fast. Faster than the armor should have allowed. His speed couldn’t be natural. It had to be magic.

Using a gust of icy wind, I knocked over a tree in his path and ran away from him, the River Witch’s cloak trailing behind me in the snow. I was outnumbered and possibly outmagicked.

I could hear the sound of the metal blade against the wood. The Enforcer was breaking through. I didn’t turn back. I picked up my pace.

Within seconds, he was a few feet behind me, reaching for me with a black-gloved hand. Behind him I could hear the growls rising again. The Snow Beasts had re-formed. But I also heard the crunch of the Hopper as it crushed one or more of the Snow Beasts.

“Thank you, Kai,” I whispered.

I could hear the Hopper’s engine. But I still couldn’t see what had happened to Kai. Was he being crushed or was he crushing something else?

I strained to see, but the Enforcer was blocking my way. His hand was close enough to grab me. I inched away, but he was too fast. He grabbed me and I kicked him, but the kick knocked me off balance more than it did him. An echo of pain reverberated in the bones of my foot where I had made contact. The Enforcer held firm and turned me to face him.

The Enforcer’s eyes were dark pits. It was as if there was only blackness inside his suit of armor.

I spit at him and wrestled away from him. I didn’t know how, but somehow I slipped through his grasp. A soft blanket of snow came up to greet me as I landed on my back.

I raised my hands and attacked with a sharp snow-cicle projectile. The Enforcer lifted his weapon and deftly sliced it in two. The pieces fell dumbly to the ground.