Tartok the Ice Beast (4 page)

“I’m great!” Tom yelled, the wind whipping water from his eyes, his bones jolting as the sleigh careened over the uneven ground.

All around them was flat, white wilderness that seemed to stretch on forever, interrupted only by clusters of spindly trees with wide, flat leaves. The sleigh made a smooth scraping noise as they reached a frozen inlet. Tom noticed pools of water and cracks in the ice. Could they have been made by the Beast?

Tom scanned the horizon for any sign of Tartok. With a gasp of surprise, he saw another sleigh following them, some distance away. Its driver was a small, huddled figure that Tom recognized at once. It was Albin.

“Brendan!” Tom yelled ahead, but the wind snatched the words from his mouth and Albin’s father was too far in front to hear. Tom heard a thick cracking sound. Storm gave an alarmed whinny as the ice cracked beneath his hooves. Tom looked down and caught a glimpse of glittering turquoise water below. The ice had split open to reveal the sea underneath! Was the sleigh going to plunge into the icy sea?

“Whoa, Storm!” Tom shouted, and the stallion slowed to a halt. The sleigh lurched to one side, then stopped. Brendan hadn’t noticed anything wrong and was drawing farther away. But Albin was still following in their wake, and if the ice was unsafe …

“Albin, stop!” Tom shouted, jumping out of the sleigh and waving his arms. “The ice is splitting!”

But Albin couldn’t hear. Tom watched as the horse dragged the sleigh toward the weakened ice. It was too late. In an instant, the ice broke up around Albin like shattering glass. The horse snorted in terror, rearing up. The sleigh skidded out of control.

“No!” Tom cried out. He watched helplessly as Albin was thrown over the side of the sleigh into the freezing water.

“
A
LBIN!” YELLED
T
OM, RUNNING TO WHERE
the boy had fallen. Albin had vanished from view. Tom realized he must be under the ice, trying to fight his way back up to the surface.

Tom hunted around for the tiniest flash of movement. With Albin trapped under the water, Tom knew that every second counted. He threw himself down on his knees, trying to spot some dark shadow on the other side of the ice. After what felt like forever, a shadowy blue outline appeared.

“Albin!” Tom shouted again. He leaped to his feet and pulled his sword from his side. Taking a huge breath of cold air, he struck the hilt against
the ice with all his might. The ice just chipped. But Tom kept striking at it. He could see Albin underneath, struggling desperately. With a final blow, the ice shattered and Albin reared out of the water, gasping for breath and blue with cold. “Help!” he spluttered. “Tom, please —” “Grab hold of me!” Tom yelled. He reached for the boy’s hands but Albin was flailing, splashing water everywhere as he tried to keep himself afloat.

Albin dipped under the blue water. Tom thrust his arm into the hole and cried out. It was colder than anything he had ever experienced. Within seconds he had lost all feeling in his hand, and was sweeping it numbly through the water.

Then there was a tug. It was Albin gripping on to him. Tom pulled his arm out of the water, dragging Albin up with it. “Help me, Tom!” he gasped. But he was struggling only feebly now. Tom knew that if the boy let go and went down
another time, he would not rise up again. He grabbed Albin with his other hand.

Then he felt the ice split beneath him.

Tom held his breath. He looked down and saw the angry crack running through the ice below him. Any sudden movement could split it wide open. “Hook your arm around mine. I’ve got you,” he urged the boy.

Shivering violently in the water, Albin did as he was told. Tom was starting to shiver, too. He knew he had to get the boy out — but also knew that the ice could give way at any moment, and they would both be lost in the icy waters.

Suddenly, Tom gasped as he felt a pressure on the backs of his legs. “Hold still, Tom.”

“Brendan!” Tom cried, relief flooding through him. “I — I think the ice is going to crack under me!”

“I’ve got you. Just don’t let go of Albin, and I’ll pull you both clear.”

“Dad?” Albin gasped through chattering teeth. “Is that you?”

“I’m here,” called Brendan. Tom felt him pull on his legs. Together they were towing Albin toward the edge of the hole in the ice. Tensing his muscles, Tom managed to drag the boy’s upper body up onto the fragile ice. Then Brendan crawled over and hauled his son free of the icy water.

“Sorry, Father,” Albin breathed.

“Oh, my son, my son,” Brendan murmured.

“I’ll fetch some blankets from the sleigh,” Tom panted, his heart thumping like a sledgehammer in his chest. He grabbed a bundle and flew back across the ice. “I’m glad you came back.”

“I realized you were no longer behind me, so I came looking,” said Brendan, wrapping Albin in the blankets and rubbing the shivering boy’s wrists to get his circulation moving. “Why did you come after me?”

“Wanted … to bring you … luck, Father,” Albin stammered.

Brendan cradled his son’s head and smiled warmly at Tom. “I believe this stranger has brought us both luck.”

Tom smiled back through his exhaustion and staggered to the sleigh to get a blanket for himself. They would build a fire to warm up, and then they would get on their way.

Back at the sleigh, Storm nickered with concern, pressing his head against Tom’s chest. Tom rubbed his numb fingers against the stallion’s chestnut mane. There was a pounding in his head, and at first, Tom thought it was his racing pulse.

But the pounding was coming from somewhere else. A distant thumping sound. Not only that, but the ice was trembling faintly beneath his feet. Tom listened hard. There was another sound. The howl of something fierce.

“Tartok,” he whispered.

H
IS HEARTBEAT QUICKENING,
T
OM LOOKED
all around him. The horizon was full of distant dunes, but there was no Beast in sight. Tom turned to see if Brendan had heard the sound. But right now, Albin was the man’s only focus. Tom looked down at his feet and saw an intricate lacework of cracks spreading over the ice with every thump. He caught his breath as the hairline cracks surrounded him.

Tom knew the old stories about Tartok. The Beast was able to shatter ice with just a stamp of her foot! If she came any closer, they wouldn’t stand a chance out on the open ice. As he knelt
to examine the cracks, he couldn’t help but remember the chill of the water below….

Tom was jolted from his dark thoughts by a glimpse of movement in the distance — three dark figures on horseback, coming from the direction of the camp. And one of them appeared to be Elenna. He waved to the riders urgently. “Brendan and Albin need help!” he called. He saw the figures lean forward in their saddles, driving their horses still faster.

Elenna was first to arrive beside the upturned sleigh, two older women just behind her — Tom recognized them as Brendan’s wife and her sister. They leaped from their horses and gathered around Brendan and Albin with blankets and dry clothes to keep them warm.

“I realized Albin must have gone after you,” Elenna said, dismounting. “I came with his mother and aunt to bring him back.”

Tom jerked his head toward his sleigh and beckoned Elenna to follow him. He looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was near. “Can you feel that vibration?” he whispered.

Elenna stood still and looked down at the maze of hairline cracks in the ice. Tom could feel the ground shift beneath his feet — and clearly so could Elenna. She gave him a fearful nod. “It’s Tartok, isn’t it?”

“We have to find her,” said Tom, nodding slowly.

Suddenly, a huge tremor tore through the silence and a large, jagged crack appeared in the ice. Storm snorted, and Tom gasped as he was knocked to his knees.

“The ice field’s breaking up!” shouted Brendan. “Quickly, Tom, Elenna — get over here!”

Tom realized that the split in the ice was threatening to divide them — Tom, Elenna,
Storm, and the sleigh on one side, and everyone else on the other. He scrambled up and started pulling at Storm’s harness. “We must release him from the sleigh,” Tom said urgently. “If it falls through a gap in the ice, he won’t stand a chance!”

Elenna joined him, wrestling with the buckles. Brendan tried to come over to help — but the split opened wider. The ice creaked and groaned as it was torn apart. It sounded like the moan of an animal in pain — as though the ice were alive!

Brendan teetered on the edge of the divide, but just managed to fall backward to safety. One of the horses bolted and nearly trampled him as it leaped across the split, skidding onto the other side. Elenna caught hold of its bridle and hushed it, slowly bringing it back under control.

“It’s no good!” Brendan shouted over to Tom and Elenna. “I can’t reach you now.”

Tom undid Storm’s last buckle and turned to see that the brilliant turquoise split was now as
wide as a river, stretching in either direction as far as the eye could see. The blue water almost looked beautiful — even though it was deadly. “Don’t worry about us,” said Tom. “Albin needs to get back to the camp before the ice gets any weaker.”

“Head due east, to the foothills of the great ice mountain,” Brendan shouted over. “You will reach Jennal’s clan before nightfall. They will give you shelter. Will you explain to them what I want to do?”

“We’ll try our best,” Tom yelled back. “Now, don’t waste any more time on us — go!”

“The horse’s name is Shah,” Brendan’s wife called out.

Shah, a stout bay pony, had calmed down now. He pressed his muzzle against Elenna’s neck and snorted softly. She turned to Tom. “Are we going to the other clan now?”

“We will,” said Tom quietly. “But first we must find Tartok.”

“I wish we had Silver with us,” Elenna said, swinging herself up into Shah’s saddle.

“He’ll be able to protect the camp from any invaders,” Tom reassured her. “Come on.” He turned Storm toward the snow dunes. “It’s time we met face-to-face, Tartok,” he said. “As long as I’m alive, I’ll fight the evil of Malvel.”

Then, with a huge creak and boom, a fresh crack opened up in the ice right beside Shah. The pony snorted in fear and reared up, striking out with his front legs. Elenna gasped and threw herself forward, her hands clutching his mane, her feet slipping from the stirrups. Before Elenna could sit up in the saddle there was another loud crack.

Whinnying in alarm, Shah shot forward. Elenna grabbed the reins. “Whoa! Steady, boy!”

But the terrified pony plunged onward, his hooves throwing up clouds of snow as he galloped toward the distant dunes.