Victim of Fate (17 page)

Alto jerked at the mention of the mines. He
twisted to look up at the man and asked, "What mines?"

"None of your concern," Krey responded
smartly. "You’ll see all you need to see soon enough."

"I’m not meant to survive this, am I?"

"Can’t handle a little run?" Rynn teased from
where he watched Patrina. She’d already eaten and was freshly
gagged. Alto hadn’t heard more than a few sounds from her; they’d
taken care to keep her silent.

"He means after," Krey explained to his
brother. He turned back to Alto and shrugged. "We’re paid to bring
you, not to know what happens after that. Does it change things,
though? Will you start fighting us now if you suspect this isn’t in
your best interests? Even knowing this young lady will face a very
unpleasant fate?"

Alto looked over at Patrina and saw her
staring back at him. He’d caught her gaze many times over the past
few days but he’d always looked away. Exhaustion had been part of
the reason, but so had confusion. Now he was being asked again. The
look in Patrina’s eyes was clear to him, all of a sudden. She was
worried and sad and furious and she did it all at once, in a manner
that only someone as mercurial as Patrina could manage.

"I’ll do what I must," Alto said, "if you’ll
let her go when we get there."

A tear fell from Patrina’s eyes and rolled
down her cheek.

"I don’t normally do this, but there’s no
money in keeping her," Krey said after a moment of thought. He
nodded. "Once we’re at the mines, we’ll cut her loose. You have my
word on it."

"Is your word any good?"

Rynn started towards Alto but Krey held up
his hand to stop him. He chuckled. "That’s a fair question. You’re
blunt and simple, boy. I like that. You’ll have to wait and see if
my word’s any good."

"It better be," Alto stated. "Or I’ll kill
you both."

Krey stared at him for a long moment before
he chuckled. "How I miss the fire of youth. Now eat and rest;
you’ve another long day ahead of you tomorrow."

Alto considered the wizard’s words before he
nodded and picked up the cold sausage. The wizard was right; he did
need to eat. He needed to keep his strength for what lay ahead,
whether that meant another day of jogging or finding a means of
securing escape for himself and Trina.

Alto was lost. The snow fell through the
night and most of the next day. It wasn’t until he was ready to
collapse in one of the waist-high drifts that the storm ended and
the setting sun broke through the clouds.

"I can’t feel my toes," Rynn muttered.

Alto lacked the strength to lift his head up.
He fantasized about taking his own boots off and jamming his frozen
feet into the man’s face. The thought of his toes being brittle
from the cold and snapping off made him giggle. It came out as a
strangled chortle too soft for the others to hear.

"We’re close," Krey said. "Another half an
hour and we’ll be at the east entrance. Alto, I’m impressed. I’ve
doubted the tales told of you and your friends but now I think
they’re true."

Alto looked up this time. He nodded, not
bothering to hide how his teeth chattered and his arms and
shoulders where shaking from the cold. Krey and Rynn had heavy
cloaks to wear. They’d even wrapped a blanket around Patrina from
where she sat behind Rynn on his horse.

Alto was distracted by someone stepping out
from behind a snow-covered pine tree. He turned his head,
forgetting the cold for a moment as he saw others emerging from
where they’d been hunkered down behind trees and rocks. They were
surrounded by the fur-wearing snow people. "Ho there, you’re
entering the land of the Snowbear Clan!"

Krey swiveled on his horse to face the
speaker. The savage-looking warrior wore a bear pelt with the head
of the bear resting on his chest. "Your people have an agreement
with us," Krey snapped.

"You’re with the fools in the mountains?" the
barbarian growled.

"You’ve been paid to let us through without
hassle," the wizard said. "That’s all that matters."

"I’ve seen no gold."

Krey frowned. "This is extortion!"

The barbarian rested his hand on the hilt of
his sword at his side. He turned and stared off into the east where
the storm had blown. "All that snow makes it hard to get through
the passes. A man could wander off and be lost in the wilds. Could
be lost till the snow melts. Maybe forever."

Krey swore and reached down to a pouch on his
belt. He yanked on it twice to break the thong and then threw it at
the savage. "Now let us pass," he snapped.

The barbarian grinned and stepped back. He
turned and motioned to the others and then frowned. "Garrick!"

The Snowbear clan warrior named Garrick was
staring at Patrina. Alto followed his sapphire gaze and saw that
she’d managed to get the hood of her cloak to fall free of her
head. Alto saw her turn her head to stare at Garrick, complete with
the rag still tied in her mouth. Their eyes met and she froze, held
captive by the impossibly blue eyes of the barbarian. Alto felt his
heart miss a beat in his chest and then pound against his ribs a
moment later.

The snow and the cold disappeared. Alto felt
a rush of heat spread from his chest to his face. His arms and legs
began to tingle, even though he still couldn’t feel his
fingers.

What he could feel didn’t matter anymore. He
had to act and now was the time. Savages and wizards be damned.

"Mind your man," Krey snapped to the leader
of the hunting group. He turned to his brother and added, "Cover
her!"

"Garrick! Don’t make me regret the favor your
father asked!"

Garrick turned to look at him and shook his
head. "I want her."

"She’s not yours to be taking!"

Garrick shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not. She’s
not theirs. Look in her eyes; she’s no prisoner. She’s got the look
of a warrior."

"We’ve paid your toll five times over; get
out of our way and leave us be!" Krey demanded. He pulled his
gloves off and shoved them into his pockets. "You won’t like what
comes next if you don’t."

"You threaten us?" Garrick’s elder said.
"That’s a fool thing to do."

Krey snarled and raised his hand up over his
head. He began to chant, stunning the barbarians by the unexpected
threat. Alto grabbed the rope and looped it around his wrists to
take up the slack. The young warrior planted his feet and pulled on
the rope with all the strength youth gave him.

Krey shouted in surprise as his saddle was
jerked to the side and the energies gathering in his arms
discharged into the upper boughs of a nearby tree. The branches
burst, showering everyone with needles, bark, pinecones, and tree
sap. Krey’s horse, already pulled off balance by Alto, reared up in
fright and sent the wizard tumbling into the snow.

The hunters from the Snowbear clan howled.
"Demon!" "Sorceror!" "Wizard!" and other cries filled the air.
Garrick alone seemed unfazed as he charged through the snow and
delivered a left hook to Rynn’s startled horse. The steed stumbled
back and away from him, tripping in the snow and falling on its
side. Patrina was thrown free and landed with a muffled grunt. Rynn
was not so lucky.

Rynn struggled to push himself free of his
mount while the horse flailed on the ground and rolled back away
from him. Grimacing in pain, the tall man started to climb back up
when Garrick’s shadow fell over him. He looked up in time to see
Garrick’s sword swinging towards him.

Alto rushed over to Krey and jumped on top of
him as he struggled to rise. He struggled with the wizard,
overpowering him in spite of the lack of feeling in his hands. He
managed to wrap the rope around Krey’s neck and was about to pull
on it when both of them were jerked forward. Krey’s horse was
trying to escape and pulling them with it.

They slid a dozen feet through the snow until
Alto managed to get his feet under him. He dug them in and pulled,
trying to stop the horse. It pulled harder, stretching the rope and
yanking Alto off his feet. The only benefit of the tug of war was
that Krey’s eyes bulged out and his throat was crushed under the
pressure of the rope.

Alto slid through the snow another score of
feet before one of the barbarians caught up to him and cut through
the rope with the axe in his hand. The savage helped him up, and
then grinned and displayed some missing teeth. Alto jerked back,
remembering the last gap-toothed smile he had seen. He looked at
the man again to be certain but the resemblance to Gerald, his
missing companion, ended with the primitive dental work.

"My thanks," Alto mumbled. He felt warm but
his lips were thick and numb. The savage nodded and took out a
knife. A few moments later, Alto’s frozen hands were free.

"Rorgin," the barbarian introduced
himself.

"Alto," Alto said. He looked at his hands and
saw how colorful they were. Shades of blue darkening to purple at
his fingertips.

"What clan?" Rorgin asked him as he turned
and led him back to the others.

"What? No clan," Alto said. He looked up and
saw Patrina was getting her ropes cut by the man who had saved her.
Alto studied him as he spoke, noting his jet black hair and that he
seemed to possess Rynn’s height with Alto’s width. "I’m from the
Kingdom, other side of the mountains."

Rorgin frowned, and then shrugged and walked
over to join some of his clansmen. Alto stood still for a moment
and then saw Patrina turn and look at him. Her lips parted and then
she was wading through the snow towards him. Alto crashed into her
a moment later, hugging her fiercely. He felt her warm breath
against his neck and that was all that mattered.

Until Alto’s eyes rose up and he saw Garrick
staring at them with a powerful cerulean gaze that felt like it
could burn through him. Alto gently disengaged from the shuddering
princess and walked over to the large hunter. He thrust out his
hand, hoping he’d have the strength to grip Garrick’s.

"My thanks to you; we were waylaid and
brought here by these two men," Alto began.

Garrick’s nose twitched as one side of his
lip curled up in a sneer. He dropped his gaze to Alto’s hand and
only then did his eyes widen. "I’ve seen this before," he said.
"Usually in toes, but sometimes fingers."

"Seen what?" Alto asked.

"They’re frozen. They’ll need to be cut off
and the wounds burned shut or the sickness will spread and take
you."

Alto’s jaw fell open at the pronouncement.
"You can’t! I can’t, I mean! How can I swing a sword without
fingers? Wait! My sword!" Alto turned to see that Krey’s horse had
stopped running and was walking through the snow to head into a
patch of trees. "Stop that horse—my sword’s on it!"

Garrick shook his head. "You fought well, but
you’ll not be fighting with those hands. Let it go, you’ve no use
of it."

"That sword is no simple blade," Patrina
said. She stood beside Alto and faced the barbarian down until he
shrugged and turned away.

"Garrick, your father will have your ears
boxed in for this!" the leader of the hunting party said as he
walked over to join them.

Garrick turned. "Tyras, look at her. I
couldn’t let them take her."

"Bah! You’re not even old enough to know the
touch of a woman!"

Garrick drew himself up fully, towering over
all of the gathered men. "I’ve known my share of women!"

Several of the others chuckled, with one of
them even mentioning a few names. Tyras’s eye narrowed. "Boy, if
you’ve dirtied my daughter—"

"I haven’t touched anyone who didn’t want to
be touched," Garrick boasted.

Patrina grabbed Alto’s arm and pulled him
back a few steps. "Go, get your sword!" she hissed to him. Alto
nodded and hurried off, leaving the bickering savages to fight
amongst themselves while he slipped away. They saw him leaving but
made no move to stop him since Patrina stayed amongst them.

Krey’s horse had calmed enough to let Alto
walk up to him. Alto spent a few moments soothing the animal before
he led it back to the others. He gathered up Rynn’s horse and
looped their reins loosely around a branch that Krey’s errant spell
had knocked loose. He jammed the stick into the snow to provide the
illusion of a fence post for the horses, and then retrieved his
sword.

"Here." Patrina rushed over to help Alto
buckle his belt and scabbard around his waist when his fingers
fumbled with the clasp. They looked up from the task and found
themselves staring into each other’s eyes with only inches
separating them.

"Um, thanks," Alto mumbled.

Patrina’s cheeks, already tinged red from the
cold and the wind, flared brighter for a moment. "You saved me
again," she said. "Not bad for a farm boy."

"He didn’t save you, I did," Garrick boasted
from behind them.

Patrina spun away to face the barbarian.
Tyrus was sitting in the snow behind him and rubbing his jaw. "Alto
distracted the wizard or you’d be scattered across the snow like
that tree was."

Garrick’s eyes went to the fallen needles and
branches of the tree. He scowled. "He’ll be useless, no fingers or
toes. What work can a man do like that?"

"You’ve broken the pact made with the men
from the mountains!" Tyrus growled as he stood up behind him.

Garrick spun. "It’s no matter. Those two are
dead; there’s no one to know they were ever here!"

Alto nodded. "Take their horses and whatever
you want from them."

Patrina spun back on him. "What, you plan to
just take me back home now and be done with me?"

Alto held up his hand to stop her protesting.
She saw his mottled fingers for the first time and gasped.

"You should come back to my home," Garrick
said from behind her.

"I’m indebted to you for your help," Alto
said through his teeth. "But you’re overstepping your bounds."