Page 84 of Nightbane
“And you’re going to make a lovely pile of ashes,” Enya replied, her fire bursting forth, burning his beard. The man screamed as the rest of him caught fire. He rolled onto the snow.
A sword came for Isla’s neck, and she ducked, then hit the man in the temple, knocking him out. They needed these warriors—they were worthless in battle dead.
Enough.
She flung her arms to either side, and trees sprung up from the lifeless land, breaking through the ice.
The Vinderland went still. If they didn’t recognize her before, they certainly did now.
One towering man stepped forward, his armor clanking. He took off his horned helmet, revealing a sharp face with a diagonal scar across it. “How dare you come here, after killing so many of us?”
Isla bared her teeth. “You all almost killed me. You tried to eat me. You put an arrow through my heart.”
His eyes narrowed. “Yet here you are. Do you think you’ll be so lucky to escape death a third time?”
She almost smiled.Escape death. That was exactly what she was trying to do.
“With your help, I hope so,” she said.
The man laughed. It was hoarse and made her skin crawl. The rest joined him, their laughs echoing in their helmets. “We would sooner die than help any of you.”
“Then you will die anyway,” she said, stepping forward. “Nightshades are coming to destroy Lightlark. There will be nothing left. Every inch will be decimated. Everyone will perish, including you.”
The man’s eyes narrowed at her. “Lightlark has survived thousands of years, several wars—”
“Not like this one,” she said. “I know the future, and it is destruction.”
“The oracle—”
“She says Lightlark’s fate is in the balance. Everyone must protect it.” She curled her lip in disgust. “I hate you,” she said. “And you hate me. But we have a common enemy, and that is anyone who would destroy Lightlark. I’m sure you’ve noticed Moonling has left.”
He nodded.
“They have joined Nightshade.”
The warriors behind him began talking to each other.
“We need you,” Isla said. “We need every warrior on this island to defend it. Say you will fight alongside us. If we can make peace, then there is hope for the future of Lightlark.”
The man considered. She waited. Finally, he put his helmet back on and said, “No.”
Then, he gripped his battle axe and aimed for her head.
Her focus wavered; her shield fell away. Time seemed to slow down as she watched the axe swing toward her face. Her hand instinctively raised to block herself, fingers half an inch from the metal. In her mind, she knew, logically, her hand would be cut in half, and the axe would bury in her brain. She would die.
But that’s not what happened.
The moment Isla touched the blade, the axe turned to ash.
BEFORE
Isla counted down the days until her visit to Creetan’s Crag. She often waited up past midnight, in case Grim might make an appearance. Maybe there would be a change in their plan, another place to go.
He never came. She started to turn their last conversation around in her mind.Don’t speak about my people when you don’t know the first thing about your own.
He was right. All she knew about the Wildlings was what Terra and Poppy had told her. Her people were strangers. She only ever saw them during ceremonies.
That night, so late that she was sure Poppy and Terra were sleeping, she grabbed her starstick and portaled to the other side of the Wildling newland. Before, she’d never dared. The cost of getting caught was too great.
