Page 159 of A Dagger of Ice and Intrigue
Grandpa Constantine.
My father.
How many more souls would they snatch away from me?
“Best not say that, daffodil. The gods always know what they’re doing,” her father said quickly, looking up at the sky, as if apologizing for his daughter’s words. “As I was saying, grandpa’s soul still sometimes visits the mortal realm.”
The girl gasped. “He’s never visited me!”
“No, we’re visiting him now and we need a candle to do it, so he can find us.”
The little girl squealed in delight, a new pep in her step. The sound melted into the song, drawing me closer.
The forest path began to widen, the trees giving a wide berth to an unusual clearing.
The dirt was replaced with rough-hewn stones, more ancient than the ones in the city, onto which now even the snow seemed to have enough guts to settle on.
Up ahead, a humongous stone structure began to take form, seemingly out of the night itself. It looked like an upturned warship jutting out like a rock from the icy ground. Two arches guarded the entrance, intertwined at the top in one great spike.
The people in the front of the procession had already entered through the small door embedded in the stone, lighting it up from the inside with their light and their song. From inside the building of stone, the chant turned primal and ethereal, beating straight into my chest. It drew me closer, despite the shivers coursing up my spine and settling at the base of my skull.
Suddenly, I had the oddest feeling I was being watched.
Sylvester soared up ahead and landed right on the crux of the tall arches, like a beacon, so it wasn't him.
I turned, eyes scanning the darkness behind and around me, a stark difference from the light calling me forward.
Nothing, only trees and snow and–
My heart tremored as a flash of light flitted between the trees, delving further into the east side of the forest.
Apurplelight.
But I blinked and it was gone.
No hum rattled against my bones, no shakiness in my knees.
I’d convinced myself I’d imagined it when the little girl’s voice broke through all the sounds. “Dadda, dadda, did you see that? Let’s follow it!”
For the first time, her father’s voice had an edge to it. “Wenevergo inside that part of the forest. Promise me you’ll never, ever do that.”
“But why?”
Whatever the warrior told his daughter got drowned out by the chant as they entered the structure.
I kept staring at the trees, heartbeat galloping, but I saw nothing else. No glimmer, no flash, no glow.
Maybe it was just a weird phenomenon in this crater.
Maybe if I told that to myself enough times, I might actually believe it.
With a shake of my shoulders that did nothing to settle the shivers racing down my back, I approached the entrance, steps slow and unsteady.
Mrs. Mallowmere had told me to follow them, but she hadn’t mentioned anything about a temple–or whatever this place was.
Or entering it.
Still, I wanted to see. Wanted to feel generations of tradition surrounding me and immerse myself in it.
