Page 132 of Storm of Fury
Because if she made that mountain, then the Keepers and Chaos magic might not be the worst thing they had to worry about.
* * *
Tormund knewIshtar was aware he was following her.
She would stop at odd times, glancing back through the darkness and sniffing the air. But his presence didn’t seem to bother her, and he was slowly able to gain ground.
Moonlight spilled into the clearing as they came face-to-face.
Ishtar whirled upon him. Silvery blonde hair hung in matted strands, and her skin was so pale that it looked as though she’d never seen the sun. A thin, stained kirtle covered her body, leaving her arms raw and welted with little bumps.
“Easy.” Tormund held his hands out, not daring to move.
Thedrekiwoman stared at him, the irises of her eyes beginning to glow green.
“I’m not here to hurt you.” Pressure urged him to move fast—Illarion and Vadim had to be close by, and he didn’t think he could fight off twodrekiwarriors by himself—but in doing so, he’d startle her. “I’m a friend. Friend Tormund. I know your brother, Marduk. He wants to help you. We all want to help you. Do you remember me?”
Her nostrils flared.
“Are you cold?” he asked. “You look cold.”
The princess tilted her face, examining him like a cat considering a mouse that had just confronted her.
Tormund swung his fur-lined cloak off his shoulders slowly, and then held it out to her. “Put it around your shoulders. Like this,” he said, miming the action.
Doubt and wariness turned her eyes almost human. The green glow faded, until he could almost make out the emerald depths of her irises.
“I’m going to help you,” he said softly, taking a careful step forward.
An inch.
Maybe another.
Tormund gently slid his cloak over her shoulders, and she quivered like a newborn foal touched by a human hand for the first time.
“It’s nice and warm, isn’t it?” he whispered.
Ishtar’s eyes widened as he drew the cloak tight around her shoulders, and she sniffed at the fur as if learning his scent.
Suddenly, her nostrils flared and her head snapped sharply to the side, that violent green glowing in her eyes again.
No, no, no, damn it. He’d almost had her.
And that was when he heard boots crunching over snow.
“Back away from her, mortal,” someone called behind him.
Tormund whipped around, his hand falling to the hilt of his axe.
Where the hell is Marduk?
And Bryn?
Even Sirius?
The twodrekiwarriors stalked out of the forest as if they wore wings on their boots. Both of them towered over him by a good three inches, and their shoulders dwarfed him. He could weigh the odds when he saw them.
He was going to die if he chose to fight.
