Page 40 of The Midwinter Mirror
“Can you make a mirror?” I ask.
But she shakes her head. “I can’t feel the magic at all. It’s like there’s something in here blocking it. I might work out how, but it could take time and…”
And we don’t have time. “Damn.”
She looks away for a moment, then back. “If you want to shift and take Tansy and Josh to safety, then I understand.”
I know what she’s saying. I can’t take all the children. And I know for sure that Holly won’t leave them and come with me. But even if she would, I won’t leave them behind. It’s all or nothing. I shake my head. “We all go together. But we have to go now.”
I make sure Tansy is wrapped up warm as she snuggles against me. “I knew you would come,” she says. “You told me if I ever needed you, you’d be here.”
“I’ll always come,” I say.
I take the lead and head out of the cavern. Holly is carrying one of the little ones, and Josh is holding hands with two more. I pause for a moment, searching for any sign of Khazim, but he’s gone. A sense of unease fills me. Maybe he’s hiding, waiting to ambush us. I need to be ready. I’ll shift if I have to, but right now we need to get the kids out of here. It’s going to be close.
Grimlet flies ahead, searching for the fastest route, and it becomes clear that Khazim was playing with us, leading us on a roundabout path. We’re going to make it, and we’re going to shut that fucker up in here so tight he’ll never get out again.
The children are flagging by the time we reach the mirror, but they’re all still alive, and we’re nearly there.
By the time we reach the mirror, the kids are staggering, but still alive. My arms ache from carrying Tansy, but I don’t care. She’s warm now, pressed tight against me, and that’s enough.
Grimlet swoops down and lands on my shoulder. “Grimlet not like this.”
Not like what?
Then Holly freezes. Her face goes pale.
“What?” I demand.
She points.
The mirror stands where we left it, a sheet of blue-black glass, breathing cold. And in the snow before the mirror, gouged deep into the ice, are hoof prints. Massive. Brutal. They lead right up to the mirror. And vanish.
Her voice is low. “I left it open.”
The world tilts. My vision tunnels, rage surges, a snarl ripping from my throat.
“He’s gone,” she whispers.
No.
Fucking.
Way.
Chapter 16
Fire Over Elderfell
Holly
No. No, no, no.
The hoof prints vanish right at the edge of the mirror, swallowed up by the snow. My stomach twists as if the ground has dropped away beneath me.
This is my fault. I should have thought. I should…
But then I couldn’t have closed the mirror from in here. My magic is…dead in the ice prison.
