The Ice Warden | Chapter 6
Month III, day 23
The night passed quietly and the next morning the horse was ready for them, the saddle roughly adjusted for double riding.
Yuri let Atres and Sheila take the first turn. She was small and Atres was on the lean side, so probably the horse wouldn’t even notice the extra weight.
“With that long skirt you should sit side-saddle like a proper Lady,” started Atres. “But knowing you, you’ll probably fall off mid-ride.”
“It’s also very uncomfortable,” she replied, slipping her feet into the stirrup.
Yuri watched the scene with slight concern, but Atres glared at him with menacing green eyes. “You turn around, before my clumsy sister flashes you her thighs.”
He looked away immediately, and only heard them quarreling.
“Left foot, yes. Do you need a stool?”
“I’m fine.”
“Let me help you up.”
“I’ve ridden horses before.”
“Have you gained weight?”
“I have not,” she huffed.
“Fix your skirt. You wouldn’t want to show your skinny ankles. Are you steady?”
“I am. Come on up.”
Some adjustment noises followed.
“All right. We can go now,” Atres concluded.
Yuri finally turned around and they went on their way.
* * *
After a few hours, they stopped so that the horse could drink from a nearby stream and graze around.
The day was a bit cloudy but still clear enough. “If we keep the pace, we’ll be able to reach the river by sundown. From there it’ll be another day of travel before we arrive at the port,” Yuri explained.
“Time for a change,” Atres stretched his legs. “You can ride now.”
Yuri started to realize that he’ll have to be on the horse with Sheila and she might not agree with that. “I can keep walking, I’m not tired.”
“It’s all right, we said we would take turns,” she replied. “I can walk for a while too.”
Atres huffed. “I hate to say this, but you’re too slow. I’ll walk, you ride with him.”
“We can both walk, if she doesn’t feel comfortable,” added Yuri.
“I’m not… It’s not a problem…” she stammered.
“What’s the point of getting a horse if nobody wants to ride it?” Atres added. “Get back on, we still have a whole day and many miles ahead.” He pushed his sister back toward the horse and helped her up again.
Yuri decided that there was no reason to be difficult; it wasn’t a big deal after all. He sighed and climbed onto the saddle behind Sheila. He made sure to keep an appropriate distance from her back and grabbed the reins around her.
They resumed traveling.
Then he started to realize what a mistake that was. Because even if she was unusually tense, he was the one feeling uncomfortable now. Uncomfortable might not be the right word. They were close enough that he could smell the flowery scent coming from her, maybe it was something in her hair, he couldn’t tell. And trying to keep the distance between them was not very viable, with the horse movements and the bumpy road, so it was inevitable that they would brush against each other, and every time he pulled the reins, he was almost hugging her. Like they did in the Soth Woods. Thinking back to that was another mistake.
He clenched his jaw. Yuri was not the kind of guy who would be so affected by the proximity of a nice-looking woman, and was perfectly capable of keeping himself under control but, at the same time, he couldn’t say he wasn’t slightly… distracted.
“Do you think it’s going to rain?” Atres’ voice snapped him out of his intrusive thoughts.
He cleared his throat. “I don’t think so, the clouds are moving away from us.”
“Good. Being soaked would not be one of my favorite things. How are you holding up, sister?”
Yuri felt her flinch and for a split-second it was like a static jolt had run through him.
“I’m fine,” she mumbled.
Was she using magic again? For what reason? There was definitely some kind of energy coming from her, and he sensed it almost constantly, like background noise, yet it was not as unpleasant as when she used dark magic. It was an agreeable tingling that didn’t bother him as much.
They continued until they found a good place to stop for a quick lunch and some rest, then Yuri and Atres kept taking turns on the horse.
Even if the two siblings liked to talk back and forth, Sheila became immediately quiet when it was again Yuri’s turn to ride with her. He didn’t mind the silence, he actually enjoyed that, but it was tiring enough to travel for so long without her being so rigid all the time. He took the chance in a moment in which Atres was busy cutting through some bushes to make way, and he leaned in, whispering. “Are you uncomfortable?”
She flinched. “What? No, I’m fine… I’m just… maybe a bit stiff…”
“You can shift your position if you want. Would you rather be on the back?”
She seemed to think for a moment. “It’s all right, I don’t mean to bother you. I’m just trying not to bump into you so often…”
“That’s too much to ask from this road. If you slide back a bit, I can keep you steady. I mean… you’re not going to fall anyway, but your back will hurt like hell tomorrow if you keep being so rigid.”
“I guess you’re right,” she murmured, moving slightly towards him, until her hips brushed his inner thighs and her back rested against his chest. She started to relax a little.
That was another further mistake Yuri didn’t want to think about right now, so he swallowed and pulled the reins to get the horse back on the track that had been now cleared by Atres. “Thanks,” he nodded to him.
“This noise, I suppose it’s the river?” asked the Imperial mercenary looking further ahead.
“Yes, we are-” Yuri started, but his sentence was cut short by something that whistled toward him.
He felt a blow on his left shoulder. It took him a second to realize it was a crossbow bolt.
He immediately reacted by pulling the reins, forcing the horse to turn in the opposite direction. “Take cover!” he shouted to Atres and then stirred the animal to get away from there and toward the woods. Another bolt followed but missed.
He held tight to Sheila, forgetting all the pleasantries, trying to shield her with his body. “Stay low,” he hissed, looking back to see if he could locate the attackers.
“What’s happening?” she whispered, fear in her voice.
They stopped among the trees. Yuri scanned the area for a few seconds then spoke close to her ear. “Stay on the horse. If we don’t come back or someone else reaches you, run away as fast as you can. The horse knows its way home.”
He jumped from the saddle and grabbed the bolt stuck in his shoulder. It wasn’t deep, the cape and padded fabric got the most of it, so he could pull it off right away. He grabbed the axe.
“Where are you going?” asked Sheila.
“To get your brother,” he replied and then ran back toward the road.
Atres wasn’t hard to find, due to the noise of clanging swords. They had been ambushed, there was no doubt about that.
The mercenary was using the trees and shrubs to make it difficult for the attackers to close in on him.
Yuri counted five men, including the one who was engaging Atres directly. First of all, he reached him to cover his side.
Another man spotted him and ran around a spruce tree to get to him. Yuri parried with his axe and kept him at a distance with a kick.
The other three enemies were spreading to surround them.
“Where is my sister?” asked Atres, dodging a slash.
“She’s safe for now,” Yuri replied, turning toward the footsteps coming from behind him. A blade met the head of his axe. He hooked it, pulling it downward, and threw himself against his opponent, pushing him to the ground.
Atres evaded another enemy and traced the Warden’s steps. “Why don’t you use your magic?” he hissed, taking cover behind a tree trunk.
“Right,” Yuri breathed heavily. It took him a second to summon the light-blue star.
He darted to the side to attract the enemies. And then let the ice flow through him.
“Ljed.” His voice was the chill wind of a winter night.
The men were caught by the storm and fell to the ground. Frozen.
Yuri stood there looking at them, still in disbelief.
“That was quick,” commented Atres, reaching him.
“It kind of… feels like cheating.”
The mercenary scoffed. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.” He patted his arm. “Let’s go.”
A high-pitched neigh came from deeper in the woods.
“Sheila,” muttered Atres between his teeth.
They ran toward her and found another man, holding her from behind and pointing a knife at her throat. “Drop your weapons or I slash her,” he blurted in the Imperial language, with a clear Western accent.
“What do you want?” growled Atres.
“The Warden. Hand him over and you’re free to go.”
In silence, Yuri unfastened his belt with the weapons and put it on the ground, raising his hands. Atres did the same with his sword.
“Let her go, I’ll come with you,” said Yuri, while that unpleasant sensation was coming back, making him queasy.
Then Sheila whispered a word, and the gloved hand holding the knife was set on fire.
Taken by surprise, the men let go of his grip, and Sheila was able to slip away.
Atres ran to catch her, while Yuri sprinted toward the enemy. The light-blue star was back on his face. He grabbed his neck with one hand and pushed him with all his body weight, pinning him to the ground.
But before he could say the word, Atres shouted. “Don’t kill him!”
Yuri stopped. His cold stare fixed on the man.
“We need to question him.” Atres approached, sword back in his hand. “Who are you? Who sent you? Are there others with you?” He spat the questions one after the other.
“Why would I tell you anything?” the man replied in a choked voice.
“If you talk, you’ll have a quick death. If not, we’ll make it long and painful.” Atres’ voice was cold and merciless.
“What’s… the point? I’ll die anyway…”
“We won’t kill you,” said Yuri instead. “If you tell us what we need to know, we’ll hand you to the guards and you’ll keep breathing.”
“Doesn’t seem like a better option,” the man had the audacity to grin.
Yuri lifted him up and then slammed him to the ground, emptying his lungs. “Don’t test me,” he hissed. Then regained his cool. “You haven’t killed anyone; you’ll just get jailed as a bandit. You’ll live. Now tell us where your friends are. Are they waiting for us in the next town?”
The man stayed quiet, breathing heavily through his half-closed throat, Yuri’s hand still gripping him as strongly as steel.
“Maybe we should start cutting off a couple of fingers,” taunted him Atres. “Or something else of more precious.”
The man’s eyes went wide. Yuri saw all his resolve go away while realizing it wasn’t worth it. “I’ll… I’ll tell you, all right?”
“Who do you work for?” Atres started.
“The… Mists… a noble, I don’t know his name…”
“Are there others on our tracks?” Yuri interjected.
“We… we got orders to cover the area, stop at the villages… near the Soth Woods…”
“What about the next town?”
“We… were supposed to go there… if we didn’t catch you on the road…”
“How many of you?” Atres again.
“S-six…”
Yuri looked up at Atres. “We got five there. Adds up. Grab the rope on the horse, we’ll bind him.”
Atres shrugged. “It would be easier to just kill him.”
“You promised!” growled the man.
Yuri looked back at him. “I’m a man of my word. Also, the guards will have other questions for you. They don’t like foreigners causing trouble in our kingdom.” He grabbed him and lifted him up, holding him still.
Atres went to tie his hands behind his back.
Finally, Sheila came closer. “You’re wounded,” she whispered to Yuri.
“We’ll take care of that later. Now get back on the horse.”
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