Finally they hit the foothills, plowing a trail through deep snow for at least twenty stretches.
Milla immediately got up to run again, but Odris held her fast.
"Milla! What's the hurry?"
Milla didn't answer. She began to drag Odris through the snow.
Odris tried again, this time stretching a hand around to slap the Icecarl in the face.
"Let me go," said Milla, her voice strangely flat. She hadn't stopped dragging the Spiritshadow. "I must go to the Ruin Ship."
"Something is really wrong with you," replied Odris. She kept hold of the girl and craned her head around again. Milla was breathing very strangely, her nostrils clamping in a curiously hypnotic pattern.
Odris was about to pinch Milla's nose shut when someone else shouted Milla's name.
"Milla!"
Odris whipped back to pretend she was a natural shadow, but it was too late. An Icecarl stood in the snow only a dozen stretches away, already kicking off her skis, her knife in her hand.
"Abomination!"
The Icecarl leapt at Milla, knife flashing at her throat. But Milla dodged, and the knife raked across her shoulder, cutting fur and the skin beneath.
"To me!" shouted the Icecarl. It was a woman, Odris realized. Through her mental connection with Milla she felt a name swim into her consciousness.
Arla. Shield Mother.
Answering shouts came out of the darkness, from not far away.
Arla struck at Milla again, but the younger girl blocked the blow and threw Arla over her shoulder. The Shield Mother somersaulted in the air and landed on her feet, twisting to block Milla's strike in turn.
"I must reach the Ship, the Crones," said Milla in her strange, flat voice. "The Ruin Ship, the Crone Mother."
"Never!" spat Arla. "Shadow-slave!"
There was another quick exchange of blows as the two rushed together. Milla was cut again, across the thigh, but did not react to it. As Arla turned to attack again, Odris saw the Shield Mother was cut on the side of her face, where a blow had knocked off her face mask.
"Stop!" boomed Odris. She rushed in and gripped Arla with one hand and Milla with the other, both around the neck. "There's something wrong with Milla. She needs help, not killing."
"To me!" shouted Arla again. "Abominations!"
Milla said nothing, but lunged forward with her left, supposedly empty hand. But the strange fingernail she wore suddenly extended, slashing through Arla's armor and furs.
Arla choked in midcall. Odris let go of her and dragged Milla back.
The Shield Mother tried to stagger forward, her knife raised. She only managed three or four steps before she collapsed. Dark blood flowed from her, stark against the pure white of the snow.
"To me!" roared Odris, in a fair imitation of Arla's voice. Then she let go of Milla and the girl was off and running immediately.
Odris followed her, wringing her shadow-hands with worry. Milla's mind seemed to have been affected by the cold or the darkness. It was still there, as far as Odris could tell, but was blocked off by this thick layer of thought that endlessly repeated the same thing over and over again.
The Ruin Ship and the Crone Mother.
Another Shield Maiden emerged out of the darkness, running at Milla. Odris swept forward and buffeted her out of the way, before Milla did something worse.
The Shield Maiden shouted some words that Odris didn't know, and the shout was taken up all around them, out in the dark. Odris could see and feel faint glows from weak lights all around, then she saw a sudden explosion of tiny green lights that shot up into the air. It would have been beautiful if it wasn't so obviously a signal.
It was followed a few moments later by the sudden blast of a deep horn, a horn being blown urgently, as if someone's life depended on it. A warning sound.
Still Milla ran on, always finding the hardest-packed snow or the roughest ice. She seemed to skim across the surface, bright golden light from her Sunstone flickering with her, her Spiritshadow flying at her side, in her full Storm Shepherd size and shape.
The Shield Maidens and Shield Mother who had come bursting out of the Ruin Ship in answer to the alarm saw her running down the hill, but it was not Milla they saw. It was a monster, blood-soaked and phantom-lit, with a dark beast of shadow as its companion.
"Ready spears!" shouted the Shield Mother in charge. "Wait! Wait!"
Milla came on, Odris screaming at her to stop, her screams only making them both seem more terrible and dangerous.
"Wait!" roared the Shield Mother. Then, as the light from Milla's Sunstone spilled across the first rank of Shield Maidens, the leader dropped her arm and shouted.
"Throw!"
CHAPTER TWENTY
The crushing, breath-stealing darkness pressed down on Tal. He fought it as he struggled to climb, to find another handhold, to break free and into the light.
Just in time, he remembered to close his eyes, so that when he burst out, he was not blinded. There was just the welcome flash of color under his eyelids, and the sudden warmth on his face.
Slowly, Tal opened his eyes a fraction and climbed completely out of the veil, to sit astride a long bronze pole that thrust out of the wall.
Adras was still holding on to his sash. As the Spiritshadow came into the sun, he let out a surprised gasp, and then stretched and luxuriated in the sudden energy.
"I have missed the sun and the sky," he rumbled, far too loudly for Tal's comfort. "Look, there are clouds!"
There were many clouds, in fact. It was close to sunset, and the sun was shining red and low through a deep band of cloud on the horizon.
Tal didn't look at the clouds for long. He was too intent on scanning the Tower above. There were no more gargoyles or stone ornaments, only long bronze rods and the golden nets that were suspended beneath the rods, nets that held neophyte Sunstones, Aeniran jewels that slowly absorbed power and light above the veil.
Tal wasn't interested in them today. He was looking for the Keeper.
There was a balcony not far above. That was where he'd seen the Keeper last time. But it was empty now. Nor was there any sign of movement on the walkway even higher up.
Tal looked back down at the veil. It was strange to see it spread right across the sky. It looked solid, like black soil, with the Red Tower growing out of it. If you didn't know what it was, you would never suspect that there was a whole world underneath.
Right at that moment, a hand thrust out of the Veil, fingers scrabbling frantically for a hold on the pole. Tal jumped with shock. Another, apparently disembodied arm followed, then Crow's head burst through.
His eyes were wide open. Tal had forgotten to warn him about the sun.
Crow screamed and flung one arm across his face. His other hand lost its hold. Desperately his fingers flailed to regain it, as his body teetered backward.
Tal reached out and grabbed him around the wrist, and Crow gripped him with amazing, panicked strength.
It was too late. Crow was already overbalancing. He fell backward. Tal let go, panicked himself, but Crow still kept hold.
Tal's own handhold slipped, his grip broken. Together they fell into the veil, even as Tal threw out his other arm, screaming for Adras.
They were in the darkness for only a fraction of a second. Tal felt Adras grab his arm with a familiar shoulder-wrenching suddenness. Then he was hauled back into the light. Crow came with him, almost wrenching his other arm out of its socket, until Adras reached down and pulled him up as well.
Both of them clutched at the bronze pole as if it were a long-lost friend. It took a few seconds before either of them spoke.
"You should have warned me!" hissed Crow. His eyes were still crinkled up against the sun. "It is so bright!"
"It's sunset," muttered Tal, in his defense. "Hardly that bright. Besides, I told you there was sun up here."
Crow muttered something angrily, but Tal couldn't catch what it was. He kept a wary eye on the Freefolk boy. At least Milla
was predictable in this sort of circumstance, he thought. He didn't know what Crow was thinking at all.
"Well," Crow said finally. "Let's call it even, shall we?"
"Call what even?" asked Tal, puzzled.
Crow looked at him scornfully. "Don't give me that pretend stupid act. Who did you learn it from? Ebbitt?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Tal said.
"Sure," snarled Crow. "Whatever you say. From now on, let's just help each other, all right?"
"I thought that's what we were doing. That's what I want to do."
Crow grunted. Carefully keeping one hand tight on the pole, he shaded his eyes and looked up. "Darkness!" he swore. "What's that?"
Tal looked up swiftly and groaned. Sure enough, oozing over the balcony was the Keeper.
Tal still didn't know what creature it was in Aenir. The Keeper had a huge, grotesque head, with many eyes and a very wide mouth, full of hundreds of tiny, needlelike teeth. It's body was snakelike, long and sinuous, coiling along behind that horrible head.
It was bigger than Adras.