The Icebound Land- Character Reaction

EPILOGUE

"Stefan, it's your turn." The book was passed to the mimic, who took it eagerly, ready to put his skill to use.

HALT AND HORACE RODE CAREFULLY DOWN THE WINDING PATH that led from Château Montsombre. Neither of them spoke, but both felt the same intense satisfaction. They were on their way again. The worst of winter was over and, by the time they reached the border, the passes into Skandia would be open.

Halt snorted. "And of course we immediately run into trouble." Horace laughed.

Horace glanced back once at the grim building where they had been trapped for so many weeks. Then he shaded his eyes to look more carefully.

"Halt," he said, "look at that." Gilan raised an eyebrow.

Halt eased Abelard to a stop and swiveled around. There was a thin banner of gray smoke rising from the castle keep, and as they watched, it thickened and turned black. Dimly, they could hear the shouts of Philemon's men as they ran to fight the fire.

"Wonder how that happened," Crowley said, glancing at Halt. The grizzled Ranger shrugged, an innocent look on his face.

"I have no idea."

"Looks to me," said Halt judiciously, "as if some careless person left a torch burning in a pile of oily rags in the basement storeroom."

"You surmised all that, did you?" Gilan asked, joining in. Halt nodded gravely.

Horace grinned at him. "You can tell all that just by looking, can you?" Will snorted.

Halt nodded, keeping a deadpan expression.

"We Rangers are gifted with uncanny powers of perception," he replied. "And I think Gallica will be better off without that particular castle, don't you?"

"If that castle had never been there, it would have been better," Horace said, and Halt nodded acknowledgment.

Only the warlord had actually lived in the keep. The soldiers and domestic staff lived in other parts of the building and they would have plenty of time to stop the fire from spreading that far. But the keep, the central tower that had been Deparnieux's headquarters, was doomed. And that was as it should be. Montsombre had been the site of too much cruelty and horror over the years, and Halt had no intention of leaving it unscathed, so that Philemon could continue the ways of his old master.

"Do you think he would have?" Horace asked.

Halt shrugged. "He might've, or he might not have. There's no way to tell. He didn't seem to be a bad chap, but people change."

"Of course, the stone walls won't burn," said Horace, with a tinge of disappointment.

"No," Halt agreed. "But the timber floors and their support beams will. And all the ceilings and stairways will burn and collapse. And the heat will damage the walls as well. Shouldn't be surprised if some of them just collapse." Horace smiled.

"Good," said Horace, and there was a world of satisfaction in the single word.

Together, they turned their backs on the memory of Deparnieux. They urged their horses forward and the little cavalcade moved off, Tug following close behind the two riders.

"Let's go and find Will," said Halt.

"That wasn't as bad an ending as the last book," Gilan remarked. Stretching, he added, "I think it's time for a dinner break before we finish the day with the next one." The others nodded agreement, and they filed out of the room.