Icebound

Chapter 6

Despite all of her reservations, Anyu was sorely tempted to entertain his offer.

"You know the way?" She asked.

"Of course," He replied. "I know every corner of the tundra, no matter how far. I can get you back easily."

Anyu wanted to believe him, desperately wanted to believe that she had stumbled upon a way out. But it was too good to be true. Just like with the Ijiraq, there had to be some sort of catch.

"How do I know you're not lying?" She asked, listening to the rattle of his chains. There must have been dozens, hundreds of them by the sound they made. Why would one person require so many shackles unless there was a logical reason? "What if you persuade me to free you and you kill me?"

"Alright," He replied, a shrug in his voice. "Don't free me. Good luck out there. I'm sure you'll know all of the spots to find food and shelter."

His attitude was increasingly annoying, but Anyu had to admit he had a point. The situation was too grim not to take risks. If she didn't have a guide, she was almost guaranteed to die. And if he was lying, and he did try to kill her, then what matter was it dying a couple days ahead of schedule anyway? This was the only hope that she'd been offered, and she intended to take it.

"Fine," Anyu said after a minute's deliberation. "You've got yourself a deal." She held out her hand.

Kano moved his arm back and forth so that his chains rattled loudly. "Imprisoned here, remember?"

Anyu pulled back her hand, feeling her cheeks flush. "Oh, right." She said. "I'll go get my spear and-"

"Is it a magic spear?" Kano asked hopefully.

"Afraid not."

"Damn," He muttered under his breath. "Then don't bother going to get it. It won't be of any use."

Anyu frowned. "Then how am I supposed to cut the chains."

Kano nodded to her neck. "That pretty little trinket there is all you need."

Anyu instinctively raised her hand to grasp the bone hanging around her neck. Once it may have been sharp as a razor, but over the years its edges had dulled and yellow. It would have trouble slicing through a slab of fat.

"How..." She was about to ask him how he could see the bone hanging around her neck in this darkness, but decided against it for the moment. "How could this cut through metal?" She asked, somehow feeling ignorant and dumb at her lack of knowledge.

Kano shook his head at her, as if he couldn't believe she didn't know what she had. "It's a tamga," He explained, using a voice that one would use on a child. It was infuriating. "It holds no small amount of power... How did you come into possession of it?"

Ignoring his question, Anyu began to walk forward, her arms groping blindly in front of her. She finally caught a chain in her hand. The freezing metal burned her fingers, which had just started to get their feeling back. Anyu lifted her necklace over her head and looked at it in her palm. She couldn't remember where she'd got it; she'd simply worn it her whole life. Unsure of what to do, she hesitantly hit the chain with the tamga, not really expecting anything to happen. As soon as the two objects touched, the chain started to vibrate slightly. The metal links began to wither and melt until Anyu was no long holding a strong metal chain but a handful of sparkling gray dust.

"Excellent!" Kano exclaimed. "Only about a few hundred more to go."