The Icon Unbound

Chapter Twelve, Part A - Saiph

So, Saiph thought he would have easy choices. In this chapter, he begins to realize that he just threw himself to the hazard. Minor corrections here. Please comment and vote if you like what you see. Tell me if you have a guess as to where Meissa's gone. :) --Elizabeth, UPDATED 05/25/2017

Saiph took a deep breath and called a halt as the sun rose up to the highest point in the sky.

His Icon had slipped off of her chair hours ago to lie down on the deck; pillowing her head on some spare sail. She looked like a heap of cloth herself. Her tiny body lost in the veils and coverings she insisted on wearing.

He had watched her fall asleep, terrified that her commanding the wind into their sails had over-taxed her. Her heart, the source of her power, that drained away in some mysterious fashion every time she interfered in the natural world. He imagined it all the time, sitting in a box somewhere in that sunken tower, getting smaller every time she exerted her will over the elements.

Now he had the ability to stop her from using her power at all. He was the War Master, he could do it... he could save her. All he had to do was endanger his family, and possibly all of Waterwall.

Saiph shoved his oar into the secure position and stood up. "Saints defend me."

The prayer was probably useless; by all accounts, the saints were notoriously unforgiving of those that loved their Icons.

He had to get this done, so he could think. Shading his eyes, he looked at shore. Even on the highest peaks, trees crowded close to the river. He felt the subtle jerk on the deck as the keel began to skim along the shallow surface.

"Steady as she goes," Saiph murmured. "Oars up. We're here."

An ancient stone pier jutted into the icy water. Spring hadn't touched this place as it had the lower valley. Icicles hung from the stone, and two foot drifts of powdery snow covered the jagged ruins of the Old City. The last time he had been here, he had been younger than Meissa. It hadn't changed a bit.

Saiph took the rope coiled at the gunwale and used it to secure the end of the pier that looked least likely to fall into the water. Corwin and Ethan immediately disembarked. "You two, be careful. This entire region is unstable with snow. No shouting, no throwing stones, no wandering. Follow the drakys if you need guidance for where to step. You trigger an avalanche and I will order the Icon to leave your worthless hides where they are buried."

Corwin made a gesture at a crumbling arch. "Isn't this is the water source?"

"No. This is just as far as we can go by boat. Soon the current will be too strong for even this ship to sail against. The rest of the distance will be traversed on foot. More than eight tenths of the water in the valley comes from this mountain. Around here, we call it the Fountain." He pointed with his finger to a collection of peaks. "The actual source is a hundred miles due north there, inside the mountain."

Corwin shuttered "Caves? We'll be going...underground?"

"The Icon only needs to be at the mouth. You will not stir one step farther than she does. There are things down there that would swallow you whole, Chosen of the Bone Palace or not."

Saiph turned away from the man, and walked over to the oars.

Within the span of hours, his brother had aged a hundred years. Rigel's skin looked as gray as the underside of a fish.