One Bottle of Icewine

Chapter 14

At first glance, nothing seemed to change. Above the towers of Snow Blade City the wind blew merry shreds of clouds, the Guards' horsemen whipped up a cloud of dust rising high in the middle of the Hump Filled Plain, and as Ying Kong Shi left the last trees of the Snow Fog Forest, the mountains greeted him with a familiar glisten. However, as he turned his head, he noticed a reddish glow from the corner of his eye. Where he had previously seen only dull, dirty grayness, there was now the light of a long-seen fire illuminating the surrounding peaks. He was struck by the realization that someone had moved back into the realm of the former Fire Clan.

There was no time, he thought, and hurriedly awoke a spell, stretching the distance separating him from the Palace to nudge the Chief Adviser to the side without any particular ceremony. Liu Shu groaned frightenedly behind his desk, but sensing the origin of the magic, he nodded politely and stood up to head for Mirage Hall. Shi fluttered nervously with his wings and flew around the towers of Snow Blade City. He didn't want to leave anything to chance, he checked the guard carefully as he had to entrust the Ice Clan to them while he was away.

Time... Long-long ago he was willing to wait patiently for millennia if it was necessary, and now he began to count almost in hours, as if he were mortal, for whom even a heartbeat of time could be equal to eternity. The knowledge that Yan Da had fallen into the hands of the Ancient Spirit made him so impatient. Suddenly it seemed nonsense to entrust mortals with tracing Hui Heise and his father's sword. Can he trust a team of newborn Guardians and their hot-headed Captain, whose attention may be distracted from time to time by a dreamy pair of eyes?

He frowned. This danger threatened him himself. He was unable to get Yan Da's gaze out of his head as she looked at him and uttered his name... Yan Zhu laughed at him because she thought it would hurt his pride that the girl's first thought was a mortal boy who didn't even really exist. The Ancient Spirit was wrong, of course. Considering that for the Fire Princess it all started there, on that particular river bank, Shi wasn't even surprised. He smiled faintly and landed on the balcony of Mirage Hall with one last flick of wings. He changed back and put on his princely dress. He felt the light weight of the crown in his hair and entered the suite.

He took a deep breath to inhale the familiar scent of snow lilies when there was a knock and the door opened. Liu Shu did not waste his time. Shi turned to him with a smile, as an unexpectedly frosty stream of air swept away the curtains behind him.

- You damn, lunatic, stupid...

Shi waved his hand in horror, and the moment the High Counselor straightened up, the doors to the balcony closed with a huge bang. The Prince could only hope that Snow Bird would stay out there. Liu Shu raised an eyebrow, but then kept his opinion and bowed again.

- Your Highness, I'm glad you're back.

The Prince asked impatiently:

- What did you find out? Tell me quickly... Yu Yan's Dream Cube was not very talkative...

- The Dream Weaver and the Praedor will be here immediately to report to Your Highness. Hei Zhao preferred to stay in the Shadow Cave with some members of the Bear Clan. According to his message, even those hooded men are willing to stay calm even in the absence of the clan chief, only because of his persuasion.

Shi sighed and glared at the balcony. He blew one. No movement. For the time being...

A jingle signaled the arrival of the Chief of the Mermaid Clan. The Dream Weaver followed in silence, but after the bow, he began to speak not waiting for the Prince's questions.

- Your Highness, according to the dream, Hui Heise went south following the Gray Crab River. He probably escaped the villages and the Guard Camp making a large circle, as nobody but this one man saw him.