Daggers of Ice

Chapter 22

Cair Paravel.

Lucy.

"Slow down, Lu!" Peter laughed, is voice disjointed, somewhere behind her in the trees.

Lucy just laughed, enjoying the feel of the wind against her face, the steady movement of the horse beneath her. The forests were beautiful, the beginning of spring showing in the fresh blooms that showered their heavenly scents down upon her, invigorating her senses.

Winter had left the Cair.

The trickling of a waterfall tantalised her ears and she changed direction; cantering through the trees, her laughter echoing around her. The forests that surrounded Cair Paravel were her favourite place to be in the springtime.

And then she burst through the line of trees.

She froze, her startled cry caught in her throat and she threw herself from the saddle, her cordial in her hand, already unscrewing the lid.

The woman was bleeding profusely from a multitude of wounds across her body, deep gorges, the white of her bone showing in places. There was not a scrap of clothing on what was left of her body, her blue-dipped hair covering her chest, which was rising and falling only slightly.

The sparkling blue pigment of her skin was dulled, like gunmetal, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. And then Lucy realised, as she knelt at the side of the small stream, that she knew the wounded naiad. It was one of Asura's scouts.

She was laying beside the cairn, reaching towards the water, a trail of blood behind her as if she had dragged herself to the waters edge.

"Don't touch her!" It was Asura's voice that rang through the clearing, loud and clear, startling Lucy. An order. "Lucy, step back." The Captain of the Guard dismounted, her ocean blue eyes horrified as she joined Lucy at the side of the pool. "The waters will heal her."

The wounded naiad turned her tortured gaze to Asura, her lips trembling.

"Who did this to you?" The vehemence in Asura's voice shocked Lucy. The Knight was kneeling, removing her gauntlets and helping the other naiad reach the water.

"Creatures of the night-dark," the naiad whispered, her voice cracking despite the soft tone. Lucy's heart shattered hearing the pain that was laced through each word and she saw Asura wince from the corner of her eye.

"Aia, where is Taisa?" Asura's voice was a breath, as if she were dreading the answer.

"They ate her," was all the naiad said before she sunk below the surface. Through the crystal clear waters Lucy could see her lying on the rocky riverbed, her hair floating about her body as she breathed in.

"Creatures of the night?" Lucy had not heard the term before, but by the hardening of Asura's eyes, she had.

"Goblins," Asura hissed. "This is what we feared more than anything."

Lucy's heart pounded.

The injured naiad was one of the missing scouts.

"I thought the goblins had no leader, why would they attack us this close to Cair Paravel?" Peter's voice was strained and Lucy looked up at him, still astride his horse, to see his eyes set hard. "Has the Ice Queen enlisted them?"

Asura shook her head. "No...goblins are creatures of heat – they cannot abide by cold in any of its forms. They had a leader – long ago. Long before the White Witch came. A great sorcerer who had enslaved thousands. The naiads speak of him only in horror tales."