Chapter 10
Blackfin appeared out of the rising sun dressed in heavy cloak trimmed in fur. His hand was bandaged and covered in mittens, the bandaged one twice as large as the other cover. He gave his orders in a flat voice and camp was swiftly broken down, the tents folded up into small crates packed onto the doglike creatures. Even odder, they left the things inside the tents when they were packed, seeming to cause no problems as the box folded smaller and smaller.
The thousands of soldiers formed up in squads, well covered in Arctic wear that was lightweight yet warm. The only thing I saw from them was the plume of their warm breath in the cold air. I realized that magic encased the whole group, raising the temperature of the space around them to nearly 40°.
I stood on wobbly legs with dried blood on my back, legs and chest. No one had cleaned or treated me, given me food, water or clothing. In fact, they completely ignored me until the woman snatched at my chains and pulled me to my feet. She had attached chains to my wrist shackles leading me like a dog on a leash.
Only the officers rode the creatures and Blackfin had something that looked like a demon. It was over 6 foot at the shoulders, gray with long hair that twisted and curled in dreadlocks. A horrible and ugly face like a mad ape. It ran on four legs with the front ones touching the ground with its knuckles. I had heard of them–creatures from the far north of the glaciers called snow apes. Violent, dangerous and extremely hard to control. As likely to turn on its rider as its enemies. Not that it had any, it preyed on man, animal and demon.
The soldiers marched and I with them although I was dragged more than I walked until finally, the wizard told them to put me atop one of the doglike creatures out front where I could direct the army towards the gate. It took them twice as long to march towards the tower as Cabor and I had, yet when we reached the spot where I knew it had been, all we saw was a flat area of ice and a knob of rock sticking up as the ice flowed around.
I didn’t tell them it was there buried under our feet. Instead, I took them deeper onto the glacier towards the massive gates that I knew was the main entrance into the city. I knew that they knew where it was, too. Cabor had told me that Blackfin and the Warlord’s Army had attempted to batter it down before. What they didn’t know was the way that I was leading them went right through a major field of crevasses and would slow the army down. Maybe even swallow their ranks if I was lucky.
The dog creatures (called ice thralls) snuggled up close to me and several even licked my face. Besides being cold and slimy, they smelled like yaks. I gagged and tried to find a seat on its back that didn’t cause the pain in mine to flare. At least the biting cold had numbed me to the point that I wasn’t even shivering.
We marched for four hours before the major in charge ordered a halt. Within mere minutes, the soldiers had another camp set up and the tents unfolded to create a compound with Blackfin and their weapons in the center, food in the next ring and men on the outside.
I watched them set up the battering rams and wagons on skis to transport them. They were making a base camp from which to operate, knowing that they were close to the entrance to the city.
The thrall sat down and I slid with it. Standing over me was the female soldier who had tortured me. With a sharp knife, she cut the lines that held me to the thrall, tucked the toe of her snow boots in my ribs and rolled me over where I lay in the snow and ice until someone made time for me.
I was vaguely aware as I was dragged by my wrist chains into a warm hut, hoisted into a chair and tied to a sitting position. People moved around me. I smelled food cooking, the noise of people eating, conversations and general military mayhem going on around me. Yet no one tended to me or offered to feed me. I wasn’t sure if I could stomach food anyway.
The head soldier in charge came in and one of my guards offered the officer hot tea, which the major declined. He stood in front of me and used the end of his baton to lift my head off my chest.
“Can you hear me, half-blood?” His voice was cold and supercilious. I didn’t answer him. I had not the breath or the courage. “I was told you can’t eat food only blood. Open your mouth.”
My jaw had swollen from Blackfin’s blow and my nose felt crooked, stuffed with blood clots and worse. He raised my battered lips and poked at my teeth, the fangs extended as he cursed softly. His thumb rubbed against the point breaking the skin. I tasted his blood and wanted more. Stared into his eyes and made promises that if he would help me, I would reward him with ecstasy. He remained steadfast against my magic and the others in the tent stirred uneasily as the force of my allure touched them.
“Try again and I will lash you myself,” he said. “Blackfin has warded all of us against your Dracule spell so it won’t affect any of us. Hudson?”
The bitch came out of the corner where she’d been sitting. I hadn’t smelled her over the scent of my blood on her hands and clothing. “Maj. Alexovy,” she saluted.
“Lord Blake asks if you would escort the prisoner to his tent and remain on guard while the prisoner feeds.”
“Aye, Lord Major.” She untied me, kicked the chair over and ordered me up, keeping her hand on her weapon but not aiding me. I struggled to my feet and once up, had to hold onto the chair to remain upright. She held the cuffs on my wrists and ankles but they were long enough to walk.
My first steps brought me to my knees and she hit me, ordering me to stand and walk. I tried but all I could manage was a crawl so two of them picked me up by my armpits and dragged me.
The cold air on my naked body was a shock. I cried out and shivered. They ignored me and dragged me out onto the common avenue towards the center of the compound where we waited outside Blackfin’s tent until she ordered us in.