Sacrifice (The Snow Queen #2)(64)

Snarling wolves burst out of the woods, launching themselves at the soldiers. Rakel tried to cage the wolves, but they were spread out and attacked purposefully, preying upon soldiers past the front lines, making them harder to capture. Above their snaps and growls, Rakel could hear…flute music?

“It’s Judoc,” Bunny shouted. “He can control animals with his flute music. He’ll be hiding in the trees.” She snarled and transformed into a snow bear.

“Can he control you then?” Crow asked as he stood back to back with Knut and Snorri and beat off a wolf.

Bunny roared and slammed into a wolf, sending it sprawling.

“That would be a no,” Knut said.

Snorri moved away from his companions and ran for the forest, disappearing when he reached the trees’ shadows.

Snorri will find Judoc, but how do we take care of these wolves?

“Princess, raise an ice wall and try to funnel the wolves to Bunny, Phile, ’n me,” Dryden shouted. She clasped her hands together to create a joint fist and slammed it into a wolf—throwing it halfway across the destroyed village.

Rakel raised a human-height wall—giving Dryden a surface against which to place her back—and added two slanted walls so the wolves could be guided straight to them.

“Rakel,” Steinar said. “The soldiers.”

Some of the Verglas soldiers were attempting to herd the wolves to Bunny, Phile, and Dryden; others were facing two new magic users who entered the fray.

The first was a boy straddling the uncomfortable age between boy and man. He was short and scruffy but wore an expression of determination. His companion was an older woman who wore a belt filled with vials. Behind them—standing as tall as a small tree—was a moving sculpture of clay and sand, vaguely human in shape. Four sculptures of similar shape—but rising only knee-high—scurried around them.

“Noe and Constanza,” Farrin said, appearing at Rakel’s elbow with a gust of wind. “The boy, Noe, builds golems and controls them. The bigger ones are slow movers but heavy hitters and hard to kill. The little guys are less powerful, but fast.”

“And the woman?” Rakel pulled magic to her fingertips as Knut leaped out of the way when the biggest golem tried to smack him.

“She’s an alchemist. Those vials on her belts are potions—and each one does a different thing. Stay out of throwing range.”

Rakel nodded and created a cloud of ice swords. “Get back!” she shouted at the soldiers. Seeing what hovered over their heads, they scrambled away.

Rakel snapped her fingers, and the frosty weapons rained down on the two magic users, disturbing plumes of smoke and raising clouds of ash.

When the air cleared again, it revealed the uninjured magic users, who had been shielded by the clay creatures—which closely resembled pin cushions.

Unfortunately, the swords didn’t seem to affect the creatures at all. The creatures shook, and the swords fell off them, cracking when they fell to the ground.

“They’re sandy. The easiest way to defeat them is to get them wet, or they’ll keep oozing everywhere,” Farrin said.

“It’s a shame we sent Bluff on with the main group, but I can handle it. I’ll just freeze them in a block,” Rakel said.

“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that,” said an airy, aristocratic voice.

Rakel and Farrin spun around to find a handsome man—whose pleasant face was ruined by his smug smirk—lingering at the boundary of the village. He wore the black and crimson Chosen uniform, and based on the similar braiding and markings to Farrin’s old uniform, Rakel guessed he was probably a colonel.

“Kavon.” Farrin flashed the short distance to the man. He swung his sword at him, but another man jumped in front of him, parrying the blow.

Rakel moved to help but heard the alchemist woman laugh. She swung around and raised a shell of ice to protect two soldiers from her assault.

Steinar pointed to Farrin’s opponent. “He manipulates air.”

“How do you know?” Rakel asked.

“Look at his hair—it’s blowing like he’s in a gale storm, though we have barely a breeze. It’s why Farrin hasn’t nailed him yet.”

Farrin moved faster than the new magic user, but his opponent seemed to have some kind of shield that kept Farrin from outright stabbing him. Whenever Farrin tried to move around him to reach Kavon—who arrogantly preened behind the air-channeling magic user—he slid in between them and pushed Farrin back.

“Did you hear everything Farrin said?” Rakel asked.

“Yes,” Steinar said. “You want me to relay the information to Halvor?”

Rakel created a sword of ice for herself. “Please. Go, I’ll cover you.”

Steinar squared his shoulders and took a deep breath, then plunged into the chaos of the battle.

Keeping her focus on her brother, Rakel threw spikes of ice in his trail to keep wolves from pouncing on him. She rained needle-thin icicles on two of the dirt and sand sculptures to keep them distracted. When Steinar had almost reached Halvor, the alchemist stepped towards him, raising her hand to throw a small vial at him.

Rakel created a wall of ice to protect him, but Eydìs yanked the woman’s hand backwards with a lasso of twine.

“We’ve got her, Princess.” Tollak strolled up to the alchemist and studied her through a round lens that magnified the size of his eye. He plucked the vial from the woman’s grasp, and dodged her when she struck out with a dagger in her free hand.