Ruby Shadows (Born to Darkness #3)(74)

He snorted again and began moving, once more picking his way carefully down a path only he could see. Personally, I was glad everything was covered with snow as the plains of Minauros had been covered with sand. If there were thousands of pools filled with eternally-drowning murderers and murderesses on this vast tract of frozen waste, I didn’t want to know about it. I simply bent my body as close to Kurex’s warm neck as I could get and let him take me where he wanted.

After what seemed like hours but might only have been minutes, the big horse came to a stop and I heard him snort again. Forcing myself to look up, I saw a crude wooden shack set on a little bit of raised ground. Was this what passed for shelter here in Stygia? Well, at least it would be out of the freezing wind which was whipping against my numb legs and turning the folds of my wet dress to ice.

Kurex snorted again and I patted his neck.

“Good boy. Thank you—this is good.”

I half slid, half fell off his back and stumbled to the icy ground. There was a little, well-worn path leading up to the cabin. It had a thin dusting of snow and I saw cloven hoof prints leading away from it. Perhaps it belonged to some kind of shepherd who kept sheep or goats? Or maybe something much worse, whispered an ominous voice in the back of my head.

But I couldn’t afford to be afraid of what might be behind the crude wooden door of the little shack. If I stayed out here in the punishing wind which whipped snowflakes against my cheeks I was going to freeze to death.

Forcing myself forward, I climbed the small path, keeping my eyes on the ground, taking one step at a time. I had a moment of dull amazement when I realized that both my little black ballet flats were still on, despite my dip in the Drowning Pool. Wow, that was nice anyway. Or it would be if they weren’t sloshing with icy water.

Finally I reached the wooden door and reached for the latch. I swung it open as quietly as I could, not sure what to expect.


What greeted my eyes was a one-room living space—a lot like the small, dark cabins you see on those pioneer reenactment farms where everyone wears period clothes and actually churns butter. There was a bed in one corner—thankfully empty, a table with two crude wooden stools on the other side of the room and—this was what finally drew me inside—a fireplace.

There was no fire in the grate but there was wood in an untidy stack nearby. Calling fire is one of the first bits of magic a witch learns and it doesn’t take any special ceremonies or paraphernalia. As tired and frozen as I was, I thought I could manage to call a spark. And after that, if the wood was good and dry, the fire would take care of itself.

“Hello?” I said as loudly as I could, looking around as I stood just inside the door. The room looked empty but I wanted to be sure. “Hello, is anyone home?”

Silence was my only answer and I was satisfied at last that I could stay here—at least for a while.

“Okay, Kurex,” I said, turning to speak to the big horse. “This is good. It’s kind of small but we might be able to squeeze you inside if you duck and—”

But the words died in my throat. Kurex was already trotting away, going back the way we had come.

“Kurex, no!” I took a step towards him, feeling like I was losing my only friend. But the icy wind whipping just outside the doorway made me stop. I felt the stinging bite of tiny bits of ice against my cheek—the snow had turned to hail. Reluctantly, I stepped back inside and shut the door. Laish was gone and now Kurex was too.

I was all alone in Hell.



Chapter Twenty-three

Gwendolyn





It didn’t take too long to get the fire going. The wood was heavy but it was dry. When I had finally managed to dump several big, clunky logs into the iron grate of the fireplace I summoned the last of my strength and called a spark.

The spark took on the first try and soon the fire was licking up and down the logs hungrily. I was so tired at that point I wanted to just lay down in front of the fireplace and sleep, but I couldn’t. The wet dress was dragging me down, keeping me chilled to the bone despite the roaring fire.

I struggled with the sodden fabric, trying to get it off but it clung to me stubbornly. At last, in desperation, I managed to rip it in the middle and peel it down. I stepped out of it and kicked it to one side, standing naked in front of the fire at last. I didn’t know what I was going to wear out of here but at least now I wouldn’t freeze to death.

I had a sudden thought and went to look in my leather satchel, which I’d dumped by the door when I first came in. I didn’t like being naked and maybe the change of clothes I’d brought would finally come in handy.

It was no good though—the satchel had come with me into the Drowning Pool and my spare jeans and t-shirt were completely soaked. I left them in the satchel and went back to the fireplace.

“Ahhh…” The soft sigh broke from my lips as the warmth bathed my chilly skin. I had been afraid I might have gotten frostbite from the cold but to my relief, all my fingers and toes seemed to work normally as they warmed up. I set my little black shoes to dry by the side of the grate and turned back and forth, letting the warmth bathe my naked skin from back to front and back again.

At last I felt warm enough to explore a little—not that there was much to explore. The crude bed had no sheets—only a single stiff gray blanket on its dirty mattress. The mattress itself looked like it might be stuffed with straw or some other itchy material that poked through in places. I decided that if I had to sleep here, I would just curl up in front of the fire. Who knew what kind of vermin infested the bed?