Percepliquis

CHAPTER 16

Mince was convinced that the vast majority of his ten long years-soon to be eleven-had been spent with frozen feet. Even the empress’s gifts of thick wool cloaks, hats, mittens, boots, and scarves were incapable of withstanding the biting winds. His fingers kept going numb, and he had to make fists to keep the blood flowing.

This must be the coldest winter the world has ever seen. If the water in my eyes freezes, will I be unable to blink?

Mince stood with a bucket in hand and stomped on the river with his frozen feet-solid as stone. He heard no cracking, nor the gurgle of liquid lapping beneath the surface. There would be no water again, which meant another miserable day warming cups of snow under their tunics. Hadrian had ordered them not to build a fire and Renwick was adamant about obeying. The task was unpleasant, but they could make do. Mince was not sure how much longer the horses could go without.

Lack of water was not the horses’ only problem. Even though the boys had tethered them in a tight pack, and built a windbreak from pine boughs and thickets, the animals were still suffering from the cold. Ice formed on their backs, icicles hung from their noses, and that morning Mince had seen two of them lying down. One was producing a small puff of white mist at frighteningly long intervals. The other did not appear to breathe at all. The ones lying down were the horses on the outside of the pack-the ones exposed to the most wind.

The Big Freeze, as Kine had named it, had occurred three days earlier and come upon them overnight. The previous day they had run around in warm sunshine, playing tag without scarves or hats; then the sky had turned gray and a frigid air blew in. That morning Elbright had returned from fetching the water reporting that only a narrow stream ran down the center of the river. The day after, the river was gone completely-replaced by a smooth expanse of white. That afternoon when the snow started to fall, the flakes were no larger than grains of sand.

The five boys had been living in a snow cave beneath the eaves of a holly tree, and when the freeze came, they dug their shelter deeper and built a windbreak by covering the opening with lashed pine boughs.

Time passed slowly after the Big Freeze. With the temperature so bitter, they no longer went out except to relieve themselves. The only fun they had had was when Brand discovered the trick. He got up miserable, shivering, and cursing, and in a fit of frustration, he spit. It was so cold that the liquid cracked in the air. They spent the next few hours trying to see who could get the loudest snap. Kine was the best, but he had always been the best spitter. As fun as cracking spit was, it pushed away the boredom only temporarily and they tired of the game. As the cold wind blew, and the temperature continued to drop, Mince could not help wondering how long they would have to stay.

He should have headed back to the Hovel, what they began calling their snow cave, but instead scanned the length of the broad white trail that ran north and south like a shining crystal road. Mince was trying to see if some portion was clear. Perhaps there was a place where the current prevented the ice from forming. He looked for a change in color, but there was nothing but a never-ending expanse of white. Still, something caught his eye. Far to the north he saw movement.

A long gray line crossed the river. There were people, tall and slender, wearing identical cloaks. He stared, amazed at the sight, and wondered if perhaps they were ghosts, for in the stillness of the winter’s morning he heard no sound of their passing. Mince stood staring but it was not until he saw a glint of armor that it occurred to him what he was actually seeing. The revelation froze him as instantly as if he were spit turning solid in the morning air.

Elves!

As he watched the spectral cavalcade, they marched three abreast in the muted light, passing like phantoms on the ridge. They rode on steeds that even at a distance Mince could tell surpassed any breed raised by men. With broad chests, tall ears, proud arched necks, and hooves that pranced rather than walked, these animals were ethereal. Their bridles and equestrian gowns were adorned in gold and silk, as if the animals were statelier than the noblest human king. Upon them, each rider wore a golden helm and carried a spear with a streaming silver banner licking the air.

The sound of music reached his ears-a wild, capricious but beautiful euphony that haunted his spirit and caused him to unwillingly take a step forward. Joining the sound was the wonderful lilt of voices. They were light and airy and reminded Mince of flutes and harps speaking to one another. They sang in a language Mince could not understand, but he did not need to. The melody and plaintive beauty of the sound carried him with it. He felt warm and content and took another step forward. Before long, the music faded, as did the sight of them as they finished crossing the river and disappeared into the foothills.

“Mince!” He heard Elbright and felt hands shaking him. “He’s over here! The little idiot fell asleep on the ice. Wake up, you fool!”

“What’s he doing way up here? I found the bucket a half mile back.” Kine’s voice was more distant and out of breath.

“It’s almost dark. We need to get him back. I’ll carry him. You run ahead and tell Renwick to get a fire started.”

“You know what he’ll say.”

“I don’t care! If we don’t get him warm, he’ll die.”

There were the sounds of feet on snow, sounds of urgency and fear, but Mince did not care. He was warm and safe and still remembered the music lingering in his head, calling to him.

When Kine returned to camp, only Brand was there-Brand the Bold, as he liked to call himself. It was a bold boast for a kid of thirteen, but no one questioned it. Brand had survived a knife fight, and that was more than any of them could claim.

“We need to get a fire started,” Kine said, returning to the Hovel. “We found Mince and he’s near dead with cold.”

“I’ll get kindling,” Brand replied, and ran out into the snow.

Kine got the tinderbox from the supplies they had not touched and cleared a space near the front of the shelter. Brand was back in minutes with a sheet of birch bark, a handful of brown grass, tiny dry twigs, and even a bit of rabbit fur. He dropped the treasures off and set back out. As he did, Kine spotted Elbright carrying Mince on his back. The boy’s head rolled with each step. It reminded him of how deer looked when hunters brought them in.

Elbright said, “Make a bed, put down lots of needle branches-pile them up-we want to keep him off the snow.”

Kine nodded and ran out of the shelter past the horses-two more were lying down. He entered a grove of spruce trees, where he tore the branches from the trunks, getting his mittens sticky from the sap. He made four trips, and when he finished, Mince had a thick bed to lie on.

Elbright had a small, delicate flame alive on the birch sheet. His mittens were on the snow beside him. His bare fingers were red, and he frequently breathed on them or slapped his thigh as he squatted in the snow. “Fingers go numb in seconds.”

“What are you doing?” Renwick said, coming up the slope from the south.

When Mince had not returned after going for water, they all went searching in different directions. Renwick took the southern riverbank and returned only now that the sky was darkening and the temperature plummeted.

Although he was also an orphan, Renwick was not one of their gang. He lived at the palace, where his father used to be a servant. While really no more than a page, the boy had served as squire to Sir Hadrian during Wintertide. All the boys were impressed by Hadrian’s spectacular success during the games and this admiration spilled over to Renwick. The boy was also older-perhaps a year or two Elbright’s senior. Unlike those of the rest, Renwick’s clothes fit him properly and even matched in color.

“We have to get a fire going,” Elbright told him even as he fed the tongues of flame little sticks. “We found Mince on the ice. He’s freezing to death.”

“We can’t build a fire. Hadrian-”

“Do you want him to die?”

Renwick looked at the growing fire and the tendrils of white smoke snaking from it, then at Mince lying on the spruce bed. Kine could see the debate going on inside him.

“He’s my best friend,” Kine told him. “Please.”

Renwick nodded. “It’s getting dark. The smoke won’t be visible, but we need to contain the light as much as we can. Let’s bank the snow walls higher. Damn, it is cold.”

Brand returned with more wood, larger branches and even a few broken logs. His cheeks and nose were red and ice crystals formed around his nose and mouth.

“You need to keep him awake,” Elbright told him as he tended the fire as if it were a living thing. “If he stays asleep, he’ll die.”

Kine shook Mince and even slapped him across the face, but the boy did not seem to notice. Meanwhile, Renwick and Brand boosted the windbreak wall, which not only contained the light, but also reflected the heat. Elbright coaxed the fire, cooing to it like it was a child he had brought into the world. “Com’on, baby, eat that branch. Eat it, that’s right, there you go. Tastes good, doesn’t it? Eat all of it. It will make you strong.”

Elbright’s baby became a full-grown fire and soon the frigid cold fell back. It was the first time in days any of them had known real warmth. Kine’s feet and fingers began to ache and his cheeks and the tip of his nose burned as he thawed out.

Beyond the mouth of their snow cave, darkness fell, made deeper by the bright light of the fire. Renwick grabbed a pot from the supplies, filled it with snow, and set it near the fire to melt. Elbright refused to let him put it on his fire. They sat in silence, listening to the friendly sound of the flames.

Soon the shelter was warm enough that Elbright took off his hat and even his cloak. The rest of them followed his lead, with Kine laying his over Mince.

“Can we eat now?” Brand asked.

Renwick had established a firm rule that they ration their food and they all ate together to make certain no one had more than his share. Like the cups of water, they kept their meals inside their shirts, up against their skin, since it was the only way to keep the food from freezing solid.

“I suppose,” Renwick said passively, but looked just as hungry as any of them.

Brand pulled out his stick of salt pork and set it near the fire. “I’m having a hot meal tonight.”

The rest of them mimicked him, and before long, the smell of hot meat filled the cave. They all waited to see how long Brand could hold out. It was not long and soon everyone was ripping into the pork and making exaggerated smacks of ecstasy.

In the midst of their revelry, Mince sat up.

“Supper?”

“You’re alive!” Kine exclaimed.

“You’re not eating my share, are you?”

“We should!” Elbright yelled at him. “You little idiot. Why did you decide to take a nap on the ice?”

“I fell asleep?” Mince asked, surprised.

“You don’t remember?” Kine asked. “We found you curled up on the river, snoring.”

“You should thank Maribor for your life,” Elbright added. “And what were you doing so far north?”

“I was watching the elves.”

“Elves?” Renwick asked. “What elves?”

“I saw the elven army crossing the river, a whole line of them.”

“There were no elves,” Elbright declared. “You dreamed it.”

“No, I saw them on horseback, and they played this beautiful music. I started listening and-”

“And what?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, you fell asleep is what,” Elbright told him. “And if I hadn’t heard you snoring, you’d be dead by now.”

“He would, wouldn’t he?” Renwick muttered, looking out at the dark. “The elves-you said they were all on horseback? None on foot? How about wagons?”

“No, no wagons, just elves on horses, beautiful horses.”

“What is it?” Elbright asked.

“He didn’t see the elven army.”

“I know that,” Elbright replied with a chuckle. “It was a dream.”

“No-no, it wasn’t,” Renwick corrected. “He saw elves, but it wasn’t the army. It was only the vanguard-the advance patrol. I heard the knights talking-the elven army travels at night, but hardly anyone has ever seen them and no one knows why, but I think I do-I do now.”

They all looked at Mince.

“He’d be dead,” Elbright said, nodding. “But that means the army is-It’s night!”

They all looked at the fire, which had melted down a half foot into the snow so that it burned in its own little well. Elbright was the one who kicked it out. It made a dying hiss as the snow swallowed the flames. They all worked to bury the embers until it was a small mound of dirty brown with sticks and grass sticking out.

No one said a word as they felt around in the faint light for their cloaks and mittens. Silence hung in the air. Since it was winter, they did not expect the sounds of birds or frogs, but now not even the wind breathed. The constant rustle of naked branches was absent, as were the random cracks and snaps.

They poked their heads out of the cave, lifting them attentively above the blind and around the bundle of pine boughs. They could not see anything.

“They’re out there,” Renwick whispered. “They are crossing the frozen river and sneaking up on Aquesta from the south. We have to warn them.”

“You want us to go out there?” Elbright asked incredulously. “Where they are?”

“We have to try.”

“I thought we had to stay here and watch the horses.”

“We do, but we also have to warn the city. I’ll go. The rest of you stay here. Elbright, you’ll be in charge. You can explain to Hadrian why I left.” As he spoke, he moved to the gear and began picking supplies. “Keep the fire out. Stay inside and…” He paused a moment, then said, “Cover your ears if you hear any music.”

No one said a word as he slipped out. They all watched as he inched nervously to the horses. He picked the one closest to the middle of the bunch and saddled it. When he was gone, all that remained was the deep silence of a cold winter’s night.