The City Under the Ice by Barbara Bretana - HTML preview

Chapter 63

I took off from the very edge of the tower’s rooftop and reveled in the feeling of utter freedom that flying entailed, even more so than what I had enjoyed on the condorla. I had a vague idea where the Emperor’s Summer Palace lay---I had flown over it once before with Blackfin and he’d spelled my way to it for me. There was no chance of me getting lost---he had made sure to cover all my excuses.

I reached the palace just as the moon rose over the Mount of Ehren and she covered everything with a coat of silver frost. It was beautiful and touched even my numb soul. Still, I gave it no more than a lingering glance as I perused the buildings of gray marble for a place to safely land and make entry.

This palace was not an imposing edifice as the one in the capital but more a sprawling mansion designed to take in then cool northern breezes and gentle mountain sun. There were open-air courtyards with tiled fountains and covered patios with flowering vines climbing the walls and roofs cooling off the insides even further. Below the building was the tree line and they were almost as large as the Great Trees of Elassai. Fir trees, pines and Hemlocks, some turning gold already with the promise of fall. Most would keep their leaves even in the snowfall that was sure to come this high in the mountains.

I saw armed guards patrolling the perimeter and with my other sense spotted the powerful runes set up as a further barrier of protection. They did not react when I crossed them nor did the guards look up and yell ‘there’s a flying man!’

I banked and picked a spot to land on the highest flattest part of the tiled roof but being in snow country, the pitch was much steeper than I expected. My feet hit the red clay U-shaped tiles and I nearly slipped off---they were slippery with dew and my boots provided no grip. It was my hands with the new claws digging in the coping that prevented me from hitting the ground. Still, several tiles clattered down to hit the grass causing a guard to run over. He stared directly at me, as I was unable to move yet his eyes made no reaction as they passed right over my image. I made rude faces and obscene gestures just to prove Blackfin’s spell was working. I didn’t care if the guard saw me, if he killed me even though such an action was against both Blackfin and Connacher’s rules. But then, I supposed his rules had been broken when I had killed him.

I thought about killing myself, jumping off the roof but the instant the thought entered my head, my wings lifted me off the tiles. No pain accompanied me so Connacher’s geas had been lifted once I’d killed him. I felt no remorse; all I felt was the satisfaction that he could no longer hurt me. Of course, I still had the Wizard Blackfin to worry about and his torture would far exceed the Elassai Wizard.