Into Darkness

8

The light was fading fast by the time they got closer to the notch Richard had spotted from back in the forest. Some of the way was steep and dangerous. They had struggled to make it through the snow up above the tree line.

In several places Richard had to climb up, lie on his stomach, and then reach down to help Kahlan, because her pregnancy made it more difficult for her to pull herself up, and also Berdine, because her arms weren’t long enough to reach the edge. Once, when there was no practical way around, Richard had to quickly fell a pair of trees so they could cross a deep chasm. As they got higher, frigid winds funneled through the canyons to sting their faces with ice crystals.

In spots the thick blanket of snow hid deep ravines and rifts in the uneven, rocky ground. After Kahlan sank up to her armpits in one of those rifts, and he and Vika had to pull her up and out, Richard cut a long staff and took the lead, testing for ground under the way ahead to make sure it was solid. He cut a similar staff for Vika. She walked beside him, and together they tested the ground ahead. He had the rest of them follow in his and Vika’s footsteps so that they wouldn’t drop into a hole where they could easily be hurt, or worse.

As they got closer to the towering mountain, it was easier to see the notch in its lower slopes. The sun was setting beyond, to the west, to where they needed to go, and even though it was cloudy, the brighter light of the western sky silhouetted the shape of the mountain to reveal the cut in the rock.

“Numbers mean things, right?” Berdine asked as they trudged through the snow. “I mean, like the Law of Nines. You said before that numbers have meaning.”

Richard looked back over his shoulder. “Yes, sometimes. Why?”

Berdine squinted, shielding her eyes with a hand as she peered up at the gray sky. “Well, there are thirteen ravens circling us. Does that mean something? Thirteen?”

“They’ve been following us since we left the trail,” Richard said.

“Really? I didn’t notice them before,” Berdine said, her voice trailing off as she turned, looking up. “But now that they are overhead, I noticed them going around in a circle as they follow us. So, does it mean something that there are thirteen?”

Richard poked his staff into the ground ahead, testing. “Hard to tell. A lot of numbers have meaning. Some are more important than others. It often has to do with circumstances surrounding the numbers or even the context that makes the number significant. I can tell you, though, that ravens are crazy smart, and they are as curious as cats.”

“Oh,” Berdine said, not really knowing if that answered her question or not. “I just thought that maybe thirteen meant something.”

Richard glanced back over his shoulder at the witch woman. Her face was unreadable. He decided not to get into it and instead started out again.

Like the rest of them, he was bone-tired. Walking in deep snow was a lot of work. Kahlan was following behind Vika, trying to walk in her footsteps, but even though the person ahead was breaking a trail, it still took a grueling effort to pull each leg out of one hole and put it in the next. He could see that Kahlan was near to dropping from exhaustion. He wanted to stop and rest, but with the day drawing to an end he knew she would want to keep going while they still could, and she would want even less for them to stop because of her.

There was still enough light for them to see their way by the time they made it to the notch. As they worked deeper into the cut through the mountain he had seen earlier, sheer rock rose up to each side. It looked like slabs of the granite making up the mountain had broken off and fallen away, leaving the opening for them to make it through. The fractured rock created small shelves that allowed snow to build up, making white ledges that stood out against the gray rock.

In the sky between the soaring granite walls, he could see the thirteen ravens circling high overhead. Sometimes ravens followed hikers, hoping to snatch small animals such as voles that were flushed out by the noise and vibration of people walking.

He didn’t think these ravens were looking for voles.

Richard was relieved to see ahead that there was easily going to be enough room for them to make it through the opening, although the snow had built up in the sheltered gap between sheer walls, making it deeper and progress even more difficult. But at least it was a way to finally get across the mountains and around the trap. With the light fading fast they were all eager to get through the opening before they had to stop for the night, so, despite their exhaustion, they pressed on through the deep snow.

No one wanted to waste their breath to talk. No one wanted to give up until they were at last through. Each of them struggled to simply put one foot in front of the other.

To make matters worse, the wind had picked up and snow was beginning to fall harder all the time. It collected on their eyelashes and it had to be blinked away to see.

Every few difficult strides through the deep, packed snow, they had to pause to get their breath in the thin air of the higher altitude. They were all keen to get far enough to finally see beyond and confirm that they had indeed managed to find a way across the mountain range by skirting the trap of that strange fortress town across the pass.

Richard expected that once beyond the walls to each side of the notch and finally on the way down, they would all need to at least stop and rest, if not stop for the night, but he would prefer to press on long enough to make it down to the tree line and get back into the shelter of the forest before they stopped. He could see the tops of trees beyond, so he knew that the ground descended just ahead and the next day they would finally be able to start down out of the cold and snow of the towering mountains, down to where winter hadn’t yet fully taken hold.

As Richard poked his staff in the snow ahead and took another step, the air all around unexpectedly began to glow green. There was no mistaking that color for anything else.

Vika, her head down as she wearily plodded forward, was out a little ahead of him. She took another step and a hard, green wall lit in the air all around her.

Richard reached out, grabbed her arm, and yanked her back before she even realized what she had almost walked into. She looked up, stunned to see that she had nearly entered the world of the dead without even realizing it. She had been so focused on making headway that she was only watching the pole she was using to check the ground where she wanted to put her foot next.

They all stood stunned, staring at the greenish glow to the air before them. There was no need to talk; they all knew what it meant. They all felt the same sense of bitter disappointment.

Kahlan dropped to her knees in tears. Richard pulled the blanket she had around her shoulders up tighter around her ears to keep her warm. He hugged her, then, holding her head to his shoulder. He hated to see her in a state of such despair and on the edge of giving up. Shale touched her shoulder, as did several of the Mord-Sith. They all felt that same sense of wordless despair, but Kahlan seemed to be the one who most exemplified what they were all feeling.

“It’s clear that we can’t go any farther,” Richard said as he looked up at the rest of them all huddled around. “We need to go back.”

“I’m so tired …” Kahlan wept.

“The sun is down and it’s getting dark fast,” Richard said. He looked up at the others. “We need shelter for the night. We need to get her warmer. I’m sure we can’t make it back down to the tree line. These rock walls offer some protection, but not enough.”

“We need to go back just far enough to be clear of this boundary of death and then make a snow cave,” Shale said. “We do that often in the Northern Waste. It’s a quick way to have shelter and it can save your life on a cold night.”

Still holding Kahlan’s head to his shoulder, Richard nodded. “That would make the most sense.”

Shale pointed. “That spot just back there, where the snow is drifted up against the jog in the face of the rock wall, would be good. The snow will be deeper there and compacted from the wind that drove it in there.”

“Let’s hurry and get it done before it gets too dark,” Richard said. “We’ll all feel better when we can get out of the wind and have something to eat.”

Directed by Shale, the Mord-Sith began digging into the tightly packed snow. Once they had a good start on a cavern, Shale had them stand back. With them safely out of the way, the sorceress cast her hands out, sending a roaring stream of orange and yellow flame into the cavity. It curled around, melting the snow in deeper. She held her hands out, to keep the fire going, until it had melted a big enough space down inside for them. The snow walls to the side that had been melting quickly froze into a glaze of ice.

Richard glanced up at the black clouds through the snow that was beginning to fall in earnest, swirling around in gusts through the split in the mountain. “The storm is upon us. We need to get out of the weather.”

Shale nodded. “Take the Mother Confessor into the back, against the rock wall. It will be warmest against the rock from the heat of the fire. It should be hot enough to let us all get warm. The ice walls will keep the heat in for a while, and I can use my gift to warm the rock when we need it.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Kahlan said through chattering teeth.