The Wrathful Mountains by Lana Axe Page B

pulling his cloak nearer his skin. He glanced
skyward, puzzled at the drop in temperature. This should have been the warmest
time of day, especially judging by the thin layer of melting ice atop the
snowfall.
    Grabbing Tashi’s
arm, Kaiya stopped her from going any farther. She held up a hand for the
others to stop as well before turning her ear to the wind, a voice wafting
clearly toward her.
    “Something is out there,”
she said.

Chapter 9
     
    “Y ou see
something?” Raad asked, squinting his eyes and craning his neck. Whatever Kaiya
was seeing, the miner was not.
    “I didn’t see it,”
the sorceress replied. “I felt it.” Tuning her mind to the snow-covered path
before them, she searched for whatever was watching. This was entirely
different from the presence she had sensed before. This creature was also angry,
but it was far less powerful.
    “There!” Galen
shouted, pointing toward the tree line. Outlined against the green boughs and
powdery snow, the shape of a face came into view, its dark hair and eyes
unmistakable against the backdrop.
    “I don’t see
anything,” Tashi said, still straining to see.
    “I thought I did,
but it’s gone,” Raad said.
    “Not gone,” Kaiya
said. “She’s moving closer.” The presence was distinctly female, both angry and
woeful. Who are you? she projected with her mind.
    No answer.
    Trying again, the
sorceress sent her message along the wind. Who are you? How did you come to
this pass? Do you need help?
    Silence.
    “I see her!” Tashi
shouted, pointing to a new location. The eyes stared out at the travelers, a
hint of longing written within them.
    Shutting her eyes,
Kaiya waited, her ears hearing nothing but the wind. Finally, a voice drifted
softly along an icy breeze.
    Who am I? One
who is lost. You are the help I seek.
    Kaiya’s eyes shot
open, the woman’s words echoing in her ears. There was malice behind them, her
true intent uncertain.
    “She’s moving
toward us,” Galen said.
    Looking straight
ahead, the image of a woman in a flowing white robe appeared before them. She
floated above the snow, no visible feet touching the ground. Her body was
transparent, her form barely discernable in the distance. Softly, slowly, she
moved toward the travelers.
    “A yukona,” Tashi
said, her voice cracking.
    “Explain,” Kaiya
replied, keeping her eyes focused on the apparition.
    “She is an ancient
spirit,” the priestess said. “The soul of one who died in this pass in a
snowstorm or avalanche, and she has remained trapped.”
    “What does she
want?” Galen asked, fearing the answer.
    “A host,” Tashi
replied. “She craves a mortal body that she might walk the earth once more.”
    “Well, she can’t
have mine,” Raad said, readying himself for a fight.
    “I doubt she’d want
it,” Galen replied. “She probably wants Kaiya or Tashi.”
    “Male or female
doesn’t matter to her,” Tashi explained. “She is angry, and she will kill to
get what her heart desires.”
    “Do you know how to
stop her?” Kaiya asked, fearing the answer.
    “She can’t be
stopped,” Tashi replied. “We must outrun her.”
    At those words the
group proceeded forward at a brisk pace, but they did not run. The yukona’s
movements were too unpredictable, and running could easily land them straight
in her clutches.
    Fewer than a
hundred feet ahead, Tashi, who was in the lead, slammed into an unseen barrier,
landing hard on her back. Kaiya helped her to her feet and placed a palm
against the invisible wall.
    “She’s erected some
kind of shield,” she announced. “We’ll have to find a way around it.”
    The group spread
out, each of them running their hands along the barrier, searching for an
opening.
    “Over here,” Raad
called.
    The others joined
him, still guiding themselves with their hands. The wall was now on both sides
of them, a narrow hallway of magical barriers forcing them toward the trees.
    “She’s funneling
us,” Kaiya muttered, her