Frostfire (30 page)

Storvatten was more of a village, with scattered cabins and cottages hidden in the
trees. There were no paved roads—only dirt and gravel paths connecting them. As Tove
and I walked along the lake, I’d glance over and only occasionally get a glimpse of
a house. Most of them were overgrown with moss, making them nearly invisible among
the trees, but they were all within feet of the lake.

“Should we ask them if they’ve seen anything?” I asked Tove, and motioned to nearby
house.

It was built very low to the ground, so I assumed it was more of a burrow, like Ridley’s
house. Moss covered the thatched roof, and low-hanging branches shaded it. But in
the small front window I saw a face staring out at me—the bright blue eyes locked
on me and Tove.

Tove considered my suggestion, then shook his head. “If they’d seen something, they
would’ve told the guards. And if Linnea was kidnapped, her captor was smart enough
to get in and out of the palace without being seen, so they were probably smart enough
to bring her to the shore outside of the Storvatten city limits, past the prying eyes.”

“Do you know how much farther that is?” I asked. Before we left, we’d all looked at
a map of Storvatten, but it had been hand-drawn and rather vague on detail and distance.

“Not that much farther, I don’t think.” He climbed on top of a large rock nearby so
he could get a better gauge of the distance, and looked back toward the palace. “Storvatten
isn’t that big. We must be almost out of it by now.”

An engine revved, and it was hard to tell the distance with the sound echoing off
the trees, but based on the birds taking flight and scattering in the sky, it couldn’t
be that far.

“The road must be that way.” I pointed toward where the birds had fled from, and Tove
slid down the rock and followed me.

We went into the woods, ducking under low branches, and the pine needles stung my
feet. Through the trees, I could see a highway, and I could still hear the car. When
I glimpsed the black sedan through the branches, I picked up my pace, starting to
run toward it.

I broke through the trees and ran onto a worn, deserted stretch of highway. Several
feet down the road from me, the car sat idling on the side of the road. The car door
opened, and in the seconds before the figure stepped out from it, my heart stopped
beating.

Then Bent’s lopsided head rose above the door. His left eye appeared slightly larger
than the right, and his massive hand gripped the door as he scowled at me.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he shouted. “I thought Konstantin took care of
you.”

“Where’s the Queen?” I asked him and ignored his question.

He laughed, a dumb, heavy sound that bounced off the trees and startled the birds
that hadn’t left yet. He stepped around the door, lumbering, really, and I realized
that he was much taller and larger than I’d originally thought.

“You tell me. You’re the one with all the answers.” Bent grinned as he walked toward
me, his steps large so he’d reach me quickly, but I refused to step back. I never
backed down from a fight.

The trees rustled behind me, and I glanced back, expecting to see Konstantin, but
it was only Tove finally catching up to me. He hadn’t started running when I had.

“You better run while you can, little girl,” Bent said, and I turned back to face
him. He’d nearly reached me, and I squared up, preparing to do whatever I had to do
to take him down. “And this fight ain’t going like last time.”

Just before he reached me, he suddenly went flying back—soaring through the trees,
with branches cracking as he hit them. I stood frozen and stunned, and then looked
over to see Tove standing with his arm extended and his palm out.

I knew that the Trylle had the power to move objects and people with their minds,
but I’d never actually seen it in real life before. But Tove had just picked up Bent
and thrown him through the trees, and honestly, it left me breathless for a moment.

“I’ll take care of him,” Tove said and nodded toward the trees. “You look for the
Queen.”

“Okay,” I said, and as he started jogging into the woods to go after Bent, I added,
“Be careful.” Though I wasn’t sure if he needed that.

I ran over to the sedan and looked in through the open door. I hadn’t exactly expected
to see Linnea sitting in the backseat, but it was still disappointing to find it empty.
Hurriedly and without really knowing what I was looking for, I searched through the
glove box and around the seats—but other than empty food wrappers and water bottles
and a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt, there wasn’t really anything.

I popped the button for the trunk and I lifted it very slowly, steeling myself in
case I found a body. But there was nothing.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw movement, but when I looked over, there was nothing.
Dark clouds hovered overhead, but there was no wind, so the branches were still.

Then I saw it again, just in my peripheral vision—something was moving. But when I
turned to face it, there was nothing.

And then, intrinsically, I knew it. His chameleonlike skin let him blend in with the
trees, and I had no idea where he was exactly, but I was certain of it—Konstantin
was here, stalking me.

THIRTY-FOUR

relinquish

I stood in the middle of the highway, not moving—just listening. Twigs snapped, but
I didn’t look toward them. I didn’t want him to know that I had heard. I just listened,
following the sounds of his movement.

He was coming closer, trying to sneak up behind me. I kept my head forward, but from
the corner of my eye I saw him. The briefest shadow of movement and the dark tufts
of his hair, and then I knew exactly where he was.

I waited a second more, letting him take a step closer to me, and then I turned and
sprang on him. I swung and my hand connected firmly with his face, and it felt a bit
strange, like the air had suddenly become solid matter.

His color instantly began to change, hurrying to blend in with the surroundings, but
in his panic ended up more of a mottled gray. I grabbed his hair and I whirled him
around, slamming him against the car.

I had no interest in repeating our fight in Calgary, and when he tried to move, I
just slammed him harder against the car.

“You don’t have to be so rough with me.” Konstantin groaned, with his face pressed
in the glass.

His skin changed back to flesh tone, and I held his arms, twisted them up behind his
naked back. He’d taken off his clothes so he could blend more easily into his surroundings—fabric
didn’t change color—and his well-toned arms and torso felt cold under my touch.

In my back pocket I had a length of leather strapping that I’d brought with in case
of just such a situation. Now I tied it around his wrists, binding him tightly.

“What did you do with the Skojare Queen?” I demanded, once I was certain that he was
secure.

“Just because you’ve got me doesn’t mean that I’ll confess.” He looked back at me
over his shoulder. “Now I’m assuming you’ve taken me prisoner, so you might as well
take me to my cell. Because I am done talking, white rabbit.”

Still catching my breath from the fight, I met his gaze, trying to get a read on him,
but his gray eyes were stony and cold, giving up nothing.

“Why did you come here?” I asked breathlessly. “What are you trying to do?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” Konstantin replied. He tried to turn around, so
I slammed him harder against the side of the car, letting him know that things were
going to go much differently than they had last time.

“I’m trying to make sure that you don’t kill anyone else,” I told him through gritted
teeth.

Konstantin smirked at me, but before he could say anything more, Bent came soaring
through the trees and landed on the pavement behind the car, skidding roughly on his
stomach. He groaned loudly, but he didn’t move.

Tove came charging through the woods behind him. He leapt on Bent’s back and, using
a heavy leather strap like what I’d used, he hurriedly tied up Bent’s wrists. We had
heavy chains and shackles that we used in jail cells, but for quick handcuffing, the
leather straps were easier to carry and use.

“He put up quite a fight.” Tove stood up, wiping sweat from his brow with the back
of his arm. “But I think he’s done now.”

THIRTY-FIVE

susceptibility

“Where is she?” King Mikko shouted, and his deep voice boomed through everything like
a terrifying thunder. Tove actually covered his ears, and I didn’t blame him.

He stood at the end of the table, and Lisbet was beside him, rubbing his back and
trying to calm him. Prince Kennet sat near him, his hands folded in front of his face.
The gills underneath his jawline flared violently with each breath he took.

Ridley, Tove, Bain, and I sat farther down the table, all of us cowering slightly
under the King’s visible rage. His hands were balled into fists, and his jaw clenched
tightly as he glared at us with icy blue eyes.

“They won’t say,” I said quietly, since it appeared that nobody else would speak up.
“We’ve put them in the dungeon, and right now Konstantin is refusing to say anything
without immunity.”

“
Immunity?
” Mikko scoffed. “He probably killed her! Why would I give him immunity?”

“My King, Linnea may yet be alive,” Lisbet reasoned. “We must do what we need to in
order to find her.”

“Bent Stum is strong but he’s not very bright,” Tove said. “I broke him down some
so I could subdue him enough to get him here. I don’t think he’ll hold out for much
longer. The Omte aren’t known for their willpower or their loyalty.”

“You think he’ll tell us where my Queen is?” Mikko asked.

Tove sighed, reluctant to promise anything, and he turned to Ridley and me for help.

“The Omte are stubborn,” Ridley said, choosing his words with care. “And Bent seems
to fit the mold.”

“Can you get him to talk or not?” Mikko began to raise his voice, and Tove flinched.

“We’ll do our best, but we can’t make any guarantees,” Ridley said.

“All I want is to find my wife, and to see the men that took her hanged,” Mikko growled.
“I brought you here to help, and now you’re telling me you’re not sure if there’s
anything that can be done?”

“No, no, we’re not saying that.” Bain held up his hands.

“Find her, so I can punish the men that hurt her, or there will be hell to pay!” Mikko
shouted, and he slammed his fist down on the table so hard, the wood cracked.

Lisbet started to say something to him, but he ignored her and stalked out of the
room. We all sat quietly for a few moments after his outburst, then Kennet sighed
and pushed out his chair.

“I’ll go check on my brother,” he said, and made his exit.

“The King is just very worried,” Lisbet said, making excuses for Mikko’s anger. “We
all are.”

“That’s understandable,” Bain said.

Lisbet took a deep breath, making the large sapphires on her necklace rise and fall
heavily, and she folded her hands neatly over her stomach. Her eyes were fixed on
the water behind the glass dome around us. The afternoon sun was bright above us,
making the water appear clearer than it had this morning.

A small fish swam close to the glass; then, out of the darkness, a large muskie attacked
it. Its razor-sharp teeth sank through the prey, leaving the faintest trace of blood
in the water, before it disappeared back into the depths of the lake to eat its meal.

“I know that while you are in our kingdom you are supposed to follow the law of our
King,” Lisbet said at length. “He has made his wishes very clear—he doesn’t want anyone
to offer Konstantin or Bent anything that would allow them to go unpunished for their
crimes.

“While I share his sentiment, justice is a secondary concern for me,” Lisbet continued
and turned her gaze upon us. “Linnea’s return is my only priority. I want you to do
anything and everything you need to do to get them to tell you where she is. Do whatever
it takes to bring my granddaughter back to me.”

With her direct instructions, Lisbet smiled thinly at us, and then left us alone to
discuss our course of action. Bain was reluctant to go against the King’s orders,
but we all agreed that if we could find Linnea, he’d probably overlook our transgression.

But since Bain was hesitant, Ridley and I offered to talk to Konstantin and Bent first.
We could do kind of a good cop/bad cop thing, with Ridley and me both playing the
good cop and then Tove taking over as the bad cop, since he’d already taken his toll
on Bent.

The King’s guards had attempted to interrogate Konstantin and Bent, but their guard
wasn’t quite the same as that of other tribes. The Skojare were small, isolated, and
quiet. They had no changelings or trackers, and they rarely interacted with others.
That left them with an underdeveloped and somewhat lazy and inadequate guard, since
they had no need for anything better.

Now, with a genuine crisis on their hands, the guard had rather wisely turned the
investigation over to Ridley, Tove, Bain, and me, since we had far more experience
handling criminals than they did.

Despite their low level of crime, the Skojare had a superior dungeon. It was actually
buried beneath the bottom of the lake, so escape would require breaking through concrete,
then digging through ten feet of earth before swimming up through the lake. A rusted
spiral staircase led down to a small, dank tunnel that connected the palace to the
dungeon.

Water dripped down through cracks in the tunnel, and most of the stones were slick
with water and mold. The path was lit with dim lanterns, just like the dungeon itself.
It was a rather small place, with only four cells shut with heavy iron bars.

Konstantin sat on the floor with his back against the bars and his head slumped forward.
After I’d captured him, I’d given him the black T-shirt and jeans from the car to
put on so he wouldn’t have to stay here naked, and the bars left rusty lines on his
shirt.