The Witch's Tower, Tamara Grantham [best ereader for academics TXT] 📗

Morning sunlight shone through the tree branches as we mounted our horses. I hadn’t slept well. Despite Raj’s presence beside me, nightmares of my aunts had plagued me. I wasn’t ready to see them again—or ever.

The reality of seeing them began to set in. For some time, I thought perhaps we’d never reach their mountains. In all truth, we should have been dead by now. I almost preferred death. Raj had no idea of the danger we were about to face, and I was certain I hadn’t warned him well enough. But what more could I tell him? We couldn’t turn back now. We had no choice but to move forward.

We rode away from the waterfall and followed the stream until we were able to cross. I lamented leaving the peace of the clearing where we’d slept. After we started up the mountains, I wasn’t sure where we would find shelter again.

The air turned cooler as we climbed up the slopes. We found a narrow trail and followed it. Despite my fears, the scenery took my breath away, and all I could do was stare at the soaring granite cliffs, dramatic waterfalls sparkling in the sun, and flocks of chattering fairies as they flitted through the air.

As we climbed higher, the greenery faded, replaced with patches of snow. We crested a steep hill and rode to a ledge overlooking the jagged landscape punctuated with large boulders and snowy plains. Far on the horizon sat the jagged line of the Ice Mountains. Wedged between the cliffs was a glittering blue jewel, merely a speck from this perspective.

“That’s the palace,” I said, pointing.

“Are you sure?” Raj asked.

“Yes, I’ve seen paintings of it. That’s got to be it.”

“Then that’s good. It means we’re close. A few more hours of hard riding and we should make it before nightfall.”

“Yes. Good.” Although I wasn’t sure I could fully agree.

I pulled my cloak around me to shield my body from the biting wind as we set off down the mountain. Our horse’s hooves echoed as we reached a canyon with walls that rose like jagged spires on either side of us. We stopped briefly for a lunch of cheese, nuts, and a few sips of water, then continued onward once again.

We rode until my legs burned, and still we kept going. Night approached as we cantered our horses onto an open plain. Snow lightly fell around us, blanketing the world in white. Beyond the open landscape, the crystal spires of a castle rose before us. Even from this distance, the palace was unimaginably larger and more sprawling than I had envisioned.

Blue light sparkled from the spires that seemed sharp enough to cut through the sky. The deep purple evening reflected the towers. The scene was deceptively beautiful.

We stopped when we reached the moat surrounding the castle. Glacier blue water churned through deeply carved tunnels, and large blocks of ice bobbed in the waves. I tasted salty flecks of foam on my tongue.

“We’ll have to get them to lower the bridge,” I called over the rushing water.

“How do we do that?”

“I’m not sure.”

The wolf paced along the moat’s edge, his thick fur bristled along his back. Drekken kept his strange red eyes locked on the drawbridge rising above the moat, its ice walls studded with frost-coated spikes.

We dismounted our horses and paced the shore near the moat. Frozen crystals danced on the wind. Snow and ice crunched under my boots as I paced, staring overhead at the towering spires that reminded me of knives.

Anxiousness weighed on me. I didn’t want to be here, but it was too late to turn away now.

“What do we do now?” Drekken’s voice echoed over the churning water.

“Maybe we could find a cave of some sort that would lead us inside?” Raj suggested.

“I doubt we’ll find anything like that. My aunts used magic to construct this castle. They wouldn’t have created any way inside except the ones they wanted.”

We continued pacing, but as the light faded and our limbs grew numb with the cold, I began to lose hope.

What if we didn’t find a way inside? Would we have to camp here? Would we survive the night?

I balled my fists, feeling my fingers cold and stiff inside my gloves. The horses whickered nervously, and I walked to Sable, patting her neck. The last rays of light faded, and it seemed my hope drained away with it.

I had no doubt my aunts knew we were here. They wouldn’t let us inside unless they wanted to.

Drekken, Raj, and the wolf walked to me.

“What do we do now?” Drekken asked.

“I can think of only one thing. I was hoping to use it to barter for the shears, but that might have to wait.” I knelt and opened my pack, carefully lifting out the piece of radish. The greenish glow encompassed my hands, warming them.

I stood, holding up the radish as the icy wind battered my face. “I come with a gift,” I yelled. “Let us in!”

Only the sound of the wind broke the silence. I glanced at Raj, and the pinched line between his brows revealed his unease, which didn’t help my nerves. Either we entered this castle, or we stayed here and made camp—either way, death was a likely possibility.

A noise caught my attention. The drawbridge shook, as if the chains were loosening, and then began to lower.

“Well, I guess we know what they want,” Drekken said.

The gate lowered with the sound of metal links clicking through gears, then landed with a boom, causing clouds of snow to billow. When the air cleared, we stood at the lip of the drawbridge.

The wolf stepped onto it first, sniffing it, as if he weren’t sure he could trust it. When he seemed satisfied, he trotted to the other side. After replacing the radish in my pack, I grabbed Sable’s reins and guided her to the bridge. The others followed. I held tightly to the leather straps as I led my horse behind me. Our footsteps thudded as we crossed.

When we reached the other side, we stepped off the bridge and entered an open courtyard. Behind us, the gate began to close.

I stared around the courtyard. Flames flickered from ice crystal sconces, though I wasn’t sure how the fire didn’t melt through. It had to be magic. We walked toward a set of doors, and as we approached, they slowly swung inward.

The dark hallway leading inside was too narrow