From the open side, which the frozen lake led directly into, came another flash of green light. Odd, the flashes weren’t bright, as you’d expect them to appear in contrast to such extreme darkness.
He brought Ophidian to rest on the far side of the closest mountain. Reluctant to leave the warmth the dragon emitted, he slid down and jogged toward the other Death Dealers.
“We’ll leave the dragons here. Only four of us will go in.”
Dakota moved to his side. Since he was Jackson’s partner, it went without saying he would accompany him.
Jackson gestured toward Ranger.
He and his partner, Vaughn, fell into step beside Jackson and Dakota as they started toward the valley where the weird flashes of light had originated.
The rest of the Death Dealers would remain with the dragons and wait for them to return or signal.
Keeping low and in the shadows of the jagged rocks protruding from the mountain, Jackson scrambled through thigh-deep snow.
Dull gray light had just touched the horizon, the closest Argonas came to a sunrise.
He stepped up his pace, confident the others would keep up. They had to round the side of the mountain before first light. Once daylight hit, it would be much harder to conceal themselves, their black armor too stark a contrast to the white snow. While they might be mistaken for rocks from a distance if they remained perfectly still, the first sign of movement would be a dead giveaway of their intrusion.
Jackson reached a small peak and searched for a grip on an ice-covered boulder. His hands slid off, and he dug his feet deeper into the snow. Once his footing was more secure, he again tried to find a hold on the slick rock so he could pull himself up enough to peek over.
A roar shook the dawn.
His feet slid, belly flopping him into the snow. He gritted his teeth, keeping his lips firmly pressed together, hoping the others remembered to do the same. The last thing he needed were sick soldiers because they swallowed the rancid snow.
Rock and ice pelted his back and head. Thankfully, his body armor and helmet shielded him for the most part. When the bombardment ended, he lifted his head and checked his men.
A succession of thumbs up signals indicated they were fine.
Jackson returned to his climb, trying to wedge his numb feet between ice-coated rocks, sticks, and trees. When he once again reached the rock formation at the top of the small rise, he pulled the collar of his sweatshirt from beneath his breastplate and used it to cover his mouth. Making sure he breathed down into the sweatshirt to avoid a visible vapor plume, he peeked around the edge of the top boulder.
Men, their ankles chained to thick spikes driven deep into the ice, used pick axes to chip away at one side of the mountain.
Savages patrolled the perimeter of the manmade clearing.
Green light flashed from a cave the enslaved men were enlarging.
Jackson peered back at his men. He frowned and shook his head once to indicate he didn’t understand what was going on. He pointed at Ranger.
Dakota and Vaughn moved aside to give Ranger room to pass.
When Ranger reached the peak, Jackson slid over to allow him the best vantage point.
Ranger peered over the edge of the boulder and frowned. After watching for a while, he turned back to Jackson and pointed toward a small rock formation.
Jackson followed him, sliding a little way down the mountain toward the shelter of the rocks.
Another roar ripped through the silence of the gray morning.
Debris pummeled them, and the four men ducked beneath protruding rocks for cover.
Whatever was going on, they had to figure it out quickly and decide whether to intervene. They’d already lost the cover of darkness and couldn’t afford to wait much longer. If they did, they’d have to wait until dark again. Perhaps they could make it to the peak of the great mountain and back before then.
Jackson leaned out from beneath their improvised shelter and stared up at the largest mountain in the chain, the top of which was cut off by thick gray clouds. There was no way they’d make it up there and back before dark without the dragons. With no trail leading to the summit, it would take them forever to climb to the top.
And Elijah had specifically said to leave the dragons behind.
A rock bounced over the edge and hit the side of his head. His helmet only absorbed part of the blow, and he ducked back and pressed his ice-coated glove against his temple. It didn’t relieve the throbbing. He tried to ignore the pain. The injury would heal soon enough on its own.
When the rubble stopped falling, Jackson leaned close to the other Death Dealers and pitched his voice low. “What do you think?”
Ranger shook his head. “They seem to be prisoners, which means we’re going to have to free them.”
Jackson bit back a sigh. Of course, they were. The only question was whether to do it now or wait until they returned. He nodded and returned to his perch above the valley.
None of the prisoners appeared to be in pain. They all wore heavy coats and boots and didn’t seem to be in any immediate danger.
They’d head to the summit in search of Chayce. They couldn’t afford to take a chance of losing him if he was hiding up there. Once they accomplished their mission, they’d return and free the prisoners.
Who knew? If they eliminated Chayce, the savages might very well take off, leaving the prisoners unprotected. Then they could simply release them without a fight.
He started to back away slowly.
A man emerged from the cave, his long, dark robe and hood cloaking his features.
Jackson froze.
A flash of green from the mouth of the cavern backlit the stooped figure.
He slid backward, careful to move slow enough not to draw attention, keeping his gaze firmly riveted on the man.
He jerked his head up, and the hood fell back, revealing Thaddeus's shriveled features. The sorcerer’s gaze shot straight to Jackson.
Jackson scrambled back, no longer worried about stealth.
Thaddeus was Chayce’s prophet, as well as one of the strongest sorcerer’s in existence. Whether or not he had foreseen Jackson’s arrival, he had no idea, but Thaddeus and Chayce had been inseparable since Chayce had taken over Argonas. So if Thaddeus was there, Chayce was too.
The mountain rumbled beneath Jackson’s feet. They had to get out of there. Now. He whistled once as they slid, staggered, and tumbled away from the peak. A giant chasm exploded open in front of them. Jackson skidded and threw his weight backward to stop himself from flying over the edge and into the crashing waves and ice hundreds of feet below.
Ranger tumbled over.
Lunging onto his stomach, Jackson caught Ranger’s arm. He tried to dig his feet into the snow for leverage.
Ranger clutched Jackson’s wrist with one hand and his sleeve with the other. The wind whipped him wildly, battering him against the jagged rocks.
Jackson slid closer to the quaking edge. He reached behind him, desperate to grab anything to stop them from falling. His icy grip on Ranger slipped. He couldn’t hold on to him. With his upper body hanging over the edge, he snatched the shoulder strap of Ranger’s breastplate.
A heavy weight fell on Jackson’s back.
“Hold on,” Vaughn yelled over the screaming wind.
From the other side, Dakota gripped the sword he’d plunged into the ground and seized Ranger’s wrist.
The three of them lurched backward, pulling Ranger toward them.
Blood