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a cloud of vaporous breath spewed from his blue lips, then rose to obscure his
white face and icy blue eyes. "The Great Glacier is vast, and the Eternal
Blizzard will not make it easy for us to find our way."
"Leave the storm to me!" blustered Vilmos, paramount of storm giants. He
was almost as large as a titan, with violet skin and a flowing beard of silver.
"But what about the glacier itself? After we reach the mountain, we'll never
chop through all that ice. It could be ten thousand feet thick!"
It was Nicias, the cloud giant, who answered. "The ice does not concern
me, my brother." His voice was as wispy as his white hair. "Together, we Sons
of Annam can accomplish much."
Lanaxis smiled broadly, pleased to have the support of so many brothers.
"Nicias, you speak truly and wisely, as always."
Nicias nodded politely, then went on. "But I wonder if we should be asking
how to reach Ulutiu's grave, rather than whether to reach it. Deceiving Othea
is not something to undertake lightly. Good sons venerate their mother."
"If our mother loved us, she would have stopped the glacier before it took
half our lands!" ranted the fire giant Masud. "I'm for Lanaxis's plan, and into
the forge with Othea!" The khan's skin was as black as coal and his beard as
orange as flame. When he spoke, he filled the air with sulfurous fumes, but
the choking cloud did not stop the other giants from croaking out a chorus of
support.
Nicias raised his white brow and glanced around the veranda, then spread
his hands in abdication. "It appears the question has been considered and
decided." The cloud giant cast a disparaging glance in Masud's direction. "But
I do trust that your comment about throwing the Mother Queen into the forge
was mere exaggeration."
"Why should it be?" demanded Dunmore, his disgust plainly etched on his
wooden features. "If you would disobey Othea, you would do anything."
"We have no wish to harm her." Ottar's cold eyes showed no emotion as he
answered the wood giant. "Nor do we wish her to harm our empire."
"Othea gave life to our races! What is an empire compared to that?"
Dunmore retorted. "If the Mother Queen asked, I would tear my palace apart
with my own hands."
"And I would burn it for you!" scoffed Masud. "But does that mean I'm fool
enough to do the same? I think not!"
The fire giant's retort drew a few amused chuckles.
Dunmore shook his head sadly, then glared up into the faces of his
brothers. "I will have no part of this." The thane stepped away from his
brothers, then announced, "Now I will drink from the Well and take my leave."
"You may drink from the Well of Health," said Lanaxis. The Sons of Annam
customarily drank from the Well of Health before departing Bleak Palace,
since the magical waters kept the mind clear and the body free of illness. "But
you cannot depart. I fear you intend to tell Othea of our plans, so I insist that
you remain here until we return. My servants will see to your comfort."
"Lanaxis, you are too kind." The wood giant's voice was as bitter as
sapwood.
The titan smiled, then looked toward the three cavernous archways leading
into the interior of his palace. "Julien, Arno!" he yelled. "Come here, I have a
task for you!"
As Lanaxis called for his servant, Dunmore spun and hurled himself at the
magical ice orb, smashing into it with a tremendous crash. The sphere
shattered into a hundred pieces, releasing a howling tempest of wind and
snow. Blinded by the raging blizzard, the Sons of Annam bellowed in surprise
and began to stumble about, filling the air with crashes and grunts as they
collided with each other.
Lanaxis dropped to all fours and crawled toward the center of the room,
sweeping his hands back and forth through the accumulating snow. A heavy
foot came down on his wrist, and when he jerked his hand free, a giant
crashed to the floor beside him. The titan ignored the fellow and continued to
sweep his hand across the floor until he found a shard of the ice orb. Taking
the fragment in hand, he spoke the sphere's command word, this time
backward. The raging wind died away, and the snow began to settle on the
floor in a thick blanket. As the confusion faded, a pair of legs kicked through
the snow and stopped beside Lanaxis.
"You called?" asked Julien's smooth voice.
"We come, fast!" added Arno. His voice was a stark contrast to Julien's,
gravelly and harsh. "What need?"
The titan raised his eyes and found himself looking at the contrasting faces
of his two-headed servant, the ettin. Julien's features were swarthy and
handsome, with curly dark hair and a cleft chin. Arno was a pale-skinned
brute, with a pug nose and double chin encrusted with reminders of his last
several meals. Their necks descended to a single point, joining atop a broad-
shouldered body that, at Julien's insistence, they kept reasonably clean.
Lanaxis rose, looking around the veranda for the thane. The only sign he
found of the wood giant was a set of half-buried footprints leading to one
entrance of Bleak Palace.
"It seems Dunmore has left," observed Nicias. "No doubt to do as you
feared and tell Othea of our intent."
The giants were silent, for they all knew how great the Mother Queen's
anger would be when she heard of their plan.
"I'll go," said Masud. The khan started for the archway. "It won't take me
long to stop that runt."
Nicias caught the smaller giant's shoulder. "The Sons of Annam do not fight
each other."
"Nor do they betray the confidences of their brothers!" Masud raised his
fiery eyes to seek support from Lanaxis. "For that, I say we throw him in the
smelter!"
"There's no need to incinerate him," replied the titan. "Just bring him back,
and the ettin will hold him here."
"No! There will be a struggle when Masud captures him." Nicias continued
to clutch the shoulder of the fire giant. "Dunmore will be injured perhaps
killed."
"Better that than let him go!" boomed Lanaxis. "If Dunmore tells Othea of
our plans, none of us will ever set foot on the Great Glacier, and Ostoria will
be lost!"
"If we attack our own brother, or even hold him prisoner, we have lost it
already," said Nicias. "I will not stand for that."
"And I will not let the glacier scour our empire from the world!" Lanaxis fixed
an angry glare on Nicias.
The cloud giant returned the stare. In Nicias's eyes there was no anger or
fear, only determination, and Lanaxis knew his foe would never concede the
argument. The titan's anger grew hotter than Masud's forges, and his fists
burned with the urge to strike, but he locked his arms at his sides and kept [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]