SMOKY LED THE way, and behind him came Venus next, then me, then Bran, Chase, Delilah, and Shade brought up the rear. I was immediately grateful for my staff. The path was a scant two feet wide, the winding trail cut right into the mountain. It was compacted dirt—the rains up here would not come for another few months—but there were enough stones and loose rocks to litter the way and make it hazardous. And while the mountain did slope, the dropoff was steep. It would be all too easy to go tripping over the side. One misstep, one slip, and it would be a long step down.
The vegetation was scarce—a few scrub bushes, most looking prickly and full of thorns, and scant grasses that were parallel to the ground given the perpetual wind. Mountain goats could exist up here, and rodents and a few predators, but anything else that lived on the mountain had to be creatures we really didn’t want to meet.
The sun was slowly lowering itself to the west, but from here, we’d see the last rays unless the clouds rolled in. Thinking about climbing the mountain at night started me second-guessing my choice. Had I made the right decision? Keth said that the mountain’s ghosts came out to play and I wasn’t sure if he was being poetic or if he really meant actual spirits on the mountainside. And what if we couldn’t see the path? We had flashlights, but still…
I tapped Smoky on the arm. “Do you think I made the right choice to start at night?”
He glanced back at me. “I think you made the choice your instincts told you to make. We’ll be all right. We’re strong together. We have two dragons, an Elemental Lord, a shaman, a Death Maiden and…a Faerie Queen witch. Just keep alert, watch your step, and don’t drift off.”
We made good time for the first hour—as good as we could headed up a steep winding grade. But by the time the sun began to set, the temperatures were beginning to drop and I realized it was going to be a chilly night for everybody. At least the hike would serve to keep us warm. I wanted to chat, to break the silence, but then thought that might not be a good idea. If there were ghosts or monsters on the mountain, then our voices would only alert them. Better to walk in silence and keep as low-key as possible.
Another hour and Chase softly asked for a break. There wasn’t a good place to spread out, so we did our best to rest on the path, cautiously leaning back against the slope behind us. Smoky and Shade stayed standing, facing front and back respectively, to watch for anything that might be creeping up on us.
Delilah passed out sandwiches that the monks had given us—it was nearing dinnertime and my stomach was rumbling. The bread had a tender crumb, and the meat was succulent and moist. We left enough for breakfast, because a day’s climb up the mountain meant a day’s climb down. When we finished eating, we took off again, winding our way around the peak. My guess was that the cave was only a few miles from the monastery, but the grade of the peak and the narrowness of the path would be what slowed us down.
As we climbed, the waning crescent of the moon rose into the sky, and her pull on me echoed through my body. The magic of the mountain was beginning to thicken, too, like a mist creeping around us that we could feel but not see. It was ancient, as old as Otherworld when it first divided off from Earthside. At times I wondered what those days had been like. The disasters that the Great Divide had caused had rocked both worlds. Earthquakes, volcanoes, floods—the land had screamed in protest as the Great Fae Lords drove the parting of the worlds. Like some juggernaut, a behemoth monster, the Great Divide tore land from land, parting the world into three realms. How many millennia had passed since then, nobody knew, but it had been tens upon tens of thousands of years. The thought of what might happen if the portals ripped apart and the three worlds slammed back into one another was a terrifying possibility. And that was exactly what Shadow Wing was trying to bring about.
I gazed up at the mountain beside me. The Keraastar Diamond would help me prevent that from happening. The weight of three worlds pressing down on my shoulders, I suddenly felt very small and vulnerable, and terrified that I wasn’t the right choice for the job. If I screwed up…
I caught my breath, my head reeling with the thought of what could happen if I fucked up.
“Are you all right?” Bran asked, reaching forward to steady me. For once, he didn’t sound sarcastic.
Smoky turned. “Pause,” he said, holding up his hand so everyone would stop. “What’s wrong?”
I shook my head. “I just fell into a spiral of thoughts. I’m all right. I’m sorry.” I didn’t want to tell them what I’d been thinking. For one thing, I wasn’t looking for their reassurances. This was more of a fight with myself, a battle with my own confidence, and I was smart enough to recognize that I was the only one who could shake off the doubt.