Neva Silvermark's Arc

Chapter 3 of 3

The frostwisp led Neva higher until the peak loomed close. Then it stopped. Its crystal antlers dimmed, and it faded into the rocks. Neva stood alone with Kaine below the last stretch of climb. The upper gate waited above, pale against the sky. But guards moved on the wall now, lamps in hand. Dawn was near, and the report of her face had traveled ahead of them. Kaine gripped her arm. "They know me here. Every guard on that wall has seen my face." His yellow eyes searched the ridge. "If one of them spots me lifting you over, I'm finished. And I can't shield you past the gate if I'm in chains beside you." Neva looked at the wall. The climb was steep and smooth. She could not reach the top without a boost. But Kaine could not give it in the open. A small shape slid down from the rocks above. A snow leopard boy, no older than twelve, in a blue coat and worn boots. Kiran. He crouched by a gap in the ice where the wall met the cliff. "You're the one they whispered about," Kiran said. His voice shook, but he did not run. "My mother says the mountain was ours. She won't say it loud." He pointed at the gap. "The guards don't watch this crack. I climb through it to see the old shrine." Neva knelt to meet his eyes. "Show me." Kiran squeezed into the gap. Neva followed. The stone pressed close on both sides. Kaine stayed below, out of the guards' sight. "Go," he whispered. "I can't follow. But this keeps my face off the wall." Neva pushed upward through the crack. Ice scraped her fur. Above, a guard passed the gap and never looked down. She held her breath until his boots faded. Then she pulled herself out onto the ledge inside the gate. She was past the wall. Kiran climbed out beside her, grinning. Kaine remained below, hidden and safe. But the ledge was not empty. An ice guard stand rose ahead of her, carved sharp and clear, a lamp burning inside its narrow window. A guard sat within, back turned, watching the main path. He had not seen the crack. He would see anyone who crossed the open ground beyond. Neva pressed flat against the ice. She had solved one wall. Kaine's face was safe. But now she stood inside the gate with no cloak to shield her, no token that meant anything here, and a watchman between her and the shrine above. Kiran tugged her sleeve. "That one never sleeps," he whispered. "And he knows every face that belongs on this mountain. Yours doesn't."