Serena made several torches using some of the ash from the fire and a sticky substance from a small pouch on her belt. The flickering light threw dancing shadows on the walls of the cave as they descended into the mountain.

The cave was natural but had been artfully carved so that a walkway of smooth flagstones led through a forest of stalagmites. Bats flapped around them in the darkness, and Serena bent down to pick up some droppings and put them in one of her pouches.

"Spell components," she said in reply to Konrad’s confused expression.

The cave ended in a large circular chamber with walls made of shaped stone and three arched doorways. The one directly in front of them led up a set of finely crafted stone stairs. To the right, another, more roughly cut staircase led down, and the archway to the left opened out into an impossibly large space that swallowed the light from the torches.

"Look at these carvings; have you ever seen anything like this before?" Serena asked, holding her torch high.

In the flickering light, Konrad saw several panels on the walls depicting the coldest mountain, but the whole island was much bigger than it was now. In the fresco, a giant, sweeping walkway connected the mountain to a magnificent city.

"What happened to the city?" Konrad asked.

"They say that a long time ago the ocean level was lower; perhaps it’s still down there somewhere."

Konrad shivered at the thought of a whole city trapped by the frozen water below them, but he also shivered from the cold emanating from the stones. Casovan’s gift didn’t appear to be working at all, and he rummaged in his pack, pulling out Edna’s woolly hat.

"Which way did they go?" Serena whispered to herself as she assessed the three arches.

Spirit padded over and gave each archway a tentative sniff before sitting down in front of the one directly in front of them.

"Into the mountain then," Konrad said, and he began to climb the staircase.

The staircase ended in a corridor with smooth walls that were covered with a crystallized layer of ice. Nothing disturbed the still air.

Konrad took a step forward but felt Spirit bite hold of his coat and pull him back.

"What is it?" he whispered.

"She’s a smart animal," Serena said, squatting down and investigating one of the flagstones. "This is some kind of trap. We have to be more cautious."

"Thanks," Konrad whispered to Spirit, who licked his hand.

There were several more loose flagstones to navigate in the corridor before they reached another set of carvings on the wall. These weren’t the delicate murals of the coldest mountain they had seen before. Crude lines had been scratched and hacked into the stone.

"Can you read it?" Konrad asked.

"There were words here, but they’ve been scratched out so we can’t read them. There’s more down here."

"Wait," Konrad said, holding out his arm to stop Serena.

Spirit was low to the ground with her hackles raised, and Konrad thought he saw a movement in the dark space ahead, accompanied by the faint noise of something being dragged across the floor. Perhaps the unconscious body of his friend was being pulled through the chambers.

"Rolo," Konrad hissed and ran forward.

"Konrad, wait," Serena cried.

Konrad threw his torch ahead of him and drew his sword. The circle of dim torchlight lit up the corridor ahead of him, illuminating two figures over seven feet tall. Their faces were long and narrow with large pointed ears, and their eyes were deep set in their skulls. Their skin was a deathly blue color and deeply wrinkled, as if time had tried to claim their bodies but was thwarted by the cold that preserved them.

Spirit growled, and the shadows in the chamber drew towards her, enveloping her in darkness.

"I don’t want to hurt you," Konrad yelled.

The ice zombies didn’t hear him, or perhaps they couldn’t. They shambled forward, and one of them swiped at his chest with a frozen club-like fist. Konrad’s sword was swept aside, and although his leather breastplate took the brunt of the damage, he was thrown down onto the hard stone floor.

Serena’s angry shouts came from behind him, and he hacked desperately at his enemy as it bore down on him, striking the frozen arm with the edge of his sword and watching it shatter. The figure looked at the stump of its elbow with a confused expression before a blackened blur hit it in the chest and threw it to the ground. Spirit had seized the ice zombie by the neck and began pulling it away.

On the far side of the corridor, Serena waved her torch backwards and forwards, forcing the second attacker back. With her free hand, she reached into a pouch at her waist and pulled out a pinch of ash. A revolving ball of fire appeared in her hand, and as she thrust it into the ice zombie, it wailed and shrieked as it was eviscerated. Konrad had shielded his eyes from the blinding light, and when the flames were gone, dancing spots of light remained in his vision.

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The chamber was silent save for the deep breaths of Spirit as she held the figure pinned down. Konrad gave one great overarm strike to its chest, and it exploded into a thousand bloody shards.

"That’s disgusting," Serena said.

"What were those things?" Konrad asked.

"I’m not sure. They looked like elves, but I have never seen elves that big before. It could be someone who this entity was able to lure here; after a while, they must freeze and fall under its power. Are you okay? That was some hit you took."

"I'm fine," Konrad replied, trying not to wince at the pain in his chest. Without the armor, he was sure that his chest would have been smashed inward. He’d have to remember to thank Pääbo if he saw him again.

"There’s going to be more of these things, so it’d be best not to rush in; I don’t have an unlimited supply of magic." The witch bent down and pulled a rusted short sword from the sheath that had hung at the elves waist, holding it as if she knew how to use it.

They continued on down the corridor, Konrad straining his senses for any sign of more enemies. The curious scrawling on the wall continued at intervals, but Serena couldn’t make any of it out.

"Tracks," Serena said, pointing ahead.

They emerged into a larger chamber with frozen limbs scattered everywhere.

"I’m glad we didn’t have to fight them, but I wouldn’t like to meet whatever was able to do this either," Serena said carefully.

Konrad knew that Rolo was more than capable of such destruction, but he didn’t want to say it out loud, preferring to keep the hope that they would find his friend alive unspoken.

The trail led them up a sweeping staircase, which ended in a space that was so large that the light from their torches only cast a glow of a few feet; the roof and walls were nowhere to be seen.

Spirit stared into the emptiness, sniffing carefully.

"Are there more of those things?" Konrad asked.

In reply, she nudged him as she passed, indicating that he should follow.

A large pool of still water materialized out of the gloom, its edges curving away into the darkness. Konrad prodded the surface with his sword, and tendrils of ice immediately crept up the blade, forcing him to snatch it back before the creeping ice consumed it. As the ripples subsided, he saw shapes in the water below, dozens of faces staring up.

"Jena, Hesp!" Serena exclaimed.

Rushing over, Konrad saw what had made her cry out. Sitting on the edge of the pool were two women. They looked as though they had managed to struggle out of the water but hadn’t had the strength to go any further. Now they were frozen statues with ice glittering on their skin, locked in a final embrace.

"Wait," Konrad said as Serena reached out a hand. "This isn’t normal ice; look at what it did to my sword. You shouldn’t touch them."

"We have to get them somewhere warmer," Serena said, her voice trembling.

"Can’t you just—" Konrad made a gesture with his hand like Serena had done with the fireball.

"We have to raise their temperature gradually, not burn them to a crisp," she snapped.

Serena hovered her hand over the white hair of one of the witches. She was older, perhaps middle-aged. Her cloak was ripped and torn, but there seemed to be something of a regal bearing in her face, a prideful sneer as though she were disdainful of death itself. The other was younger than Serena, perhaps only a few years older than Konrad. Her hand was extended, with her finger touching the floor lightly. She seemed to have used the last of her energy to draw some lines in the frost.

"What’s that?" Konrad said, pointing to the markings.

"It’s a name, the same one that has been scratched out all over this place. Hesp wanted me to know what we were dealing with."

"Can you do anything for them?"

For the first time since he had met her, Konrad sensed a shadow of fear flicker across Serena’s face.

"She would want me to try," she whispered.

"Try what? Is it dangerous?"

"Keep an eye out," Serena said, ignoring him. "Don’t be alarmed at what you might see, or hear."

Her eyes rolled back in her head, only the whites showing, and she entered into another conversation in the harsh language that Konrad couldn’t understand. This time, though, she acted completely differently. She was reserved and timid, as if she were afraid of whatever she spoke with. A whimper of fear escaped her lips, and her body tensed before rising into the air, pulled by invisible strings. Her neck was constricted as if a giant hand had clutched her by the throat, and her face went red. Serena gasped for air, and Konrad tried to pull her back down. She managed to croak a word, and then she slumped down onto the floor, gasping for breath and sobbing gently.

"There there," Konrad said, patting her back just like his mother would have done and instantly feeling foolish.

"It didn’t work," Serena said, reaching out a shaking hand toward the statues that she could not touch.

The frozen faces of the two witches reminded Konrad of the cold he had felt when they had been wrecked on the beach. That night, Serena had been freezing cold herself until the mysterious waif-like figure had helped her. He concentrated on the figure, sending out a silent plea for help. He hoped that perhaps he would walk over and pull the cold from the witches, as he had done before.

"You’re just wasting time here, you know."

The faint outline of Avram stood on the calm surface of the pool of water, his featureless face swimming in shadows.

"You’re here; help us," Konrad said.

"Who are you talking to?" Serena asked.

"One of the small gods is here; he can help."

Avram shook his head. "Nothing I can do, I’m afraid, they’ve been cursed; divinity doesn’t work on magical curses. Bit like that old leg of yours."

"My leg was cursed, who by?" Konrad stammered.

"How should I know? Someone who knows about old magic, I expect," Avram replied, looking around. "This place used to be quite impressive, but it’s really gone to the dogs. No offense, shadow hound," he added with a nod to Spirit.

"If you can’t help, then why are you here?" Konrad asked through gritted teeth.

"I’m here about my quest. You’re going to need your companion from the boat; I just didn’t want you to forget about him in all the excitement."

"Rolo’s the whole reason we are here."

"Not him, the other one."

"Renau?"

Avram snapped his fingers. "That’s the one; he’s quite important."

"What’s the quest?’

But Avram had already started fading. "This is getting a little frustrating, you know. I’ll be back; don’t forget the trouper!"

"Wait, come back, what trouper?" Konrad cried, but the small god of the long night was gone.

"What did he say? They don’t look any different," Serena said, kneeling in front of her friends and searching for a sign of life. A lump caught in Konrad's throat, and Serena read all she needed to know from his expression.

“Well, that’s that then," she whispered, wiping her face with her sleeve. "But I won’t leave them to become one of those things. Stand back."

Reaching into her pouch, she dabbed a tiny dot of ash on the foreheads of her two sisters, then stepped back. The fire started at the point where the ash touched their skin, and like flames consuming a slip of paper they spread until the figures were no more.

"What else did your god say?"

"He said that the others are still alive."

"Then let’s go; we’ve got a demon to banish."