House of Winter

Chapter 21, Part 1

LUMI

The wind howled through the valley of pure white snow. Lumi, Tom and Doctor Hart bent their heads against the gale. The lion and the wolf led the way. There was no chance they could fly in this snowstorm, so they trudged on, the snow up to their knees, pushing through because they had no other choice but to keep moving.

The three of them barely looked like people, wrapped as they were in every item of clothing, with thick material covering their faces, so they were more like colourful monsters pushing through the snow than they were people.

Lumi stumbled a few times. Doctor Hart seemed to walk unencumbered, her hand held high on Mondli's shoulder as it always was, her face completely covered so her eyes weren't even visible.

Tom and Lumi walked behind Kobuk, trying to use the wolf's weight as a shield against the snowstorm. They'd left the last village days ago and were travelling further and further Dorth, where the map showed nothing but darkness. But Lumi could feel the pull as she moved forwards. There was something out here, in the snow.

They couldn't see where they were going, but Lumi could feel it was the right direction.

There was a shout on the wind, and Lumi felt the muscles in Kobuk's back tense. It was impossible to tell where the sound had come from, but she was sure it had been the sound of a person. Tom and Lumi squinted into the gloom, trying to see the source of the voice.

Flames erupted across their vision, and then suddenly, the snow storm seemed to slow around them, as if they were in the eye of the storm. Lumi pulled her scarf down from her face so that she could see, and she noticed two tigers stalking towards her.

And then she noticed the wolves.

"There are winter starrlings here," Lumi hissed, but Kobuk had already noticed the wolves and his hackles were raised, as more and more wolves came out of the gloom. A pack of them, with no starrlings in sight. Lumi had never seen wild winter wolves, and these wolves didn't seem happy to have company. It seemed strange that they were in the company of tigers.

"Have we got lost and somehow crossed the border to Norrlund without realising?" Tom asked.

"There are no borders here," Doctor Hart said. "These people are neither Norrlish or Kaio."

And there were people, Lumi saw now. They weren't riding their kinnlings but instead walking behind them. They wore huge animal pelts as clothing. There were two of them, and as they moved closer Lumi saw that they were two men. One man held fire in his hands.

"Fire starrlings," Lumi said, feeling a flicker of relief. If they were fire starrlings then they were her people, sworn to serve her.

"Strangers are not welcome," a man called out, in strongly-accented Kaio.

"We're no strangers," Lumi said. "I am Princess Lumiko, daughter of Lumivara. I believe she and her sister Virani were born in this village."

The two men who stepped forward lowered the scarves around their faces to stare at Lumi.

"You have a twin," the taller man said.

Lumi nodded.

"Are you the surger or the queller?" a second man asked.

Lumi glanced at Doctor Hart, and then said, "I'm the queller."

The two men exchanged glances with each other, and then the first said, "We're honoured that you should visit us, Lumiko. Let us take you inside out of the cold."

"Thank you," Lumi said, and she exchanged a hopeful look with Tom before moving to follow the men.

"Please follow us to the... village, as you named it, Princess."