He threw off the cloak that restricted his movements, swung his sword, and spilled the guts of the beast that had leaped at him. He was on his knees, silently gritting his teeth, fending off the wolves that kept leaping at him again and again, their sharp fangs tearing first at his clothes and then reaching his flesh—Kairu felt the iron grip of their powerful jaws. Soon, the chainmail he wore under his outer garments was nothing but a shredded sieve, and his arms were so tired that he no longer knew what to do or where to run. The creatures were everywhere, surrounding him in a tight circle, and he had no strength left to continue this unequal fight.

  And then a stream of fire struck right into the thick of the brawl, scattering the gasping, whining wolves. Heat blasted his face, snow hissed and turned into wet slush, spraying in all directions. The beasts vanished. Huge dark shapes were darting around Kairu behind the veil of the blizzard, and he heard the whistle of arrows, the dull thud of spears and swords striking animal spines, the furious howls and snarls of wolves that had failed to reach their easy prey, the choking of dying beasts, and the pounding of dozens of paws. The pack was retreating from the battlefield in haste, pursued by a stream of fire that seemed to come from the air itself, arrows from bows and crossbows, and huge dark figures bringing death.

  They surrounded Kairu in a tight ring, but blinded by the snowstorm and staggering with exhaustion, he could not see their faces and barely understood what was happening, even when several spearpoints hovered right at his throat, ready to sever his head in an instant.

  A strong hand suddenly grabbed him, the blade grazed his neck, shocking him out of his stupor, and Kairu suddenly saw a bearded face framed by light hair under a black hood. Then, glancing down by chance, he noticed a strange detail: a powerful male torso flowed seamlessly into the smooth body of a horse, impatiently pawing the ground…

  Kairu’s head spun with a rush of memories, but foremost among them were his friend’s hands placing a string with a square wooden talisman around his neck.

  The centaur’s face twisted with rage, and Kairu understood that in another heartbeat the sword would pierce his throat. There was no time to think. Kairu instinctively grabbed at the torn collar of his shirt, yanking free the frayed cord bearing the Mark of Chiron, and shouted:

  "I’m one of you! I’m a friend!"

  "It’s a human, Gedelin!" came a familiar voice from somewhere to the side. Again, a flash of fire lit the air, and the blizzard seemed to part, forming an empty sphere over black earth where the centaurs stood.

  "And he has the Mark!" added one of the centaurs. Spears slowly lowered, as did the sword blade that was still unpleasantly tickling his neck.

  "Gedelin, this is a Friend of the centaurs," came the voice that Kairu thought he recognized. He turned and cried out in joy:

  "Ioran!"

  "Kairu Kenai!" gasped the centaur, quickly bounding toward him. In his hand, he gripped a spear with a bloodstained tip.

  "A human?" Gedelin asked suspiciously. "And you know him? Looks more like a goblin to me… a scrawny one at that. And I saw those beasts yesterday, heading somewhere across Regerlim… Wait! I do remember you, boy!"

  "Of course you do, Gedelin! You saw him last winter in the Enchanted Forest, when you were visiting us, and he was one of the people who came with me to Tarumen-an-Elis!"

  The centaur slowly sheathed his sword and released his grip. Kairu collapsed to the ground, banging his knees painfully, and groaned, still clutching the hilt of his faithful Alaskrit.

  "Ioran…" he muttered. "A year later… and again in winter… thank you… I kept Chiron’s Mark…"

  His tongue refused to obey him any further. Cold and tension made him shake, and the wind seemed to pierce his very bones. Ioran picked up the fur cloak lying in the snow, hurriedly draped it over Kairu’s shoulders, then handed him a steaming flask, bringing it to his lips and literally pouring some liquid past his chattering teeth. Kairu moaned as the drink burned his lips, throat, and tongue like fire. But his mind cleared, and warmth spread through his body.

  "Get on quickly," Ioran said, helping him to his feet and up onto the centaur's back. "How in the blazes did you end up here alone?!"

  Kairu only shook his head, wiping his sword blade with his fingers before shoving it back into its sheath. He looked around. The blizzard had almost ended, and now snow was falling quietly, settling in tiny crystalline flakes on the high drifts. They were at the very edge of a grove, and in the east the sun was slowly rising, until now hidden by the snowy shroud.

  "Long story… Lainter and our friends and I were looking for something here. I need to get to the statue of Vaimos, urgently!"

  "Where are your friends?" Ioran set off. "Gedelin, let the lads deal with the remaining wolves, we’ll head to camp, and he’s coming with us!"

  "They got trapped in a cave in the mountains. The druid, our guide, is helping them get out, but I want to visit the statue first… and then I’ll have to go back and pull them out!"

  "You won’t be able to get out of the mountains," Ioran said, breathing heavily.

  "What?.. But…"

  "There’s a war between the clans—didn’t you know? And goblins are prowling the forest… It happens that I know that after you fled the Temple of Tornir, you met the druids of Aok’s Clan, got a guide from them, and headed here in search of some artifact. You were tracked almost immediately. Goblins were on your heels the whole time. On top of that, they struck a very profitable deal with the smuggler clans, and Aok had to leave Jeneria. He and his clan are now several dozen miles west of here, down the slope, in the ruins of Ardrai."

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  "Aok is here?!" Kairu exclaimed in shock.

  "Yes. But reaching him will be very difficult… My brother and I," he nodded toward Gedelin riding alongside them, "were out patrolling the area because snow wolves threatened the safety of the centaur camp in Regerlim. But we got caught in a snowstorm, wandered high into the mountains, and ended up at this grove… And if you were talking about the statue of your god standing among the trees…"

  "Yes, yes!" Kairu confirmed impatiently.

  "Well, it’s close by."

  "But you still haven’t explained why we can’t go down."

  "Aok and his clan are under siege," Ioran sighed heavily. "We’re on the slope of the Fire-Breathing Mountain. Next to it are two smaller peaks, connected by passes. On one of those smaller peaks lies Ardrai—or what’s left of it. All three mountains are encircled tightly from the south. Bor’s army is an enormous force, you’ve no idea how many druids are there. All of them armed and thirsting for blood, because it’s thanks to Aok that they’ve been starving for half a year. Their only income was trade with smugglers from the south, and Aok has been blocking that supply line by every means. They’re burning with the desire to wipe out his clan completely."

  "And… there’s no other way? From the north or east?"

  "From the north mountains, and beyond them, the territory of the harpies. Harpies never let prey escape; they’ll tear apart anyone who ventures there. From the east—it’s still a ring. They guard every single path; we checked at night already…"

  The wind was dying down, the snow swirling more slowly, gradually settling, and in the dim light of the coming day, Kairu could already make out individual trees and bushes, their branches heavy with snow-capped clusters of crimson berries. The sky was pale, like a murky gray suspension, and to the east, pale patches of light spread across it from the unseen sun. It seemed as if the entire wet, sticky morning mist had risen in elusive ragged wisps to form an unbroken haze, but directly overhead it darkened to nearly black, and across it, like ripples from a stone cast into water, slow rings of smoke drifted outward. Up to this grim center, ash-laden whirlwinds rose from the snowbound peak of the Fire-Breathing Mountain, flashing now and then with the glow of flames. The volcano was slowly breathing, rumbling, and snoring in its centuries-long sleep.

  "Your brother is here too," Ioran suddenly said.

  "What?!" Kairu was so startled he nearly stumbled.

  "Yes," the centaur said grimly, carefully skirting a rock. "And also Demetra and Rodrigo Antan—they said you know them. We crossed the ice desert with them for nearly all of December."

  "Of course I know them!" Kairu trembled again from excitement. "So Rodrigo really did save them from the goblins?"

  "I believe so."

  "Wait! What about Atgard? Anzerrat?"

  "I don’t know who they are." Ioran shook his head wearily. "Kairu, there were three of them with us. They planned to cross the desert on their own, but we helped them—especially since we were heading the same way…"

  "And what are you even doing in Vaimar?!" Kairu finally realized the question he should have asked first.

  "You don’t know what happened in Aktida?!" Gedelin, who had been silent until now, exclaimed in surprise. "All the centaurs from the Enchanted Forest are in Regerlim now."

  "Oh right, they told us something about that when we were in the temple," Kairu recalled. "So you’re going to take part in the war against Saelin, too?"

  "Absolutely… And here’s the statue—and our temporary camp."

  Beyond the trees, the stone back of Vaimos came into view, and the flicker of a campfire shone on a nearby hill. Kairu slid down from the centaur’s back. He had rested a little and could stand on his feet now, though he still felt an overwhelming pull toward sleep. He saw, as they passed the shrine and climbed toward the camp, two figures leap toward him. A moment later, Norton caught him in an embrace.

  "Kairu!" Norton cried with delight. "You’re here too! Damn me! But…" His expression shifted to horror. "Aktos save you, how did you get here, and where is everyone else?!"

  "It’s a long story," Kairu muttered as he stood. "Norton, I’m overjoyed to see you alive and unharmed! And we will talk, but first I need to do something…"

  ***

  Torchlight flickered across the walls, revealing ancient bas-reliefs and faded frescoes depicting people with pickaxes and hammers. Rita and Konrad moved slowly along, passing forks and side passages, exploring the cave that did not, in fact, end at the Altar of Fire. The floor was unexpectedly smooth and even, and the low ceiling was supported by wooden posts jutting from the ground.

  "I know what this place is," Konrad suddenly said, stopping.

  They stood on a small ledge beside the entrance to a round grotto whose walls were formed from basalt outgrowths. The ceiling was high, disappearing into darkness above, and below the ledge, a dozen feet down among the rocks, lay a lake filled with some black sludge, over which hung a cloud of vapor. A path descended to the left, skirting the lake beneath dark stalactite columns, and vanished deeper into the endless mass of the Fire-Breathing Mountain.

  They had found their way here through a narrow corridor not far from the hall where the other travelers were clearing the rockfall. The cave seemed a vast labyrinth of rat tunnels carved over millennia, and clearly not all of them had been used by the druids in their time.

  "The Mine of Poisoned Gold," Konrad murmured. "That means there’s another route—a third exit from the labyrinth. I’ve read that the ancient Nocturns built it long ago, mining Ulin Diamonds here, as well as vulcanite, a rare and very expensive metal found only in volcanoes. Then there was some terrible disaster, a tunnel collapse, and the mine was closed."

  "You mean to say we could get to the surface through this mine, too?" Rita asked in astonishment.

  "We won’t be doing that." Konrad shook his head. "The rockfall is almost cleared, so there’s no reason… Besides, this route is incredibly dangerous. If I remember correctly, it comes right up to the crater, and the mountain has been restless lately… it could awaken at any moment. Come on—do you hear shouting? Sounds like our people have already broken through the passage."

  They made their way back, passing through the chain of tunnels, and emerged once again into the hall where the others were waiting. Yuf Lainter was already running toward them.

  "Konrad! Rita!"

  "Is it open?" the monk panted.

  "That’s not it! Kairu!"

  "What about him?!" Rita turned pale.

  "He’s gone!" the druid cried in alarm. "Took the musket and left! I couldn’t stop him!"

  "Suicidal," Viggo muttered.

  "No," Konrad said quietly, raising a hand. The others fell silent. "No, my friends—he’s a very smart young man. He acted absolutely correctly… and I think Scarlet will give him the Star of Vaimar. He’s earned it. And note—" Konrad’s voice hardened—"the wolves have stopped attacking the cave, which means he succeeded in that as well."

  "You mean he went to the shrine?" Yuf asked.

  "Yes. And we’ll hurry there too. Ashley, can you walk?"

  "I’ll try." The woman winced, leaning on his shoulder. "I’ll live," she concluded with a sigh.

  Leaving the cave, now no longer a trap, the seven travelers headed downward into the gray January morning, seeking a way out of the cold, shadowy mountains.