The Forbidden Library by David Alastair Hayden Read Free Book Online Page B

desire to put your people into too much danger,” Turesobei replied. “If you wish to stop, that’s your choice. I’m just trying to get to my friends in time.”
    Sudorga narrowed his eyes. “You swear that the spell is simple?”
    “There are easier spells, like the fire globes, but it is a basic one.”
    “It’s hurting you to do even that spell, isn’t it?”
    Turesobei sighed and admitted the truth. “It does, but I can manage.”
    “If you are so brave and strong that you would dare the night and go to such effort in your condition and in a world you’re not suited for, then how can we proud warriors of this land not continue on. We ride!” As everyone set into motion, Sudorga added, “I have honored your strength, but be smart. If you start to falter, let me know and we will stop. Don’t wait until your spell fails. We need light and half an hour to make camp.”
    After another hour of riding, Turesobei grew tired. Summoning the moon mirrors wasn’t much harder than the fire globes, but maintaining them was. If not for the overabundance of air kenja here, he wouldn’t have dared the spell in his condition. Narbenu chose a location to set up camp. Turesobei sent the mirrors up above them and illuminated the site. Beasts howled in the distance. He hoped the lights wouldn’t attract them.
    The goronku drew their long knives and began to cut into the ice and packed snow. Turesobei drew his knife as well, but Narbenu shook his head. 
    “You rest and watch me do it. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you’ll just waste your strength and make a mess.”
    The goronku cut ice and compacted snow into blocks, making a trench as they went. They stacked the blocks in a circle and then laid blocks on top of one another until they built a domed structure with a short entrance tunnel jutting off to one side. As they stacked blocks they shaved them so they’d fit together perfectly. Three goronku worked on the outside of the structure while two work inside, building the dome overhead. He was certain it would collapse on them, but the structure held. 
    “A house of ice?” Turesobei said. “I don’t understand.”
    “It’s a snowhouse,” said Kemsu. “Keeps the wind off you, and it keeps in warmth, from your body or your star-stone.”
    “Five goronku to each,” said Kemsu. “It’s a tight fit. You can join us.”
    “What about the mounts?”
    “They’ll sleep in the trench,” Kemsu replied. “It gets them out of the wind. They really don’t even need that. They can huddle together and survive just fine on their own out here anyway. The trench also makes it harder for predators to spot them.”
    They cut angled slopes into each end of the trench and led the sonoke within. The sonoke, trained for this, fell quiet and snuggled up together. Following War Chief Sudorga, Kemsu, Narbenu, and a goronku whose name he’d forgotten, Turesobei crawled through the entrance tunnel into one of the snowhouses. The central chamber was only as tall as a goronku could reach, since they had to set the blocks by hand. And there wasn’t a lot of space for all of them. It was cold, but not as cold as he would have expected. In the center of the snowhouse, Kemsu placed a star-stone on its wrappings and tapped it three times. The light was dim and only a little warmth came out.
    “Don’t want to melt the ice,” Kemsu said.
    Turesobei dismissed the moon mirrors, unfurled the blanket from his pack, and placed it on the ice.
    “Best to eat something first,” Narbenu said. “You’ll …”
    Falling into a deep sleep, Turesobei never heard the rest.

Chapter 7
     
     
    Turesobei woke in a surprisingly warm space, relatively speaking. It was like sleeping in a tent in a regular Okoro winter. The snowhouse had captured all their body heat. He still felt the chill in his bones, and he was ravenous. He stuffed himself on dried meat strips and cheese. 
    The goronku left the snowhouses intact. It wasn’t worth the