Page 41 of Sanctuary

She smiled at him. Ice shot through him from his neck all the way to his feet.

“But not today. Today you saved my brother. I will collect that debt another time. We need to go to Nav now. You have a tree to drag.”

8

The winter cold chilled Roman’s face. He opened his eyes and shrugged, getting the harness situated across his chest.

“My friend!” Farhang floated into his field of vision. “I waited as promised.”

The snow crunched, and Andora and Finn materialized on the path. Finn’s shepherd puppy jumped around in the snow and frolicked, hopping up and down.

“And you’ve brought companions.” Farhang smiled softly. “After such long solitude, this is an embarrassment of riches.”

Andora glanced at Farhang. “Who is he?”

“A magav who offended his ahura.”

“He tried to kill us,” Finn supplied.

Farhang raised his hands. “My body did. I assure you, I’m not a threat.”

Andora looked at Roman.

“He isn’t,” Roman agreed. “Andora, you know what is coming, so Finn and Farhang, this is mostly for you. Kid, this is the Winter Cathedral, your goddess’ domain. Here she rules supreme. In the center of the Cathedral is the Ice Terem, the palace where Morena and Chernobog spend Koliada. With me so far?”

Finn nodded.

“Morena doesn’t care for human visitors. To get to the palace, we must pass through her trials, the last of which are the Glades of Remembrance.”

“They make you relive your worst memories,” Andora said.

“If you end up serving Morena, this will be your home turf,” Roman said. “You will get to skip all this and go straight to the terem. Unless you piss her off.”

“Have you done it?” Finn asked.

“Oh, yes.”

“More than once?”

Roman nodded. There was a reason why he was off for Koliada. Of the five times he’d had to visit the terem during the holidays at Chernobog’s summons, Morena had relented only once. The other four times he’d had to go through the Glades.

“Is it the same every time?”

“Yes. Unless something even more fucked up happens, and then that will take precedence. Farhang, last chance to back out.”

The magav squared his shoulders. “It’s a reckoning I deserve.”

Well said. Roman nodded. “Let’s get this over with.”

He started forward, dragging the tree across the snow.

“But what’s the point of the tree?” Finn asked behind him.

“Morena and Chernobog had a spat,” Roman explained. “He tried to fix it on his own, but it didn’t work, so now I’m bringing her a present.”

“But couldn’t he just make the tree appear or get it himself?”

“No,” Andora said. “The tree is not the point.”

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