Sylph stared at me for a long moment. Sylph's face went through changes, some of them accompanied by hues of green or the slight roughness of bark that came and went. I watched in silence, unwilling to press her.
"We moved through a few feet of ground," she said at last. "It almost killed you. How would you survive for miles and miles?"
I shivered, but I'd already been considering the possibility.
"I think it best if we remain together," I said. "At least if you can count me as an ally in this --"
"Yes, that at least," she agreed. "But still --"
"I have magic of my own that I can use to protect myself. I had no chance to prepare the last time. Between the power of what we felt and the sudden need to move, I couldn't have done any magic. This time I am prepared. I have the power to keep a shield for at least back as far as the subway again."
She nodded, but her head tilted slightly. "We will go as far as we can on foot, above ground."
"You need not --"
"I think I do," she replied. "I have ... a sense of things."
Since she started out on foot, there was nothing I could do but tag along. We moved quickly, at least -- faster than humans could cover the ground. I felt a sense of urgency in her, and I wasn't sure if I caught it from her or if I had the feeling all on my own.
Maybe the feeling came on the wind, that sudden rush of cold that felt worse than ice in the air. Something was out of sorts in the human world. Something --
"What is a force of nature doing in the human world?" I asked as I jogged along with her.
"What am I doing here?" she asked. "I may not be as much force as what we faced, but I am not of this world."
"You came looking for the Holly Crown," I said. And then I stumbled to a stop. "Do they even have crowns?"
She went on for only a few more steps and then turned to me before I could catch up. "A crown is a symbol of power. We all use them in some way, and though I am not conversant in the ways of nature and those who rule her, I suspect they might have some equivalent item."
That was something to consider. I shivered again -- and I saw Sylph look at me, her head tilted, her green eyes narrowed. I worried I had done something wrong --
"Something is far out of balance and moving faster toward a cliff over which it might not return." She had said the words carefully and then blinked and focused on me again. "Crowns and such. Where would you look?"
"I've hardly had time to consider it," I said. We began to walk again, slow steps. "I can't imagine what others could do with such power. Or maybe ..."
"Yes?" she said, sounding intrigued and annoyed.
"Maybe it isn't what another can do with the crowns, but rather what those who usually have the crowns now can't do."
She had that look again, but this time it turned to worry at the end. I thought she might be having visions, and I didn't like that what I said triggered something that looked bad.
The wind blew harder. Ice, not snow, hit the side of my face. The wind howled, and I thought about all those people who had been out at the park enjoying the crisp autumn day.
Something changed at that moment. We both stopped and stared back into the wind. I could see movement there like fog coalesced into sinewy shapes. They were not near us, but I still found myself backing up a step or two.
Sylph put a hand on my arm. "We go now."
I called up the spell to protect me, and barely in time. Sylph literally dived head-first into the ground, flipping me down with Sylph, arms tight around me -- but I had put my shell up and wasn't instantly crushed --
Something caught hold of my right leg -- grabbed tight with a grip that felt like ice spreading through my ankle and both up and down from there -- like daggers shoved in through my skin, muscle, and bone.
It was not letting go, either. Nor was it coming with us, and for two heartbeats I feared it would yank my leg out, but Sylph came to a sudden stop and changed direction, jerking me upward --
I was grateful not to lose the leg, but we surged out of the ground and into a swarm of ice creatures that looked like snakes. One had bitten into my leg and still held on while others retreated.
The others began to snap at us, but Sylph moved faster than I could with any magic. She sent them flying away, and I followed with a wave of warmth, hoping it would affect the magical ice. It did. They melted, though the one on my leg wrapped around my ankle --
I sent warmth straight through it, too. The unnatural creature melted away, but my leg still felt filled with ice, and it was all I could do to keep that cold from spreading upward, like a poison.
The wind still blew. Ice and snow blew too hard, and for a moment, I could barely see Sylph, who stood no more than a yard away from me.
"We must go," I said, trying to deal with the pain. "Now."
"Yes. You are not able to do your spell."
I began to protest, but I feared she might be right. I focused on my leg right now, and I had the feeling that if I ignored that wound for something else, I was going to be in real trouble fast.
"No choice," I said and leaned against a tree. "You have to go without me."
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