Free The Nexus Ring by Maureen Bush

off crunching ­bones.
    We were crossing a high mountain meadow spotted with bright flowers. Beyond it, I could see mountain range after mountain range, snow patches catching the evening sun. The creek became smaller, the air thinner, and still Eneirda paddled. Soon snowbanks surrounded us and then, around a twist in the creek, we faced a wall of ­ice.
    “Beginning of waters,” Eneirda said. “River begins with glacier melting. Glaciers grow in winter, shrink in summer. Now shrink more than grow. Sssst! Down this valley glacier once reached.”
    Looking at the meadow below us I could imagine a spur of ice stretching ­down.
    “Why is it melting?” Maddy ­asked.
    Eneirda scowled. “ Sssst! Humans light many fires. Even warms our world. Now glaciers melt.”
    I turned away from her scornful ­eyes.
    We headed up the face of the glacier. I helped Eneirda navigate smaller and smaller trickles of water. Finally, she grounded the ­boat.
    I stepped out first, and as soon as my weight was off the boat, I started to grow. I felt like an elastic as my arms and legs stretched. Soon I was normal size, looking down at ­doll-­like Maddy and Eneirda in a toy boat. I held it steady while they climbed out, and soon they were normal size ­too.
    “We walk now,” Eneirda said. “We walk to water flow on other side.”
    I had hoped I could carry the boat in my pocket, but it grew as soon as I took it out of the water. I lifted it onto my shoulders as Maddy and Eneirda started up the ­ice.
    Walking on the glacier was slippery, like crossing a skating rink tilted uphill, but it sounded like crunching across hard snow. There were deep cracks in the ice, big enough for a person to fall into. As soon as I started walking, I realized how high we were. I was warmer, moving, but short of breath and ­lightheaded.
    I hurried to catch up with Eneirda, tipping the boat to one side so I wouldn’t hit her. “Will we be okay at this altitude?”
    She just looked at me, ­puzzled.
    “We’re really, really high,” I said. “The air is thinner. Will we be okay here?”
    Eneirda nodded. “Forget. High altitude bothers humans. Tss , where do you live? Near ocean? Or in high place?”
    “Well, Calgary’s pretty high. Not like this, but way higher than sea level.”
    “Fine, then.”
    But it didn’t feel fine. This was the hardest I’d ever ­worked.
    As I struggled up the ice, I looked around. Mountain peaks surrounded us, lit by golden sunlight. A constant wind whistled in my ears and chilled the sweat on my ­skin.
    Eneirda spoke softly. “Many dangers here. Tss , be quiet inside. Magic will guide us.”
    The low sun cast shadows in the deep cracks waiting to swallow us. I peered into a crevasse and gulped. If we fell into that, we’d never get out. I was scared, but fascinated too. The ice inside the crevasse was a deep blue; I gazed down, wondering how I could capture that translucent blue on ­paper.
    As we climbed I could feel sweat dripping down my back, then freezing in the cold wind. Maddy looked blue, from cold or maybe lack of oxygen. I finally noticed how quiet she’d been, ever since I’d decided we would go to the giant. But it wasn’t the giant that was scaring me right now. A chant kept echoing in my head: Troll in the morning, troll in the ­morning.
    And then I slipped stepping over a crevasse. As I slid, fear blazed through my body and somehow propelled my legs in a great leap to safety. Then I stood, clinging to the boat, panting and waiting for my heartbeat to ­slow.
    Eneirda’s lips tightened as she glanced at me with a look that reminded me of how she said “humans.” I looked ­away.
    She touched my arm. “Quiet your mind must be, tss . Human minds always busy. You must stop. Maddy is quiet.”
    Sure, because she’s terrified , I thought. And then I slipped ­again.
    “ Sssst! You must listen! Let muskberries help. Look from inside.”
    “I don’t see with my insides. I see with my eyes, and my