Northwest Passage Novels & Stories

"Brother Yang, let's go." The group of people did not delay any longer, for they had to hurry to the north border of the Northern Continent before nightfall. After resting for a night, they would find a Flying-cloud Stone shop. Then, they could fly over the Kunlun Mountains by riding the Flying-cloud Stone. After that, they would pass through the Arctic Wilderness.

He had accepted this role without argument, which told me he understood that this was the most useful place he could be and he had stopped needing it to be otherwise. "Eastern passage is accelerating," the tracker beside me said. He had his hand pressed flat to the ground. "She's close." I looked at Torvi. "Ten minutes," Torvi said. "Maybe less." ----------- The passages opened at 4:17 AM. All four simultaneously, which was the point, she had coordinated the timing so that no team could reinforce another. Each passage was narrow, a gap in the ward that read as intact to a standard sensor but allowed a body through if you knew the angle. Through the eastern passage came a wolf I didn't recogn

"So what's the plan?" Kael's eyes swept across the sanctuary until they settled on the underground river. "The water." Zara followed his gaze. "You think it leads somewhere?" "I think that's why Wisteria kept writing about it." He crouched beside the current. The water disappeared beneath the eastern wall through a gap just large enough for one person to crawl through. "It isn't a drain, it's another passage." Rynese peered into the darkness. "You want us to crawl in there?"

"The pass is wider than it appears, I have studied the rivers and seas around Astalion very deeply, my father made sure I knew every route and I loved to learn about our ocean. That pass is not well known because everyone avoids The Lifeless Abyss." "I have heard of it, now that you mention it." Ryan frowned, as he looked down at me before massaging his jaw. "I think she’s right." "So, are we going to go into this on blind faith, just to save time?" Flynn added doubtfully. "It’s not just the time, it’s safer. In a narrower setting, we will be more aware if something big is coming." I persisted, pointing to the exit through the mountains. "Look, Bellmead Island is here. These mountains do hav

"The Shadow King's army outnumbers us." Lynnek studied the map for a long moment. Then she noticed something. "What's this?" She pointed to a narrow canyon between two mountains. Kael answered. "Raven Pass." "It's the only entrance to Blackstone from the north." Her eyes lit up. "So they have to come through here?" "Yes." A slow smile spread across her face. "Then don't fight ten thousand wolves." Everyone looked at her. "Fight the pass." The room grew quiet. Miguel leaned closer.

The man continued, his voice low and tense: “Unfortunately, we can’t use that route. They've reinforced security after the incident, increasing the number of guards and patrols. Any attempt to cross would draw too much attention. Our best option now is the route to the far east, near the Burght Strait. The area is sparsely populated, with only two men on guard. It would be easy to take them down, but the downside is that this route is much farther. It would take us about three days to reach the pack."

She pulled it tighter and kept walking, her boots finding steady purchase on the rocky ground. The northern pass came into view as they rounded a bend in the path. It was a narrow cleft between two towering rock faces, barely wide enough for three people to walk abreast. At the far end, Lyra could see figures huddled together, their forms obscured by the gathering dusk. Roran stopped at the mouth of the pass and raised his hand. "They are just beyond that ridge. I will go first and announce you." "No." Lyra stepped past him. "I will go first. They asked for me, and they will not take me seriously if I hide behind you."

Agony shot through my skull worse than anything I had ever experienced. It felt like someone was driving white-hot nails into my brain, each one seeking out a different memory, a different secret. I began to think about the Direlands. Not in a way I would have loved to remember them, but what the stone was trying to dig up. The defensive positions, every hidden path and every weakness in our ancient protections. "Stop," I gasped, but the word barely came out as a breath. "The northern passages," the witch hissed, her voice seeming to echo from inside my own skull. "Show me how to breach them."

"I am the navigator. I am providing telemetry." "You're annoying." "I am keeping you alive." They hit the main road. Elion merged into traffic, keeping his head down. "Where are we going?" Elion asked. "Away," Cale said. "Specifics, Cale. North? South?" "North," Cale decided. "Density decreases north. Fewer cameras. More tree cover." "Upstate?" "Further. Canada. Or the Arctic." "I don't have a passport on me." "Borders are lines on a map. They are negotiable."

“That is neither here nor there.” “Midnight is a week’s ride away. We’re—” “A week!” “Aye.” Amusement laces Ethan’s tone. “A week. The Northern Pass is the quickest route to my castle, but also the most well-known. That’s the route James will use to send his Wolves after us—so we’re taking a slight detour. When they don’t find us in a few days, he’ll call them off, and they’ll go back to fighting the Southlands armies.”