Prologue

He awoke early on a Wednesday morning, and it was not long before sleep failed to disguise the searing burn in his side. He did not know where he was, or even who he was – in fact, these things he did not even consider. All he knew was pain. His body arched high above the bed and he tried to scream, but only a pathetic whine escaped him. He felt a sharp stab in his throat and fell silent, his body relaxing, and returning flat to the bed.
Already blind with agony, he wished the fire would spread and consume him, for the undulating waves of pain to wash over him one last time and dash him down to a rocky death. Just as the pain reached what he thought must be the crescendo, it increased yet further; his eyes rolled back in their sockets, and he passed out.
Now, he was back in the cold country of ice and glass, back home where he had been only minutes ago. Resuming his slow trek across the expanse of the ice fields and glassy plains, he laughed out a loud and joyous laugh; no longer was he a prisoner of pain, confined to the bed of some distant room, he had returned to the familiarity of his wide open spaces.
There was no hurt now, no feeling, just the cold and welcome numbness of an endless winter.

READ CHAPTER ONE