by S A Edwards
One floated past my face, and I stared at its stunning form, branching out in sharp, equal threads. My finger touched it, and it dissolved. More settled on the rocks and branches, coating them in glistening white.
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.
My foot sank into the snow, and it crunched, leaving a perfect footprint behind.
Something collided with my side, and I whirled in shock, my flames faltering.
Charlie burst into laughter. “Your face.”
“Oh, very funny.” I brushed the snowy remains from my cloak and stooped. The icy snow chilled my fingers and moulded easily into a ball, leaving my skin wet and tingling. It soared toward him, but he leapt aside. It smashed on the ground, showering him in fluffy flakes.
Charlie flung another, only just missing me.
“You’ll have to be quicker than that,” I laughed and threw my second.
It hit his back in his attempt to flee.
The next few minutes were a blur of balls and weakening laughter as we played deeper into the snow. Then, when the cold began to cut into the fun, I recalled my flames and shrugged further into my cloak. My fingers burned under the heat, yet something fought against the fire, stabbing at my control.
Charlie shivered beside me, sharing in the warmth.
Our footprints decorated our path, disturbing the previously untouched snow. I frowned.
“What’s wrong?” Charlie asked.
“The Seekers. This will lead them right to us.”
His gaze skimmed the woodland behind me. “You don’t think they’d come all the way up here … do you?”
“They haven’t yet. We would feel that horrible fear if they had. So, that’s a good sign, at least. Even so, we should keep moving. We’ve lingered far too long.”
The snow thickened, and it grew colder, cutting through to my bones. Thick grey clouds billowed overhead, and a low rumble rolled through the sky. It wasn’t long before the heat had to be doubled, yet the chill still crept in. My toes were numb, no longer kept warm by the boots, and an icy breeze whipped my cheeks.
Charlie sidled closer, his face barely visible beneath his hood.
“Careful,” I said, afraid he would get too close to the flames.
“I know,” he shivered. “I’m just so cold.”
The mist shrouding the upper mountain wasn’t too far above us, but I wondered how much of the land extended beyond. The snow fell faster. The daylight faded, bringing new worries in its wake. I wasn’t sure how we’d survive the night with limited visibility, the constantly dropping temperature, and nowhere warm to rest.
“Maybe we should head back. Just a little,” I said.
“Why?”
“We can’t go like this through the night. Let’s get back to the woodland and continue in the morning.”
“But what if the Seekers come?”
“If we carry on, the Seekers will be the least of our problems.”
“I don’t know.” Charlie rubbed his arm, eyes on the clouds. “I think we can make it.”
“I’m not sure. We probably still have a long way to go.”
“Well, let’s have a look around the corner there.” He pointed at a large snow drift. “If we can’t see the top better, we’ll go back a bit.”
“Okay.” My mouth was dry, so I reached for my canteen, wincing at the dull ache in my head from the cold. My flames warmed it a little before my next sip, and then I trudged to the corner, desperate for a warm place to lay my head.
Wind battered my face and tore at my hair. I huddled inside my cloak, barely believing anything could be so cold.
Glittering ice cliffs dominated the landscape. The brightening moons shone through a gap in the clouds, casting an eerie feel on the surroundings.
“Cool.” Charlie’s lips appeared blue in the low light.
“We have to find shelter. Let’s head to the cliffs. Shelter between them.”
“Good idea.”
Flakes flurried around us, restricting my vision.
Charlie slid his nose under the fur of his cloak.
I increased the power of my flames, struggling against the cold.
A narrow trail led between two cliffs, protected from the wind, but even without it, it was bitterly cold. A large crevice cut into the cliff ahead, the inside cloaked in blue shadow.
“Over there,” I said.
The crevice opened to a long tunnel, visible only from the moonlight slipping through the clear ceiling. The ice creaked around us, and my neck prickled. “I don’t like this.” My words echoed strangely, sending shivers down my spine.
“I can see the end,” Charlie said, pointing at a spot of light ahead. A narrow arch had been cut into the ice, marking our exit.
“We’ll stop at the arch,” I said.
The wide space amplified our footfalls, and the groaning grew louder. We exchanged a look and picked up the pace.
The tunnel narrowed about half way through. Sharp and glittering spikes protruded from the walls and hung from the ceiling.
The ice screeched from above.
Charlie grasped my arm and peered up at the shaking spears.
One dropped.
I leapt aside with a yell.
It crashed behind me, shaking the ground. Shards bounced off my cloak and cut my flesh.
More fell, shattering with deafening sound.
My foot skidded on the ice, and I tumbled, my flames diminishing. Pain shot through my side. My hands shielded my face against the fragments, my fingers numb.
“Clara!”
“Go, Charlie!”
He obeyed, slipping repeatedly.
Ice showered around me, obscuring my vision. Pain tore across my leg, and then all became still.
29
My breathing quickened when I peered around at the nearly unrecognisable ice tunnel. Broken slabs lay scattered across the ground, sharp and clear like glass. Huge boulders surrounded me, obstructing my vision. A large chunk pinned my leg in place and aching cold penetrated my skin.
A mountain of snow and ice buried the arched exit.
“Charlie?” Shivers coursed through my body. “Where are you?” My heart pounded, and the ceiling creaked. Grasping at the huge slab with numb fingers, I tried to pry my leg free, but it didn’t budge.
“Clara?” Charlie’s muffled voice dragged my focus back to the tunnel.
“Charlie! Where are you? Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m okay.”
Scraping sounded from the blocked exit, and Charlie’s hand broke through. Lumps of snow rolled like stones to the ground, the noise amplified in the space. His hand pulled back, and his eyes appeared.
Relief coursed through me. “You got out.”
“Only just.” He shifted out of view momentarily. “It’s freezing out here.”
“I’ll get to you when I can. My leg …”
“You’re stuck?”
“Not for long.” Flames leapt to my fingers and touched the ice.
A long crack tore across the roof with a crunch, and a block dislodged, plummeting to the ground.
I buried my head in my arms. My fire died. Fragments scattered against my arms and hair, bringing with them a biting breeze.
“Clara!”
“I …” My eyes locked on the new spikes protruding from the slab pinning me down.
“Clara?”
“I’m all right.” My flames rose again, the blue light reflecting on the glossy surface.
Ice crashed inches from my head, and my ears rang. Serrated edges grew from the spikes, grazing my trousers.
I increased my heat.
The spindles grew, inching closer to my body. One touched my chin.
“Clara, stop!” Charlie screamed.
My flames ceased, and the spikes stopped growing.
A small, glistening dent lay in the ice block where it had melted, barely noticeable.
“It reacts to your magic,” he said. “Only a Preserver can reach the Capital, remem
ber?”
I struggled against the ice, teeth chattering. I couldn’t escape. I took a breath, fighting to control my despair. “You go on ahead.”
“No.”
“Charlie, I can’t move. Your best chance of survival is to reach the Capital.” If he could. A lump grew in my throat. I should have made him go back to Sil.
“Let me in,” he insisted. “I can help.”
“Go, Charlie.”
“I can help!”
“No, you can’t. You’re out there. I’m in here. And with the place crumbling, I wouldn’t let you in, even if it were possible.”
“If you melt the ice here a little, I can get through.”
“Charlie –”
“I’m not going.”
“Charlie!”
He didn’t move.
I clenched my fists. “You’re going to get yourself killed.”
“We don’t have a choice, Clara. We should work together.”
“If something happens to you and I’m still trapped, I won’t be able to heal you.”
“I know.”
I frowned, my indecision threatening to overwhelm me. If he got hurt or died because of me, I could never live with the guilt. Lallana’s death played on my conscience already. How could I live with another? But if I didn’t get out, Charlie would die out there anyway. Cold numbed my leg, easing the pain. “Step back, Charlie.”
His eyes disappeared from the hole.
My hand stretched out as far as possible in my frozen prison and sent a blast of blue at the blockage.
The needle on my chin extended. The point pressed against my throat. I gasped.
Only a tiny dip was visible in the rubble blocking the arch.
Charlie appeared again.
“It didn’t work.” My voice rasped.
“It’s okay.” He moved away.
The rhythmic dripping of heated ice cut through my shallow breaths, and my teeth gritted. What good were gifts if I couldn’t save myself? I needed more.
The blockage shattered. Shards scattered across the tunnel.
My eyes squeezed shut, and I tensed, unable to protect myself. The spikes prevented my arms from lifting. One hit me. My cheek stung, and warmth caressed my flesh.
Chunks fell from above, breaking like glass on the ice. A glittering mist curled through the air.
Slowly, it cleared.
A huge, gaping hole was cut in the blockage, the sides razor sharp and marked with spindles.
Charlie clambered over the ice to me.
“How did you –”
“I found something to break it.”
“What could you possibly have used to break through that?”
He grabbed the spike at my throat and snapped it in one smooth motion. “There was a loose ball of ice up the hill. I gave it a shove.” He shifted round the ice, and I stared, sure his muscles hadn’t been so large a moment ago.
I tried to grip the ice, but my hands stung and slipped on the surface. My body shook. “Okay, on three.”
Charlie reached down. “Three.” He lifted the block, releasing me from its freezing grip, and hauled it aside like nothing more than an empty crate.
“Charlie, what –”
Another crack darted across the roof directly above us. Silver moonlight gleamed through the jagged line.
“Go!”
Body numb, I struggled to move and slipped repeatedly. The roof tumbled, crashing into thousands of razor-sharp pieces.
Ice tore upward from the ground ahead, blocking our path, a mountainous spear of ragged edges.
I skidded, inches from the surface, and twisted to the right.
Another chunk broke the ground, towered above us, and merged seamlessly with the first.
A block struck the floor and spread tall and wide. It curled round us in a tight circle, trapping us.
Cracks cut across the remaining roof.
Spikes extended from our prison walls, sharp and glistening.
Charlie pressed against me, fists clenched.
The ceiling shattered with a deafening crunch, and then plummeted toward us.
30
The shadow of the falling roof blocked out the moonlight.
I dropped to my knees, covered my head with my arms, and braced for pain.
A huge silhouette grew beside me, and the musky scent of forest cut through the frost.
Then, the plummeting ice dissolved in a hiss to frozen dust, showering around us in a sparkling mist.
My eyes closed against the freezing kiss, and shivers coursed through me when the dust slipped down my neck.
The mist cleared, and silver light beamed into the enclosed space.
Charlie shivered beside me, knee deep in dust, spikes inches from his skin.
A figure shifted into view atop the surrounding wall and peered down at us. A light blue, almost-white cloak hung from his shoulders, and his white hair matched the shade of the snow. “Take a look at this, man. Mage’s got this far.”
Another stepped up beside him, eyebrows raised. “Wouldn’ta done if it wasn’t for us. Roof would’a got ‘em. Yo, Luca. Look here.”
A third peeked down, a smile playing on his lips. “Y’all must be mad, yeah? Only Preservers get ter Capital.”
I battled to catch my breath and staggered to my feet, unsure how much to reveal to these strangers. “Please.” My voice echoed in the confined area. “We need to see Glacies.”
The three exchanged glances, and then burst out laughing.
“Look, man,” the first said, “a funny Refiner.”
“Refiners don’t see Glacies,” Luca said. “Go back.”
“We can’t.”
“It’s that or you die of cold, yeah?”
My lips tightened. I preferred Kyra’s personality. “We must see her. Now.”
They exchanged looks again.
“I think she means it, Doug.”
The first crouched, his brow furrowed. “Come on then, why?”
“I can’t tell you.” Just because Kyra had been told about me, didn’t mean these men knew. And I didn’t like them.
Doug straightened. “You ‘ear that, Rod? She can’t tell us.”
The second grinned. “We can convince ‘er.”
The spikes shot forward another inch, sending my heart thudding.
Luca chuckled. “You have yer choice. Tell us or turn back.”
The wall behind us melted away in a narrow line, leading back into the crumbled tunnel, and the spears tore forward again, driving me back a step.
I staggered, and the dust curled up in the silver light. “Stop.”
“Hear that, man?” Doug said. “Wants us to stop.”
“Gonna tell us why you want Glacies?” Rod asked.
“No.”
The spindles cut forward again, piercing my cloak.
Charlie leapt forward, grabbed the spikes, and clambered up them with surprising speed.
“I don’t think so, man.” Doug flicked his wrist, and the points closed in again. The ones under Charlie’s grasp shattered, and he fell, disappearing in the frozen dust.
My stomach lurched.
He emerged, hair glittering under the fragments.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
He nodded, and wiped his hair, flinging flakes from the dark strands.
My hands balled and grew hot, heat threatening to call my flames.
“Ooh, we made the Refiner angry,” Rod said, and the others laughed.
The spears closed in again, leaving only a thin line to the tunnel.
“Won’t do you no good using fire, yeah? Doesn’t work ‘ere.”
Icy dust curled up, rising beyond the wall, and showered over the three.
I frowned, unsure what to think.
“Hey, what’s the deal, man?” Doug shook the grains from his cloak, and then his gaze locked on me, all humour gone.
Luca frowned. “Doug –”
“Yeah, man, I know.” He lifted his hands, and the wa
ll before us melted away, revealing the clear, arched exit of the tunnel. “Hurry up, yeah? Seems she’s waiting for you.”
The spikes retracted, and dust scattered under my feet. The three retreated, vanishing from view over the top of the wall.
The heat on my hands faded with my surprise.
Charlie slipped his hand into mine and led the way through the narrow arch. “Do you think Glacies did that, like Sil did with Yithan?”
My breath twisted in the still air, and snow drifted to my hair. “Maybe.”
“Does that hurt?” Charlie asked, his gaze on my face.
I brushed the blood away from my cheek with the back of my hand. “It’s fine.”
Cold pressed in, burning my lungs. Stars sparkled in every inch of the sky, twisting and turning in the constellations I had grown so used to in the village.
A shadow shifted above. Thick white fur covered the bulky body of a huge creature. A black nose glistened, and dark eyes locked on me. On all fours, it slunk toward us, teeth bared.
No sign of the three men could be seen.
Six more creatures rose from the snow, surrounding us.
Charlie tore his hand from my grip.
They crept closer, growls carried on the air.
“Run, Charlie.”
He didn’t move.
“Oh, for once, don’t be so stubborn.” His defiance infuriated me. I couldn’t live with him getting hurt.
“Where would you like me to run?” He stepped toward the creatures. “I can’t go back.”
One crouched, and then leapt.
I sent a ball of flame at the creature. Heat washed over my face and arms.
The creature burst through it like a rock through water. Then, it slowed. Its focus shifted behind me, and then it stopped.
Luca hurried down a slope from above the tunnel, hand held out to the creature. “Better come with me, yeah? And stop with the fire. It don’t belong here.” He marched toward the cloud.
The creatures watched us pass, unmoving.
“Why would she want ter see a Refiner?” Lucas asked.
My lips tightened.
“Still not gonna tell me?” He shook his head.
“What are they?” I asked, peering back at the creatures.
“Ursus. If you’d survived the tunnel – which you wouldn’ta by the way – you’d have us and the Ursus to get past.”
