Frost stood and approached the two. “Flint took a mortal from me, and I’ve come to take her back.”
“You’ll have her back when we say you’ll have her back,” the larger man said.
“Do you even know why he took her?” Fire spirits generally stuck together on every account, but if they knew what Flint was up to, Frost figured it might be a different story.
“It matters not why. All that is important is that you are not welcome here.” The smaller guard rushed forward, grabbed Frost’s sleeveless blue snow-lined shirt behind the neck and flew upward away from the forbidden land.
Frost reached up to grab his fingers and attempted to pry them away, but they wouldn’t budge. A few seconds of blinding speed and whistling wind whipping against them both, and they burst into fresh air and sunshine. Frost was tossed mercilessly to the ground and left alone.
Even in the harsh sunlight, he felt the temperature drop, and his strength return.
There was nothing he could do for Lilly on his own. He would have to see Mother Nature and gather others to force Flint to set Lilly free.
* * * *
Lilly’s back was unusually sore when she woke up. Her eyes focused on a smoky glass wall that shone brightly. The room and its unnaturally illuminated walls startled her into standing painfully. “Jack,” she sputtered.
The door caught her eye, and she ran to it, pounding against the cool surface, because there was no handle to turn.
Immediately the door opened, and a man with amber skin carrying a bottle of water and a bundle of bananas walked in, wearing only a kilt of flames around his waist and upper legs. The heat he radiated and the horrified recognition of him dragging her through the freezing night sky was enough to make Lilly move to the far wall. She let out a few short breaths and stumbled over her words. “Wh...what are you?”
“You can see me?”
Lilly nodded.
He stared at her in amazement. “That kiss must have had some effect on you. I am what Frost is, but I deal with heat, while he deals with cold.” He tried to smile pleasantly, but felt the woman’s fear at the sight of his razor-sharp fangs. “I’m not going to hurt you. Do you have a name?”
The young woman looked unsure. “Lilly.”
“Lilly...that’s pretty. I’m Flint.” The flames dancing over his thighs went out and were replaced by a broken magma pattern.
“Is, is Frost what you call Jack?”
“I don’t know a Jack. Frost is the one you were kissing.”
“Frost,” Lilly mumbled, still fearing the man who called himself Flint.
“I promise not to hurt you. I only need to keep you here for a short time. You’re the first mortal down here in decades, you know. It was made for a mortal man centuries ago, and it’s hardly been used since. This is the only place down here where a mortal can survive.”
Lilly contemplated what down here and only place a mortal can survive meant exactly, as she continued to stare at the foreign being. “Why am I here?”
“You’re my leverage with Frost. I want to be master of the cold, and he’s the only one with something he loves enough to trade positions with me in order to get it back.”
“So—if he traded with you, would he be what you are?”
“That’s exactly what would happen. As I hear it, Frost has already been down here looking for you and got thrown out before I could speak to him. He’ll be back though, and then the bargain will be made. All you have to do is wait patiently, and you’ll be able to leave soon.” He gave her another terrifyingly toothy grin as he set the water and bananas on the ground beside her coat.
He left Lilly feeling petrified, because the man she loved was a man of freezing winter weather, not fire. Nothing would ever be the same if Flint succeeded with what he planned. She hoped Jack wouldn’t make the trade. It seemed that Flint wouldn’t hurt her either way, so Lilly knew she was safe. Hopefully Jack knew this too, because she could wait if it meant keeping him as he was.
Chapter Seven
Frost flew like never before, carelessly leaving a trail of silver flurries behind him until he reached the hidden lands where earth’s very mother kept house. The tranquil breeze and fragrant smell of flowers enveloped him when he crossed the magical barrier surrounding the beautiful gardens. Velvety purple and blue vines clung to the dewdrop-dappled trees that grew here and there.
Frost felt drawn to the alabaster columns, which formed the giant gazebo-like structure in the northwest corner of the lands. There he found her ladyship sitting on one of the long steps that led to the wide upper surface. Her long dress of rainbows trailed down the grass at the end of the stairs. Beside her sat Flora, a spirit of spring who also happened to be Lilly’s mother. Frost sped toward the women.
“My lady,” he called as he landed hastily before them. He knelt with less than his usual grace and looked up when he should have looked down. “I offer my sincerest apologies for coming to you with such haste, but one of your fire spirits has taken a mortal from me and refuses to return her unless I agree to trade elemental powers with him. Please, I beg for aid in rescuing her.”
Mother Nature offered a sympathetic and mildly curious look, while Flora stared in absolute shock. “Dearest Frost, what sort of mortal could you be claiming ownership over in this matter?” Mother Nature asked in her soothing voice.
“I do not mean to refer to her that way, but she is a mortal bound to me by love, and I must have her back.”
“Love? What a wonderful thing to happen to you. But I do not involve myself in the affairs of mortals.”
“This one is different though.” He glanced at Flora, knowing he shouldn’t do it, but Lilly was more important than abiding by their laws at the moment. He held up a hand as the mist of his memories swirled around them, a young version of Lilly taking shape. She was carrying a half-dead baby bird to her house where she would nurse it back to health and set it free in the spring. The image changed, and they watched a pre-teen Lilly telling a group of girls to stop teasing a scrawny boy on the school playground. Then the memory of present day Lilly twirled around in the snow in front of them, laughing about how happy the cold weather made her feel.
Mother Nature leaned forward as the mist dissolved, smiling sadly. “She’s lovely, and she has a beautiful heart. But it does not change the fact that I cannot help you.”
“She, she seems familiar,” Flora said, a look of surprise on her face. She sat up straight as further realization gripped her. Whenever an immortal hears or sees anything of their mortal life, the veil is taken from their mind, and they begin to remember it.
Mother Nature looked over at her. When she realized that Flora’s mind was being flooded with mortal memories, her eyes glowed with the anger this sparked as she turned back to Frost. “Why would you show her mortal daughter to her? You may have cost me a great spring spirit, Frost.”
“I am sorry, but I need your help. Can you not see all the good that is inside the young mortal woman?”
“Lilly,” Flora said breathlessly as tears came to her eyes. “My little water lily—and a fire spirit has her! What if she’s burned? We need to get her back... now!”
“Then you will help me?” Frost asked.
“I would do it alone if I had to. That’s my child.”
She and Frost stood up as he reached out to hug her. He was tremendously grateful to know that even one other spirit was on his side. “Thank you.”
“Flora,” Mother Nature said.
Flora turned to face her. “I will not desert you, but I must help my daughter.” She looked down at the gleaming, reflective floor, shaking her head sadly. “All these years, she’s been alone.”
“No,” Frost said, “her father and I have always been there to look after her.”
“Her father...Zachery...” A look of recollection passed over her face once more before Frost rose into the air.
“I’m sorry, but there is no time. We must find a way to get Lilly out of the fire lands.�
�
“You’re right. No time to lose.” With that, they both left a very worried Mother Nature behind.
* * * *
The police and Lilly’s father were called. A report was filed, and an airplane ticket bought. Her father left a note on the fridge for Lilly, explaining where he was and that she should call his cell phone immediately if she returned home. Every single student and adult from the program and restaurant were questioned. Their stories were consistent, but no one could figure out what happened.
Rebecca couldn’t stop crying, blaming herself for being a terrible friend. She should have never let Lilly walk back alone with a total stranger. She didn’t really think Parker was guilty of hurting Lilly, but she wasn’t ruling it out either. She lay on her bed, refusing to go to first day’s classes and dreading the upcoming confrontation with Lilly’s dad.
On the airplane to Alaska, Zachery was a wreck. He couldn’t seem to calm his trembling hands or racing heart. I should have never let her go. He kept beating himself up. This is all my fault...all my fault... With his head in his hands, he leaned forward through the entire flight to hide the tears from the staring passengers on either side of him.
* * * *
As they flew full speed, Flora asked Frost question after question. Though it didn’t slow him down, it irritated him. He felt like the focus should be on how they would get Lilly away from Flint.
It also bothered Frost to know that Flora would probably be reunited with her daughter soon. He was afraid of what Lilly’s reaction would be when she discovered that Frost had always known where her mother was and never told her. But it was forbidden to share such information with mortal or spirit.
Frost remembered when he woke up to his role of winter spirit. He’d been as bitter as when he had died and needed to know why. So he’d pleaded and thrown around empty threats to send the world into a second ice age if Mother Nature didn’t tell him who he once was. Seeing how badly he was hurting, she revealed his name.
He’d regretted it as soon as it all came back to him; the memories were so painful. His parents had died of the flu when he was only thirteen, leaving him a miserable young man who lived as a recluse for the next seven years. Then during an unusually cold winter, Frost contracted the very same flu that killed his parents, and it claimed his own life. Luckily, a winter spirit was passing through, and having grown tired of the routine of five hundred years, he offered him immortality.
Frost’s life of poverty before that day and the loneliness after had never been happy until Lilly. The old gloom began to return as he feared for her, and his patience with her mother finally ran out.
“Stop it!” Frost halted in front of her. “I know you missed your daughter growing up, but don’t you think we should focus on how we’re going to rescue her?”
“Oh, Frost,” Flora laughed good-naturedly, “it wasn’t so long ago I was part of the mortal world. Now that I remember it, I know exactly what we’ll do. We just need to make a quick stop on the way.” With a wink, she was off again.
Chapter Eight
The same two men who stood guard before stood watch later that night. They had grown bored of idle chit chat and stood still and upright in the sweltering silence.
Both flinched when the room suddenly filled with a screaming sound. They looked up through the only entrance to their underground home then dove out of the way, as something shot at them. The room lit with sparks as bottle rockets zoomed all over the place, sending the guards fleeing down one of the tunnels. This was followed by colored balls dropping all over, spewing smoke everywhere and filling the room with an awful stink.
A minute later, a woman in a flowing lavender dress floated down with a man of winter hanging from her hand. The room weakened the lady, but didn’t wield her powerless as it did the man. She set him down gently, but he instantly fell to his knees.
“I hate this place,” Frost said, standing.
“So do I,” Flora agreed. “Any idea where Lilly might be?”
He shook his head and stared down the five tunnels leading away from the open space. The glowing magma oozing from the ceiling and dripping down the walls provided plenty of light, but the heat was so intense, Frost was afraid he might be too late.
“I’ll go right, and you go left,” Flora said. “We’ll cover more ground that way, and we can meet back here when we’re through.”
“Good idea,” Frost said before they went their separate ways. He went as quickly as he could manage, but still rather slowly, while Flora floated just above the ground so that no one would hear her footsteps.
She moved down the long, empty corridor until the magma died away, and the air became cool. This is exactly the sort of place a mortal could be safely imprisoned, she thought happily. A little deeper and everything became dark, except for the soft glow of her skin. It wasn’t enough to see everything clearly, so she ran her fingers along the wall as she went, hoping to feel something.
After another long stretch of darkness, she felt the crack in the wall. Flora turned to face it and saw the long curved handle as her hand came to rest upon it. She tried to turn it, but it was locked. Pressing her hand against the key hole, she sent thin vines to fiddle with the insides until there was a soft click. Rather desperately, she turned the handle and pulled open the door.
A young woman with long dark hair and a face resembling her Father sat on a bed in a small room. “Lilly?” Flora asked.
“Yes.”
“Oh,” Flora sobbed, then gasped and ran to throw her arms around her.
“You look familiar,” Lilly said. “We’ve never met, have we?” It seemed silly of her to ask, because she certainly would have remembered this pink-skinned woman with glowing reddish hair. She had the strongest feeling she’d seen her somewhere before.
“We met a very long time ago. But there’s no time for that now. We’ve got to get you out of here.” Flora stood up and walked toward the door.
“Why? Did Jack trade with Flint?”
“Who?”
“Frost, I mean. Did Frost trade places with Flint?”
“Not to my knowledge. Now we really must go. Someone could find us at any minute.”
“Right.” Lilly stood up and followed the woman to the door.
Without warning or bothering to ask her permission, Flora grabbed Lilly around the middle and lifted her from the ground. Then they were both flying through the hall as fast as the magical lady could manage.
As the red-hot drippings on the walls came back into view, she felt the effects of the terrible heat on her daughter’s mortal body and her own fear rising. When they reached the end of the tunnel, it was suddenly so hot, even Flora could hardly stand it. It couldn’t have been this hot before, she thought.
Without warning, Lilly began jerking around. “Go back! It’s too hot!” she screamed, but they were already moving up through the exit. There was absolutely no mistaking it as they rose. The place was blazing with uncontrollable heat, and it was only rising. “Go back! It hurts!” Lilly screamed louder, her skin becoming much too warm and her breathing shallow. She began thrashing around, but Flora managed to hold tight as they finally reached the surface.
Flora put on a great surge of energy when Lilly became still. The younger woman was sweaty and panting, but all right.
They continued moving upward and away, Flora wanting to get her beloved child as far away from the burning underground tunnels as possible. She would come back to tell Frost as soon as Lilly was safely far, far away. She only slowed down when she heard the ground rumbling, then splitting wide open.
Mother and daughter looked back and saw a man in snowy blue clothes being hurled through the air. Lava spewed everywhere from the broken hole in the ground. Even from a fair distance, waves of heat washed over the women.
The two fire-guards rose from the lava, still shooting into the air, and spilling out all over the place. Frost’s head and shoulders slumped as he hung in the air just out of the hot liquid’s re
ach. An army of men flew up behind the guards, all looking outraged. The smaller guard spotted Frost and shouted as he flew toward him. The others followed, sending all the lava in his direction. Frost barely had a chance to look up before the wall of deadly heat hit, sending his body flying through the air once more and slamming into the hard, jagged ground.
“Jaaaack!” Lilly screamed as she was flown away from the terrible scene.
* * * *
When Frost turned away from Flora to search one of the tunnels, he struggled to hide how absolutely drained the place made him. As soon as he was sure she couldn’t see him, he allowed himself to lean against the burning wall, sliding along it as he walked. The frailty he suffered reminded him of what dying from the flu was like—hot, cold and more terrible than he could have imagined. Now, walking down the tunnel, it felt like his life was bleeding out of him all over the floor.
He had to get to Lilly because every second that she was in danger took far more out of him than this place ever would. It felt as if he’d been walking for miles and days as he turned back to see how far he’d gone. The mouth of the tunnel was still visible. Frost grumbled and pressed forward.
He only stopped when he heard light tapping up ahead. He couldn’t see anything yet, but someone was coming. That could be Lilly. Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself away from the wall and forced himself to jog toward the sound. He moved clumsily, his legs like lead. As the tapping became louder, it was clear to Frost that it was the sound of a great many feet.
He looked around for anywhere to hide, but there was nothing. He couldn’t even see the beginning of the tunnel anymore, and in his present state, he would have never made it in time.
The tapping became stomping, and then a horde of angry men came around the bend. The first ones stopped when they saw him, the men in back running into the ones up front and nearly knocking them over.
“A winter spirit?” one said in astonishment. “You sent the explosives?”
Frozen: A Winter Romance Anthology Page 12
