The Frozen Wasteland

by Candy Crum

  "If you were anyone else, I wouldn't even give you the courtesy, but here it is. Arryn has been accused of killing several students. She's also been accused of killing two people while subduing a third in front of the Capitol building. She was seen firing on the Capitol building using her magic. And she seems to be missing now. What do you think about all that? What should I do about all that?"

  The questions were strange, sure, but Maddie was certain Amelia knew what she was doing. She was nothing if not thorough and cautious.

  "I came here because she's been missing for a few days and I have no idea where she is. I think the entire city has turned on her like starving dogs in a chicken coop, and I don't understand why. I understand those charges, but I seem to be one of the very few who think logic isn't really taking a part here."

  Amelia nodded. "What exactly do you mean logic isn’t playing a part?"

  "I don't know her. I was in her class for a couple of days, and I spoke to her once. That's it. But what I do know is that she woke up every morning and trained our Guard. From what I hear, and not from her, she trained them harder than they've ever been trained before by our own men. Why would she do that if she knew those same skills could be immediately turned against her to take her down? Why would she try to teach her students to heal, knowing any damage she did to them could be healed by themselves or by another student?”

  Maddie paused for a moment, but Amelia stood there, weighing her words. Maddie continued. “There's more, but those are the basics. None of this makes sense. It's like everyone is convinced of her guilt and has mysteriously forgotten all the good she has done. Sure, some of the noble girls like to chat and gossip. But it’s happened with everyone, including full-grown men. Something's not right. That's why I'm here."

  A few moments passed before Amelia's body relaxed and she stood up straight again, a smile spreading across her lips. "Maddie, I’m so glad it’s really you. Please come in."

  Maddie walked across the back porch and stepped inside, taking one last look at the guard outside. He gave her a nod before returning to his post in the yard. She closed the door and went into the kitchen.

  "It's nice to see you, too, Amelia," Maddie said. "I didn't know what else to do. I was worried when she confronted the class about the accusations against her, and since the invasion, no one has seen or heard from her. The invasion was the last time, but no one really spoke to her. She fought for us and then disappeared."

  Amelia nodded, grabbing the kettle to boil some water over a fire. "Would you like some tea before we get started?"

  Maddie gave her a nervous smile before sitting down at the table. "Sure. Thank you, I'd love some."

  Walking around the kitchen and working as she spoke, Amelia began. "There's a lot to the story. It's a long one, so I’m glad you decided on tea—you're probably going to need it to stay awake. You know about the accusations, but you don't know about everything leading up to them."

  Amelia began to tell Maddie everything about Arryn’s situation, starting with the moment she arrived. She told her about her past, her parents, the Dark Forest, coming back to Arcadia after she learned Adrien had been killed. She told her everything, all the way up to when she began teaching and came to Amelia with her fears about Talia.

  She set a cup of tea in front of Maddie, along with the bowl of sugar cubes. After sitting down with her own cup, she dropped in two cubes and continued with her story.

  "If I'd listened to her, we wouldn’t be in this position right now. Well, it wouldn't be quite as bad, anyway. The reason we’re here is because I didn't know any of this before Scarlett arrived. By the time the mystic got here, Talia had already established herself as quite the little hero of the city. Scarlett only solidified that perception by using her magic. They also have control of the remnant. This is one hell of a mess, and another mess is that Arryn is missing. I feel stuck."

  Maddie took a careful sip of her tea before setting it back down. "Do we have any idea where she is?"

  Amelia shook her head. "Cathillian sent Echo, his familiar, south. She searched pretty much all land south of us for any sign of Arryn, which means Talia more than likely took her north, or out of the Valley entirely. I'm not surprised—Talia was from just outside of Cella, or at least that's what I was told. She could be from another planet, for all I know. But for sake of argument, if north truly is where she's from, it doesn't surprise me that she would head in that direction."

  Maddie chewed on her lip for a moment, staring at the table as she thought everything over. "But she knows you know that."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I don't mean to poke a hole in your theory, but why would she go north? If she's from just outside Cella, and we're going to go out on a limb here and say that maybe she really is, why would she return there? Yes, it makes sense that she would return to what's familiar. People she can trust. Terrain she knows. But she would also know we would assume that. Talia is here. Arryn isn't. That means Arryn was dumped somewhere. Or…" Maddie let her words trail off as a concerned expression across her face. "Or the worst has happened."

  Amelia sighed as she sat there in silence. "It's very true. Talia definitely didn't take her south. But she would know we are aware she's from there. Okay, I'm open to suggestions."

  Maddie shook her head, raising her hands into the air for a moment before lowering them. "I don't have a clue. If she's not in the south, it would make sense that she was in the north. The only thing hanging me up about it is that Talia would know we would think of it. Which means she’s done something far worse. They wouldn’t have taken her west, because she'd be too close to the Dark Forest. If she has control of the remnant like you say, I suppose she could have taken her to them."

  Amelia nodded. "True, but I don’t think so. They wouldn’t have taken her east, because the remnant could've destroyed her by now, and there's no way in hell Talia would allow that. She'd want to destroy her herself. That’s why she more than likely wouldn’t entrust anyone to keep her either. They’d either set her free or torture her themselves."

  Maddie grimaced as she considered her next words. "Common sense has narrowed down the direction, and judging by personality alone, we’ve determined Talia would not leave her in the care of anyone else. But—Talia is here. She was at the Academy today. That means one of two things: either Arryn is already dead, or Talia has her hidden somewhere. Alone. Not under anyone else's care."

  It was Amelia’s turn to grimace now. "Somewhere she can torture her. But that doesn't make sense. Talia was gone for about five days. Maybe she's already tortured Arryn to death. That's a very long time. I don't have very many guards I can trust, but none of them saw Scarlett or Talia during those five days. No one saw any movement at either of their homes, either. That means they went somewhere away from here. Outside the city. Definitely north."

  Maddie took another sip of her tea before setting it down again. "Actually, there were several teachers and students missing for those five days, Jackson among them. They must have teleported outside the city."

  Amelia smacked the edge of the table before pointing at Maddie with a smile on her face. "I got it. I need you to be my eyes and ears inside of the Academy. I can’t go in there. I have to be absolutely perfect. With Scarlett in control of everything, I have to be very careful. I can’t piss off Talia or Scarlett. If I do, the whole city will revolt against me. There would probably not be a corner in the city I could hide in. So, I need you to study everything. Follow Jackson. Do whatever you can, but don't get caught. Don't get caught, and don't let anyone know you're associated with me in any way. You were smart to come here tonight when the city was quiet."

  "If things are that bad here for you, why don't you leave? No one would blame you for that. If your life is that in danger, you shouldn't be here. You're more valuable alive than dead. The city needs you. Arryn needs you."

  Amelia gave a sad smile. "You have no idea how badly I would love to run. After all this fighting, I'm exhausted
. But I can't. I took a vow when I stepped into the role of Chancellor. I made a promise to Ezekiel that I would care for his city—that I would make it a better place. I’d fulfill his dream. That I would let no one harm our people. That their children— everyone's children—would be well educated and could learn magic if they chose to do so.

  “If I run, Talia will rise up. She will claim my seat, and she will have power over the Guard. The only thing stopping her from doing it now is the fact that Scarlett has a very thin hold on everyone. From what I can tell, she compelled several people, and she's using them to convince others of her truth about what's happening."

  "She doesn’t have active control over every person in the city, right?" Maddie asked.

  Shaking her head, Amelia said, "From what Julianne has told me about mental magic, that would be impossible—even for the most powerful mystics. In reality, Scarlett must be exhausted. She only has control over a handful of people. In fact, if I were her, I would choose several strong-willed people who are known for rational thinking. I would choose them because they’re the type of people everyone would believe. They're the ones who are calm in any situation. Dependable. If they say the sky is falling, you’d damn well better take shelter. The rest are weak-minded individuals who will believe anything they're told, especially those who like to spread gossip—and like to believe it even more. That would be the easiest path to take. It would demand far less magic."

  Maddie nodded. "I don't know Arryn very well. I don't know anything about her other than what you’ve told me and what I've seen in class. What I do know is that she's strong. I don't know where she is or if she's alive, but something tells me someone that cruel wouldn't have killed her right away. I think Arryn is still alive, and I think she's working on a way to get herself home."

  Amelia laughed as she played with the handle on her teacup. "You'd like her. She's tough, not unlike someone else we know."

  "If she's anything like Hannah, then I definitely believe she's working on a way to get back to Arcadia. I also know if we put our efforts into finding her rather than saving the city, Talia and Scarlett won't be the only ones needing to save their asses." Maddie smiled. "Keep that in mind. She will be back, and she'll kick our butts if we haven’t made any progress. I'll do what you suggested. I’ll work on Jackson and the others. I'm very tiny and quiet, so I'm sure I can sneak around and get some information. In the meantime, keep yourself safe and away from any unnecessary attention. If I can't talk to you directly, how will I update you?"

  Amelia shook her head. "I'm gonna have to talk to Cathillian about that. I don't know nature magic, and even if I did, the bond between familiar and master is difficult to seal. Even Arryn doesn't have a familiar. But maybe Cathillian can train a bird to deliver messages for us.”

  Maddie’s eyes widened. “That could be fun and interesting.”

  Amelia nodded and replied, “I'll work on that, you work on the Academy. And for the love of the Matriarch, if anyone corners you about Arryn, act like you buy into the rumors. You can't believe you trusted her when she turned out to be a murderous psychopath. Understand?"

  Maddie felt disgusted just thinking about playing such a game, but she also understood it was necessary. Not only for her own survival, but also Amelia's.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Talia reclined on her bed, legs crossed at the ankle, a glassful of mystics’ brew in one hand as she rubbed the bridge of her nose with the other. For the last several minutes, Talia had been suffering Scarlett's hyper conversation, when all she wanted to do was drink in peace.

  Things had not gone quite as she had hoped or expected, and something in her gut told her she'd made a mistake. Her instincts were screaming at her to go back to the Frozen North and find Arryn's body to confirm her death, but Scarlett had said not to.

  "You can't leave right now, not when the city is still in chaos. If you do, Amelia will have control back before you can say ‘Sexy Scarlett,’" the mystic had told her.

  Talia's constraints were beginning to wear on her. She didn't like being told what to do, and when she knew what she needed to do, she absolutely despised being told she couldn't. Talia had to deal with the fact that her plan had failed so far.

  Amelia had been slated to die.

  Amelia was supposed to be dead, and Arryn had been dumped in the Frozen North to undergo a slow, agonizing death.

  Talia wasn't sure either of those things would be happening anytime soon.

  Arryn was a fighter. She had said as much when she dumped her on the mountain, but she had been sure her enemy would find her fate up there. It was far too cold, and the winds were far too severe. Given Arryn's blood loss and her inability to use magic in an energy-efficient way, she was doomed to die.

  Wasn't she?

  That was the question Talia had been asking herself for days now, and it was driving her crazy, right along with Amelia's continued existence. Everything was screwed up, as far as Talia was concerned. Amelia was alive. Arryn was more than likely alive. Their working relationship with the remnant was gone. In fact, it was more than gone. Talia had no doubt the remnant would be pissed off; certain Talia had set them up.

  And she had.

  Talia had known Arcadia's army wasn't well trained, but she knew they had the numbers. Numbers didn't make up for lack of skill, but the remnant would have brought twice or even three times as many to the battle if they'd known Arcadia's numbers were so high.

  She'd lied when she’d told them the Guard was depleted and weak from the battle of Arcadia. She'd lied to convince them they'd only need two hundred or so to sack the city.

  She'd set them up, all right.

  The remnant had come with enough to take out quite a few of Arcadia's Guard and citizens, but not enough to successfully seize the city. The city had fought them off and won. That had been the plan, but she’d hoped for the beasts to kill Amelia during the battle.

  She was supposed to be long gone, damn it, and Talia was supposed to be Chancellor. When she took charge of the city, she would have given the remnant whatever they might demand to keep them away in the future.

  But things had gone wrong so quickly. Arryn had proven to be far more resourceful and powerful than she had imagined, and she'd taken out far too many of the remnant before they even reached the city gate. That had required Talia to do a little improvising of her own. She'd captured Arryn and fled the city before the girl could do any more damage and ruin the possibility of Amelia being taken down.

  It was the only thing that had worked as planned, and she wasn't even sure of that much. Now, as she sat there with her mystics’ brew, listening to Scarlett prattle on about nothing important, she worried about the inevitable.

  The remnant would more than likely come for her soon, and with much larger numbers. She doubted they would take the risk of coming underprepared this time.

  They may have been big, ruthless barbarians, but they understood details, and they sure as hell understood battle tactics.

  "Aren’t you concerned at all?" Talia asked, her voice sharp and angry. "You do realize the remnant will be back, right? I doubt they even have an interest in the city anymore. All they’d care about right now is revenge. They'll come soon enough, and you are in just as much danger as I am."

  Scarlett sighed, reaching over and placing a hand on Talia's ankle. "Trust me, I’ve already thought of all that. Yes, our lives may be in danger, but right now there's no sign of it, and I'm not going to spend my time worrying about it. I’ll deal with it if it comes. Let's not forget, Talia, that this world is a much bigger place than just this small valley. Trust me on that. This world has many places to offer, and we can go anywhere, if it comes to that."

  Talia looked at her incredulously, downing the rest of her brew before slamming the glass onto the nightstand next to the bed. "Are you serious right now? We can just go anywhere? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. If I wanted to just go anywhere, I wouldn't have wasted all this time trying to s
ecure my future here. Things are different now. At first, all I wanted was vengeance for my father, but now I want what's owed to me. The city is what's owed to me. It's mine."

  "Okay, then." Scarlett folded her hands in her lap. "What's the plan?"

  Talia sighed, resting her head against her headboard as she stared at the ceiling. "So far, Amelia has only worked on cleanup. There hasn't been much effort past that. She’s scared to piss us off. There have been a lot of deaths, so morale in the city is obviously low. Using the remnant again is obviously out of the question, but I'm sure our group would be happy to have more power."

  Scarlett nodded. "By having more power, I'm assuming you mean giving them the blood from another victim. To do that, we would have to kill someone else. The city is convinced the murders were done by Arryn's hand."

  "And?” Talia asked angrily. “She's gone! No one has seen her. For all they know, she could still be lurking in the city. She proved that when she disappeared for days, only to show up out of nowhere to fight for the city. No one except us and a few in our group know what really happened to her. If we kill someone else, it will instill the fear that Arryn is still in the area."

  Scarlett was quiet for a moment as she sat and thought Talia's words over. "Amelia isn't doing a lot right now. She’s more than likely trying to keep a low profile and stay out of our way. At least, that's what I would do if I were her. If you take control and do something big to make yourself look like a better leader, it will only further the city's ever-growing disapproval of the Chancellor."

  Talia smiled. "Not bad. I like it. We should talk about this later. I'm starting to feel very relaxed, and I think I need a night for me. I need some entertainment."

  Scarlett winked and smiled. "Damn. Took you long enough. I thought you'd never ask."

  Talia rolled her eyes. "Not you, though I'm sure I would find you very entertaining. No, I'm thinking of someone else. I'm going to get a bath started. You should go down to Sully's and look for a very tall, very broad man who answers to the name ‘Eric.’"