Brian held his re-igniated branch, it's flames dwindling down. “Don't complain, just get inside.”
“Good idea.” Dan held up his staff and cast a spell that sent a blast of blue magic into the ice door. Nothing happened. He did it again, with the same results. “She has this place sealed tight. Magic won't take it down fast enough. Hold up your branch, maybe I can use the fire.”
Brian held out the smoldering branch, “Not much left to work with. Maybe I should just use my lighter, it...” The whole area rocked and jostled.
Dan came close to Brian, their backs together. “I don't like the sound of that.”
“Oh, God.” Brian's formerly confident hand was now trembling as he tightly held the branch.
Just then a huge giant made of ice came around the castle, its head and shoulders above the high wall running the parameter. In it's hands was a thick club also made from ice. It's cold eyes looked down at the pair and it bellowed with a fog pouring from it's mouth.
“Oh, shit.” Brian muttered and then jumped out of the way as it swung down at them.
Dan dodged the other direction and then thrust his staff at the monstrosity. “ECHO!” A potent shockwave hit the giant and it stumbled backward slightly.
“RUN, YOU'RE NO MATCH!” Dan yelled at Brian.
Brian fell on his butt and scooted back as the giant came for another swing at the wizard. Dan met the club with his staff, a blue field of magic forming the instant the two weapons met. The giants club was reflected back, but Dan was also pushed away. Before he had a chance to conjure anything, the giant swung again.
“It's do or die, Brian.” He said as he pushed himself up and pulled out his lighter. He reignited the branch and then rushed at the giant. With a quick stab, he thrust the flaming end into the giants leg. The enormous ice man screamed out and was hit by another shockwave spell from Dan, who used the momentary distraction. Unfortunately, Brian lost his branch as the giant fell away, it had melted into the leg and was now completely extinguished.
“GET OUT YOUR LIGHTER! I NEED FLAME!” Dan called out, ready to finish off this enemy.
Just then, the club was thrown at Dan, slamming him against the castle. His staff flew out of reach. Coughing and gasping, Dan shoved on the giants club that pressed him against the ground.
Brian held his lighter and watched the giant coming for them. The monsters eyes fixed on it's primary target, the wizard. It picked up its club, freeing Dan, but only swung it back down. Dan summoned his wand and deflected the slams one by one with magic blasts. He was unable to get to his feet with how the giant had pinned him down. “HELP! I NEED MY STAFF!” Dan called out.
A clever smile crossed Brians face and he reached into the inside pocket of his coat. The sound of plastic crinkling came as he pulled out his weapon of choice.
Dan cast a shield spell again to deflect another slam of the club. Suddenly, a small item hit the giant in the face and stuck. It was burning and melting a hole. Then another hit the shoulder. Each time the Giant winced and then reached up to wipe away whatever was burning him.
Brian held up another meep marshmallow bird and lit it on fire. “Have some Christmas cheer!” He lobbed this one and stuck it to the back of the giants head. The fire would go out pretty quick, but the hot sugar melting down the icy surface seemed to cause a great deal of pain.
Dan quickly got to his feet and retrieved his staff. “Hold up a flame now!” He commanded. Brian quickly held up the burning lighter. Dan focused on the flame and then sent it right into the face of the giant, casting a torrent of flame as he did this. While he continued to melt the beast, he too cried out in pain. Just as the monster stumbled back through the open gate, Dan stopped and then cast a shockwave spell. The giant was sent over the edge of the bridge, smashing on the rocky shore of Cherokee lake.
Holding his hands against himself, Dan shuddered in pain. “Thanks.”
“Are you okay?” Brian asked.
“I'll be fine. I'm a winter wizard, working with fire is unnatural. I learned how to from some Summer Pixies a few centuries ago, but it always hurts horribly. I'll recover. Now, about this door.”
Brian looked back, “Do you hear something?”
“Yes, it sounds like an engine.”
“Do you think the military is sending in more fighters?”
Dan shook his head, “I don't know. Let's just get inside and finish this.”
“How? Knock?” Brian muttered.
“I might have to use the fire again. It'll be hard on me, but it will melt this door…what's that?” Dan looked up as they both heard that engine sound growing.
Brian looked back and suddenly pushed Dan down.
Their van, with Sherri at the helm, careened across the ice bridge. The moment she got to the gate, she cut the wheel and sent the van into a slide. At the same time, she jumped out of the open driver side door and plowed right into Brian. The van made contact with the door and part of the wall, crashing right through and sprawling across the floor of the throne room.
Sherri sat up next to Brian and yelled out, “Got it!”
Brian sat up quickly, “Sherri! What the hell was that?!”
Dan, uncommonly shocked, came over to them, “We don't have time for questions. The door is open and it's shutting quickly.” He ran for the hole in the wall and door, which was already reforming in the ice.
Brian got up and pulled Sherri to her feet. Without another word, they dashed inside behind Daniel. Hardly a second after they entered the palace, the wall and door had completely remade themselves. Once inside, they ducked behind the overturned van.
Chapter 10: Dominion of Ice
Looking through the vans windows, they could see the amazing sight inside this place. The room was crafted with intricate, ornate decoration and design. Tall columns, amazing sculptures, hanging chandeliers, all made from pure ice. A throne sat on a raised platform in the center of the room, a beautiful woman seated on it. She was human size, but her appearance was not unlike the beautiful little fairy they had met. Yet, she was translucent, as though she were not entirely there. On a pedestal near the throne hovered the tiny crystal that imprisoned her all these eons. It slowly turned and emitted a bright light with a spray of magic.
“It looks like she's returned.” Sherri whispered.
Dan pointed at the pedestal. “She has not fully reformed, her crystal is still being disenchanted.”
Brian held up his lighter, “Should we give her a nasty tan?”
Dan shook his head, “No. She's far too powerful for that to work. I'm going out alone.”
“Alone?” Sherri asked.
“Only at first. She'll kill you with a thought, but I can fight her. If I can get to that crystal and connect it to my staff, I might be able to reform it and contain her once again. If she puts up a fight, I'll distract her as best I can, you get to the crystal and get it to me by any means necessary.” He gave them both a sever look, “Do you understand me?”
They agreed with a unified nod.
Dan stood up and walked around the fallen car. He saw the look on the face of the queen, she was fully aware he was here and waited for him. He decided some talk might buy him time. “My Queen, I'm disappointed. I expected you to be surrounded by a whole legion of your beloved ice giant constructs.”
“I always knew it would come down to me and you. This time, though, you'll not take me by surprise. And, without that little trick of yours, you would have failed then as you will fail today. I am far too powerful for you, little wizard.”
“My name's Dan. Or do you remember?”
The Queen rolled her eyes, “You are just another wizard. Another petty little magic user who dares to challenge a fairy queen.”
Dan lowered his staff and looked at her with caring eyes, “No, I'm not just another wizard. I'm the man who loved you so much that I was ready to forgive you even after you lied to me and led a war against the rest of the world. I'm the wizard who wanted to spend every day with you, jus
t to hear your voice, see your smile, and get lost in your eyes. Or do you remember those days?”
The Queen finally met him with her eyes, “I do remember. I remember how much I cared for this strange wizard who made me laugh. I can still smell those beautiful flowers you would bring me at the beginning of spring.” Her warming tone quickly turned cold, “I also remember how foolish I was to love my tiny kingdom of ice in the south, when the world was available to me. A world you showed me.”
Dan yelled, “I showed you the world because I loved you! Because I wanted you to see the beauty that I saw! It was to be a time for us to connect even more and perhaps move beyond flighty lovers. Instead, you saw a world to be conquered, to be controlled and bathed in ice. I was the fool to think that you could have anything in your heart by ice.”
“I wanted you at my side, to rule this world!” Her voice echoed throughout the palace, “I gave you power second only to my own, and you rejected it!” Taking a few calming breaths, she contained her rage and even smiled, “I'm not heartless. I do remember how important you were to me. I'll take you back, give you your position, let you stand at my side. Give me that staff and pledge allegiance to me once again. I'll show you more compassion than you deserve. Once this world is finally mine, you'll be a powerful man.”
Dan continued to walk toward her, “Tempting offer. And, it does seem you have the upper hand. However, you aren't at your full strength yet. I would not be so confident if I were you.”
She mockingly laughed at him, “Don't think I'm not aware of your plans.”
Dan realized she was now looking at her own crystal and he made a desperate dash for it. A strong blast of ice magic hit him and threw him clear across the throne room. He quickly recovered and shot back. She deflected it and responded in kind. Back and forth they fought, neither gaining any ground, both incredibly powerful.
As she fought, she spoke, “You're good, but I'm not complete yet. We can keep this up until the crystal is spent and I'm reformed. Can you face my full strength?”
Brian looked back at Sherri, “Stay here. I'm going for that crystal.”
Sherri gave a reluctant nod, “Okay. I'll be ready if you need me.”
He came around the back of the van and practically tip toed behind columns. The fight had the queens back to them as Dan fought from the far left side of the throne room.
There it was, the crystal. He was only a few feet away. Brian almost came out but slunk behind the column again when the Queen lurched back during one attack. Again, he stepped out. As he approached, he could see Dan glance up at him a few times. They would have to work together. With a shaking hand, he reached up and snatched the crystal. It hurt horribly with the power flowing out of it. His hand became deathly cold and he began to loose feeling in his fingers the moment he touched this cursed object.
Dan sent two strong attacks at the queen and then ran right at Brian. He did not see that blast of magic from the queen. She had been ready for this the whole time. He was hit in the abdomen and his staff went flying out of his hand. It flew across the floor and then was snatched by an invisible force. The queen called it to her hand and without a second thought smashed it against the ground, the top of the staff shattering into thousands of shards. A wave of white magic exploded outward, throwing Brian back against the column and pushed the van nearly up against the wall.
The Queen held up the destroyed staff, “So it ends. All your pathetic plans, your foolish notions of containing me. You're nothing more than a little Winter Wizard now.”
Dan, still on the ground from the blast of magic, reached out with his ordinary wand. Before he could cast a spell, she flicked it away with a thought. “My Queen, please. Don't do this.” He begged in a truly pathetic tone.
“It's over. In a few moments I'll return, and no one can stop me.” She tossed the remains of the staff away and looked at the fallen Brian. “Oh, I thought I sensed a non magic presence in my palace. My hero, Brian the foolish. I really should thank you. Without you, this would not have been possible.”
Brian gathered himself and looked up at her, “You lied to me. You used me.”
“I know.” Came her cool response, “But, the ends justify the means. As a reward, I offer you a privileged life. This new world of ice will see many of your kind dead, but a few will survive. I'll need to know how to rule them. You can be a my helper, my ally.” She held out her hand toward him.
Brian felt his wrist going numb as the terrific cold set in. “I would rather die, you bitch!” Without a second thought, he put the tiny remnant of her crystal in his mouth and swallowed it.
Both he and the queen staggered. She vanished away, the mist that was her body flew right into his. He gripped his throat and then started screaming with two voices. The skin all over him became a sick blue color. He fell over and writhed on the ground, screaming and clawing at his face.
Out of his mouth, her voice cried, “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! I WILL NOT FALL TO A MERE MORTAL!” Brian put his hands on his face and yelled incoherently. Then, he stopped. A strange bluish white smoke puffed out of his mouth and all of his convulsing was gone.
The palace rocked and huge cracking noise echoed across the whole valley. Massive sections of it broke apart and crumbled down into the lake below. The storm in the skies instantly weakened. Sunlight broke through where the clouds faded away.
Suddenly the room tilted hard to one side and a massive crack split the back wall. Dan yelled out, “SHERRI, HELP ME!” He got to his feet and fought against his own pain to get to Brian.
Sherri joined him. She looked down on Brian's lifeless body. “Oh, God! Is he dead?”
“I don't know. But, he will be if we don't get him out of here. Help!” He pulled Up Brian by the shoulders. Sherri helped get him up by his legs. They carried him out of the palace and ran across the crumbling bridge. It splintered and shattered on the edges, already broken by the van that drove across it. They almost didn't get to the cliff when the bridge fell down into the lake with the rest of the castle.
Laying Brian on the ground, Dan immediately called his wand and cast spells over him.
Sherri looked up as the storm slow down. In fact, it seemed to pause. The tiny snowflakes in the air became motionless. The ripping winds in the distance evaporated leaving drifts of dry snow dissipating into the trees. The eye of this storm distorted as the twisting motion of the hurricane came to a stop. Then, as if giant hands had torn it away, the eye peeled back and the clouds parted, revealing a deep blue winter sky. The storm broke apart and melted away far into the horizon. Soon, the snow covering the distant shore shone bright in the winter sunlight.
“It's really over.” Sherri whispered.
Post Script: Truest Warmth
The world was cold and dark, Brian felt as though he had a giant weight sitting on his chest. There were voices around him, but they weren't familiar. He wanted to speak, but found it hard to move any part of him. Finally, his eyelids trembled open, letting in bright light. Though it stung his weary eyes, the light seemed to bring him further out of whatever he was under.
“Sherri…Dan?” He mumbled.
He realized he was laying in a bed. There was a soft pillow under his head and a blanket covering him. Looking to the side he saw an old television set on with the news showing.
“And we're back with WVLT Channel 8. Day 3 of continuing coverage of the recent strange blizzard. Power has been returned to over twenty million people across the eastern seaboard. Workers are still fighting to get the power back in most of New England and Florida. Most of the Mid-West states remain without power. They suspect it will be at least five days before any significant work is completed. The President will address the nation at three this afternoon regarding the official position of the US government on the incident.”
Just then Dan and Sherri walked into the room, Sherri gasped and ran over to the bed. “Brian, you're awake!”
“Yes, but I feel like hell.”
Dan pulled ove
r a chair and sat down, “You should. I had my doubts you would ever come back to us after what you did.”
Brian groaned, “Now I remember. I swallowed that damn crystal and then fell over. I...I don't remember anything after that.”
Sherri quickly said, “You defeated the queen!”
“I did?”
“Yes.” Dan said, “She's gone, and this time she cannot return.”
“How?”
Dan asked, “What did you think would happen when you stuck that crystal in your mouth?”
“I wanted to melt it. I thought it would hurt her. Honestly, I didn't know what it would do.”
Dan then asked, “Why did you do it?”
“It was all my fault. I freed her and even gave her the means to return. If she destroyed our world, it would be all my fault. I had to do something to fix it.”
“That's why it worked,” Dan answered. “It wasn't that your body warmth melted the crystal. The truest warmth is not a measurable heat, but honor. You were willing to sacrifice yourself to save everyone else. That's what destroyed her in the end.”
Brian blushed, “I don't deserve all this credit. If Sherri hadn't gone back for the car, we wouldn't have gotten into that palace. Good thinking Sherri.”
“Yes, that was very clever.” Dan added.
Sherri rubbed the back of her neck, “Well...I didn't go back to get the car, I went back to hide in the car. But, I realized I was hiding while you two were fighting to save everyone. I had to come back and help. Then I saw your keys sitting there and came up with a plan.”
“Where on earth did you learn to drive like that?” Brian asked.
Sherri smirked at him, “You don't know everything about me. I have a wild side.”
Brian would've said something but he shivered hard and held the blanket closer to him, “I'm still really cold.”
Dan casually said, “You'll get used to it.”
“What do you mean?”
“You see...” He got up and paced around the room, “There was a complication. Her magic was killing you. The human body simply isn't built to handle that kind of power. I had to do something and so I gave you some of my magic.”
The Winter Wizard Page 5
