by Logan Byrne
“Maybe he wanted something grand, like a grand ballroom, if he were going to hide something this valuable and powerful down there,” he said.
“Or maybe it’s to house the golems inside guarding it, or anything else that the legends don’t talk about,” I said.
“We’ve beaten the odds many times before, Lexa. A few ice statues aren’t going to kill us or even make a dent in us. All you have to do is hit them with fire spells and they’ll melt, that’s the great thing about it,” Blake said, laughing a little.
“Yeah, I guess,” I said.
“Hey, just relax, and don’t stress about it too much. Before we can do anything, we need to get there. Just hang back, get some sleep, and before you know it morning will be here. That walk is long, you know,” he said.
Part of me felt like Blake just didn’t get it, but I supposed I couldn’t expect him to—I couldn’t expect any of my friends to. They weren’t there with me inside that cavernous dome, and they didn’t feel something strange watching them. Until they were there, they’d never understand what it was like.
What if Merlin had created it because he hid something inside? What if Blake was right and it was just to look pretty? I guess the answer would lie in front of me tomorrow.
Until then, all I could do was ponder it all.
12
“Come on, suck it in!” Charlie yelled, as Faus tried to get back out of the small slit that we’d come in through.
“I can’t! It won’t budge!” Faus retorted, getting visibly frustrated.
“Here, I’ll get it open,” Britta said, taking out her wand.
“Don’t do too much, or you could trigger an avalanche. Remember, the ice is fragile, no matter how strong it might seem,” Faus said.
Britta started to swipe her wand, cutting out little sections of the ice, as the pieces fell and shattered on the ground. A path was widened, only about two feet more, though it was more than enough for all of us to push through and back out into the Arctic tundra.
“Well, it looks like the storm is gone,” Faus said, as the bright sun beat down upon our faces.
“This is more like it,” Charlie said, basking in the sunlight as if he were trying to get a tan.
“Which way to start?” Blake asked, his hands gripping the straps of his pack, as he tried to get the show on the road.
“This is the way I was taken,” I said, pointing towards the right, and Britta began to carve us a path. The winds had died, the weather cool but slightly pleasant, the snow around us pockmarked with holes from yesterday’s hail.
“Nature sure is amazing,” Charlie said, as we walked past a graveyard of fallen hail.
•••
“There’s the area it’s around, way up there,” I said, pointing off towards some mountains in the distance, as we turned around a corner from the cliff we’d just been walking along.
“If we hurry, we should be able to make that. I’d say about eight miles, maybe nine?” Blake asked, looking at Faus.
“Yeah, it seems that way. Make sure to be on the lookout as we walk on, guys. Remember, there are cracks and crevices in the ice. You wouldn’t want to fall in one or sprain an ankle,” Faus said.
I felt an overwhelming sense of haste as we shuffled our feet through the snow and tried to make time and close the distance towards the site. I just wanted to get there to see what it was like and to finally find out if the wand was down there.
There wasn’t much said between us, most of us huffing and puffing a little, as Faus seemed to struggle with the weight of his pack. “Blake,” I said, stopping him. “Why don’t you switch packs with Faus?”
“Too heavy?” Blake asked, taking his off.
“Yeah, just a little. All this equipment really adds up,” Faus said, taking his off. “Thank you for switching.”
“No problem. Yeah, this won’t be too bad for me. Let’s keep moving,” Blake said, as he slung the pack around his shoulders. I grabbed onto his hand, holding it, taking him by surprise, before he flashed a little smile and showed me those pretty white teeth.
“Doing okay?” I asked, as we spread apart on the path.
“Yeah, it isn’t too bad. How about you? Getting nervous?” he asked.
“Yeah, a little bit, but I’ve had a version of this feeling since we got here. I think it’s just the anticipation,” I said.
“Soon enough,” he said, clearing his throat.
The sun moved through the sky as the day slowly wore on. My throat felt burnt from the cold, my face feeling both hot and freezing at the same time. Blake told me I had a little wind rash from the cold. “Stop,” Charlie said, at the front of the pack, with his arms out.
“What—” Britta said, stopping, as she tried to shuffle herself backwards. I walked up with Blake, slowly, to see a chasm a few hundred feet deep. The crevice never seemed to stop, as its walls melded into darkness inside.
I kicked a piece of ice down, and it took about four seconds before a faint clacking sound echoed back up the chamber. “About two hundred and fifty-seven feet, give or take,” Faus said, pushing up his glasses.
“So basically what I hear you saying is not to take any chances falling down there,” Blake said.
“Basically,” Faus said.
“Do you guys hear that?” Britta asked, looking in front of us. I heard it, like a rumbling noise, but it wasn’t anything I’d heard before.
“Uh, guys,” Faus said, catching our attention. He pointed behind us, backing up slightly, before Charlie put his hand behind Faus’s back and kept him from falling down.
I turned around, seeing a massive polar bear with two young cubs playing in a small den near where we were standing. “I think we stumbled upon her den,” I said calmly.
“What do we do? She’s huge,” Charlie whispered. The polar bear was at least ten feet tall and larger than any bear I’d ever seen. She growled at us, moving forward slowly, though her cubs were none the wiser. They squeaked at each other, rough-housing, and mom wasn’t too thrilled about us being close.
“We must’ve stumbled past it on our way over here. Whatever you do, don’t provoke her,” Britta said. “She has the power to hurt us, and we definitely don’t want to cause her harm.”
“Well, what if she tries to kill us?” Charlie asked.
“She has two young cubs, Charlie. She doesn’t know if we mean to harm them or not. Besides, maybe she needs to feed them,” Britta said.
“I don’t taste good, trust me,” Charlie said nervously.
“Okay, you four are going to get across the chasm. I’ll distract her and then join you,” Blake said.
“Don’t play the hero, Blake. You know you couldn’t take her,” I said.
“Just Levio everybody over there, and then I’ll jump. Trust me, I can make it,” Blake said, with a slightly cocky tone. The chasm was ten feet wide, enough of a distance that we’d really have to jump. I was sure I could Levio us over, especially with Britta, but what about Blake? There was no way he could make a jump this large, especially because we weren’t elevated now. It was a flat jump, and he’d never been to the Olympics.
“Levio Maximus,” Britta said, lifting herself, Charlie, and Faus. “Toss your packs over first, they’ll weigh you down.”
“Good idea. We want as little drag as possible,” Faus said, before chucking his bag over. It floated over, landing two feet in on the other side, and Charlie put his hands under Faus’s feet and tossed him over.
“Okay, Faus is over. You next,” Charlie said to Britta.
“You go, I’ll be fine,” Britta said.
“No. I care about you too much to let you go last. Go, now,” Charlie said, staring into her eyes, and she nodded and leapt over.
“Charlie,” I said, shooing him away. He had a four-foot run-up, leaping through the air and going a bit further than he needed to, before scurrying back over to the group.
“You next,” Blake said, looking at me.
The polar bear wasn’t back
ing down, her razor-sharp teeth gleaming in the sun as her massive paws pressed firmly into the packed snow. “I’m not going without you,” I said.
“Lexa, don’t start this right now. Go, before I throw you over myself,” Blake said.
“Blake!” I screamed. The polar bear started to charge us. He shifted, faster than I’d ever seen, the polar bear rising on her rear paws as she came down on top of us. Blake grabbed her, his claws pushing outwards as his face distorted and shifted into his werewolf form.
“Lexa, leave now!” he roared, as the polar bear tried to snap at his neck.
“Levio Maximus,” I said, waving my wand around myself, before running up and jumping over the chasm. “Okay, now you!” I called back.
Blake struggled with the polar bear, her weight far too heavy for even a shifter of his strength to hold back, as her teeth inched closer and closer to his exposed neck.
Blake roared so loudly the chasm felt as though it were shifting under us, and he pushed her off, causing the bear to stumble a bit, before turning around and jumping high. “Levio Maximus!” I screamed, the flash of my spell hitting him and slowing his descent as he came down towards the edge of our side.
His feet barely hit the ground. Charlie grabbed him and yanked him back towards us as the bear roared and growled from the other side, backing up and realizing that she didn’t have a chance at getting to us. “It’s over,” Britta said, sighing.
“Somehow, I feel like that isn’t the only bit of adventure we’re going to have today,” Faus said.
13
“Here, right up ahead,” I said, when we’d finally trekked the necessary miles and came upon the place where the wind had taken me in my meditation.
“What’s this?” Faus asked, pointing at a rock that sat exactly where I was taken before.
“No, I’m sure this is it, I know it is. See, that small hill is there, and the mountain, and yes, I know this is it,” I said.
“Okay, well maybe we’re just a little off. It’s probably in this area. You said it was a hole in the ground?” Blake asked.
“Yes, there was a hole, and it was right here,” I said, pointing at the ground. It made no sense to me—there was no sign of a hole anywhere in sight. I knew it was here, and this rock hadn’t been here in my meditation, but how could I tell them that? I looked like an idiot, as if I’d made them slush through the snow for ten miles just to come see a rock sitting in the snow.
“I’m not sure, Lexa,” Britta said, her voice softened.
“I know this is it, guys,” I said, as tears started to well in my eyes.
“Hey, it’s okay, we believe you. Don’t get upset,” Blake said, putting his arms around me and pulling me in.
“It’s late anyway. We can get the camp set up, eat some dinner, and look into it in the morning. How about that?” Faus asked, looking around at the others.
“That’s a great idea, Faus. Britta, let’s get stuff set up,” Charlie said, and the three of them walked about twenty feet away.
“Blake, I know this is it,” I whispered, looking up at him.
“I believe you, Lexa. I seriously do. Maybe it’s hidden here. Was this rock here before?” he asked, pointing to the icy boulder.
“No, I don’t think so. I don’t remember one,” I said, wiping away a couple stray tears.
“Maybe it’s underneath,” he said, before walking over to the boulder and slowly pushing it aside. But there was nothing underneath.
“Maybe my powers just aren’t as strong as I thought they were. Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me or something,” I said, my head hanging.
“Hey, we’ll figure it out. Let’s just get some dinner, maybe cuddle up by the fire, and we can all sleep on it. I’m sure we’ll find something in the morning when we’re all rested and ready to go,” Blake said, before we walked over to join the others setting up camp.
I looked back as we walked, shaking my head. I knew that I wasn’t crazy. It was here, I knew it, and I was going to make sure they knew it, too.
•••
I could hardly sleep that night, tossing and turning, as the few dreams I had kept replaying my meditation visions. It was so clear, floating down into the opening, the mountains nearby and the massive cavern underneath the ice.
My eyes jolted open at six in the morning. I quietly put on my winter gear and snuck outside, leaving Blake asleep in the tent.
The fire from last night was extinguished, only the remains of it still visible. I walked over towards the rock, the snow crunching underneath my boots. I looked around it, brushing off the snow, which was at least eight inches thick, as I tried to look for clues.
My fingers slipped as I quickly wiped the snow. The space underneath the boulder definitely wasn’t solid ground. The ground was dirt and grass, and provided a bit of friction against my fingers. This was like ice, no, it was ice!
I brushed the rest of the snow away in a panic, revealing the slightly transparent ice, covering the hole like a glass cover. I knocked on it with my knuckles. It was thick, at least two feet, if I had to guess. I supposed that was why we didn’t break through it. I grabbed a small rock nearby and pounded it into the ice, trying to crack through and break off as much as I could.
“Wait,” I said aloud, standing up and tossing the rock aside. I pulled out my wand, looking at it, before shaking my head. “Why didn’t I just use this?” I mumbled to myself.
I looked back at the camp, seeing nobody had noticed I was out yet, before shaking my head once more. “Time to wake up,” I said, before pointing my wand at the ice and clearing my throat. “Eruptico Maximus,” I incanted, and the flash of orange flew from my wand and exploded the ice.
Chunks of snow and ice filled the air like a storm as the rumble shook the ground around me. “What happened?” Blake yelled, running out of the tent. “Lexa?”
“I heard a bang, is everything okay?” Britta yelled.
“It’s Lexa, she found something,” Blake said.
“Wait, what?” Britta yelled. Everybody ran out in their coats and boots, coming over to me, as I smiled, looking at the exposed hole in the ground that looked exactly like I’d envisioned it.
“Found it,” I said.
•••
“That looks like a long way down,” Faus said, peering over the edge of the hole. It was just like in my vision, as if I’d been teleported into the future to see this very moment when I was meditating.
“There are traps,” Blake said, pointing out some spikes set in the ice. “I wonder why those are there.”
“I guess Merlin wanted to make it difficult for whoever wanted to get down there. He wanted the entire process to be a challenge,” I said.
“You’d think the golems would be enough. Did you see them in your vision?” Charlie asked.
“No, I didn’t. I’m not sure if there are much bigger things down there. When I went in, I was in a giant dome that looked like an arena. I felt as if I were standing in a coliseum made of ice. There was a door, but I couldn’t get to it, just like I told you before,” I said.
“Oh yeah, right. Well, I think we should get dressed and start our descent. I wouldn’t mind making it back to the camp by dark,” Charlie said, rubbing his hands together.
“Let’s eat first. If we’re going to be fighting golems, then we need to have our strength,” Blake said.
I felt nerves in the pit of my stomach, knowing that the end of our mission was finally near. It was one thing searching for the cave, and doing the treks, because I knew it wasn’t time yet. Now the wand was right under my feet, just about, and everything had culminated into this final moment. I was going to go down, get the wand, and never have to feel under Kiren’s control again.
We rested for thirty minutes after eating, Faus saying we needed to rest our stomachs a little in case the golems were waiting for us right when we went down. It was a smart idea. When the time came, I must’ve checked for my wand four times, anxious about misplacing it or leavin
g it in the tent.
“It will be okay,” Britta said, rubbing my back.
“I know, I’m just nervous,” I said, my breath forming a cloud in front of me as I exhaled deeply.
“Okay, how do we do this? We need to trigger those traps,” Blake said.
“I wonder,” Faus said, before grabbing a chunk of ice that had blown up when I opened the hole. He tossed it near the first trap, and it lunged out, the icy spear slamming violently into the opposite side of the opening.
“Yup, I’m glad that’s not me,” Charlie said.
“Maybe we can trigger the traps without actually going down. I wish I had some wood, a stick, but maybe these icicles will do,” Faus said, stroking his chin.
“Wait, I have an idea. Glacio,” Britta said, as she started to craft a long icicle, the same way she’d made our wind-break on the open tundra.
“Brilliant!” Faus said, taking the newly formed stick of ice. He slowly started to stick it down and the traps began to activate, likely the first time they’d moved since they were put in. Trap after trap sprang into action.
“You know what I just noticed?” I asked, looking around. “Only this opening blew open. Nothing else around it exploded.”
“Maybe Merlin charmed it, forcing adventurous explorers to go down his trap hole instead of finding another way in,” Blake said.
“It would test the worthy,” Britta replied.
“This Merlin guy seems cool. I think I’d like him,” Charlie said, nodding, his arms crossed.
“Cool? Merlin was a lot more than cool,” Britta said, getting worked up. “He was the greatest wizard to ever grace this planet. His spells and findings are still valid and in use today! He—”
“Okay, calm down, I get it. You have a crush on an old dead man,” Charlie said, covering her lips.
“Okay, they’re all triggered,” Faus said, pulling up a small chunk of ice, all that was left of the long icicle.
“It’s now or never,” I said, before grabbing Blake around the waist. “Levio!”
“Lexa, wait!” Blake said, but I jumped in, taking Blake with me. I looked up, smiling, seeing my friends peering down, before Britta took out her wand and did the same with the guys.
