Veins of Ice

by Melissa Kellogg

  “Chaos elementals have been one of our greatest foes, especially the Fire ones. The Elders never realized their destructive potential,” Corentine said, off-topic, and in her own musings.

  “They were too busy looking elsewhere to realize the danger. The Chaos Fire elementals are the most dangerous, but even the regular ones are deadly. We all remember how our brethren burned,” Mark said, his hands clenching together. His fingernails stabbed his palms, and his palms bled.

  Daray dramatically sighed. “Destroying a district, like the Fire district, will wake them up to our presence. You don’t have an army,” Daray said.

  “That’s why we need to open up the Wildlands, and to do it publicly, so that no one questions it, especially the cryptid hunters and the people who watch the Wildlands’ border. They can’t monitor everything. And not only that, there are still unmarked graves out there with family pets that would be useful.”

  With a shake to his head, Daray said, “It still won’t be enough. I don’t see the fear in their eyes out there.”

  “All we need to do is get rid of the Fire district. We have the city perfectly divided and we must take advantage of that. Once we get rid of the Fire elementals, the others won’t stand a chance. The Fire elementals were crucial in their victory last time. A Fire elemental killed one of the blood harvesters in the sewers the other day too. If it hadn’t been for him, the Ice elemental, the Metal elemental, the witch, and the sewer worker would’ve been killed and sucked dry,” Mark said, and licked his palms clean of his own blood.

  “I think you missed one of the report’s details. The Ice elemental was a Chaos elemental too. She would’ve stood a chance against them,” Corentine said.

  “Perhaps,” Mark said, shrugging it off. In his opinion, a Chaos Ice elemental was useless.

  Corentine tapped her long, black fingernails on the tabletop so hard that she added to the numerous pit marks already on there. “We still need a few Fire elementals, particularly a Metal one, to create dark weaponry again,” Corentine said.

  “We can recruit them from elsewhere. The key is to get control of the city because this city is the heart of the Sundarin Nation. Once it’s back under vampire control again, we will take over the other cities,” Mark said.

  Daray said, “The Elders would’ve never approved of such a plan. We must wake them up. You don’t know what you’re doing. Killing Fire elementals in one sudden attack will alert everyone of our presence. They will rally together to fight us before we can amass a big enough army to fight them all off. Our numbers are few.

  ‘We must acquire the numbers necessary to infiltrate more of their government and companies, and impoverish them further. We must weaken their intellect by degrading their school systems into prison-like detention centers. We have to cripple their means of obtaining food, water, and knowledge. You haven’t done that sufficiently yet. Hiking prices up is fine, but the Elders created imaginary famines and droughts, and burned whole libraries containing valuable knowledge. They created stricter laws, where there was a death penalty for minor crimes.

  ‘They must rely on us first before we can rule them. Once we have them trapped, where they are afraid of starvation and thirst and the judicial system, then we will be successful. But we aren’t there yet.”

  Mark rolled his eyes. “I’m not about to waste any more time with these humans. We act now, and then wake up the Elders. I will bring about the second Vampire Regime, and with far fewer of our kind to carry it forward. But first we need the Wildlands opened up, and then grant citizenship to those who wish to come here, which they will in droves. They will wreak havoc on society with their corrupt and greedy ways,” Mark said, completely disregarding Daray’s reasoning. Daray was a fool in his opinion, who seemed scared of the humans.

  “I still don’t see how you’re going to get past these protests though,” Daray said. “Another death blamed on an opposing elemental or district isn’t going to fix this one.”

  “And what about an entire family? They’ll soon forget about this if the feud claims not just one pitiful bloodsack, but several, and without a single arrest made. They’re easily distracted, and that’ll do the trick,” Mark said.

  “I’m still surprised that they haven’t openly attacked one another, despite your best efforts to facilitate such a reaction,” Corentine said. She flicked her eyes to Mark.

  Daray said, “I agree. We have failed to create momentum. They haven’t started a civil war like what you were counting on. They keep trying to move on, and forgive. They’ve learned since the time the Elders ruled. They’ve learned compassion. They might feel anger, but they don’t always act on it. Whereas before, we used to be able to turn them against each other, and watch them kill each other. They have their own duels now, but yet no deaths are incurred, even though they’re pitted against an opposing elemental. I find that a source for worry.”

  “You give them too much credit. They’re not that smart, and neither are you,” Mark spat.

  “And what about their gearcrafting? That’s something beyond our intellect or ability to understand. Clearly, they can develop machinery in ways we can’t begin to replicate. When the Elders wake up, they will look at it and wonder how you allowed it to happen. We don’t know if gearcrafting is a threat to us,” Daray said.

  “Its development couldn’t be helped. It became established before we could squash it,” Corentine said in an effort to neutralize the rising tension in the room.

  Mark said, “I can remove all traces of it, and send them back into using candles and oil lamps like when he first found them as hut dwellers.”

  Daray sighed. In a sign of disapproval, he looked up at the ceiling. “I don’t know what’s more aggravating, Mark, your cavalier attitude or the fact we have to wear makeup to hide our telltale papery skin and bluish veins. Oh, and don’t forget the disgusting potions we have to drink every hour for our eye shine. Maybe those gearcrafters can design us some glasses so that our eyes don’t flash in low lighting.”

  Mark’s shoulders lifted up like hackles, and some of his muscles popped from the strain.

  Before they ripped each other to shreds, Corentine asked, “What about Captain Valmar?”

  The question hung in the air. It was enough to sideline their aggression.

  “He hasn’t spoken to anyone about what’s going on,” Mark said.

  Captain Valmar was aware of their presence. It confounded him that Captain Valmar was older than even himself, though by how much, he wasn’t sure. He remembered Captain Valmar from his time as a juvenile over a thousand years ago, but Captain Valmar had gone by a different name then.

  “How can you be certain?” Corentine said, her voice laced with doubt.

  “Because his loyalties are with us.”

  “As a deity warrior, we don’t know what he sees or thinks. He’s just as bad as an elf, or even worse. His loyalties fluctuate according to the divine energy on this planet,” Daray said.

  “You don’t need to lecture me about what he is. I know well enough. He allied himself with us because we’re the strongest,” Mark said, baring his teeth at Daray.

  “No, he allied himself with our race so that we could overthrow and destroy the necromancer death mobs in the eastern jungles beyond the swamps,” Daray said. “We don’t know his true reason for coming here. He hardly participated in overtaking the humans when the Vampire Regime officially began eight hundred years ago.”

  “I’m done hearing your talk. You mock me by questioning my intelligence. Whether you like it or not, or anyone for that matter, I’m opening up the Wildlands for trade. We have empty coffins ready, all positioned strategically around the city, particularly in the Fire district. I don’t care about Captain Valmar or what the Elders would do. We’re moving forward with my plan, and that’s final,” Mark said, and turned back to the window. The crowds had swelled in size. An explosion rattled their goblets on the table. The building would hold, but he worried that his patience wouldn’t. />
  All three of them waited, hearing the chants that came from outside, which made them curl their fingers into fists and their minds spin with ways to correct the situation at hand. Mark knew what had to be done. It had so far worked. The humans were blinded with hate, and it was time to take it up a notch. If they didn’t suspect that vampires were amongst them now, they wouldn’t until it was too late.

  Chapter 20

  After another day of protesting with everyone else in the city, Karena lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. There was still another hour to go before she needed to sleep, but she couldn’t focus on reading or repairing a few frayed hems on her shirts. She held up Asher’s mask to look at. It glinted in the low lighting cast by her nightstand lamp next to her.

  There weren’t any nagging questions about whether he was the one. However, when it came to the feud and how they would navigate those murky waters, there were plenty of questions that circled her mind like vultures. Hadrian and Rose knew about her interest in him, and were kind about it, but no one else would be. It felt as though there wasn’t any middle ground, either it was Asher, or it was the life she knew. Moving elsewhere, far from everyone and everything she knew, would be a shock, and not only to herself, but also to Asher. Would it be fair to the both of them? There wasn’t an easy answer to it all; there just wasn’t.

  She wished Asher had been born a Water or an Earth, but would that have destroyed his appeal? Did the element of fire in him create that irresistibility, that spark, that longing inside of herself? For some twisted reason, she was attracted to someone who was an opposite to her elemental powers of ice. It didn’t make sense.

  Disrupting her musings, a slight rumble shook the window. The objects on her dresser clattered and her bed shook for a second, and then the disturbance went away. She sat up. Had that been an earthquake? Such events were extremely rare.

  Minutes later, she heard banging on the front door downstairs. She got up and cracked her bedroom door open. Due to the distance, she couldn’t hear what was being said, only that there was a female voice and Hadrian’s.

  “Karena!” he shouted.

  His tone scared her. Something was gravely wrong. She raced down the stairs. At the door was Pearl, an elderly witch who lived down the street.

  “It’s the Earth district,” Pearl said. Her wide, scared eyes locked onto hers. She lunged and grabbed Karena’s arm. “You have to do something.”

  Her grip hurt, but Karena remained calm. “Okay, Pearl. Tell me what’s going on,” Karena said.

  Pearl dug into her ratty bag and retrieved her crystal ball from inside of it. Images of fire swirled in the crystal ball. She gazed deep into it, and then thrust it into Karena’s hands.

  With a wavering voice, she said, “I received it only a minute ago. The Earth district is in flames. It’s the Fire elementals, it has to be, and the Airs. They’ve openly attacked them. They’ve never done that before. I came here first because of you, Karena, you’re an Ice elemental. You’re needed.”

  Karena handed back her crystal ball. She turned to Hadrian.

  Karena said to Hadrian, “We’re leaving now.”

  Karena slipped on her shoes, and grabbed Hadrian’s truck keys. Pearl left to spread the news to the rest of the residents on the street. Karena raced to his truck and started it up. Hadrian climbed in seconds later.

  She sped east, and took Otter Boulevard. Other cars and trucks followed in their wake, heading to the scene of disaster too. They neared the Earth district’s borders.

  “I see the smoke,” Hadrian said. He leaned forward, and put his hands on the dashboard, anxious to get there.

  Her blood frothed inside of her, but she tried to keep her powers from seeping out, so that she didn’t chill Hadrian. We are ready, we are here. We want to fight. Free us and we will unleash chaos her elemental essence spoke inside of her. It pulsed in a fast tempo and rushed like a river. It wanted to be set loose. She denied it its desire to be free, but she wouldn’t be able to hold the gates for long.

  They crossed over into the Earth district. Lights exploded into the sky as a cry for help They spied the rash of fires dancing across roofs and spiraling off of trees. The wind had picked up, and was sending the flames into a frenzy. It had to be the Airs who were driving the wind gusts. She angered. Why would the Fires and Airs do this?

  Karena didn’t hesitate, and pressed harder on the gas pedal, and charged into the haze of smoke that wreathed the affected area. On both sides of the road, buildings burned like fiery lotus flowers. Parks swam in orange and red. The grand trees were like huge torches, and they threatened to come crashing down. The fires were eating everything up with glee. The wails of the Fire Prevention and Rescue Department trucks pierced the air. Their water tanks would do little against so wide of an area of fire, which was spreading because of the fitful winds above.

  Hadrian said, “We’re far enough in.” He ran his hands through his hair, and fidgeted, unable to remain still for a moment, as was his habit when he was upset or stressed.

  “We have to get to the epicenter. Everyone will be fighting the fires from its outer perimeters. If I can get in the center, and start to extinguish them, I can fragment the fires, and hopefully save anyone and anything caught where it first began to burn,” Karena said. Her hands clenched the steering wheel. She didn’t like where they were too. There was fire and smoke everywhere she looked.

  “How are you going to prevent yourself from getting dehydrated?”

  “I’m not sure yet.”

  She didn’t even know where the epicenter was, but knew that’s where she had to be. As a Chaos elemental, she didn’t think twice about it. Forged with chaotic, prolific power, her genes decreed this. Next to her, Hadrian wasn’t as resolute. Only his love and devotion to her kept him in his seat and from taking his truck back from her to drive out of the area. As an Earth, he was deathly afraid of fire.

  Her skin reacted to the temperature in the cab. In an effort to keep her cool, an icy mist escaped from her, which Hadrian welcomed. Up ahead, in the middle of the road, sorceresses and sorcerers stood in a circle, their hands raised to the sky. Their magical powers wisped into the air and spun together until they formed a vortex of blue light. They were summoning rain. Surrounding them, witches and wizards and elementals battled the flames, but they didn’t seem to be making any headway.

  Karena slowed the truck to a halt, and ran over the cracked pavement with Hadrian.

  “Karena, the asphalt, it shouldn’t be like this,” Hadrian shouted over the din created from the popping and the crackling of the fires, and the chants of the sorcerers and sorceresses.

  Karena jumped over a particularly wide crack. The road looked like shattered glass. There were spider web crack lines all across its surface. She didn’t understand why.

  Around them, the cottage homes burned, pyre-style. What had once been a sleepy, but tightly knit neighborhood was now a tortured inferno, which would soon be reduced to charred ruins. Ashes and embers flew around her, having been tossed off of the vertical sheets of flames.

  They ran up to Ambra, an Earth witch they knew better than the others gathered there. Ambra turned and hugged them. Her elaborately braided hair had come undone. Her short dress was now stained grey from the ash and smoke.

  “We’ve been moving block by block, trying to put these fires out, but it seems impossible. Despite our best efforts, they won’t die out. That’s why they’re summoning rain,” Ambra said, and motioned to the sorceresses and sorcerers. Ambra took Karena’s hands, and held them.

  “Is rain our only salvation now?” Hadrian asked.

  With tears in her eyes, Ambra said, “Yes. The fires are out of control. We still don’t know who or what caused them. Some people, including myself, had only seconds to flee our homes.”

  “That isn’t normal,” Karena said, but she didn’t know what would cause the fires to spread as rapidly as they had and were still doing. She didn’t have time to contemplate.

>   “I was told that the fires have even reached the Air district’s borders. They are pushing it back, but they refuse to help us,” Ambra said. Her amber-colored eyes darkened.

  “Never mind about them,” Karena said. “I need you to find a water mainline, and burst it. I’ll dehydrate in these conditions, and therefore, I require water.”

  Ambra nodded and shouted to the others. A few stayed to protect the sorcerers and sorceresses from the flames that tried to reach towards them. They scattered, and began using water seeking spells until they found a water mainline. They punched through it. Water geysered upwards. Though her affinity was with ice, not with water, if she could drop the water’s temperature down far enough, then she would be able to get a hold on it and manipulate it.

  Her powers begged to be set loose. Like steam building up pressure, Karena felt it and also heard it. Frozen power, seeds sown, we are ready to make the flames cower it said. She stood before the column of water shooting upwards into the air. Her arms stretched outwards, with her palms directed towards it. Everyone stepped back, and put up energy shields. Her powers tugged like a deranged maniac at the mental gates that held them back.

  She set her powers free. Frozen air rippled from her like a series of shockwaves. Chunks of ice fell from the geyser. She pelted the neighborhood with cold water. A dense, heavy mist materialized around her. It rolled away. She felt her elemental powers shuddering through her, unbridled in force, like a herd of wild horses galloping across the land.

  The fires snuffed out. The wood, now too drenched to burn, smoked and sagged. The trees seemed to sigh with relief. Perhaps, it wasn’t too late to save them. The water mainline was quickly repaired, and she jumped into the back of Hadrian’s truck. Ambra and the others climbed in.