Fire and Ice (25 page)

I sat staring into the fire as the rhythmic leaping lulled me into a melancholic trance. Sadness seeped through me. How could things be so different today than they were yesterday? The flames flickered and danced, drawing fanciful imagery. They formed and reformed themselves into various shapes, over and over until an image appeared in the fire, like a window into another world. It was hazy through the invisible waves of heat, yet strangely clear. I rubbed my eyes and squinted at the image. I could see my mother, lying in a bed. She was weak and pale, but she opened her sunken blue eyes and looked directly at me through the fiery window.

“Mom?” I whispered, not sure if it was out loud or not. The thin smile she responded with seemed to take so much out of her.

“Lorelei— stay… safe,” she murmured and stretched her frail hand toward me.

My breath caught in my throat and I reached for her, wanting more than anything to feel her touch. Our fingertips met, just as Adrius grabbed my wrist, yanking me away. I struggled to get free, and crawl back to the mirage, not noticing the searing pain shooting through my hand at first. The fire erupted in a tower of shooting flames, reaching over our heads, I cried out and fell away from the fire and from him. “No!” Whirling around, I glared at him with wide accusing eyes, pain scorching my hand.

“Lorelei?” He held his hands up in front of him the way someone did when approaching a frightened animal they didn't want to scare off. “Are you alright?”

He looked concerned and despite the pain I couldn't understand why. All I wanted was my mother. To see her. To touch her… One touch. That was supposed to be all it would take to make everything better… to make her better. Tears welled up behind my eyes. I moved toward the fire, to the vision no longer there.

“Stop.” Adrius caught me, his arms holding firmly around my waist. I struggled to break free until I eventually gave up and sank into him. He stroked my cheek, a deep frown creasing his brows.

Without taking his eyes off me, he reached for his canteen to bathe my hand, now covered in seeping blisters, with cool water.

“I'll be fine,” I said, my voice dry and brittle. Within minutes the blisters subsided and with it the throbbing pain. It surprised even me how much more quickly flesh wounds healed here. It wouldn't be long until there was no trace of the burn left at all.

I scanned the fire once more. It had returned to its normal cracking and popping, nothing but leaping red and orange flames remained.

Had I imaged what I saw? I wiped away the beads of perspiration that dampened my forehead despite the wintry temperature.

Adrius sat next to me on the log and inspected my hand once more. “What happened, Lorelei?” His eyes took in my sullen expression. “Did you see something?” he asked, still looking concerned.

“Not really.” I didn't know why I said that. But he wasn't fooled.

“So you make a habit of sticking your hand into fire?” His tone was serious, yet gentle. “Tell me. What was it?”

I sucked in a deep breath. “My mom,” I said wistfully, not meeting his gaze. “I saw her. Lying there… helpless.” My voice cracked. If he didn't already think I was insane, this would be all the proof he needed.

Adrius was quiet.

“Anyway,” I said, roughly brushing away a tear and rubbing my hands over my face. “It was nothing… Just my imagination. That's what comes from too much caffeine and not enough sleep.”

“It's not your imagination. It's the Prahna awakening in you. The energy of magic is always strongest with people you love. It connects you to those you care about most, wherever they might be.”

Looking up at him, I challenged him with a directness which was far more brazen than usual for me. “Is that why I feel it with you?

Adrius stood up and scratched his head. He spoke slowly, in a voice so low it was as if he didn't really want me to hear.

“Lorelei, I know you feel like this connection between us means more than it ever can be. But I don't want you to put your life on the line… for me.”

“So what is it then?” I asked, squinting up at him. The full stature of his frame was silhouetted against the sunlight, highlighting him in a glowing outline. His shirt, still untied, draped open as he bent down to tie his boots, revealing chiseled abs. He didn't seem to notice his lack of attire. And I couldn't notice anything else. Freshly washed hair hung in dark waves around his perfect face. A few strands falling over his eyes. Lit from behind, he looked like an angel, descended from the heavens.

“A side-effect of your awakening powers… It's the way things unfold in the Nevermore,” he said, a shadow dulling his eyes. “Nothing more.”

“Soooo… you think the reason I'm here, is to deliberately put myself in danger… just to be with you. Have I got that straight?

He cocked his head, looking down through damp spiky lashes. “Are you?”

A flicker of irritation ran through me. If I remember correctly
he
was the one who kissed
me
. “Why would I do something like that?” I met his gaze.

Lacing his shirt, he scrubbed his still damp hair. “I don't know, Lorelei. I'm in the dark on why you do most of what you do.”

I stiffened, narrowing my gaze. What was this really about?

“I just don't want you getting your hopes up for anything happening. Between us, I mean. Because you'll be disappointed,” he finished, sounding too reasonable for my liking.

I folded my arms across my chest, wrestling an urge to fight back. Then I realized that was exactly what he wanted. “Are you trying to get me to change my mind with this obnoxious Julien act? Because I won't.”

“You should,” he countered. “There are lots of reasons, of course… but I was in a relationship before and… it didn't end well.”

“That's it. You're done now for all of eternity because of one bad breakup?” It seemed insane, even in a world where insane was the new black.

Adrius swallowed hard. He stared into the sky for a moment then looked into my eyes, all warmth vanishing from his face. “I can feel the way your heartbeat quickens when you look at me, but… There can never be anything between us, Lorelei. I want that to be clear.

My cheeks flamed.

“I know last night it seemed…” He looked away, focusing on some distant point on the horizon. “I don't want to mislead you. And I'm sorry for my momentary weakness. It won't happen again.”

“Fine,” I said matching his cool tone, even while my throat burned. “But you have nothing to worry about. If you got the impression I was falling for you… well, then I guess that's my fault. Because I'm not.” Could I sound more like a third grader? I didn't care. He was behaving like one as much as I was with his whole hot-one-minute-cold-the-next routine. Before he could look past my lie and read the truth written on my heart, I headed for the river bank, stuffing back a flood of mixed emotions — disappointment, embarrassment, frustration, heartache, each taking their turn. In the span of a few seconds, I went from wanting to slap him to wanting to burst into tears.

Instead, I sat down, pulled off my boots, and dangled my feet in the water. Frost still coated the ground and the trees. The river was frigid, but somehow the cold didn't bother me. It was calming, allowed me to think and gain some perspective. So he didn't want to be with me. It didn't matter, I told myself. But it did matter. A lot. And not only because of the way I felt about him. He felt something too, I was sure of it. I could sense his feelings for me, burning as intensely as mine did for him. If I actually believed any of what he said with his words, it might have made a difference. I could have accepted it and moved on. But I didn't. How could I when his thoughts practically screamed something else? He was fighting those feelings for reasons he wasn't admitting, and the most frustrating part was he'd rather hide behind duty than admit there was something between us.

It was this exact thought that was still on my mind as we rode wordlessly into Noctria. He'd decided it was wiser for us to ride together, leaving one unicorn free in case of trouble. With his arms wrapped tightly around my waist, I tried to ignore the rising and falling of his chest against my back and the warmth of his breath singeing my neck. The ride must have taken a lot out of me because at some point I fell asleep.

Adrius roused me, pointing out that we had arrived. Not that I needed to be told. It was like entering a city of smoked glass, every rock and tree, coated in a crystalline layer of black ice. It reminded me of Drearyton after an ice storm we had once, only haunting and more threatening.

Trees crippled and bowed having been encased in their icy prisons for who knows how long. Ice covered paths snaked through the forest and what might have once been a rippling stream was frozen dead, in mid flow, every insect, fish, and animal a macabre statue. Billowing grey clouds lined the sky, giving an ever present sense that a fierce storm was imminent. The wind sounded like howling cries of pain.

“The souls she is capturing. They cry for their rightful resting place when she sucks them from her victim's frozen corpse,” Adrius explained. His hands clenched like he wanted to hit something.

I stifled a shudder and looked up. Looming above the ice-encrusted mountains, rose a tower that seemed to pierce the sky with its icicle summit.

“So, this is where Octãhvia hangs out?” A strange, raw-edged panic gnawed at
me.

“This is the place.”

“And what's your plan for getting inside?” I chewed my lower lip, as the impassable gates came into view. Ominous black gates encased in ice soared over us.

“We knock on the front door.”

I burst out laughing and it took me a few seconds to notice he wasn't. “You're not serious?”

“Think about it. Any attempt we make to get inside undetected will be in vain. The ice acts as a mirror, allowing her to see everything. It would take a flash heat wave to melt away enough ice for us to sneak past her guards.”

“Okay, but…
the front door
? Won't she catch us anyway?”

“Not when she hears what I have to offer in exchange for the map.” He glanced at me from the corner of his eye. “— And your life.”

“And what's that?” I asked, through chattering teeth.

He gave an impatient sigh. “We can stay out here and freeze to death discussing it, or we can get moving. I vote for the latter.” He nudged his unicorn into a full speed gallop, bee-lining for the icy tower.

We stopped and dismounted, approaching the ten foot gates. I still had issues with his plan, but he seemed so sure it would work that I kept them to myself. We were within reach of the iced wrought iron barrier, but before we could touch them, four swirling smoke apparitions appeared on either side of us, forming into guerrilla-sized beasts. They would have looked like men, except for the massive amounts of hair covering the majority of their bulky bodies. But it wasn't their hairiness, or their bloodshot, pupil-less, milky eyes, or even their razor-like talons that had my attention. It was the needle-tipped spear pointed against my chest I was focused on.

“Who dares attempt to breech her mistress's fortress unannounced?” One beast growled. “Speak!”

Adrius, as per usual, seemed abnormally calm and r
elaxed. “We are here to see Octãhvia,” he said, as pleasantly as if he was talking with old friends. “You can let us in, or… you can draw your last breath. The choice is yours.” He flashed a dark smile, and his hands lightly fingered the hilt of his sword.

The guerrilla men took one look at his sword and lowered their spears, grunting in what sounded like annoyance. Seconds later they disappeared, as quickly as they had come, and the huge iron gates creaked open. I watched wide-eyed as an icy brick path appeared out of nowhere, the onyx gleam leading straight to the witch's castle.

“It's now or never,” Adrius said, taking my hand.

As we stepped onto the path, we were greeted by two massive white tigers. Wearing armor lappets, their fangs exposed, faces stained with dried blood. I sucked in my breath, but Adrius continued toward the doors like it was perfectly normal to be accompanied by two wild cats that could swallow us whole if they wanted.

“Relax, Lorelei,” he whispered, when my hand tightened around his. “They're her pets. The fact that she sent them to escort us is a good thing.”

I stole a sidelong glance at the freakishly large cat padding next to me. “What exactly would be a bad thing?” They led us to an entry and then without a sound, they vanished.

The glasslike doors of the castle stood closed before us. Adrius shot me a look then pounded his fist against the door. I shook my head with a scoff and then shrugged. This plan was all kinds of crazy. The surface fogged over and then splintered. A spider web of cracks veined across the surface and the door trembled before the entire door shattered with a violent scream. Millions of ice shards razored at us with such force I thought we'd be sliced to ribbons. At a speed too fast for human perception, Adrius grabbed me and shoved my head down, his body arched over mine like an umbrella as the fragments rained down on us. When the last fragment tinkled to the floor like a bell, everything fell silent.

My hands burned, I looked down to see a rash of tiny nicks, where the ice had imbedded into my skin. Adrius wasn't as fortunate. A gash across the side of his face was dripping blood down his cheek. Pushing back the sudden queasiness rocking my stomach, I reached for his face, placing my hands on either side. I closed my eyes. It only took a second before the wound began to heal.

He stared at me. “That is amazing,” he said softly, looking at me with the same intensity as the other night. Before he kissed me, told me how much I meant to him, and then basically took it all back.

“It's a gift.” I shrugged and reluctantly pulled my hands away.