Frost Arch (41 page)

Over the next couple of days Jack and I devised plans to find Hawthorne. We could not risk any contact with Camryn until the actual day of the wedding in case we were caught upon the Forsythe premises. Not only was I on the families enemy list but now Jack was too for rescuing me.

Although Ræven had assured us that the guards which they had assaulted would not remember a thing of that night, Jack and I still felt that Sebastian Forsythe would assume it was Jack who had helped me. At the moment Ræven’s part in this whole ordeal remained unknown to outsiders which was lucky as she was able to go about her daily routine.

Jack and I woke up very early on the fourteen of February due to severe nerves. Ræven had taken the day off at the Messenger Service shop to accompany us on the days little adventure. It was frightening, but how hard could it be? Jack had suggested that we simply knock on the castle doors and kindly ask for our winged fox back. The idea was quite polite, yet I didn’t think the castle staff would comply. Perhaps they wouldn’t have a clue what we were talking about. Ræven had explained that the castle was very vast and was somewhat like a community of workers who all tended to Elvira Frost. I frowned and thought I should have bought Hawthorne a tagged collar or something similar, though the idea seemed slightly demeaning for a creature of his intelligence.

So Jack and I decided to head to the Forsythe manor at eight o’clock in the morning, a decent time when the household staff would be running rampant trying to get ready for the wedding which would kick off ten o’clock. We decided to walk through the slums and passage through the forest to get to the manor from the back. A direct route would run the risk of us getting seen by unwanted people. Also, Ræven would be able to lead us through the trees much more quickly. Hopefully we would arrive at the manor at nine o’clock when the guests would start arriving and everyone would be distracted. So far the plan seemed all right. The next part however frightened me. If Camryn was not in the stables we were going to steal two of her Pegasi. If Camryn was there and denied us use of her Pegasi … we were going to steal two anyway. I felt bad that this was going to happen, Jack and her had been friends for many years. I hated that I was ruining this friendship.

So Jack, Ræven and I rugged up, Ræven looking so much prettier than myself in her long travelling cloak. Every now and then I caught Jack staring at her. I sighed and folded my arms rather self conscious. For the first time in weeks I left Ræven’s home and stepped out onto the cold street. I had a scarf wrapped around my nose and mouth, and my hood was pulled over my head hiding my long black hair. All that was visible was my eyes, and due to the severe cold I looked no different to anyone else. Jack’s face was also mostly obscured by a scarf and thick woolen head warmer, complete with rather hilarious ear flaps. Smiling beneath my scarf I watched Jack as we made our way slowly down the street. Although my heart was pounding very hard, I felt safe with these two. I ignored the begging, half humans as we passed the less civilized parts of Frost Arch. A elderly woman grappled at my cloak as I walked by. Rather frightened I gasped and tugged free of her grip. The old woman screamed at me for money and Jack put his arm around my waist and led me in the direction of the thick row of trees before us. He held me close as we stepped into the forest and Ræven walked a few paces in front of us, barely making a sound as she walked, while Jack and I crunched noisily through the snow. Once we were hidden amongst the mass of trees Jack dropped his arm from around my waist and Ræven gave a small twirl, transforming into the elegant bird mid-spin. She flew ahead of us, but not so far that we would lose sight of her. Every now and then she would perch herself on a low branch and twitter a sweet little tune as Jack and I approached. It took us much less time than usual to make our way through the forest. Ræven’s sense of direction cut our travelling time in half. Sooner than I had expected the trees were beginning to thin and I could see the stables in the distance, and a little beyond that, a great stone manor. I felt as though it had been years since I had stepped foot within its halls. Ræven transformed back into her human form and held out a hand, indicating to Jack and I that we should stop and lay low. We did as we were told and hid behind two larger trees, watching as Ræven took flight once more to check whether the coast was clear. We lost sight of her for a few minutes but she glided into view after a little while. With a reassuring chirp confirming that it was safe to emerge we left the cover of the trees. I felt far too exposed as I made the short walk from the forest to the stables. The snow crunched under my feet loudly in an offensive way as though it wanted to alert the manor of my presence. Jack and I scampered across the lawn and were soon in the shadow of the stables. We shuffled along its walls, trying to be as quiet as possible. Jack briefly peeked through a frosted window, and when he confirmed that there seemed to be no one inside, we made our way to the entrance. Eventually we came to its large wooden doors, and to our great delight they were unlocked. We pushed them open quietly and slipped inside, Ræven flying in behind us and perching in the rafters above.

As I looked at the stables for the first time in a long while I let out a gasp. Almost all of the Pegasi were gone. There were only two left. One was a feeble looking brown, the other was young and black.

“Where have they all gone?” I asked Jack.

Jack frowned, “I forgot … the Pegasi are used as a mode of transportation for the important guests across the city and will most likely be some sort of spectacle after the ceremony. Not many people own them you see so it’s sort of a big deal to show them off.”

“Why are these two left here then?” I said indicating to the remaining beasts.

“Well that brown one looks a little old and weak, where as the black one looks quite young and probably not trained enough to be around a lot of Mages.”

I frowned, “How are we supposed to get to the top of that mountain then?”

“You’re only small, I’m sure the older one will be able to support your weight.” Jack said slowly, “But I’d be more worried about this little fella going for a joy ride and not taking me where I want to go without Camryn here to tell him what to do.”

I sighed impatiently, “Let’s do it.”

“Are you sure?” Jack looked a little worried, “We can always think of another way-”

“I’ve been without Hawthorne for too long, Jack.” I said, my chest feeling rather tight.

I’d never ridden a Pegasus before, but how hard could it be, really? No harder than a horse I imagined. Though I had been told that they could be fierce at the best of times. Surely this lovely old steed had been extremely well trained over the years. Yes, I told myself, Everything was going to be fine.

Jack still seemed hesitant to mount the young black Pegasus though the animal seemed quite elated to be receiving attention as Jack fed it scraps of meat as a peace offering. I gently stroked the nose of my brown Pegasus and it closed its eyes as though it were enjoying it. Hopefully he would remember me from my numerous visits to these stables in the past. The plaque on the front of his stall read ‘Cloven’. He seemed quite docile and indifferent as I opened the door to his stall and slowly stepped beside him. Cloven’s wings twitched and I noticed a few missing feathers here and there. Ræven watched silently from the rafters as I wondered how on earth I was supposed to get on this monster.

Jack had just finished putting the saddle upon his black Pegasus who I could now see was called Merrick. I had absolutely no idea how to fit a saddle to something that flew so I simply waited for Jack’s help. A few minutes passed during which Jack showed me how the saddle worked and before we knew it Cloven was ready to be ridden.

Jack gave me a leg up as he noticed I was beginning to struggle to get my footing right. Sitting astride the steed I felt my heart pounding as it pumped adrenalin through my body. I was going to rescue Hawthorne. I stroked Cloven’s mane in a reassuring way and took a deep breath. Across from me Jack was hoisting himself upon poor little Merrick who was still not fully grown though was quite big nonetheless. Merrick whinnied excitedly and bounded forwards before Jack had secured himself properly though he managed to hold on. Merrick flapped his wings and trotted in circles while Jack grappled with the reigns, cursing under his breath. Cloven seemed rather bored by the adolescences display.

“Come on Jack.” I frowned, “We need to get going.”

“You try controlling him.” Jack hissed.

The next moment something rather unfortunate happened. Everyone froze, including Merrick and Cloven, to see the stable door creak open and a curly red head in rather professional attire enter the room. Camryn stared and drank in the scene before her. Her face was one of shock for a long while before realization dawned upon her.

“Jack?” She breathed, “Avalon?” She stared between us, “What are you doing?”

“I can explain.” Jack said quickly.

“I thought you were both dead!” Camryn exploded, her face turning pink, “You both vanished and you have no idea what I’ve had to put up with! Questions left and right! ‘Where’s Jack? Where’s Avalon’. I’m lucky I wasn’t locked up too!”

“You don’t understand.” I began helplessly, “Please Camryn you have to let us go, we will explain later.”

“Go?” Camryn yelled making Merrick jump, “Go? Where are you going? With my Pegasi!” She added rather hysterically.

With all the noise Camryn was making I feared that she would draw attention to the stables. I thought I could hear voices outside but perhaps I was just being paranoid. We had no time to explain to Camryn, she was far too hysterical. Though I did feel quite bad about what I was going to do next, I felt it was for the best.

Ignoring Camryn’s rant I turned to Jack, “I’m going.” I said seriously to him, “You stay and explain if you like, but I’m getting Hawthorne.” And without another word I kicked my heels into Cloven’s sides. For an older Pegasus he could move quite swiftly. Without hesitation he shot forwards, past Camryn and through the open stable doors. I heard Camryn shouting instructions to her Pegasus but it seemed he was too elated with being outside to care. Camryn’s Power wouldn’t work on this excited steed, but perhaps it would work on Merrick. Once Cloven was at full speed I lowered myself against him and prepared for takeoff. His enormous wings began to beat powerfully at my side, the joints catching my ankles and scaring me quite thoroughly. Only a few seconds later and we were airborne, soaring through the freezing mist getting higher and higher every second. I looked behind me and watched the stables becoming smaller and smaller, a black bird following at an eager pace. I smiled as Ræven caught up and soared alongside me. I felt joy and sadness at that moment as I remembered what it had been like the first time I had ridden Hawthorne. It had been wonderful and terrifying yet I had never felt so carefree. Yet now I was anxious and scared. Would I find Hawthorne? Was he still at the top of this mountain? Was he even alive? Questions ran through my head at the speed of light but I held my head high and continued steering Cloven in the right direction. We were getting quite high now, and I felt that it would be best to disappear beyond the cloud bank. Ræven swooped and twirled in the air before us, enjoying the freedom. It was truly beautiful to watch though my mind was miles away on Jack and Hawthorne.

As though summoned by the very thought Jack appeared at my side with difficulty, upon Merrick who was positively thrilled to be so high. He whinnied and flew recklessly with poor Jack hanging on for dear life, a terrified expression plastered across his face. I felt as though I had reached a new level or reckless within my life, and found that I simply didn’t care what happened anymore. Jack glared hopelessly and tried to control Merrick while I focused on what lay ahead. We flew for several minutes Merrick’s height dropping and rising randomly. Every now and then he indulged himself in a mid air twist causing Jack to fear for his very life. Cloven kept up a steady pace though after a few minutes I felt him begin to slow down and resist against the tugs I made against the reigns.

“Not far now.” I told him soothingly.

We were above the clouds now and I was positively shivering so hard that it was surprising that Cloven wasn't shaking too.

Within a few minutes Cloven had slowed down a considerable amount.

“Come on, boy.” I urged him, “You can do it.”

“Up ahead!” I heard Jack yell.

I looked up and saw Frost mountain looming ahead, a mere mile away. It seemed mystical and surreal as we flew through a rather dense patch of fog. We gained more height and soon I could make out the top of the mountain for the very first time. It was not what I had expected. Where there should have been a peak, there was an enormous castle of stone and solid ice, at least five times bigger than the Forsythe manor. Indeed, this castle could house a small community, and I reminded myself that it probably did. A few hundred people tending to Elvira Frost, all of whom lived and worked there.

I was shaking violently as we approached, yet it was no longer from the stinging cold that chilled me to the bone. I was scared. Of course I was scared. I was about to break into a level nine mage’s premises while she was currently occupied at a very important city wedding. Though I felt safe with Jack and Ræven. I knew we would have to go into hiding once we found Hawthorne. I was already in so much trouble with the authorities of Frost Arch, in so much trouble they were prepared to leave me for dead in a filthy dungeon. Clearly one more felony wouldn’t make things worse. As I thought these things I felt slightly calmer. Nothing I could do could make my situation any worse. Though at that moment a new thought occurred; what if someone got hurt? Nonsense, Jack is a healer, I reminded myself, gripping tightly to Cloven’s reigns. Though if something did go horribly wrong, how would I ever forgive myself? I hoped I would not have to make a terrible choice today. I would gladly hand myself over in exchange for Hawthorne’s freedom, though hopefully Jack and Ræven would leave unscathed. I shook the thoughts from my head, and reminded myself that it was I whom Seth Swaggart had stalked for several weeks, and at this moment I was glad of it. I would have been much more distressed if it had been Jack who was destined to die so very soon. I wondered how much time I had left. Since my encounter with Seth Swaggart several weeks had passed, so it must be soon. Or perhaps I had already evaded it? Perhaps my time in the dungeon was supposed to finish me off? Perhaps Jack and Ræven’s rescue had changed the course of things. Somehow I doubted it. Seth Swaggart had told me he had never managed to rescue anyone when their time was up. I scowled as the hood on my head fell back and my hair billowed out behind me. My destiny was not pre-determined. I determined my own destiny. I looked across at Jack, my expression hard and blazing and he understood.