The Frozen Beginning (Elemental Diamond Book 1) (26 page)

Sasis walks above them, Hampton and Karn flanking him either side. They stop at the centre of the glass ceiling above the arena, and they all turn their back to one another and look directly to their region’s cubical. Karn stares directly at Glacier, his gaze unwavering as Sasis speaks.

“Good morning my children. We are here as audience to the coming Harvest battles taking place with the winners of the Seeding.

“As usual, the nine winners have been split into three battles, with two competitors from their region competing against one from a different element. These contestants have been organized into groups that would best serve their purpose of extending to their fullest ability. Who we believe to be the strongest of the contestants have been allocated against a duo of a different region. The names of our strongest contestants are…”

Sasis looks around the crowd as he pauses. Glacier’s heart hammers in her chest as she knows she will be called.

“Our Elemental Diamond, Glacier Wardgrave,” the crowd chants with cheer at the sound of her name whilst her stomach plummets to the floor, “Aleena Staren, and Brink. Each of these contestants will be competing against another element duo.” Sasis takes another pause, before continuing,

“Our first selection is Glacier Wardgrave from the Hydra team.” Her heart suddenly stops for a moment.

Why me?

Neena rubs Glacier’s arm in an attempt to soothe her, as her breathing becomes erratic.

“Don’t think about it too much. Just go out there and do your best.” Her words are kind and reassuring, but it doesn’t quell the irregular rhythm of Glacier’s heart. She takes a deep breath before standing and walking to the opening of the cubical, and out into the arena.

Is it a good idea that I go first? I might freeze over the arena again…

Standing at the centre of the arena, the memory of Isaac dropping her rock platform from beneath her comes to mind. The memory of falling causes a thin sheen of sweat to layer on her skin. Glacier takes a few calming breaths before clenching her jaw as she cradles her sprained wrist closer to her chest.

You have to win, Glacier
.

Sasis then continues, “Battling our precious Diamond, we have our very own—”

Oh dear
…

“—Bronze Hyde and Gamble Kidman, from the Terra team.”

The cheers become violently loud, shaking the glass that separates the audience from the arena below the stands. Gamble jogs into the ring, wearing a dark green tank top with the same two golden stripes leading from his shoulder to his hip.

He claps his hands together loudly, a proud smile on his face. Gamble gazes up through the glass, relishing in the attention his region presents. Bronze follows behind humbly, slightly skipping into the circle outlined with flickering flames and still water. Bronze has a nervous smile on her lips, and her eyes are locked on Glacier.

The three of them stand in the shape of a triangle, facing each other with arms tight at their sides. Glacier watches as Bronze and Gamble share a look before watching her carefully.

Quickly gazing up around the first seats of the stands, she immediately spots Thomes sitting with a small device held in his hand, discreetly resting against his knee. His lips form a tight smirk, and his eyes dance with interest.

Glacier’s palms begin to sweat as she ever so slightly turns her head from side to side. Thomes seems amused by her gesture. He merely purses his lips and shrugs his shoulders as if to say, ‘Fine, have it your way.’ Glacier breathes a sigh of relief, as her worries are washed away.

I can control this
.

Her musings are cut short at the sound of the horn bouncing around the walls of the arena.

Glacier’s mind races with strategies of how to win without Thomes using the device embedded in her back. She jumps back from where she once stood, anticipating Gamble’s first move.

As expected, a large pillar of rock emerges from the ground in front of her suddenly, causing Glacier’s chest to heave with relief. She hides behind the rock for a moment, her wrist brace scratching against her shift as she tries to figure out her next move.

Think! Think! How do I get it to work?

Glacier spots a loose rock lying disregarded on the ground by her foot. She bends to pick it up, weighing it in her hands as she tries to decide whether or not to use it. But her decision is made for her when Gamble suddenly appears on the other side of the large rock pillar. Surprised, Glacier launches the palm-size rock in his direction, hitting his cheekbone.

Not anticipating her attack, Gamble bends over to cradle his face in both hands. Using his folded stance, Glacier moves to push him. Glacier doesn’t notice Bronze appear behind her, nervous to launch an attack on the unpredictable elemental.

It isn’t until the wind whips at Glacier’s face that she realizes that she is soaring through the air, hurtling towards the ground. With the arena floors fast approaching, Glacier braces herself for a harsh impact. Landing on her sore wrist, Glacier cries out in pain. Her forehead and nose scrape across the dirt floor, tearing her skin. She lies still for a moment, until she hears someone yell out to her.

“Get up Glace!
Get up
!” The voice calls out to her as every bone in her body screams for her to lay still. “
Get up
!” Fielder’s voice is unmistakable. Her mind races with pain, exhaustion and fear.

I don’t want to do this anymore. I just want to go home
…

Stop it! Castor needs you to win, Glacier! Pull your head in, and win this!

With unearthed determination, Glacier scrambles to her feet. Wincing pain slashes through her wrist as well as across her nose, causing her to clench her teeth tightly.

Ignore it and win
.

She looks over to where the Pyre team’s cubical is stationed, finding Fielder braced against the inside of the glass. His eyebrows are creased with worry, and his eyes are nervous. His shirt is the same as the others who won their Seeding battles, apparent from his main colour. She smiles briefly in his direction, before turning back to her opponents.

Gamble has recovered from her throw, and now wears an angry sneer on his face with a small trail of blood leading from the top of his cheekbone to his jaw, and down his neck. Bronze stands close to Gamble, watching the both of them with cautious eyes. Her stance is ready for a fight, but her expression says otherwise.

Glacier takes a deep breath and closes her eyes as she tries to concentrate on using her element. Even though she hasn’t tried it before, she envisions ice surrounding her like a protective barrier.

She raises her hand with her palm out as she imagines the usual large shards of ice that bloom whenever she is electrocuted, suddenly prodding from the floors like enormous crystal spikes. She visualizes the shiny transparency of the stakes, and how they frost from the room temperature. The image is powerful and clear in her mind, so closely real. But when she opens her eyes, Gamble is standing less than a breath away from her.

No ice in sight.

Fighting to not flinch away, Glacier watches with surprise, as he doesn’t bring his hand to touch her.

Instead, Gamble flicks his hand in her direction.

Suddenly defensive, Glacier raises her arms to protect her head. Her unharmed wrist is then crushed by a large rock, propelling her across the arena. Landing unceremoniously on her side, she smacks her head on the ground harshly. Through the pain, Glacier feels fuzzy.

Her ears ring loudly, and her skull throbs. The usually deafening sound of the audience is now dulled to a blurry murmur, barely audible. Glacier can hear a voice slightly louder, the same one once again calling out to her.

“Glacier, tap out! Tap out!” His voice is thick with worry, but Glacier can barely understand the word.

Glacier is lost as she tries to regain her grounding, and think on her next move. She knows she has to make her decision quickly, otherwise Gamble and Bronze will continue to throw her around until she taps out.

“Glacier, get up!” This voice sounds different; it’s dark, masculine, and angry. Slowly, the sounds around her come back, and she can hear her laboured breaths.

She hears a soft female voice call out, “Gamble, get back.”

And then there is Fielder’s voice again, “Tap out, Glace!”

I can't
.

If she has any chance of winning, it isn’t like this. Left without any other option, Glacier tenses her body as she screams out.

“
Thomes
!”

The white blanket is sudden, muting the pain throbbing throughout her body instantly. Glacier tries to concentrate on the memory of it - how it feels and how she can try to replicate it in future attempts - but the soothing cloth is ripped away too quickly for her to understand how it works. Another scream escapes her as the device in her back sends powerful voltages through her muscle, causing tremors in her bones. As Glacier tries to concentrate on every response she feels, for the first time she feels a niggling at the back of her mind. Like she has only started to scratch the surface of something
powerful
.

A sound similar to the snapping of bones echoes through the air as Glacier thrashes from side to side, trying to control the constant spasms. The device continues to pulse against her flesh, blistering the surrounding skin. Her head pounds with tension, and a thick haze hovers over her eyes. The screaming continues, along with the crackling sounds. Then there are different screams. Excited ones.

Glacier’s body sags in relief as the currents suddenly stop. Her body twitches uncontrollably as she recovers from the potent vibrations of electricity that seconds ago had been pulsating through her entire being. Tears dampen her red-hot cheeks, her eyelids squeezing together tightly. She tries to take a few calming breaths to ease her racing heart, but through her tears, she develops the hiccups.

“Gamble! Are you OK?”

Despite Glacier’s utter exhaustion, her head weakly rises from its spot on the floor, and her eyes catch a glimpse of an arena covered in large, thick blocks of pointed spikes. The icicles have clear tips and are frosted from the bottom to almost half way up the shards. They are very closely grouped, without much space separating them.

Between the large splinters, Glacier notices Bronze standing further back, with her wrists pinned between the ice shards on either side of her. The earth elemental struggles against the cold ice, her face reddening as she attempts to shake free.

Gamble is a lot closer to Glacier than Bronze is, stuck in a similar position, except his right bicep is pierced by a large shard of ice, with blood gushing down the watery pole. The scene instantly reminds Glacier of Mr Michaels propelled in the air by a large shard of ice stabbed through his chest. Sweat starts to gather on Gamble’s forehead as he continues to lose lots of blood from the wound.

“Does it look like I'm ok? I have a flippin’ ice shard stuck in my arm!” His tone is harsh, his lips quivering with anger.

Glacier tries to sit up, but her arms fall out from beneath her, and she topples back to the arena floor. It is then that she notices the thin layer of snow that is slowly falling around her. It seems to be simply
appearing
, like the moisture in the air is suddenly freezing.

Glacier forgets the thick blood trailing down the ice shard lodged in Gamble’s arm. Forgets the zinging in her ears. She focuses on a snowflake gliding down through the air, landing on the bow of her top lip.

She only feels the light touch of it when it lands before quickly melting. The water rushes down the side of her lip, and into her mouth. She closes her eyes, blocking out all of the shouting. She lays on the ground, somehow content.

“You always create a scene, don’t you?”

The sudden sound of a man’s voice shocks her eyes open, and everything rushes back all at once. The loudness of the audience, as they cheer for their champion. The cries from her opponents as they try to escape their ice confinements.

Hot hands circle under her shoulders and knees, hoisting her into the air; the body against hers blazes with heat. Glacier lifts her gaze to the dark-haired man, with one orange eye darker than the other.

Brink carries her out of the arena, the ice shards melting around him as he walks. Despite her strong hatred she feels for him, Glacier finds herself relaxing into his embrace, soothed by the warm emanating from his chest. She feels his chest rumble beneath her cheek as he continues to say something, but she cannot hear the words as she slips off to sleep.

~

Pain is the first thing she registers as her eyes slowly pry open. Glacier’s head pounds like a drum, and her body aches like she has run the entire circumference of the lake back home. Her eyes sting as she slowly opens them to a black-painted room with harsh yellow lights. Twisting her head from side to side, her neck cracks. Wincing at the uncomfortable feeling, she rubs her eyes with the palms of her hands.

She remembers calling out to Thomes before the strange white feeling came over her. Asking for him to intervene, for him to
help
her, will be a moment she will despise herself for, for the rest of her life.

After everything that happened, after what he did to dad,
why
would you ask him for help, Glacier? Why wouldn’t you try harder?

“They are still cleaning the place up, but I’m sure we can go back out shortly. The medic just left to check on the Terra.”

Glacier’s head snaps up, causing another crack. She cradles the back of her neck with her hand while watching as Brink advances on her. It is then that she gazes around, taking notice of where she is. The room seems like a smaller hospital room, with three other cot beds following on from hers.

“What are you doing in here?” Glacier croaks out, her voice hoarse and dry, cracking painfully.

She looks around her, and finds a pitcher of ice water resting on a small table beside her. She reaches out to pour a glass, her arms weak. When her hands near the jug, the glass slowly starts to frost over.

Slower now, she continues to inch her hand closer to the jug. The closer she becomes, the quicker the water freezes. When her hands wrap around the pitcher’s handle, the water is completely frozen, sitting in the jug as a large block of ice. Glacier hanks her hand back, confused and at a loss.