by Logan Byrne
“Maybe we can hit ten tomorrow,” I said, slipping my gloves on.
“Well, we do need to start checking out the terrain a bit more. We can’t just keep walking,” Blake said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, we have to come up with a theory on where the wand is hidden. Maybe there are naturally occurring caves, caverns, or mountains that would make sense for something like this to be hidden in. If we just keep walking in a straight line we’ll miss everything around us,” Blake said.
“I guess you’re right. We can go over it with the others,” I said, before unzipping the tent. I’d definitely forgotten how much colder it was outside compared to inside the tent, even though the tent wasn’t very well insulated to begin with. I shivered a little, rubbing my hands together through my gloves. “Dinner time?”
“Getting the things out now,” Faus said, just as Britta and Charlie emerged from their tent.
“Nothing like a little catnap to energize you, right guys?” Charlie asked, all smiles.
“Yeah, love your snoring,” Britta said, rolling her eyes.
“The fire is still going strong. Man, sometimes magic just astounds me, and I’ve been around it all my life. What is there that a trained witch can’t do?” Blake asked.
“Here you go,” Faus said, handing each of us a prepackaged meal in a thick silver envelope.
“What’s this?” Britta asked.
“You just need to toss it on the edge of the fire to heat it up. The indicator at the top will turn green when it’s ready to eat. It will be hot on the inside, but the outside package is charmed so it won’t burn your hands. My own little invention,” Faus said with a grin.
“Is that what they had you working on at the precinct? I thought you were sorting DNA and blood and stuff,” Blake said, as he tossed his pack on the edge of the fire.
“I worked on a lot of different things, Blake. This has a lot of applications in the mortal realm as well. I could be rich with something like this,” Faus said, scoffing.
“Well, I think it’s a great idea, Faus. I’m also glad I won’t have to hold a scalding hot bag to eat dinner,” Britta said.
“Well, thank you, at least somebody appreciates it,” Faus said, pushing up his falling glasses.
“While our food is heating up, we should start to think of where we want to hit tomorrow. I was talking to Lexa about it in our tent, and I think we need to start looking at locations where Merlin would have hidden the wand, like caves, caverns, mountains, and anything else that would be logical,” Blake said.
“Makes sense. If he were serious, he definitely would’ve put it somewhere off the beaten path. My guess would be a cave of some kind,” Britta said.
“Know of any?” Charlie asked, looking at Faus.
“Here, I have this, maybe it will help,” Faus said, rummaging around his bag before pulling out a laminated map that he unfolded on the snow and kept down with some rocks.
“This looks weird,” Charlie said, squinting.
“It’s a topographical map of the area. I was able to hack into a mortal satellite and download it. There are a lot of peaks and valleys across the area we’re in. It makes the most sense for a cave to be towards the bottom of any of these compared to the top,” Faus said.
“What if we just start off tomorrow and walk towards them? Maybe I’ll get a better feeling once we’re near,” I said.
“That could work. We have some distance to cover before getting there, so we might as well start the journey towards that side of the map,” Faus said.
“Oh, mine’s green!” Charlie exclaimed, before grabbing his pack and ripping off the top. “Beef stew,” he said, salivating, before beginning to suck down everything inside.
“Pace yourself, you don’t want to get sick again,” I said, my usual line to him because he always got sick after eating too fast.
He looked up, brown sauce all over his lips, his expression that of pure ecstasy. “That good?” Britta asked.
“Oh, yeah,” he said, and the rest of our packs turned green. There was something rugged yet homely about eating these meals. It was nice knowing that no matter where in the world I went, I could always have a home-cooked camp meal waiting for me. I took that kind of food for granted most of the time.
“So Faus, how was your date last night?” Britta asked, making his wind-burned cheeks turn even redder.
“Well, it was nice. She’s a very sweet girl,” Faus said, nodding.
“Boo, tell us more!” Charlie said, starting to heckle him.
“A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell,” Faus said.
“So you kissed?” Blake asked. Faus’s face went blank as he immediately realized that he’d just given up everything he just said he wouldn’t, although he did it inadvertently.
“Well, I mean,” Faus said, stumbling on his words.
“We’re happy for you, Faus. You’re a great guy, and you deserve happiness. I was next-door cellmates with Rosie in Filtonshire, and she’s probably the only reason I was able to not only get through it, but get out. I know you two would be happy together,” I said, smiling. Faus smiled back, a look of love and gratitude on his face.
“Well, thank you, Lexa. She really is a great girl. I just hope things work out,” he said.
“Why wouldn’t they?” I asked.
“Just, uh, you know, my last girlfriend. The things that happened there,” he said, gently pushing around the food in his packet.
“What happened? I didn’t know you’d dated somebody before,” I said, concerned.
“She died, actually. It’s okay, though, it was a while ago. We were fourteen, so it’s not like it just happened or anything,” he said.
“I’m sorry, Faus,” Britta said, scooting over and hugging him, putting her head on his shoulder. “We’re always here if you need us. Please remember that.”
“It’s okay, it really is. Like I said, that was years ago, and I moved on a long time ago. I guess I just get worried opening up to people and letting them get close to me,” Faus said.
“You’re afraid it will happen again,” I said.
“Exactly,” he said.
“I get that. I also know that she would want you to be happy. If you never open yourself up to another woman, then you might never know what could happen. Nothing could happen, sure, but something amazing could also happen. She could be the love of your life, and you never would’ve known if you hadn’t taken the chance,” I said.
“Here’s to hoping,” Faus said, lifting up his food packet, and we all clinked ours together, Charlie’s obviously licked clean.
There was a certain sense of camaraderie that came from being out in the field together. Charlie and I had it during our stints, but we never got the full effect with the others. There was London, but it didn’t have the same vibe as out here. We were alone, in the untamed and untapped wilderness of Greenland! There were polar bears, foxes, oxen, and so many other things that went bump in the night. In London we sat around in a little cottage, safe and warm by the fireplace, but out here we had to depend on one another to make it out alive.
What would happen if both Britta and I went down? The guys could try to radio out for help, but they couldn’t teleport themselves out of here. What if we were attacked by a polar bear? I would be happy that the guys were here to fend it off. There definitely was a partnership here.
“So are you guys itching to get back to work?” I asked later that night, as the roaring fire had melted some of the snow around it.
“I think so,” Britta said. “I just like knowing I’m busy, I guess.”
“I do want to go back, but I’m appreciative of this vacation,” Blake said.
“This is a vacation to you?” Charlie asked, his mouth hanging open. “Dude, I’m freezing out here. First African deserts with the extreme heat, and now this place. When are we ever going to do missions in the jungle?”
“Hopefully soon,” Britta said, laughing a little. “Y
ou just want to climb trees and you know it.”
“I saw him climb one in his sleep in Morocco,” I said, laughing. “He was moving his legs like he was pawing at some bark.”
Britta and I fed off one another, starting to cry because we were laughing so hard, the tears rolling down our cheeks beginning to freeze. “Oh yeah? Well, Lexa farts in her sleep, and it’s loud and smells bad,” Charlie said, a stern look on his face.
“Yeah,” Blake said, laughing, and I slapped him on the arm.
“I do not! You guys just want to make fun of me,” I said, before pulling out my wand. “Don’t forget, I could give you guys the beating of your life!”
“Should we test that theory out?” Charlie asked, licking his lips, obviously hungry for the competition.
“No, you guys aren’t allowed,” Faus said, interrupting us.
“Aw, come on, Dad!” Charlie moaned.
“We need to conserve energy out here. If you start sweating in this climate you could get hypothermia. I know we’re magical beings, and you two have wands, but we can’t risk anything that doesn’t need to be risked,” Faus said.
“I agree, it’s a good idea. An injury or overexertion could keep us here longer. We definitely wouldn’t find the wand then,” Britta said.
“When we get back to the camp I’ll let you have a go,” I said.
“Oh yeah, with the crystal wand, no doubt,” Blake said.
“What’s the matter, the big bad wolf all scared?” I asked, before tackling him with a hug and falling into the small snowy bank that had begun to form outside our tent.
“Barf,” Charlie said, standing up. “I’m going to get in bed, it’s too cold out here.”
“I’ll join you, we need to get to bed anyway. We’re setting off first thing in the morning, so be ready,” Britta said, before the two of them crawled into their tent.
“Goodnight all,” Faus said, copying Britta and Charlie.
“It’s just me and you, kid,” Blake said, brushing some snow from the tip of my nose.
“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” I said, smiling.
11
“Glacio,” I said, my spell hitting the snow and forming a path about a hundred feet long in front of us. It was cumbersome, doing the spell over and over again, though Britta did relieve me every so often. It was a team effort, and it paid off well.
We’d been trekking for about three hours, the winds picking up even more, as there was a storm front on the horizon. I looked in the distance, seeing snow falling from apocalyptically dark clouds. We needed to begin looking for cover soon.
“Those clouds look terrible,” I said, coming to the end of the Glacio-enhanced trail I’d just created.
“We have to keep going,” Blake said, sniffling, as the temperatures had plummeted.
“I agree, we’ve only been at it for three hours, we sill have at least that many hours left of daylight. Besides, maybe we can get past the storm,” Charlie said, always optimistic.
“I don’t think we’re outrunning that, look at the size of the cloud. It’s too much,” I said, wiping my nose with my icy-cold glove.
“We should keep moving,” Faus said.
“You agree with them?” Britta asked, as if she were stunned that Faus would ever agree to such a thing. Usually he was a lot more logical than that.
“We aren’t mortals, we can set up a camp within minutes if need be. The best thing to do is gain as much ground as we can before the storm hits. Besides, we’re likely about two hours from the first set of ice caves, assuming there are any. We can make it, but we have to keep moving,” Faus said.
“Lexa?” Britta asked, looking at me, the fur lining of her hood whipping in every direction in the impending storm winds.
“Why don’t we combine our powers and both use the magic at the front? That way we can create a bigger pathway and climb the ups and downs easier,” I said, and she shuffled past the guys and walked with me.
“Glacio!” she said, the ground freezing.
I saw something move in the distance, so I gripped my wand and readied myself for a fight. The animal popped up into view, a small Arctic fox, before it saw us and scurried off, not even falling through the snow. Must be nice to be so light you could walk on top of it.
Another hour passed, my stomach growling as it clenched in agony. Trudging through this snow, and keeping myself warm, had really taken a toll on my energy levels in ways I didn’t even know they could. I’d never been exposed to this much snow or temperatures this low before, and it was showing.
“I need to stop,” I said, as I started to feel my thick wool socks getting wet.
“We can’t stop, we have another hour or two to go,” Faus said.
“I’m hungry, and my socks are getting too sweaty and cold. We could use a break, we haven’t stopped in hours,” I said.
“We’ll be fair and leave it up to a vote, then. Does anybody else want to keep walking?” Faus asked.
“I’m good to,” Charlie said.
“I could eat,” Britta said.
“Same,” Blake said, winking at me, making me wonder if he really wanted to or if he just wanted to be supportive and let me rest for a little while.
“Okay, then it’s settled. Let’s get filled up and then back on the trail. I don’t want to be out here when it’s dark,” Faus said, rummaging through his pack. He’d given us all our own meals to carry, so I pulled out one that didn’t need to be heated.
I sat with my back to the wind, before Britta took her wand and created a windbreak. “Glacio Maximus,” she said, as the ice flew out of her wand and she crafted a ledge as if she were painting a masterpiece.
“Good idea,” I said, as I ate a tortilla and chicken bowl with extra guacamole and pico de gallo. “This is delicious. They really did a good job.”
“This should keep us at least a little warmer, though I’m not sure if it will hold the entire time. How long are we breaking for?” Britta asked, ripping open her meal.
“Lexa?” Faus asked.
“How long is too long?” I asked, looking up at the sun as it began to retreat behind the storm clouds.
“Is twenty minutes enough, or do you need more time?” Faus asked.
“It will be fine,” I said, as I pulled out my wand. “Ignatius Procurus,” I said, lighting a quick fire, before putting my feet by it.
“Good idea. We should all keep our feet warm and get our core temperatures up before going forward. We don’t know how long until we can make another fire,” Blake said, taking off his gloves and blowing steam against his hands.
“Man, I wish I were a polar bear shifter, that would be really cool. I could just shift and walk through this with no problem,” Charlie said, before burping a little.
Fifteen minutes passed before Faus started getting antsy, eyeballing the storm as the strong winds pushed it closer. “We can go,” I said, and he perked up and packed up his things. I put out the fire, not keen on leaving a never-ending campfire in the middle of the tundra, only to be found by somebody who would be very confused.
“We never should’ve stopped,” Faus said two hours later, as the five of us struggled to walk through the wind and falling snow. It was getting worse by the minute, and the caves were still in the distance and never seemed to get any closer, no matter how long we walked.
Our Glacio spells were getting lost in the wind, the shifting grains of snow not making it easy for the ice to form and give us a clear pathway. Eventually we accepted defeat and just started to walk through the snow, though it went past our knees, and then halfway up our thighs.
“Can you two teleport us there?” Charlie asked.
“I don’t know, it’s hard to get a clear visual on the wall ahead,” Britta said, squinting, as we tried to contemplate the risks associated with such a move. “We should get closer, then maybe.”
“I don’t know how much longer we have, guys. Look,” Blake said, pointing towards the clouds.
If the en
d of the world ever happened and an apocalypse took over the world, it would look like the sky did then. Ice fell from the heavens, hail, and the balls of ice started to shoot into the snow around us like missiles trying to kill. “It’s now or never,” Charlie said, as one skimmed by his head.
“I agree, just do it,” Faus said, and the five of us huddled in a circle.
“Ready?” Britta asked, raising her wand.
“Ready,” I replied, raising mine. I focused on the edge of the ice cliff, trying to picture it and form it in my mind, before I felt myself, all of us, be sucked up into the air. We were spit back out, falling onto our stomachs, as bits of hail smacked me in the back.
“There!” Charlie said, pointing a hundred feet away at a small crevice in the wall.
We all struggled to get up, as if we were swimming in quicksand, before we moved our feet as quickly as we could. “Ignitus!” Britta said, melting as much snow around us as she could. Before she could even finish, more set in, covering the ashy grass underneath with a new layer that would likely be filled in within the hour.
“Okay, everybody in,” Blake said, standing outside the sliver of an opening as he helped us all squeeze through. I felt the glacial cool against my face as I shuffled in sideways. Faus said there was a larger opening deeper down, only about ten more feet.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have eaten that meal,” Charlie said, as I heard him suck in his gut and push himself through.
“Ugh, finally,” Britta sighed, after pushing herself out into the open room.
“I think this will keep us safe,” Faus said, looking around. I popped out, looking all around. The room was about twenty feet by fifteen, nothing spectacularly large, but it had one thing going for it—it was warm.
“Now it feels like a jungle,” Charlie said, taking off his coat and sweater underneath.
“Yes, the temperature in here is much warmer than the surrounding area. I wouldn’t suggest we start a fire in here, though. The fumes don’t seem to have anywhere to go, and I don’t feel like being poisoned,” Faus said, as he looked around the ceiling for an opening.