The Frozen Wasteland

by Candy Crum

  "So, I'm not good enough for your bed, but I'm good enough to go fetch your toys for you? That's nice, Talia. And what exactly should I say to this man?"

  "Tell him he's about to be shown my gratitude for the pitcher of brew he bought a while back." She smiled. "Oh, but also tell him if he doesn't like things interesting and slightly painful, don't bother. I'd hate for him to disappoint me."

  ***

  Being stuck on the mountaintop was hell for Arryn, but it wasn't going to change until she got her energy back. Arryn had to expend some of her magic and energy every day to give herself things that would return the effort spent with interest.

  For instance, she had built herself an igloo to shelter her from snow and wind, which allowed her to stay warmer at night. Being warmer permitted her a more restful sleep, which in turn gave her the energy to search for food. Food nourished her and permitted her even more restful sleep since she wasn’t hungry, giving her even more energy.

  Sometimes it seemed pointless, as though she had almost given up hope of ever returning to Arcadia, and sometimes she felt like she might never do so, but in reality, she was doing exactly what she needed to. Taking two steps forward and one step back was still taking another step every day.

  In Arcadia, she’d taken her magic, her fighting skills, and even her teacher—her best friend—for granted. Up here, she was learning just how much she had grown already, but more importantly, how much further she needed to go. It required a great deal of patience on her part to realize her limits, but part of her welcomed it.

  Arryn had finished her igloo, and last night had been the first real night's sleep she'd gotten since arriving. Part of that had been the leopard pelt she’d taken. Unfortunately, at this point she had run out of meat; she needed to find food again.

  Today, she decided to hunt something that would yield even greater results. She'd seen both mountain goats and rams, even as high as she was, and knew they could be of use.

  Not only could she use the hide as an extra blanket and the meat for sustenance, but she could craft weapons from the horns. She hadn't learned as much as she'd hoped in the short amount of time she attended her physical magic class, but she'd learned enough to get by.

  She had found some thick, solid rock that wasn't easily broken, and she'd taken her time shaping it with the use of other rocks in her downtime. As a result, she had two six-inch-long blades that had been smoothed as much as possible by using both physical strength and magic. Once she had regained her energy, she planned to transform the rock into metal using physical magic.

  The blades weren’t perfect, but they would serve her. After she’d killed a ram, she could use the tips of the horns as handles, and the rest she could use for other things.

  She decided that once she'd gotten down from the mountain, she would find a blacksmith who would be willing to smooth out her handiwork and perfect it. Until then, they would do her just fine.

  Arryn made her way to the eastern side of the peak, where the wind blew the least. That was where she’d tanned the leopard hide for several days. It was only a small area, but it was flat, and she could easily to make a fire there when needed. Today, she had different plans.

  The sun was shining that morning, and it hadn't snowed the night before. Arryn had spent every last bit of her energy creating a fire off to the side, and kept it going all night in hopes of keeping the ground warm enough to do what she wanted to do today.

  As she knelt on the bare ground, she saw green blades of grass. She'd hoped she might be able to coax some out of the earth, but her magic wasn't a strong as that of Elysia or the Chieftain. If they'd been marooned up there, she was positive they'd already have grown a garden of epic proportions, even with the frigid temperatures.

  A loud screech cut through the air, and Arryn smiled as she looked up to see a large falcon flying toward her. Arryn held her hands out and the bird circled her, dropping something from his talons as he did.

  She almost dropped the objects, but manage to catch them again.

  "Yes!" she shouted. "Thank you!"

  The bird screeched again before flying away. She inspected the large berries she was holding in her hands. She'd sent him to the nearest village around to find any available fruit he could fit in his talons. She regretted being so weak, because had she not been, she could've willed him to go farther. Much farther. Perhaps to the Dark Forest.

  But with these, she hoped it wouldn't be a concern for much longer.

  Arryn shoved several of the raspberries in her mouth, moaning as she tasted their sweetness. Her stomach rumbled, and she had to fight the urge to shove the rest of them in her mouth. She wanted to eat all of them right then, but that wasn't why she'd sent the bird to fetch them.

  Taking a deep breath, Arryn laid them on the ground before digging several small holes in the cleared area. The ground was soft enough that she could do it easily, and she dropped a raspberry into each hole.

  Next, she quickly placed a handful of snow on top of each before putting her hands to the ground, melting the snow before it did any damage to the berries below. The ground soaked up the warm water, drinking it in and using it for fuel for the berries.

  She settled onto her knees, taking several deep breaths to pace herself. Feeling the magic in her hands, she pushed it forward, making sure not to push too hard or too fast. If she did, she would run out of energy too soon, and the result might not be what she desired.

  Growing plants was something she was good at, but she'd never been as proficient as the native druids.

  Arryn focused, feeling the warmth in the ground and the sun shining above, and soon she began to feel the life blooming from underneath. Within moments, several bushes had pushed up from the ground, growing and blossoming before her very eyes. The plants were small, but there were enough berries on each to sustain her for couple days and allow her to grow more if needed.

  Damping down her magic, she took a deep breath and rested for a few moments before gathering all the berries and putting them into her cloak. After making her way back to her camp, she placed them on the ground, giving one to her furry little friend.

  "I swear to the gods," she said, pointing to the bunny. "If you steal all of my raspberries... well, I don’t know. It's hard to threaten something so damned cute. Just don't do it."

  The rabbit made a little noise and bobbed his nose at her before taking the raspberry and eating it.

  "Now that I have some fruit to eat," she said to him, "I'm going to go get some more meat. Mountain life is surprisingly exhausting and hungry work. Stay here, Fuzzy Lumpkins, so my falcon friend doesn't come back for you."

  Arryn gave the rabbit a few quick scratches before leaving the igloo. She grabbed her makeshift blades and headed down the side of the mountain. The wind had begun to pick up, and her energy was already waning because of her magic use, so she had to stay close to her camp, as usual.

  It was times like this she felt the most exasperated about her situation. She tried to remind herself that she was doing everything she could to get back home.

  Arryn pulled her cloak tighter around her, trying to block the wind from her face. It was cold, and the wind chill factor made it even worse. She wouldn't have long to hunt, and she couldn't come back empty-handed; she would have a hard time healing from this endeavor without decent nourishment.

  Her nose was beginning to run, and she felt the urge to cough. She realized then that she had used too much energy, and she was getting sick for the first time since before she'd come to the Dark Forest. That might have sounded like a wonderful thing to most people, but when someone never got sick, illness struck hard and fast. It would be difficult for her to recover.

  Just when she was about to give up and head back for fear of moving too far from her camp, she saw a large ram not too far off. She wished that she had her bow right then—it would've made the kill so much easier. At this point, she wasn't exactly sure how to pull it off.

  First, she was too wea
k to throw her makeshift blade hard enough to do any real damage, and she lacked the supplies needed to make a proper spear. Any wood she’d happened upon, she'd needed for her fire. Second, she couldn't use nature magic on the beast because she was already too weak, and she'd need whatever power she had left to get her kill back to camp.

  She momentarily looked at the sky, saying a prayer to anyone who could hear her. She prayed that the magic she was going to use wouldn’t deplete her energy so much that she couldn't get the ram back to camp, but would be enough to kill the animal painlessly.

  Taking a deep breath, Arryn pulled the handle-less dagger back and threw it as hard as she could manage, using a little of her physical magic to push it harder. She hit her target exactly where she'd intended, and the magic had given her blade the added power she’d needed to achieve an instant kill.

  The ram fell to the ground, and Arryn walked over and grabbed it by the horns. It didn't matter which path she chose; there were really no good choices.

  Dragging the ram by sheer strength would be impossible. It was far too heavy; the energy expenditure would kill her long before she reached camp. Using magic to lighten the load would do the same. Leaving the ram here and heading back to camp would allow some other animal to carry it off for itself, while she would be left to suffer and spend several days recovering.

  In the end, she decided to use both physical and magical strength, just as she had to acquire it. She pulled the animal by the horns and used telekinesis to push. By the time she made it to camp, she was ready to collapse.

  As she stumbled into the igloo, landing hard on the leopard pelt, she told the bunny, "Do me a favor. If anything tries to take my ram, do whatever it takes to wake me. It might freeze before I wake up, but that's a risk I have to take."

  Unconsciousness quickly took Arryn, and the weakened girl knew she had no choice but to rest. She just hoped nothing would come by and try to steal her food or kill her, or she would have to waste even more energy fighting.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Cathillian stared at Amelia, who seemed to be overly intimidated by the challenge ahead.

  "It's not that bad, I promise. He's tame. Granted, you won't have as much control over him as I would, but he's a smart boy. He knows how to do this. I've been working with him all morning." Cathillian smiled at the worried expression on the Chancellor's face.

  "What if he doesn't like me? What if he rebels right after you leave? A single morning of training doesn't seem like very long. I know I seem like I'm freaking out, but my messages to and from Maddie cannot fall into Talia's hands." She looked at the large raven sitting on the back of her chair.

  "Just try it," Cathillian urged. "Write something, roll it up, seal it, and attach it to his leg. Echo is a lot bigger, so she can carry larger letters. With him you'll have to keep it short and sweet. Warnings. Places you want meet. Times. Things like that. I chose a raven because those are far less conspicuous than a hawk or an eagle. They’re smaller, so it'll be a lot easier to hide him."

  Amelia sighed, looking from Cathillian to the bird and back. "I thought mental magic would be far more useful than nature magic. Of course, I've had a lot more experience with mental magic because of Julianne. I’m starting to think I made the wrong choice."

  Cathillian laughed. "You're putting way too much thought into this. Besides, the Founder knows all three types of magic, and you said Hannah knows all three as well. Why can't you learn all three, too? Your mental magic has come in very handy, in case you don't recall. Now, quit worrying. That's not like you."

  Amelia took a deep breath and nodded. "You're right. That's not like me. Well, I do worry, just not to the point where it’s visible. So, tell me what to do. I'm still not sure about this, but I suppose there's no harm in testing it out a few times."

  Cathillian nodded and smiled. "Good. Hold out your arm." Amelia did as he asked, and the raven flew across the room to land on her arm, turning its head sharply in a few directions before fixing his eyes on her. "Good job! Pet him. Talk to him. Let him get used to your voice, and let him see that you're a good person and can be trusted. It may not be a magical bond, but you can still create a bond with him."

  Amelia reached out with her free hand and used the back of her index and middle fingers to rub his chest. He puffed up a little, adjusting his wings before settling back down.

  "Picking a name also helps to seal a bond," Cathillian said.

  Amelia nodded, staring at the bird for a few moments. "He isn't as black as some of the other ones I've seen. He's more of a dark gray. I've never seen a raven that looked like him before. Ash. I think I'll call him Ash. Do you think that's dumb?"

  A smile spread across Cathillian's face. "Echo and I spent several days bonding. She was injured when I initially found her; one of her wings had been broken. I healed her and set her loose. I was only about thirteen at the time. She more or less stalked me after that, following me around the forest and circling above me. I always knew when she was there because she announced herself. Her voice carried farther than any other hawk or eagle I'd ever heard. It echoed through the skies every morning when she came to find me. After three days, she was mine, and I was hers. In other words, no, I don't think it's stupid at all."

  Amelia was touched to hear the story of how Cathillian and Echo had bonded. "Well, I might not be able to form a magical bond with Ash, but at the very least we can be good friends."

  "Bonded animals inherit language use from their master. They understand the language because their master understands the language. Tamed animals, not so much, but I assure you he will understand simple commands. It's the equivalent of understanding a few words of a language. He’s not fluent, but he knows enough, and he will learn more as you work with him, especially if you focus your energy into it. I'll teach you more when we get back. You never know, Ash might be your true familiar one day."

  Amelia smiled, her eyes sparkling a bit at the thought. "Thank you, this means a lot. It’ll help me feel a bit safer while everyone is out of the city. Maddie's all I have left, and I can't put her in danger by letting Talia know we have any involvement with one another."

  Cathillian said his goodbyes and made his way outside. He didn't like the thought of leaving Amelia any more than she did, but if there was a chance to get help for Arryn, he had to take it. He knew Amelia wouldn't stop working on the city, and that would be the only thing keeping Arryn from killing him once he found her. He smiled at the thought of her anger. It delighted him more than it should have.

  "Is everything good to go in there?" Celine asked from the back of her white horse.

  Cathillian mounted Maia, looking at the sky as Echo called out. He tightened his grip on the reins and nodded. "Everything's fine. As long as we’re careful, I think it’ll be okay. We just have to be smart. We need to get out of the city before the next Guard shift takes over."

  Samuel nodded from the back of his own horse. "Aye, lad. Let's go talk ta that pointy-eared family of yers and see if we can find a way ta save our girl."

  ***

  Talia stood in her office, hands clasped behind her back as she looked out the window. Scarlett had yet to come in to see her today, but this wasn't the first time. Her fun with Eric had been just that—fun. Unfortunately, it had done nothing to soothe her worried mind.

  In the pit of her stomach, Talia was still feeling like something was off. It was even stronger than before, almost enough to bring her to tears. She had heard the stories about her father, Adrien, and how he'd seemed frantic, almost crazy in the end. She was beginning to wonder if perhaps that wasn't some form of real mental illness rather than simple paranoia caused by the immense and complicated plan he had put into action.

  Further, she wondered if it was possible that mental illness was genetic.

  As she waited for Scarlett to show, she became more and more aware that her actions spoke volumes about her mental health.

  Something wasn't right. Deep down, she could feel it. Scarl
ett had been coming in late often, and she never offered a good reason. In fact, when Talia would ask about it, Scarlett would change the subject, and somehow, Talia bought it every time.

  She's using her magic on me, Talia thought. That bitch! That must be it! She doesn't have the strength to overpower me completely, but she still has enough to redirect me.

  Why else would her anger subside so quickly after she'd demanded answers and had received not even a smidgen of information?

  Scarlett finally stepped onto the Academy grounds and Talia watched her saunter toward the door, wondering just how the mystic had been able to get into her head so easily.

  My mind must be weak, she thought. That will have to change, and so will the company I keep.

  Stepping away from the window, Talia decided to spend the rest of the morning alone to fortify her mind, as well as to plan her next step. She needed to make a big impact, and fast. She wanted to be able to overshadow Amelia in every way. She wanted to be able to do more than the Chancellor had even thought of.

  Perhaps it was time to reach out to the governor of Cella.

  ***

  Elysia stared at the ground, her eyes wandering over the mauled bodies of four warriors. In the middle of the night, they'd heard something outside their walls. It had been the first group that neither Elysia nor the Chieftain had accompanied, and it was certainly going to be the last.

  Her men and women patrolled their borders inside the barrier, watching and listening for anything out of the ordinary. When they found it, they’d expected the worst.

  The barrier had been breached more than once, and they believed the enemy would do so again if something weren't done. Instead of waiting for confirmation from Elysia or the Chieftain, Edgar, one of their higher-ranking warriors, had ordered one of their youngest back to camp to find Elysia or the Chieftain.

  At that point, the group used nature magic to lift them up and over the wall instead of opening it, fearing that breaching the barrier even for a moment would leave them vulnerable. When they landed on the other side, hell itself had awaited them.