Frost

by E. Latimer

  I nodded, waiting impatiently, while the elevator lurched downward. It hissed to a stop seconds later, and we both braced ourselves when it slid open.

  The hallway on floor two was empty, identical to the floor we'd just been on, with the plastic fern décor and glaring lights. I slid one hand out onto the wall and froze both cameras, coating the walls more than I'd intended.

  We struggled out of the elevator and took a left. The glowing, blue light of the ice machine came into view. It was like seeing the gates of heaven. The sign that said ICE in huge letters might as well have spelled out SALVATION.

  It’s almost over.

  "Hurry," Charlotte whispered.

  Our feet made shushing sounds on the carpet as we struggled to move faster. When we reached the far wall, we put the frozen detective down as quietly as possible.

  I opened the ice chest. It was stuffed with clear, plastic bags of ice, full nearly to the top.

  "There's too much," I whispered. "These bags are huge! He won't fit."

  Charlotte bit her lip and grabbed the top bag. "Here. Just take a few out. We'll take them back to the room, melt it, and ditch the bags."

  "Okay, great." I lifted a couple of bags out and set them on the floor beside the machine. "Four should do it."

  At last, there was enough room. It would be tight, but it would have to do.

  We hoisted the frozen detective up, my back protesting at all the heavy lifting. Honestly though, if I broke my back, it would just be karma.

  The detective's legs went in fine, then his torso, and…

  Crap! His head stuck out.

  "He's too long!" I hissed. "What do we do?"

  Charlotte frowned. "You'll have to try to bend him. Shift the ice around."

  I stuck my arm in, wincing as I brushed his frozen cheek. Striking out randomly at the bags of ice, I tried to move them. To my relief, they shifted.

  The body slumped farther into the chest, and I gave a heavy sigh of relief and shut the door, forcing myself not to slam it closed. “Okay, we have to go fast, right? Let's call the cops from the room."

  "Right, but we can't act like we have anything to do with it."

  "We'll say we heard a scream from the second floor, right below us...or...wherever this stupid machine is." I picked the bags of ice up before handing two to Charlotte, and a rush of relief swept over me, making me feel dizzy and light. We'd done it.

  I turned for the elevator and heard a click nearby.

  We both froze as the door to our immediate right—room 217—swung open.

  A woman stood there, a skinny blonde in a fluffy, pink dressing gown. She had one hand on the doorknob, turning back into the room to call over her shoulder. "I'll get more ice for the drinks."

  Total panic. My skin flashed hot then cold as the woman turned back and spotted us.

  Her cheeks were flushed bright red, her blue eyes glassy. In one hand, she clutched a wine glass, long, pink nails contrasting with the burgundy liquid sloshing inside.

  "Oh, hi." She giggled and took a staggering step forward, the door slamming shut behind her. "You two are up late..." She stopped, turning her eyes up to the ceiling, her brow furrowed.” I mean...you're up early." She giggled again.

  My throat had closed up. I couldn't speak.

  Ice coated the walls on both sides of the hallway, and the cameras at the ends were little lumps of frost. This woman had to notice sooner or later, even if she was completely hammered.

  "I'm Rachel." She wobbled forward, holding the wine glass up like she intended to make a toast. "And you must be lesbians."

  Charlotte and I exchanged a speechless look. Her cheeks were pale, and my stomach flipped uncomfortably. She'd known what to do up to this point, but she was clearly panicking.

  I took a deep breath and stepped forward. "Hi, Rachel." This had to work. I couldn't freeze anyone else. "We...we took the last bags of ice. There aren’t any left." I cleared my throat. "But we don't need that much. So...do you want a bag?" I held one of the bags of ice out, my hand shaking violently.

  Rachel didn't seem to notice anything strange. A huge smile lit her face up, and she snatched the bag. "Hey, thanks!"

  I felt like sagging onto the carpet when she turned and yanked the door open again, screeching into the hotel room. "Hey, Frank! These lesbians gave me some ice!"

  The door slammed shut behind her.

  Charlotte groaned, leaning forward, with her hands on her knees. "Oh my gosh...that was so close. I—holy shit!"

  “Let’s go.” I grabbed her arm, my heart still pounding hard against my ribs. “Let's get back to the room and never talk about this again."

  "Agreed."

  Chapter Nineteen

  Charlotte came with me early the next morning to meet Erik. In the early hours of the morning, we'd finally worked up enough nerve to call the front desk and report having heard yelling and thumping below us. Luckily, by then, it had been almost six, so we’d skipped out right before the police had shown up.

  I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened. How blue his skin had turned, the feeling of shoving him deeper into the ice machine. Criminals did that sort of thing. That was what I was now. My skin felt slimy, and I wished I’d had time to take a shower before we’d left.

  The blond woman might have been drunk, but it wasn’t likely she’d forget having seen us. If they thought to question her, we were in real trouble. I kept darting glances out the window, almost expecting to see a SWAT team charging down the sidewalk.

  Charlotte's voice snapped me out of my grim thoughts. "Cute place."

  I let my gaze wander around the sandwich shop, nodding absently.

  We'd taken the same booth I'd had the last time. We were late, but Erik was even later. Charlotte and I had talked about a lot this morning, mainly about the fact that we were running out of options.

  The bell jangled, and we both looked up to see Erik standing in the doorway. His blond hair was tousled, and his sharp features looked unusually strained.

  He slid into the booth beside me. "Sorry I’m late. I heard there was a body found. Police scanners..." He stopped, apparently noticing Charlotte for the first time.

  "Hi," she said cheerfully. "You must be Erik. Megan filled me on everything."

  Erik rubbed his sharp jaw, working his fingers over the fine bristles. "Hi." His voice was polite but strained, and he didn't look happy.

  "I called her in to help me.” I crossed my arms over my chest and raised my chin defiantly. “I needed a friend I could trust. Someone was looking for me."

  "Who?" Erik leaned forward, his blue eyes studying me intently.

  My cheeks flushed as his eyes suddenly widened.

  Charlotte had already told me that there was a gash beside my eye where the fake detective had clipped me, and my throat was still raspy and sore from having been choked.

  Erik’s face went dark. “What happened?”

  "Something that happened in California caught up with me." I blinked rapidly, determined not to cry in front of the Viking-like frost giant.

  He might have been the last person who would judge me, but I still didn't want to tell him the story of what had happened to Adam. Not yet, at least.

  "Are you all right?" He frowned, his brow creasing. "I'm so sorry I didn't learn about this sooner. If I had known—”

  "I'm fine." I didn't need sympathy. I needed to figure out what to do next.

  The police had to be looking for us, two teenagers traveling on their own, one nearly six feet tall. We weren't hard to spot. Until now, I'd wanted to take my time, get to know Erik better before I made any decisions. But I was out of choices at this point. It was either take a chance with him or risk going to jail.

  This morning, Charlotte had urged me to ask about the dreams, and I figured I might as well do it while I had the chance.

  Clearing my throat, I changed the subject. "I wanted to ask you about this last time, but I didn't get a chance. I'm having these dreams."

&nb
sp; Erik's eyes lit up, and he leaned forward again. "What sort of dreams?"

  He’ll think I’m crazy.

  "That...that I'm in battle. In one, I'm swinging this sword around like I actually know how to use it. And this latest one…well, um." I swallowed hard and cleared my throat. "I died."

  Erik held up his hand as I opened my mouth again, about to start babbling that I knew it sounded crazy. “It’s nothing to worry about. They're called genetic memories. It's a jotun trait." He hesitated. “Sometimes the distant memories of your ancestors can surface and mix with your own. I’ll be honest, it’s a little unusual for you have them, but we already know your genes are stronger than the others. The point is they don't actually mean anything."

  My shoulders slumped, relief making me feel dizzy. "I'm not going to die, then?"

  "Of course not.”

  I fidgeted with the hem of my T-shirt. “Why did you call me Amora last time? Is there someone I’m named after? Are they her memories?” It was strange to think I might have an ancient jotun relative somewhere in my bloodline.

  Erik’s eyes widened, and he pressed his fingers over his mouth. For a second I thought I’d offended him, and my stomach plunged. But then he smiled hugely. “Yes. They’re probably her memories. But so distant they’ve become dreams for you.”

  I ducked my head and stared down at the table. Now my stomach had gone queasy. I wasn’t sure I liked the idea of having someone else’s memories in my head. Even in the form of dreams.

  “The dreams usually stop as you get older,” Erik offered. “If that makes you uncomfortable. They may not last much longer.”

  “See? I told you it was nothing. Should have asked him, like, a million years ago.” Charlotte was practically bouncing in her seat at this point. "So…are we going to this ice castle? Megan told me about it. It sounds cool!"

  "Uh...” Erik shifted in his seat, rubbing his jaw. “I don't know if I can bring you back." Charlotte’s smile wilted, and I glared at him.

  He winced. "I'm sorry, but the queen was very specific about who she wants."

  "Are you kidding me?" I narrowed my eyes at him. "The only way I'll go with you is if Charlotte comes too."

  I knew how ridiculous I sounded—like a sullen kid—so when Erik cocked one eyebrow at me, I stuck my bottom lip out. Might as well go with it.

  There was no way I was leaving Charlotte behind. People always joked about being such good friends that you'd bury a body if they asked—“I'll bring the shovels! Haha!”—but it wasn't a joke with Charlotte.

  He squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his fingertips into his eyelids, letting out a sigh. "Very well. If that's what it takes, she can come too."

  “Okay. We’ll go with you,” I said, and Erik’s eyes snapped open. "But only after you buy us a huge amount of food. I’m starving.”

  He chuckled, easing back into the booth with an arm across the back of the chair, his foot sliding out into the aisle. He looked relaxed for the first time since I’d met him. "All right, but we leave right after that."

  Charlotte's impish features lit up like a kid at Christmas. "I'm so excited," she gushed. "We get to see a castle made of ice! How does it not melt?” She leaned forward, already peppering Erik with questions.

  I bit back a laugh. At least she was taking this in stride. Apparently, she wasn't worried about the police looking for us. I glanced out the window again.

  Erik noticed and shook his head. "Amora, you don't have to run anymore. You're under my protection. No one can't touch you."

  "Not even the police?"

  He laughed. "You have nothing to worry about."

  It wasn't a direct answer, but I was pretty sure it confirmed my earlier suspicions. The frost jotun had some kind of control over the police force. Or they at least had ties with them. I tried to picture Viking-like men in police uniforms, people like Erik. Maybe it wasn't so farfetched. They were physically strong and tall. They would make good cops.

  Even though Erik was on my side now, the idea made me shiver. We had a race of immortal creatures infiltrating our police force, and likely the government, and nobody had a clue.

  Erik smiled and gestured at the chalkboard menus above the counter. "All right. You’d better pick out your feast before we go.”

  Charlotte shot up and ran to the counter, hopping from one foot to the other as she read over the choices. Erik and I stood to follow, and he glanced at me as we trailed after her, his brows raised. "She's a lively one."

  "You have no idea." I stretched my arms over my head, feeling my muscles protest, still sore from my fight with the fake detective. No doubt, I'd discover fresh bruises tomorrow, but I was in better condition than the detective. The thought made me queasy.

  Erik must have noticed something was wrong, because he stopped me with a hand on my arm. "Are you okay? I mean, really okay?"

  I looked up, and his face was so openly concerned that my resolve melted. "I... He nearly had me. I think I ended up killing him." I kept my voice low. "It was an accident, but I can't stop thinking about it."

  Erik nodded, his eyes searching my face. "It was self-defense."

  Tears collected faster than I could blink them away. "But it still feels awful. And this is just... I had just learned I’d never actually killed anyone back in California." I couldn’t stop my voice from shaking. "And then this. I'm so tired of being afraid." The tears finally slipped free, and I let them.

  To my surprise, Erik pulled me toward him, gathering me into his arms.

  It felt strange, and at first, I stiffened. But if I couldn’t freeze Loki, then I definitely couldn’t freeze another frost giant. He was taller than I was, something I'd so rarely experienced, and his chin rested on the top of my head.

  I stayed rigid for a moment, shocked, but he smelled so good, like cologne, and there was something comforting about having his arms wrapped around me. I finally relaxed into him. When he released me, I stood back and looked up at him, surprised to see that his face was flushed.

  He cleared his throat and shuffled his feet. "Let's get you something to eat."

  ~ * ~

  It felt strange to walk out of the sandwich shop and into the parking lot with Erik. Charlotte and I followed him to his car, a neon-blue, box-shaped vehicle that looked entirely too small for a giant to be driving.

  He clicked the key fob, unlocking the doors. "We get assigned cars," he said. "I swear I must have insulted someone at some point, because I barely fit into this damn thing."

  Charlotte climbed into the backseat, and I took the front, snickering a little as Erik got in. He was right. He had to hunch down in his seat, and even then the tips of his blond hair brushed the roof when he moved.

  Charlotte was practically vibrating with excitement. "I can't believe I get to see an ice castle. And a queen!"

  Erik laughed. "Well, it's a bit of a drive, so try to relax."

  ~ * ~

  He hadn’t been exaggerating. Two hours later, my butt was completely numb, and the only noise in the car was the murmur of the radio DJ. Charlotte's excitement had worn off after the first hour, and after that, she stared silently out the window, watching snow-covered fields pass by.

  The car started to slow, and Erik's voice jerked me out of my stupor.

  "Watch the road up ahead."

  I squinted at the dull, gray pavement in front of us. What was I supposed to be watching for? We had slowed down so much that we were almost crawling.

  Up ahead, there was a shimmer in the air, a faint blurring of the scenery in one spot.

  I squinted harder. Was that light reflecting off the snow? Or…

  We passed through the shimmer, and the fields disappeared, replaced by huge pine trees. The paved highway had dissolved into a dirt road surrounded by forest on all sides.

  Charlotte and I gasped at the same time.

  Erik whipped around to look at us and then grinned. “Well, I have to say I’m relieved that worked.”

  "Did we just drive into
—through...?” I couldn't say it.

  "Another dimension?" He chuckled. "Yes, pretty much. Welcome to Jotunheim."

  Charlotte squealed. "This is so totally exciting!”

  My gaze was practically glued to the scenery, but I still had a million questions. “Why were you relieved it worked? Your magic portal thing fails sometimes?”