Ice Phoenix

by Sulin Young

  She couldn’t see anything now. Her reflection wavered in the onslaught of tears as her pain came rushing to the surface. Terrana banged on the glass, her tiny fist hurting, but she didn’t care — she only wanted the miserable girl in front of her to disappear.

  “Say something!” she screamed. “What did you do wrong that you are paying for it now? What did I do?”

  A hand came through the glass and clamped around her throat. Terrana choked, unable to breathe as she stared into the malicious eyes of her other self.

  “Coward!” T2 sneered. “All you do is snivel and cry — you can’t do anything useful. You might as well let me out.”

  “Why?” Terrana croaked. “What can you do that I can’t? What makes you think you are better than me?”

  “I wouldn’t let Baneyon die. I’d do something about it.”

  “Baneyon’s not going to die! The queen’s gone to save him!”

  “The queen against five demons. Can you take that risk? You sit down and hope that she’ll do something, but you’re not doing anything! Even the prince will not stay idle while his mother risks her life to save the others. He’s no coward, unlike you! Just remember, if Baneyon dies, you will never see him again. The only time when you could have saved him, you chose to stay in your room and hide!”

  Her words were like a knife in her heart, and Terrana screamed. She lashed out at the reflection, hitting her face over and over again.

  “BANEYON’S NOT GOING TO DIE! I WON’T LET HIM, YOU HEAR ME? I WON’T LET HIM!”

  Fear ripped through her. Baneyon was her only family — she couldn’t live without him. She had lost everyone she loved back home, she was not going to let it happen again. If it was the last thing she’d do, she was going to protect the people she loved — she would not be weak and helpless, not if she could help it.

  The room was suddenly silent and Terrana looked around, startled. It was empty. Her hands throbbed and she looked down at her fists. They were bruised and bleeding. She looked at the glass wall in front of her and saw it was smeared with blood — there was no sign of the other girl. Terrana began to shake — had she imagined her?

  It didn’t matter. She wiped the tears from her face using her sleeve, and then bolted out the door. She had to find Prince Gil Ra Im.

  She raced across the school grounds, frantic and desperate. She prayed that the prince hadn’t left without her. Up ahead, the warm glow of the stables seeped through the darkness of the night, and she surged ahead. She spotted something large cantering away from the stables, and even as she watched, it raced into the darkness, taking flight.

  “NOOO! WAIT!” she screamed, still running. “Prince Gil Ra Im, waaaait!” But he didn’t hear her. Terrana watched with a breaking heart as he and Dragoth vanished into the shadows of the sky.

  “PRINCE GIL RA IMMM!” Her voice shattered the night silence and she collapsed to the ground, sobbing. She was too late. He had left without her.

  “Terrana?”

  Terrana wiped her tears and looked up. Lorn was standing over her, his face etched with concern. There was a large, silver crossbow attached to his right hand. He quickly depressed a panel on the side of the crossbow, and the weapon folded up, wrapping around his hand. It now looked like a prosthetic limb. Someone moved behind him, and Terrana recognised Mikin. He looked even more worried than Lorn.

  “Terrana, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Lorn asked.

  “It doesn’t matter,” she mumbled, standing up.

  “Of course it matters. You’re out here in the middle of the night screaming the prince’s name. Did he do something to you?”

  She supposed it was inevitable that they had heard her. She had been screaming her lungs out. Terrana shook her head. “He’s gone. He left without me.” She couldn’t help it — the tears squeezed past her eyes as emotions got the better of her. She stood there, cutting a sad and pathetic figure. Lorn pulled her into his chest and held her tightly. Mikin also stepped closer and reached out to squeeze her hand.

  “He really did a number on you, didn’t he?” muttered Lorn.

  Terrana didn’t answer. Somehow, standing there in the middle of the pet grounds with her two friends, she didn’t feel alone. Just knowing that they were there for her lent her strength. For the last few days, she had been keeping her distance from them, wanting time alone to figure out her thoughts and feelings. She had hurt them, she knew, by choosing to keep her own counsel when they had been trying to reach out to her.

  “Terrana, don’t cry,” Mikin said softly. “Whatever it is that’s bothering you, you can talk to us. But only when you are ready. We won’t force you and we’ll be here. Just please, don’t push us away.”

  Terrana nodded into the folds of Lorn’s jacket, squeezing Mikin’s hand in response. She felt safe in Lorn’s arms, not wishing to leave the protection he offered. She picked up on his scent and felt his heart beating strongly. It reminded her of the powerful wings of a bird, becoming louder as it approached. Terrana stiffened.

  So did Lorn and Mikin. Lorn pulled her back suddenly as something large and powerful descended from the sky. It came to a running halt on the ground. Terrana turned around to see Prince Gil Ra Im dismounting from Dragoth.

  “F-fa-faar!” Mikin stuttered, his eyes glued to Dragoth’s magnificence. Clearly he was torn between running closer to get a better look at the faar, or running away. He did the wiser thing instead, and remained where he was.

  The prince walked over, his eyes taking in the way Lorn held onto Terrana.

  “You were late,” he said to Terrana.

  “I’m s-sorry,” she replied.

  He nodded. “Then let’s go.”

  Terrana moved to follow him, but Lorn pulled her back.

  “Hold on!” he said in a rough voice. “First, Terrana, you have nothing to apologise for. Being late doesn’t mean he can reduce you to this state. If anything, he needs to be the one to apologise.”

  The prince flashed him an amused look. “I don’t have time for this,” he said with disdain. He looked at Terrana again. “Are you coming or not?”

  “I’m coming!” cried Terrana. She turned to Lorn, her eyes apologetic. “I’m sorry, Lorn, but I need to go with him. There’s something I must do.”

  “Tell me now,” Lorn said. “Where are you going?”

  “To Si Ren —”

  “It’s none of your business!” Prince Gil Ra Im walked up to Terrana and grabbed her hand. “Let’s go!”

  Lorn drew in a sharp breath and pulled Terrana back. “Tell me you weren’t going to say Si Ren Da!”

  The look in her eyes told him it was so.

  “Terrana!” he uttered in disbelief. “Si Ren Da is a dangerous planet! It’s home to the dratkaars! Why in Dartkala’s name would you want to go there?”

  “My guardian’s in danger, Lorn. He needs help. He’s the only family I have – I, I can’t lose him!”

  “Terrana, your guardian is an Imeldor. He’s more than capable of looking after himself!” Lorn gave the prince a furious look. “It’s suicide to take her there! You may be the prince of Sector Six, and you may be powerful, but Terrana isn’t! You’re putting her in danger!”

  “I don’t have time to listen to you,” said the prince. His eyes glittered with impatience. “Terrana, get onto Dragoth.”

  “Terrana!” Mikin cried out, running up to her. “Lorn is right! You can’t leave! If you breach the school boundaries, you’ll be expelled from Minda Yerra. Please, don’t go. We can find help some other way.”

  But Terrana didn’t listen. Her hand slid out of Lorn’s grasp and she ran to Dragoth. She didn’t look behind as she ran. When she reached Dragoth, she grabbed hold of his mane and pulled herself up, only to find herself being dragged down. She found herself staring into Lorn’s livid face.

  “You’re not going anywhere!” he said.

  “Lorn, please —”

  He was suddenly flung back and Terrana was lifted into the air by an invi
sible force, and promptly dropped onto Dragoth. The prince leapt up behind her. In the distance, several lights zoomed towards them while more circled the sky above.

  “Terrana!” Mikin cried. “Those lights are the school’s security bots. You can’t escape them! Please, think about what you’re doing. If they think you’re trying to leave the boundary, they will use force. And you’ll be expelled.”

  Terrana gave him a pained look. “I’m sorry, Mikin, but I have to go. Baneyon’s life is in danger.” Mikin’s worried face was the last thing she saw as Dragoth broke into a run. Terrana held on for a dear life as the faar sprinted across the ground, trying to gain enough speed to lift into the air. A figure swung around Dragoth’s neck, coming to land in front of her. Lorn’s fist flew past her head and connected squarely with the prince’s jaw. Prince Gil Ra Im fell back. Terrana screamed.

  “You’re not taking Terrana anywhere,” Lorn snarled, wrapping his arms around Terrana. He tried to pull her off, but she resisted, clinging to Dragoth with every bit of her strength.

  Prince Gil Ra Im recovered from Lorn’s blow and sat up. Because Terrana was between them, he leapt over her to land behind Lorn. He wrapped his arms around Lorn’s neck and squeezed. As they struggled, Dragoth was already lifting off the ground.

  Keep going, Dragoth! The bots have already spotted us!

  Dragoth beat his wings harder and they rose into the air quickly. Throw him off while you can, young prince.

  “STOP IT!” Terrana screamed. “Prince, let him go! You’re hurting him!”

  But neither boy listened to her as they fought to beat the life out of each other. A loud, whistling noise erupted behind them, and Dragoth swerved to the left. Terrana nearly fell off and she leaned forwards to hold onto the fighting boys. The air was suddenly lit up by a network of lines that wavered like a fluorescent jellyfish in a dark sea.

  “DRAGOTH, GET OUT NOW!” shouted the prince. Dragoth began to rise even higher. Silver light glowed from the edges of his wings and scales crept over his body. He was climbing at a sharp incline and all three passengers were forced to cling to him as they rose into the sky. Any hope that Lorn had of jumping off with Terrana was now dashed. Behind them, the bots gave chase, shooting nets, which Dragoth avoided easily.

  “What’s happening?” shouted a panicked Terrana as her legs began to dissolve in the silver light. She wasn’t the only one it was happening to; both the prince and Lorn appeared to be melting into the faar.

  “Dragoth’s qi is absorbing us,” said the prince. “We are going to lose our physical forms before we leave the atmosphere.” The wind raced by, but Terrana didn’t feel it. What she felt was worse — it was the familiar sensation of having every cell sucked from her body as Dragoth absorbed her. It was nauseating and made her feel dizzy.

  Like a comet in the night, Dragoth shot into the sky. Silver qi flowed off his body like glittering stardust, propelling the faar like a rocket through the planet’s atmosphere.

  29

  Deep trouble

  “Raimus, watch out!” Baneyon shouted.

  The overweight Imeldor heard him and barely avoided the cloud of ash that attempted to snare him from above. Raimus fell back to where Baneyon was, and together they faced the strange demon who had been attacking Raimus. It had not uttered a single word throughout the battle.

  They hovered thirty metres in the air, the demon a little higher. Similar in build to Meldogan and Garok, he stared at them insolently. A strange mask covered the left side of his face.

  “Baneyon, we can’t hold him off for much longer. That ash is spreading. The only thing that’s been saving us is your spear,” panted Raimus. He was right. The ash corroded everything around it, including the armour that both Baneyon and Raimus had been wearing, forcing them to shed it in a hurry before it melted into their skins. Baneyon had used the flat of his blade on several occasions to nullify the ash.

  “We need to retreat,” panted Raimus. “My qi’s almost exhausted, as is yours.”

  Baneyon stared at the demon. “Raimus, is it possible he’s using dark qi?”

  Raimus flashed Baneyon a concerned look. “His powers fit the profile. He doesn’t die, he can transform, and he uses an ash that is able to burn through anything it touches. Does that ring a bell with a certain experiment? “

  “Yes,” said Baneyon. “Splitting qi particles. Three out of ten times when we successfully divided a qi particle, a dark matter was released and the holding container burned, much in the same manner his ash behaves.”

  “Except this isn’t happening three out of ten times. That demon’s controlling it completely. It’s almost as if his biological makeup was designed to access those parts of qi that we cannot. Like the lightning demon for instance.”

  “Whatever it is, he’s killing us.”

  A sibilating noise infected the air, travelling across the terrain at an alarming rate. It reminded Baneyon of a live wire being submerged in water. He wasn’t far off the mark. Both he and Raimus turned to see a dark ash cloud racing towards them, growing larger. Nearly the size of a football field, the cloud flashed erratically, hanging low off the ground.

  Baneyon paled. “Our demon combined his ash with the lightning from the other demon. When did they do it?”

  But when was not the problem. There were more pressing issues at hand. The cloud of ash and lightning suddenly expanded, and it became obvious what the demons had in mind. They intended to trap everyone under the cloud.

  Quempa, Lady Fless, Kalum, and L-Master Ana were still on the ground so were caught beneath it. They were running, but they were hindered by the third demon, who was slashing at them. Lady Fless was able to shield off the attacks, but it was becoming clear that she was tiring.

  “We need to help them,” said Baneyon.

  “We need to help ourselves,” replied Raimus. “We’re surrounded.”

  Baneyon looked up and swore. The lightning-ash cloud was now over them, and Baneyon’s efforts to expel the cloud with a mini typhoon were useless. He and Raimus were forced to descend to the ground. The Imeldors would not have believed what happened next if they had not seen it with their own eyes. The edges of the cloud reached down suddenly, sealing everyone off from the outside world. They were trapped in a cloud dome of ash and lightning.

  Inside the dome, they were faced with another danger. Some of the dratkaars had also been trapped. Freaked out by the cloud phenomenon, they became even more hostile. Their growls rivalled the sibilating sound of the lightning-ash dome. Baneyon gulped.

  “Raimus, if you have any qi left in you, now would be a good time to dig a tunnel out of here.”

  “I’m working on it!” Raimus said quickly.

  “Baneyon! Raimus!” Lady Fless and Kalum reached them, supporting a very weak L-Master Ana. Quempa also appeared, running past Baneyon to help Raimus with the tunnels.

  “Cover us while we work here!” he ordered.

  The ground around them caved in, and most of the dratkaars fell through, yelping in surprise. As quickly as the dogs had disappeared, the ground closed up.

  “Hey, Quempa, I hate to question you, being the leader and all for this mission, but aren’t you supposed to weave a getaway for us, not the dogs? Whose side are you on?” barked Baneyon.

  “That wasn’t us,” said Raimus.

  “Indeed it wasn’t,” called out another voice. Despite being trapped in the dome without natural light, the lightning that coursed through the cloud provided enough visibility for the Imeldors to distinguish Meldogan and Nashim walking towards them. Another form blurred past them; they turned to see that a third demon had joined them.

  Of the three demons, Baneyon thought that Meldogan appeared the most regal, with his long braid and graceful stride. Nashim appeared the most brutal, psychotic even, with the mask covering half his face. The third demon differed vastly from Meldogan and Nashim, possessing an elongated head, and slender limbs to match.

  “That skinny bastard is Eera,” mutte
red Lady Fless. “Beware, he teleports over short distances.”

  The demons stopped about ten metres from the Imeldors, and Meldogan stepped forwards. He pointed at Baneyon.

  “Hand the pendant over,” he snarled.

  “What makes you think I have it?” Baneyon replied, feigning nonchalance.

  Meldogan’s finger travelled from Baneyon’s face down to his gaten. All eyes swivelled to Baneyon’s groin area. A patch of light shone dully through the material.

  “With that much power between your legs I’m surprised you didn’t notice it, Baneyon,” said Quempa, slightly annoyed that his friend had gotten careless with the pendant, thus allowing the demons to see it.

  “Well, he could be forgiven, Quempa. The colour is rather dull and uninteresting,” added Kalum.

  “I don’t know about you lot, but I was expecting to see a wormhole!” said Raimus. “I can’t say I’m not disappointed.”

  Baneyon scowled, peeved at their less than constructive comments, and that they would pick this time to jest. Not to mention, he had a very ancient and powerful pendant hidden beneath his gaten that had somehow activated. Parts of him no longer felt safe, and he could only guess the pendant had reacted to the dark qi around it, emitted from the demons.

  He quickly unhooked the pendant from the inside of his belt and pulled. It gleamed in the flickering darkness. Almost immediately, it began to tug away from him as one of the demons tried to grab it. Baneyon held on to it tightly.

  Swirls of ash rose around them, so it was almost impossible to see. Quempa swore. He removed a tiny round object from his sleeve and threw it on the ground. It smashed open and the area was lit by a steady blue glow.

  “The ash is everywhere!” L-Master Ana cried out.

  It started to encroach on their feet, and Quempa immediately wove thick dust clouds from the ground to try to slow its progress. The idea was to coat the ash particles and weigh them down. Raimus moved to support him, but Quempa waved him aside.

  “Let the dogs out,” he muttered. The rest of you find a way to keep the demons on the ground. The dust can’t hold back the ash — our only chance lies with the dogs because only they can nullify the demons’ qi. And hurry, the dome is closing in fast. They mean to incinerate us to collect the pendant!