by Marnie Cate
“Thank you, Cole. I will feel much braver with your help,” I said.
A rumble came from above us and the earth began to violently shake again. The skies filled with ominous pink-gray clouds, I shuddered as it began to illuminate with streaks of light. Before I could suggest we head for cover, a large boom sounded followed by a bolt of lightning.
It struck the ground between us. The electric shock sent us flying through the air in opposite directions. My landing ended with a thud as my head cracked against the trunk of a tree, my skin stinging from the electricity. Dazed, I wrapped my arms around the trunk. Water rushed around me, forcing me to hold tighter. Cole shrieked in terror. I struggled to sit myself up to see him.
“Meg, help!”
Forcing myself to stand, I swayed as I steadied myself in the knee-high water. Blinking away the fuzziness of my vision, I scanned the area. I couldn't find Cole. What had once been a pebbled island was no longer visible. It was as if it had dropped off the earth.
“I can't see you,” I called out.
I wiped away the wetness dripping from my forehead and cringed in pain. My hand was covered in blood.
“Please, I am slipping,” Cole called.
My eyes darted around my new surroundings trying to find Cole. I could hear him but couldn't see him. What would Gram do? She would tell me to quiet my mind and listen. I tried to slow my breaths, hoping I would find him. His head popped out of the water and then once again vanished from my sight.
My heart sank. The water I was standing in was rushing over the edge. The same place Cole had just been. The lake was falling. There was no time to think. I needed to act. Running to him as fast as I could, I prayed that I wasn't too late. Cole appeared again and I could see him struggling to climb back up.
“Hold on, Cole. I'm coming,” I said.
When I was a few feet away from him, the ground shook again and I was knocked down. Cole screamed as he lost his grip and fell out of view.
“Please, help! I can't hold on much longer,” Cole cried.
“I'm coming, Cole. Just try to hang on.”
The ground was still vibrating. I was afraid any move I made would trigger another quake. Instead of trying to stand, I scooted towards him letting, the waist-high water drive me forward. When I reached him, I froze. Cole was holding onto the ledge of the newly formed waterfall. The cascade flowed down a staircase of small ledges. The drop would send him onto boulders in the thrashing waves below. A thick mist rose from the water.
“I'm here, Cole,” I called to him. I dangled my legs over the first edge. “Can you reach me?”
He leaned and immediately shook his head. The water rushing over him was pushing him. He would soon fall and I wouldn't be able to stop it. Drops of rain fell on my cheeks. I looked up, thick black and grey clouds formed overhead.
“Come on, it's starting to rain.”
My words invited the skies to release. It began to pour down on us.
“Cole Oliver Sands, you will jump to me now,” I commanded. “It is no different than climbing trees at home and swinging branch to branch.”
“I can't,” he started.
“There is no time to be a baby. Jump now!”
Cole closed his eyes and leapt. When I felt his arms wrapping around my calves, I gave a sigh of relief. The rain poured harder and Cole began to slide. My hands grazed his skin but he slipped off me.
Cole's blue eyes grew wide. His face filled with terror. I watched him fall. I watched in horror unable to help him. Another bolt of lightning struck nearby. The ledge crumbled underneath me. Grabbing for anything to stop my fall, my fingers dug into the wall. The soil and rocks were too wet. I couldn't maintain a connection for more than a few seconds. With nothing else to hold onto, I let myself fall, too.
Chapter 43
Splash. The water knocked the air out of me. I flailed and kicked my arms, trying to stop my body from being propelled deeper into the watery abyss.
Mara grabbed me. Pulling me into her arms, she said, “You can do it, little dancer. Just kick, kick, kick.”
“I can't, Mara. It's not working.” I sunk deeper and deeper. The light dimmed. Voices surrounded me blocking out my own thoughts and memories.
Give up. No one will miss you. You're not strong enough to be the Winter.
They were right. I was weak and should just let go. My body went limp with the defeat. I closed my eyes. Something grabbed my ankle dragging me, pulling me deeper and deeper into the darkness. I saw a small light. A tiny flicker of hope.
No, I am not giving up.
Kicking my legs, I tried to free myself. It gripped me tighter. My lungs burned with the pain of no air and I forced myself to resist trying to breathe. When I thought it was too late, something grabbed my hand and pulled me to the surface. I broke above the water, gasping for air.
“I've got you, Meg,” Cole said. He weaved his arms under mine and began swimming with me. “Don't struggle or we will both drown.”
I let Cole drag me through the water. He was such a small boy in this form – no more than eight or nine but he felt much stronger.
“You should be able to stand now.” He released the hold he had on me.
He was right. The water was shallow enough but my legs felt like jelly.
“Come on, we are almost there,” he said.
Cole held my hand and led me towards a grassy bank. When we reached land, I collapsed. Digging my fingers into the blades, I called my magic, letting it restore me.
“I thought you were gone,” I said, sitting up.
“I am a good swimmer. Water is… water was my element.” Cole sat next to me. “You scared me. I thought I lost you. Why didn't you try to swim?”
“It felt easier to give up,” I said.
“It was them,” Cole scowled.
“Ladarsha?”
“No, not her but one of her kind. The others are scarier. She pretends to be someone nice at least.”
“There are more of them?”
“A lot more.” Cole shivered.
“How do you know all of this?”
“They used to talk to us when he was inside us. They tried to convince us to follow them,” he said.
“Who?”
“The Shah when he was inside of us. They wanted us to come to them,” Cole said.
“You're wrong. It was Snowystra,” I said.
“No, she was scared of them. She brought us there for them,” Cole said.
“How do you know this?”
“She told us,” Cole frowned.
“Wait, so the Shah was never Cole… never you, I mean?”
“No, it was alive in us, like a monster. I don't want it to come back. It scares me.”
“He can't come back. Your magic has been removed. There is nothing left for the Shah to come through,” I said. “Can you show me the book?”
“You don't want to read it. They will get into your mind too,” he whispered.
“I need to know who we are fighting against. What all of this means,” I insisted.
Looking around he said, “The Mrak. It is the darkness.”
There were so many things I did not understand. What was the Mrak? I needed to know more. I needed to protect my family.
“Come on,” I said, standing up. “We need to go to Kinema.”
Cole threw his arms around me tightly. “I really thought I lost you, Meg.”
Releasing his hold, I saw his blue eyes were filled with tears. “But, you didn't. Oh, you're bleeding,” I said, wiping the blood off his cheek.
“No, I am not. It's your blood. You're a mess,” he said, pointing at my head.
“Oh, that is just a little scratch,” I said, dismissing his concern.
“No, we need to get something to clean you up and heal the cuts.”
“No, really I am fine. It is just my soul,” I said.
“It doesn't hurt like just a soul, does it?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at me.
I couldn't lie to h
im and say I wasn't in pain. “No, it does hurt like my body would if injured but we need to keep moving forward. We need to figure out how to get over the falls,” I said. “There has to be a way down. So, let me think.”
Kinema sent me back to Cole. She wanted me to save him. I had to find a way to convince him to return to his body.
“Over there,” Cole insisted. “That is where we need to go to clean you up.”
“No, that is going in the wrong direction,” I said.
“We need to focus on the important things first and that is to fix you,” Cole said. “You don't want to be in pain. It will call them.”
Raising my eyebrows at him, I relented. “Ok, but we need to be quick.”
We sloshed through the water until we reached the shoreline of soft grass.
“Look over there!” Cole said. “Just what we need.”
Dragging me quickly through trees, he stopped at a pink and lavender bush. Picking the petals, he said, “Chew these and then rub the paste on your wounds.”
When, I hesitated, he said, “Trust me. You will be healed in no time.”
The sweet flavored petals warmed in my mouth. Spitting it into my hand, I rubbed the tincture on my feet. The warm sensation continued and then began to burn.
“It stings.”
“But only for a minute,” he smirked. “Who's the baby now?”
“How do you know about this kind of stuff?” I asked.
“Someone taught me how to do this. She was nice,” he said, looking away.
“Who taught you, Cole?” I asked, touching his hand.
“It was Gram… I mean Mae,” he said. “I don't have a grandmother of my own but she was like one. I couldn't help her though.”
“Cole is that why you're hiding here?” I asked softly.
“I am not hiding. He gives up too easy and loses everything. He didn't save Mommy. He didn't save Gram. He followed her into the Winter and made Mara cry. Why would I want to go back there? He is too weak to save anyone.”
“You're wrong, Cole. He needs you. You're mad about things that you had no control over. Sarah and Gram died and it was sad. What would they say to you? They would say you did your best. Snowystra was bad and there was no way to stop her. Bad things happen. It is time for you to return.”
“No!” he screamed. “He gave up our Water. He didn't even fight. I would have slapped that old man hard and told him that it was my water. He cried like a baby and let them take it.”
“You know that is not what happened,” I said, rubbing more of the mashed flowers on my forehead.
He grew silent. There was no point in arguing with him. Cole had to come to grips with the pain he felt on his own.
* * *
Cole and I walked to the edge of the forest and found ourselves at the entrance to the winter wonderland. Snowbanks extended for miles and miles.
“We can't go there,” Cole said. “We will freeze to death.”
“No, we won't. We will think warm thoughts,” I said “But if by chance we do freeze, we will freeze together.”
“Not helpful,” he said, scowling.
“Wait, snow is just frozen water. Can't you tell the snow to part for us?” I asked.
“Maybe,” Cole said.
“Well then bend down and talk to it.”
“Water,” he said. “Please clear a path for us.”
The frosty powder in front of us began to melt, forming a blue path.
“It worked,” he said excitedly.
We walked deeper into the wintery area. Around us, snow covered trees appeared. Rabbits hopped past us. Birds flew above. Even in the cold, life surrounded me. It was so peaceful here. The Earth was resting and when the Winter thawed, there would be new life all around.
“Have you thought anymore about going back?” I asked Cole.
“No. I told you, I am never going back. He doesn't need me,” he snapped
“You're wrong. He does need you. Without you, there is not a Cole. This is so weird talking to a piece of someone's soul. Don't you think? You're Cole. You need to return to complete yourself,” I said.
“Not anymore.”
“Ok, I won't mention it again.”
“Good,” he said.
“Even though you're wrong,” I said under my breath.
He glared at me.
After we walked in silence for a few minutes, I said, “It is nice being older than you.”
“You're not.”
I tousled his hair. “Yeah, I am. The Cole at home is an adult. You have decided you are separate so you are still a child. One who is clearly younger than me.”
Wrinkling his brow, he said, “I just look younger.”
“Oh Cole, you're younger.”
Suddenly, we halted as a young woman stepped on the path in front of us.
“Mara?” I whispered.
“Hello, sister.”
Chapter 44
On the path in front of us, Mara stood. Mara was not the healthy pregnant woman I had last seen. The person before me resembled my sister when she had returned from Snowstrum. She was shockingly thin and pale.
“Mara, what are you doing here?” I asked. “You look—”
“What do I look like, Meg?” she asked coolly. “Are you not happy with my appearance?”
“No, it's just you look different.”
Different was an understatement. With her tight black leather pants and burgundy halter top, she looked like the cold woman my mother had turned into. Her upper arm had a snake cuff. The silver chain around her neck held a large spider made of diamonds. The eight legs sparkled with light green gems.
“I'm just surprised to see you here. Is everything ok?”
“No, Meg. Everything is not ok,” she spat the words at me. “You're trying to take the Winter away from my child. You're trying to take it away from me.”
“But, I-I-I am not taking anything. I promise. I just… I….”
“I know your plans to steal the Winter. I am the only Vizier. I am the Winter!” she screeched. Her hazel eyes narrowed. I could feel the hatred she had for me. “My kingdom will be restored.”
“But everyone is gone from your kingdom,” I said.
“I will rebuild. Not with leftover children of Faramond with no power. I will collect my own. I will raise my own family.”
“What about Cole, Mara?”
“What about Cole? He will rule with me,” she said.
Cole stepped out from behind me. Mara glared at him.
“What is this? Picking up more helpless strays, Meg?” She threw her head back and laughed. “Isn't that what you do? How predictable. You always have to help the weak and broken.”
“Yes, I found this strange boy who I have never seen before,” I said.
She looked Cole up and down again before dismissing him.
“Yeah, you haven't seen him before have you, Ladarsha?” I asked.
“What did you call me?”
“You heard me. You're not my sister. If you were her, you would know. I know you're not my sister and you have no power here,” I said.
“I have no power, little sister?”
She motioned to the forest. A green dot moved quickly towards us. As it grew closer, I lost my confidence. Silver eyes glowed as a metallic green spider charged at us. Its silver spiked legs smashed into the snow.
I recalled Mara's stories of the spiders used to fuel Snowystra's power. Dorcha.
Cole hid behind me again.
“If you don't hurt it, it won't hurt you, Meg,” Gram whispered in my ear.
The spider stopped in front of me, baring its fangs. I held my hand out to it. “What a pretty spider you are.”
I held my breath as it considered my offering. Like a cat, the dorcha began to rub against me. Examining the metallic fur of the creature, I decided the back was the safest place to pet.
“You're such a nice spider,” I said.
Cole peeked out from behind me.
“Don't be
afraid,” I said to him. “Come pet the dorcha spider. It is very friendly.”
The spider began to rub against Cole, knocking him over. Cole giggled.
“No!” Mara screamed. “I commanded you to attack.”
“You're really trying too hard to convince me you're someone you're not,” I laughed. “By the way, it looks like you are leaking oil.”
There was a black pool of liquid underneath her and the glamour she had created of Mara shimmered.
“Go now, Ladarsha. I don't want to do something unkind,” I said. “Thank you for calling a new friend for me. You know you can never have enough allies.”
Throwing her head back, she let out a piercing scream and melted. The black oil-like residue absorbed into the ground.
“That wasn't Mara, right?” Cole whispered.
“No way. If that had been her, you would have known.”
“How did you know it wasn't her?” Cole asked.
“Mara would have known who you were instantly,” I said. “If there is anyone in the world that Mara would know, Cole, it would be you. She has loved you since she was a child. You grew up together. No matter how angry or crazy she was being, she would always know you. She will always be connected to you.”
Cole opened his mouth to speak but then clamped his mouth shut tight.
“Now that nonsense is over, let's continue on. I have a decision to make,” I said. “And you're going to help me get there, right?”
“Yeah, I will help you,” he said, fidgeting.
A smile formed in the corner of my mouth. Talking about Mara had stirred something in Cole. I hoped this meant he was closer to being ready to go home. Turning to the dorcha spider, I patted it.
“Goodbye. We have to go now.”
We walked once again down the path. When we first started, the trees around us were heavy with snow; some even had long icicles hanging from them. The forest in the distance and around us had less snow. I wondered what was ahead. Would there still be snow?
Click click click.
I turned around. The dorcha was following us. “No, you can't come with us. Go back to the snow,” I said. “Just ignore it, Cole.”
We continued walking and the clicks of the spider continued. The spider was almost touching me.
“You're not going to give up, are you? You win. You win. Come with us but we are leaving the Winter soon,” I said.