Frost: An Otherworld Tale (The Otherworld Tales Book 1)

by Chelsea Clemmons Moye

  “So,” Wynne started, not bothering to hide her curiosity, “What are movies? How do they work?”

  I shrugged, struggling to find the right words for a world that was not nearly as technologically advanced as Earth. “Movies are moving pictures.”

  “Like paintings?” Wynne’s fascination was instantaneous.

  “Some of them are drawn, but most are recordings of real people, and they have sound, too. Well, some of them do. There are silent movies, too.”

  “But, what is their purpose?” Wynne's eyes gleamed with awe and an overwhelming desire to understand.

  I shrugged, trying to come up with a decent explanation. “Entertainment, mostly. A way to suspend your disbelief for a little while and just enjoy the fiction playing out on the screen.”

  “Screen? And why aren’t they about real things?”

  I chuckled and shook my head. “Some movies are about real things. I just don’t like those, most of the time. As for the screen, it’s the device that you can view the movie on.”

  Wynne bit her lip and blushed. “I’m still not sure I understand.”

  “Wait a minute. I may have enough battery left on my iPhone to show you.”

  I pulled my iPhone out of my jeans pocket, powered it on, and handed her the earbuds. "Put the one with ’R’ on it in your right ear and the one with ’L’ on it in your left ear. Try to prepare yourself a little, because it might be a bit startling to you."

  "I’m ready." Wynne nodded, excitement at learning something about new technology shining from her blue-green eyes.

  I used tapped the TV app, and scrolled through my library to one of my favorite movies, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and pressed play. Wynne jumped a little as the sound started pouring from the earbuds, but her eyes remained focused on the tiny screen. Her fascination was more than obvious, it was palpable.

  "You like it?" I half-yelled, making sure she could hear me over the earbuds.

  "This is the most wonderful magic I’ve ever seen!" Her excited yell reverberated around the walls of the courtyard.

  I couldn’t help laughing as I took out one of the earbuds for her, so we could hear each other better. "It’s not magic, Wynne. It’s technology."

  "Technology?" She was talking to me, but her eyes remained glued to the action on the screen.

  "Yes. It runs on electricity, like lightning, but harnessed, so it’s safe. Unfortunately, I don’t have any way to recharge it so it will run out of power soon."

  Wynne bit her lip, obviously not wanting to stop watching the movie. "I am almost certain that Sam could work a spell on it to ’recharge’ it, as you say."

  My heart stuttered, and my voice was squeaky with excitement. "Really? You think he could do that?" The thought that I could have all the things that comforted me on my phone and not worry about my battery dying put a hopeful spring in my step.

  The redhead nodded enthusiastically. "He may be a cad and a bum, but he’s a very magically talented bum who’s had years of training in spell creation. I’m almost positive he can help you if you ask him, and then, perhaps, I could finish watching the movie?"

  I grinned. "If Sam can recharge it, you are more than welcome to finish watching the movie. It’s one of my favorites for a reason."

  Wynne stared at the ground as we approached the fortress doors. I hadn’t even realized, until that moment, that we’d come full circle around the entire courtyard.

  "Lauren?"

  I paused, hearing a heaviness in her tone that wasn't there before. "What is it, Wynne? You sound troubled."

  "Do you think that this ’technology’ can help save us, somehow?" She looked over at me, hope and fear mingled in her expression.

  I ran a hand through my hair and shrugged. "It might be possible, but I don’t know how it would. Not yet, anyway. Maybe I should talk to Sam about what kind of magic he’s capable of working?"

  Wynne nodded and grinned as we strode up the stairs. "It certainly couldn't hurt."

  Kieran almost bumped into us as we pushed one of the massive oak doors open and entered the hall. "Oh, good. I’ve been looking all over for you. Rolf wants to see you. He has several more things he thinks you should discuss."

  "Oh, great." I rolled my eyes. "Sounds like loads of fun." I didn't really enjoy how intimidating and authoritarian Rolf tended to be.

  Wynne started to step away from me, but Kieran held up a hand to halt her. “Rolf wants to see both of you.”

  I couldn't help noticing that Wynne’s cheeks glowed with a subtle blush, and the corners of her mouth twitched involuntarily. She nodded to Kieran and looped her arm through mine again. “Shall we?”

  I couldn’t stop myself from grimacing. “Might as well.”

  Wynne chuckled and gave my arm a friendly squeeze. “I know Rolf’s a little rough around the edges, but he’s really not as awful as he seems.”

  I grinned over at her. “That statement implies that he is kind of awful, though.”

  Wynne flushed redder and shook her head. “That’s not at all what I meant!”

  I squeezed her arm with an apologetic smile. “I was just teasing, hon. If you trust him, then I do, too.”

  Unfortunately, that was only somewhat true because my stomach was tied up in a nervous knot by the time we stopped in front of Rolf’s study door. A man I hadn’t met before appeared to be standing guard outside. He was burly and square jawed, with dark, piercing eyes that could almost have been considered black, and chocolate brown hair. A broadsword hung at his side, and he twirled a wicked looking curved dagger between deft fingers.

  Wynne shot the man a wide grin. “Good to see you back, Burns.”

  “Good to be back. It’ll be nice to sleep on something besides the ground for a change.” He paused and studied me, his eyes unreadable. He shifted his gaze back to Wynne without addressing me. “Who’s your…unusual friend?”

  I felt my cheeks turn crimson because I felt like I was being picked on, but I couldn’t think of a sufficient retort. So, I crossed my arms and stared at him in stony silence as Gabriel let out a soft warning growl from behind me. Wynne, however, didn’t hesitate to chastise him.

  “Burns! I know you spend most of your time alone, but that’s no excuse to forget your manners.”

  Burns arched a brow and shrugged, unabashed. “You know the old saying, Wynne…black of hair, black of heart.”

  Wynne snorted and shook her head. “That old saying is a load of rot, Captain Burns. Besides, I didn’t think you were the kind of man who succumbed to silly superstitions.”

  I felt a grin tugging at my lips as Wynne defended me, and it gave me the little boost I needed to work up the courage to say something to Burns for myself. “You might also consider the fact that I’m not even from this world, so your old sayings can hardly apply to me.”

  His facial expression slipped from aloof superiority to confusion, and I grinned a little wider as Rolf opened his study door.

  “Oh, good. You’re all here.” His gaze flicked to Gabriel, and he sighed. “Must the dog really join us, Lauren?”

  I leveled a firmly defiant gaze at him. “He was a gift from the Messengers. I’d prefer it if he did.”

  Rolf nodded, and Wynne and Burns looked puzzled as Rolf waved us all inside his chamber.

  Rolf closed the door and moved to his desk, nodding to Wynne, Burns, and me, each in turn. “I assume that you all realize we have quite a lot to discuss with one another?”

  “You’re bloody right, we do,” Burns growled, glaring at Rolf and me with obvious distrust. “How could you bring some black-haired wench we know nothing about into our fortress? How do you know she isn’t a spy for the queen?”

  “Hey!” I glared over at Burns and Gabriel growled, sharing my sentiment.

  Rolf held up a hand to stem whatever I’d been about to say, and my scowl deepened. Wynne ignored Rolf’s upheld hand and leaned across me, nose-to-nose with Burns.

  “Stop being so rude, you mean, bull-headed o
ld git. Lauren hasn’t wronged you in any way, so I would suggest that you shut that obnoxious, gaping maw of yours and listen to what Rolf has to say. Then you’re going to keep your trap shut and listen to what Lauren has to say. I promise if you’re rude to her again, I will poison you when you least expect it, and you’ll be sick to your stomach for a week. Got it?”

  I couldn’t stop myself from grinning as Rolf laughed aloud, and a crimson flush marched up Burns’ neck and invaded his chiseled face. Wynne leaned back with a superior expression and crossed her arms, turning her attention back to Rolf. I didn't miss the pleased flush that rushed up her neck at Rolf's amusement.

  I reached down and absently rubbed Gabriel's ears as I turned my attention to Rolf, trying to get the meeting back on track. “So, are you going to tell us why we’re all here?”

  “Yes," Rolf nodded, shuffling through a stack of parchment on the table that rested between us. "I’m sure you each have concerns you’d like to address, as Captain Burns so eloquently expressed while you were waiting outside.”

  Burns reddened and looked down at his hands, refusing to respond. Wynne chuckled and shook her head, and Rolf sighed.

  “You don’t have to like our new friend, Burns, but I would suggest that you treat her with some degree of civility because you’re going to be helping to train her. I recently found a collection of scrolls written some time ago by a dwarf seer who used to inhabit this very chamber. I believe that his later visions may have referred to Lauren.”

  “Visions,” I broke in with a frown. “What kind of visions? What do the scrolls say?”

  Rolf shot me a perturbed glance. “We’ll get to that, but first I want assurances from Captain Burns that he is going to be civil, trust my good judgment in bringing you here, and help train you for combat.”

  My anxiety level skyrocketed, and my heart rate jumped up with it. “You really think that combat training is going to be necessary? You believe it will come to that?”

  Rolf nodded. “You’ve met Sigrid and the captain of her guard. You spent time in her dungeon, and you've seen how much she distrusts humans. What do you think?”

  “You’re right,” I nodded, sighing, “Combat training is probably a good idea. What do you say, Captain?”

  He ignored me and stared at Rolf. “I give you my word that I’ll treat your guest with civility, but I won’t agree to train her until you tell us what the scrolls say. Once I’ve heard what the dwarf seer had to say, then I’ll decide whether or not I feel it wise to train the girl.”

  “You would do well to remember that we chose Rolf to lead us for a reason,” Wynne growled.

  Captain Burns glared at Wynne but didn’t respond. Rolf cleared his throat and shuffled the scrolls on his desk once again.

  “First, I’ll read you the one that made me send Kieran after the girl in the first place. I warn you, the dwarf seer’s writings are tantamount to bad poetry, but I believe the message is relevant.

  ‘Salvation will come with a lightning strike,

  A witch with hair as black as night.

  Black of hair, but pure of heart and bright,

  The stranger will come to wipe away the blight.’

  I assume you can see why I feel the way I do about our new friend now, Captain Burns?”

  I snorted and shook my head. “That was really bad poetry. Also, I’m not a witch. I just have what you might call ‘friends in high places,’ and they’re the ones who sent me here to help you.” Rolf studied me quietly and Burns shifted uncomfortably in his chair. Neither one looked like they quite believed me. “No, really. I’m not magical at all! I have some technology on my side, and some magical ladies called the Messengers who sometimes help me out. They’re the ones who sent Gabriel to me.”

  The dog wagged his tail at the sound of his name, and if I didn’t know better, I would’ve said he smiled at me. I bent down to pet him for a moment and sighed when I sat back up. Burns looked like steam was about to come out of his ears, and Wynne just looked amused by his anger. Rolf, however, was staring me down with a frown.

  “How can you not be a witch? Kieran witnessed that entrance you made himself. He said it was quite an impressive lightning strike, and that it destroyed an entire section of Sigrid’s garden. Tell me, Lauren, how can you possibly have survived that if you aren’t a witch?”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed, shaking my head. “I don’t know. My guess is that the Messengers protected me.”

  Rolf nodded and turned his gaze to Captain Burns. “So, what do you say, Burns? Will you help us train the girl or not?”

  Burns sighed and crossed his arms. “Well, I can see how the prophecy applies, so I suppose I’ll help. What do the other prophecies say?”

  Rolf shook his head. “I’m still in the process of reading them and figuring them out. I’ll let you know what the other six say after I’ve gotten it all figured out.”

  Burns, Wynne, and I all nodded, and I cleared my throat. “Let me know when you’ve got it all figured out.”

  “I will.” Rolf nodded and motioned toward the door.

  I found the gesture offensively dismissive but chose to say nothing. I whistled for Gabriel, and we left, both with rumbling stomachs. “Let’s go find something to eat, shall we?”

  10

  Tamara

  As soon as we reached the dining hall, Sam materialized beside me, as if from thin air. I cocked an eyebrow and slid a sideways glance at him. “What do you want?”

  He winced and shook his head. “I realize that I may not have made the best impression on you before—”

  “No. No, you didn’t. You made the impression that you’re a petulant, spoiled brat who’s used to getting his own way. Is that the impression you intended to make?” I crossed my arms, still mad at how rude he and Kieran had been to each other.

  “No! It’s not the impression I wanted to make at all.” He stepped in front of me, halting my progress, and I was caught off-guard by the sincere expression in his blue eyes, so similar to Kieran’s in shape, but a sharp contrast in color. “You have to believe me, I’m not usually like that. It’s just…Kieran and I have some really rough history together. I’m sorry that we made you uncomfortable. Will you please allow me to apologize? I feel terrible, and I’m very good at groveling. That’s something you learn well, growing up in Sigrid’s court.”

  “Ah,” I nodded with a sudden wave of understanding, “So that’s where the sore spot originates. Nice. Would you care to elaborate some more, or is that the only morsel I’m going to get out of you?”

  Sam bowed his head, speaking quietly and with a greater degree of respect than I had suspected him capable of, at first. “If you agree to help us, I’ll tell you everything you want to know and more.”

  “Lucky for you, I was already planning to help you guys out. But, I’m afraid I’m going to have to hold you to that promise to tell me everything I want to know.” I smiled and grabbed a plate, filling it with various vegetables and some chicken.

  Sam reddened and shook his head. “Well played, my lady. Very well played. That’s almost courtly of you.”

  I laughed out loud, shaking my head. “Courtly? Pfft. I’d imagine that learning how to navigate a royal court is nothing compared to American high school.”

  Sam's brow furrowed, and he cocked his head as he studied me. “American?”

  “Don’t worry about it. Too complicated to explain to an elf from another world that I still can’t even believe exists.”

  Sam frowned and looked offended. “You know, all this ‘witch from another world’ business isn’t exactly easy for us to digest, either.”