Stormfront

by John Goode

  Though I was loath to admit it, that question had wandered through my mind more than once.

  “She was presented as a gift, which of course the Crystal Court accepted. At the time they were being courted by us and the Gnome King to see which side they would join. You see, not to accept would be seen by me as an insult and a warning that possibly they were going to assist the Gnome King. They took Molly in without question.”

  “She was a spy?” I asked, voicing the tamest of my fears.

  “Well, of course she was. After all, being a gift was her cover.”

  I was confused, but I didn’t show it. Wolf’s smug tone had irritated me to the breaking point. It didn’t seem to notice and continued its explanation.

  “The Crystal Court accepted her because they didn’t want to offend anyone, but they had to have known she would be observing them. So they simply moved her to a location where she couldn’t be party to any sensitive intelligence, and to them her threat was contained. But I assure you, Molly here is much more than a spy.”

  Out of sheer frustration I tested my bonds again. And felt something give. Just a tiny bit, but the movement was real.

  “Molly was designed to be a long-term operative. She was intended to be inserted into the Crystal Court, observe their routines and daily life, and then she was programmed to murder their leader.”

  “Adamas? Molly was made to kill Adamas? She’s been there hundreds of years. If what you’re saying is true, then why has it taken so long?”

  Wolf stopped at the last rune. “That was what I was trying to ascertain when that thing brought you to me. When I saw you, I knew I finally had a chance to be free of that lumbering fool.”

  “You had that chance! You’re free, why do you have me locked up?”

  “Because Molly needs to finish her job, and you’d do anything to protect her from me…. I’ve already dispatched the Gnome King. With the Crystal Court gone, the entire realm is mine to control and from there, the Nine Realms.”

  It hit me: this thing, not the creature, was the real monster.

  “Why would you want to rule the realms?” I asked, trying again to distract him.

  “Because I want to live forever, and to do that I am going to need a body. Since bodies wear out, I’ll need spare parts. My brother tried to keep me locked up down here in this ineffectual shell, but soon I will be free, free to put my mind into any body I want.”

  “It was trying to stop you,” I stated, already knowing the answer.

  “Yes. How does it feel to know you helped finally kill it?”

  To be honest it made me furious.

  “Release Molly and I won’t kill you.”

  The cylinder paused and turned to look at me. “You’re honestly going to threaten me? Strapped to a table?”

  “Whatever you’ve done to her, stop it, and I won’t end your life.”

  “You don’t understand. I have done nothing. This is who she is. And in a few moments, I am going to teleport her to wherever the head of the Crystal Court is. Once there, she will do what she was designed for. And there is nothing you can do about it, barbarian.”

  In a quiet voice I said, “May Logos have mercy on your soul.”

  “Who—?” Wolf’s voice stopped, and a cacophony of noises issued from the brass grill that made up its face. Through the noise words faded in like a drowning man coming up for air and out as he sank back underwater. I heard “help” and “please” and “stop.”

  I ignored all of them and continued to drop the temperature in the glass dome that made up his head and protected his brain. Panels flew open on his mechanical body, arms and metal pieces flared to life as he lost control of it. The noise became a scream as the dome cracked from the temperature change. He jerked back off his wheels and slammed into one of the runes.

  The circle flared to life as the preset spell activated.

  Again I tried to free myself, but I was too late. The light increased until I was blind, and the sound of magical energies filled the chamber. I heard rushing air and a loud slam.

  And then nothing.

  By the time my vision returned, I already knew what I would see. Wolf’s mechanical body lying motionless on the floor and Molly gone.

  This time I froze the table itself. It took a few minutes but eventually it collapsed under the ice’s weight and I could pull out the straps’ locking bolts. I was freed, but I was too late. Molly was gone and the portal had closed. I walked around the room looking for an obvious door, but like the rest of the workshop, it had been designed to be a seamless part of the wall, and even if I’d found it, I doubted I could have opened it.

  Trapped was the word that kept coming to mind. I don’t do well with “trapped.”

  I knew my ice wouldn’t work unless I discovered a fault in the apparently smooth walls, so I attempted to pry up the panel nearest the dark, silent circle. But just like everything else, the panel was made to last. I had known that from the beginning.

  All I could think of was Molly being sent somewhere to do something completely alien to her. Bashing walls and icing up impervious panels couldn’t work. I knew that. Molly couldn’t overcome the command Wolf had put into her mind again. I knew that too.

  I needed a miracle.

  Kneeling, I closed my eyes and calmed my frantic worries, concentrating on Logos. Before he set foot on the Stepping Stone, Logos spent time giving the Frigus daily prayers to strengthen us and remind us of our gifts and responsibilities. Over my lifetime, I have recited many of them frequently and never failed to greet and end the day without reciting the two prayers given to us for that purpose.

  As I knelt there in the silence, however, I found that words failed me. I wasn’t giving thanks to him and all that he gives us; I wasn’t asking for his protection against the evils that weigh upon our souls every day. This was me asking for help, asking for him to intervene, asking him to save me so I could save Molly. I said nothing, because the need was larger than any words I could have uttered. All I had was the naked need to save Molly and my unyielding faith that his way was the best way. The world faded away.

  When I returned to myself and felt nothing, saw only the room as it had been, I realized I had taken the wrong path to reach Logos. He was the source of my powers, which were the only way I would be able to escape. I pleaded silently with Logos, the Source of all things to let me use them to free myself and save Molly. Help me, save me, hear my tiny voice in the clamor of a deafening world.

  The answer I received was not the one I was expecting.

  “I do appreciate the effort, but you don’t need to kneel to me.”

  Stunned, I shot a look upward. Olim was standing in front of me.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, clambering to my feet as quickly as I could.

  “What do you think? You called, I came.” She looked around the room with distaste; the remains of Wolf’s dome had begun to thaw.

  “I didn’t call you. I was praying to Logos.”

  “No,” she countered as she walked slowly around the debris. “You called out to the source of your power, and that source is me.” She looked up at me. “I tried to tell you before, but you wouldn’t listen.”

  I wanted to argue with her. I wanted to scream at her. Honestly I wanted to punch her face, but I didn’t have time. Molly didn’t have time.

  “Something is wrong with Molly. She’s going to kill Adamas.”

  “That’s…,” she began to say and then stopped. “I was going to say that’s ridiculous, but with everything that has happened, I should just shut up and believe you. Hold on a second while I try to contact the Woogie.”

  “Why can’t you just teleport me out yourself, and what is a Woogie?”

  She gave me a withering stare. “Because I’m not here. I am a projection brought forth as a result of your prayer and… forget about the Woogie. You’ll meet him soon enough.”

  I had a thousand questions, but if something called Woogie got me to Molly before she
killed Adamas, the questions could wait.

  Seconds later a portal opened up, and on the other side was a very small dragon. “You must be Ferra.”

  “The Woogie?” I asked cautiously.

  “Well, if I’m someone else, I need to change the name on my underwear.”

  I paused. “What’s underwear?”

  The small creature sighed. “I was so much funnier when people understood what I was talking about.” He realized I was gaping, motionless, and snapped, “Well, come through if you’re coming through.” I glanced over my shoulder, but Olim was nowhere to be seen. “She didn’t need you distracting her, you know,” the dragon grumbled. I started to ask why, but it glowered and narrowed its eyes. I walked to the portal and stepped through.

  My ears popped as soon as I reached what I assumed was my destination.

  “Where am I?” I asked, looking around a strange throne room.

  “Arcadia. And now you’re off to the Wolflands. Though I believe they are going to have to find a new name for that place.” Another confused look, and he shook his head. “Why do I even bother? Here.”

  Another portal opened up onto what looked like a cloud.

  “It’s perfectly safe,” he assured me.

  Saying a prayer to Logos, I stepped through and half expected to fall to however far away the ground below me was. Instead I found Hawk with his hands out protecting Molly, who was on her knees, from a dozen gems intent on hurting someone.

  “Stand down now,” he ordered.

  “Move aside! It killed the king!” one of the gems exclaimed.

  I felt my stomach sour but strode over to join Hawk. “Back away from the girl,” I growled.

  “How did you get here?” Hawk asked, never taking his eyes off the gems.

  “Olim. Don’t ask.”

  “Both of you stand aside. We are taking the machine into custody.”

  A pale-blueish gem I had not spoken to before had said the words. It glowed with magical power and seemed to hold itself as some kind of authority, so I spoke to it. “Tell your people to stand down, Molly is not going anywhere with you.”

  “I won’t say it again,” she threatened.

  “No, you won’t,” I promised.

  And as one the gems fell from the sky encased in ice.

  “That won’t hold them,” I said to Hawk.

  “Help me find Caerus. She dropped somewhere in this damned cloud, and I can’t find her. She’s the only one they will listen to.”

  “Ferra… I think I made a mistake,” Molly said, her voice shaking with fear.

  I knelt down and took her hands. “No, you didn’t. You were used. The people who used you are dead now.”

  “I think I killed Adamas.” Her fear showed in her voice and the trembling of her hands. Gently, I pulled her into my arms and held her against me.

  “It wasn’t you,” I assured her.

  The first amber broke free of the ice.

  “We need to find her!” Hawk called out.

  Ignoring the thawing gems, I looked to where Hawk was searching and said, “Stand back.” He saw my eyes go white and jumped back as I engulfed the area with a freezing blast of air.

  “What does that do?” he yelled at me as more gems broke free.

  “Gems absorb heat differently,” I said, looking at the area with my power. Sure enough, the air around Caerus was much colder than she was. To my eyes she stood out like she was glowing. There was a burst of energy and the last of my ice shattered behind me.

  Leaping forward, I scooped Caerus up and turned around to face the gems.

  “She has the princess!” one of the ambers cried out.

  “She’s holding her hostage!” another exclaimed.

  Under my breath I muttered, “Oh for Logos’s sake.” And then louder, I said, “I am not holding anyone hostage. I am telling you to calm down before you do something rash.”

  “She killed the king!” one of the gems screamed.

  “She wasn’t in her right mind!” I shouted back.

  “I killed someone?” Molly asked in a timid voice.

  “Move aside or die with her,” the aqua-colored gem ordered.

  There was no way we could take all of these gems. I simply closed my eyes and prayed to Logos for help.

  “Beryl, what are you doing?”

  Opening my eyes, I could see a dull glow inside Caerus.

  “Princess, your father has been killed.”

  I watched as the sapphire floated upward a couple of inches. “How?”

  “They said I did it,” Molly said, walking a step forward. “I don’t remember, but I can’t imagine they would lie about that.”

  “If she killed my father, she saved all our lives. Or did you not notice he was out of control? He almost shattered me with that blast.” Caerus sounded infinitely tired and sad, but with every passing second, her color improved.

  “I have… what’s left of him,” Hawk whispered respectfully. In his hands he held the shattered pieces of Adamas.

  The aquamarine gem flew forward. “The machine must be punished.”

  “Beryl, you overstep yourself! My father is dead and my brother is away, which means that I am the Crystal Court. Nothing is to happen to Molly unless I say so. Is that understood?”

  If there had been any doubt in my mind that Caerus was the diamond’s daughter, they were dispelled by the tone of her voice. When the gem didn’t answer, she added, “I asked you a question.”

  The aquamarine bobbed once, their version of bowing. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “I need this beanstalk guarded. Set up a contingent here. The rest of you are with me.” The gems all began to move, and Caerus called out, “Beryl?” The gem paused. “Please find a container for my father until we can get him back home.”

  Another bob and the gem flew to rejoin the others.

  Caerus turned to us. “Whoever couldn’t have missed the fact that we’re here. I’m expecting a fight.”

  “Caerus, I am so sorry,” Hawk said, looking like he was about to throw up.

  “There will be time for that later.” Sadness lay just under the surface of her words; however, as she had said to Beryl, Caerus was the Crystal Court, and she behaved as she had been taught over the centuries. Voice firmer, she summed up the situation. “Right now we need to rescue your mother and then get to Kane. That was my father’s mission and damned if I don’t finish for him.”

  Beryl floated over with a small glowing sphere. When she stopped, the top of it faded away. “We can put him in here.”

  Hawk carefully emptied his hands into the sphere, making sure every single piece made it inside. Once he was done, the top reformed, making it a perfect sphere again.

  Caerus looked at Beryl. “Take that back to the Crystal Court but tell no one what has happened. I can’t even imagine Lates if he found out like this.” She paused, obviously struggling with her emotions. “Tell the guards to lock down the Court. No one in or out unless they know the royal frequency.”

  I had to ask. “You expect trouble?”

  “Always,” she said grimly. Then, to the other gem she added, “Get Lates to a safe room, make an excuse. Tell him its functionality needs to be checked. I don’t want him out in the open until we get back.”

  Beryl bobbed again and then took off down the beanstalk.

  “She’s not taking the portal?” Hawk asked.

  “We can shift to the Court whenever we want, but it has to be through the ground. It will be quicker if she just goes down.”

  There was an odd sound behind us, like someone was running a nail across a metal plate again and again. When we turned we found Molly standing there, shaking, her head, moving as if she were crying, and bobbing in time with what sounded like a person crying….

  Molly was crying.

  Of course Tinker and… of course those two monsters didn’t build her with tear ducts, so all she could do was make this horrifying noise to show she was sad. Without a moment’s hesitation I knelt
down and pulled her into an embrace. “It’s all right, it’s all right… shhh… it’s all right now.”

  “N-no it’s not. I killed someone.”

  “That wasn’t you,” I said, looking her in the eyes. “This is you, kind and caring and horrified at the thought of hurting someone. This is you, not that.”

  “How do you know?” she asked. Her entire stance screamed uncertainty.

  “Because! Look at you! You’re so broken up over something you had no control over you can barely move. This is the real you, the you that matters. I know because I have faith in you, Molly. I have faith in your soul and in your heart.”

  “How do you know I have either?”

  It was a good question, and I only had one answer.

  “Because I couldn’t love someone without both.”

  And I kissed her.

  Slowly, a small part at a time, she relaxed and kissed me back.

  After a few seconds, I heard a quiet “We are on a time schedule” from Caerus.

  Moving back, I looked at Molly and asked, “You ready?”

  She nodded and smiled.

  “Lead the way,” I said.

  We walked into the massive castle, obviously built for giants instead of people like us. The effect was disorientating to say the least. I am a tall woman, even by my people’s standards, but I felt like a flea walking through the massive doorway. It was not a feeling I wanted to repeat.

  Hawk nudged me and asked, “Can you make me a weapon?”

  I noticed for the first time he did not have his Soul Blade on him. At first glance that hadn’t meant anything, since I knew he could summon it from nothing. However, him asking for another weapon meant I hadn’t been paying enough attention to what had been happening around me. From the look on his face I could tell it was not a story he wanted to tell. Instead of asking, I fashioned a facsimile of his blade out of the densest ice I could and handed it to him.