by Alan Skinner
Earlier that morning, from her hiding place on the slope of the mountain at the western side of the snowfield, she had watched them appear at the crest of the ridge. They were later than she had anticipated, and it had puzzled her that there was one missing. She had scanned the companions. The pompous little Beadle must have stayed behind. ‘No matter,’ she had scoffed. ‘He would be easy to deal with.’ She laughed to herself and gave Brian’s arm a sharp tug that sent him sprawling again. She was so very right; he was. Just like all his kind.
The travellers had stood at the crest and looked out over the wide expanse of the mottled snowfield; a wide expanse of white dotted with patches of blue. They had started to descend from the ridge onto the snowfield, the great bear pulling the sledge. Amelia didn’t move. She had made her preparations. All she had to do was wait. And watch …
*
Miniver barely felt the sledge. The surface of the snowfield was smooth and even; its coating of snow light and soft, with a thin icy crust that made the sledge glide without effort. Occasionally, in places where the snow was softer or the icy crust hadn’t formed, she could feel the runners bite, but her momentum carried her forward without pause. She resisted the urge to run. It seemed easy now, but she knew it would be harder once they had the ice. She would need all her strength.
From the moment they descended the ridge, Crimson felt the voiceless calling grow stronger. The sense of connection, that strange pull that had been in her head since they crossed the river, grew stronger. She was sure that whatever called to her was near.
As they made for the peak, they could see why the ice would periodically shake loose from the mountain and tumble to the snowfield. From the field to the line of the ice it was no more than ten metres but the mountain rose almost vertically from field to ice. No snow clung to its steep face. Here and there, blue icicles, like long, sapphire tears, pointed downwards from overhanging rocks and small outcrops but the face was too sheer to hold even the lightest wisps of snow.
Halfway across the snowfield they stopped for a brief rest. A cold wind had begun to blow from the mountain due north; the highest mountain of all the High Mountains. Dot foraged in one of the packs and retrieved a piece of dried fish for Miniver.
‘Thank you, Dot,’ growled Miniver and she swallowed the snack in a single gulp.
‘You’re welcome,’ replied Dot.
Miniver cocked her head and looked quizzically at the young girl.
Dot laughed. ‘No, I didn’t understand but it wasn’t hard to figure out what you said,’ she said, stroking Miniver’s flank. ‘It’s not just words that speak to us.’
The others stood and looked at the sheer face of the blue peak.
‘Well, we won’t be going up that way,’ said Copper. ‘Even without the sledge, we’d never climb it.’
‘We’ll go up the snowfield to the ridge that runs from that big mountain. It seems to lead to the top of the peak on the other side,’ decided Grunge.
‘And if not?’ asked Copper. ‘How do we get the ice if we can’t climb up there?’
Nothing was going to dampen Grunge’s spirits. They had come this far and they would get the blue ice. ‘Well, we could wait until it falls on us,’ he answered cheerfully.
‘No point in just standing here discussing what if,’ said Aunt Mag. ‘Let’s go and have a look.’
Dot was standing next to Miniver, waiting for the others to decide. She glanced over at Crimson, who had an uneasy, watchful look on her face.
‘Are you all right, Crimson?’ Dot asked.
The question caught the attention of the others. As one they turned to look at Crimson.
‘That feeling is stronger out here. It’s not the feeling of someone but something,’ Crimson replied. ‘It doesn’t feel threatening, exactly. It’s just … here.’
‘Well, the sooner we get the ice and get back to camp, the better,’ said Aunt Mag in her no-nonsense voice. ‘And that wind is getting stronger. I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re in for some snow later.’
Grunge glanced at the sky. It was still bright and clear, unmarred by clouds except for a small wisp of white hovering above the western horizon.
They set off again across the ivory-white field. The destination that they had risked so much to reach loomed directly in front of them, a tower of rock and blue ice in the highest reaches of the Land.
*
Amelia watched the sledge slew sideways. The runners dug through the thin layer of snow she had spread over the fire rock. She had mixed just enough blue ice with the snow to keep the rock from igniting until the runners would disperse the snow and ice, exposing the rock to the air. Now the power of the blue fire would do the rest.
Miniver trudged in her harness, her thick fur keeping the chill wind at bay. Ahead of her, Crimson and Aunt Mag tramped towards the blue peak, their snow sticks helping them to stay upright on the slippery surface. Dot was at Miniver’s side, as usual, holding onto the harness and keeping up a steady stream of chatter. Grunge and Copper walked behind, their backs bent against the strengthening wind.
Miniver heard a small, sharp explosion and felt the ground tremble. The sledge lurched and tugged at her harness. She tried to adjust her stride to bring the sledge back into line but her hind legs were pulled from under her. Miniver staggered, knocking into Dot and sending the young apprentice sprawling. Clawing at the icy surface, the bear had to use all the power of her legs to get upright, then she pulled the sledge away from the fire burning the snow and white ice behind her. She could feel the tank starting to sway, threatening to overturn the sledge.
Crimson and Aunt Mag turned at the sound of the fire rock igniting. They saw tongues of blue flame shoot from the ground and Miniver struggle to control the sledge.
‘The fire rock!’ cried Crimson. ‘There’s not enough blue ice in the snow!’ She scanned the ground around her. ‘There!’ She pointed ahead where larger patches of blue dotted the snow.
Aunt Mag started to run to the sledge. She reached it and put both hands on the side of the tank to still its rocking. Grunge was already on the other side, trying to keep the sledge upright.
‘Miniver,’ yelled Aunt Mag, ‘the blue patches! Head for the blue!’
Miniver roared her assent and pulled. There were still fifty or sixty paces to the next blush of blue.
Copper ran to his apprentice. He could feel the heat of the blue fire as he raced towards her. Dot had fallen close to the blue flames and she heard the fire gather strength as it consumed the snow around it.
‘I’m OK, Copper!’ she shouted, rolling away from the flames and getting to her feet. ‘The tank! Get the tank!’
Miniver stretched out her legs and raced for the safety of the blue ice. She had only gone a few strides when she heard the runners grind on rock and the sledge was shaken as fire erupted under it. It was only Miniver’s speed that saved it. She could feel the rear of the sledge buck and then thud as it came back down and hit the ground but this time Miniver’s momentum helped her stay upright.
Grunge felt the snow burst into flame beneath him. He leapt forward just as the fierce blue flames licked his clothes. He could smell the singed fabric but he had been quick enough to prevent anything from catching alight.
‘Keep away from the flames!’ he warned the others. ‘Your clothes! Don’t let them catch fire!’
The sledge pulled away from the second fire. Each fire seemed to seek the other. The flames of the second raced towards the first, away from the sledge. Those few seconds were enough for Grunge to reach it. Copper and Aunt Mag were on the other side, preventing it from toppling that way. There was no one holding his side and the tank swayed back towards him, lifting the sledge. Just a few inches more and it would be too late to hold it.
Grunge’s hands slammed against the side of the tank. He knew he couldn’t run and hold the tank at the same time. It kept leaning down on him. In a moment, it would flip the sledge and overturn, crushing him underneath.
M
iniver could feel the tilt of the sledge. Without breaking her stride, she turned sharply in the same direction as the tilt. The sharp turn whipped the sledge back on its runners. Grunge was thrown off balance and fell, but in a trice he was on his feet again. The sledge bounced and threatened to overturn in the other direction but Copper and Aunt Mag held fast. It steadied and Miniver began a longer, shallower turn away from the flames towards the safety of the blue.
Crimson ran to help her friends. As she did, she noticed the ground between them and the blue. The snow was different. It was smooth, but softer, without the shine of an icy crust. It was as if someone had carefully swept the snow …
‘It’s a trap!’ she yelled. ‘Miniver! Stop!’
It was too late. Miniver’s momentum carried her forward. The right runner scraped rock. Free of the blue ice, the rock burst into flames. This time, Miniver was safely past. Grunge skirted the flames and ran to Crimson.
‘What is it?’ he shouted. ‘What’s happening?’
Before she could answer, they heard the sound of the runners screeching on stone again. This time, the patch of exposed rock was larger. It ignited with a greater roar. Both runners were on the rock and Miniver and the sledge were tossed into the air.
‘Miniver!’ screamed Dot.
Miniver hit the ground hard. She felt the shaft hit her wickedly on the shoulder. She roared in pain as the shoulder dislocated. Caught in the harness between the two shafts, she was helpless. Miniver struggled wildly to get free. She could feel the flames attacking the sledge. In a moment, they would be upon her.
Crimson ran to Miniver. Grunge knelt beside Copper and Aunt Mag, who lay motionless on the ground.
‘Dot, help!’ Crimson screamed, as she reached Miniver and started to unfasten the harness. Her fingers sought the buckles holding the bear in the leather straps, but the buckles had twisted round and lay under the bear. Miniver vainly tried to stand but pain shot through her shoulder and she fell back.
Even before Crimson’s cry, Dot had started running towards them. She watched in horror as the flames ate at the sledge greedily, coming closer to her friend. Then, suddenly, Dot changed direction. She hurtled towards the blue peak.
Grunge raced to Crimson, dropping to his knees beside Miniver. ‘Aunt Mag and Copper are OK. Just a little stunned,’ he said.
‘You and I will lift Miniver. Dot can undo the harness!’ Crimson shouted to him. ‘Where is she?’
Crimson and Grunge turned just as Dot sped across the white snow.
‘Dot, no!’ cried Crimson. ‘The rock! No, Dot!’
Dot ignored Crimson’s cries. Her heart was like a hammer in her chest. Every step she expected to feel the rock beneath her feet and the flames explode around her. She ran on. Just metres ahead was a large patch of blue, deeper than the others. A few long strides and she was there. She dropped to her knees and scooped a large pile of snow and blue ice into her arms. The large snowball in her arms, she turned and raced back to the sledge. She tried to retrace her tracks but she knew she was straying. She hoped it wasn’t onto the deadly rock.
Crimson and Grunge pushed their hands under Miniver, feeling blindly for the buckles. Despite the pain that racked her shoulder, Miniver tried to lift herself from the ground. She could feel the fire start to burn the shafts. The air was filled with the foul-sweet smell of singed fur.
‘Leave me!’ she roared at her friends. ‘You’ll get caught in the fire! Go!’
Neither Crimson nor Grunge acknowledged Miniver’s plea. They could no more leave her than stop being Muddles.
A large white ball flew over their heads onto the sledge. The fire crackled and hissed and steam enveloped them. The heat of the flames disappeared.
Dot had thrown the ball of snow directly onto the flames. The blue ice within the ball scattered in a wide circle, extinguishing the fire that was consuming the sledge and spraying on the rock that spouted the fire. The rock hissed its protest; its flames surged and flared for an instant, and then disappeared.
Dot sank to her knees at Miniver’s head. She grabbed Miniver’s large muzzle in her hands and pressed her face against the bear’s cheek. Huge sobs came from the young apprentice and tears streamed down her face. Miniver made a low noise in her throat. Her long pink tongue flicked from between her teeth and touched Dot’s cheek.
*
Amelia watched the havoc she had created. She felt joy tempered by frustration. Two of the companions lay still on the snow. The bear was obviously injured. ‘If it hadn’t been for that stupid girl, the bear would be out of the way completely,’ Amelia muttered to herself. It was a miracle the girl had made it. Amelia had prepared all the ground that surrounded them and even a young girl’s footsteps should have turned the area into a blue inferno.
The two figures lying still in the snow moved. Amelia cursed as they rose to their feet and staggered to the sledge. Behind them, the blue fire still burned. The fires had converged into one and a wall of flame steadily made its way towards the figures huddled around the bear. Amelia picked up a snowball lying next to her. She rose and stepped out from her hiding place onto the snowfield. She would make sure that they would not escape the flames this time.
*
Copper and Aunt Mag walked shakily to the sledge.
‘How is she?’ asked Aunt Mag.
‘She’s hurt,’ said Crimson. ‘We can’t get under her to undo the harness. We’ve got to hurry.’ She nodded towards the fire behind them. It had grown in intensity and they could feel its heat as it approached. ‘That’ll be on us in a minute.’
‘Miniver,’ said Grunge, ‘we have to lift you. I know it hurts, but we have to.’
Miniver growled. ‘You think this hurts? Try giving birth to bear cubs.’ She strained to lift herself. ‘Let’s get it over with.’
Gently, they slid their hands under her.
‘OK, gently lift when I say. Dot, when we lift, get the buckles undone.’
They nodded and slid their hands under Miniver. On the upper slope of the snowfield above them, Amelia approached.
‘Ready?’ said Grunge. ‘OK, one …’
A billow of steam from the sledge drifted across them.
*
In a cave deep in the mountain, a cloud of smoke rose from a fire that had been burning for thousands of years. The cloud drifted up, borne by eddies of heat from the fire, up to the roof of the cave and into a crack in the stone ceiling. The crack became a crevice that split the surface and the cloud was caught by the wind. It whisked upwards, straight for the bright sun in a sky of clear blue. It became silhouetted by the sun, a small cloud with outstretched wings.
*
‘… two …’
Copper, Dot and Aunt Mag watched as the Muddles shimmered, covered in a hazy, flickering glow. Their bodies blurred and shimmering haze flared briefly, then disappeared.
‘Oh, my,’ said Aunt Mag. ‘I never …’
‘By the fire!’ exclaimed Copper.
‘That’s so cool!’ said Dot.
Miniver stood. The harness hung limply around her shoulders and chest. Which, for the moment, were Eugene’s. He was a big lion, but not as broad from shoulder to shoulder as Miniver. She felt a twinge of guilt as she wondered who had her injured shoulder and hoped they weren’t in too much pain. She looked down Eugene’s sleek tan body to her grey hindquarters. Bray’s tail swished and his right hoof stamped the ground. For a donkey, Bray could be surprisingly impatient.
Grunge couldn’t help but wish that Japes had been playing her tin whistle or tambourine when he mixed. The large side drum that hung from the jester’s waist was going to be a bit awkward at the moment. And he would have to get a pair of boots to slip over Reach’s ballet shoes or the poor young ballerina would get her feet back with frostbite.
Crimson felt the bite of the snow and ice on her legs as she knelt beside Miniver. Wave’s board shorts were not really suitable for the topmost peaks of the High Mountains, she thought. With Bright’s nimble fingers she
undid the harness and Miniver stepped free of the burned sledge.
‘Is … is … that how it always happens?’ asked Aunt Mag. She had never seen the Mix before.
‘Pretty much,’ said Grunge.
‘It’s so quick!’ Aunt Mag was still awestruck.
‘By the fire!’ repeated Copper.
‘Miniver’s shoulder …’ began Dot.
A look of regret passed over Crimson’s face. ‘Yes, I hope it isn’t too painful.’
‘Do you know who …?’
Crimson shook her head. ‘No, Dot. But Miniver will still bear some of the pain. It will make it easier for the other.’
Dot nodded sombrely. She looked at Miniver, now brown, tan and grey.
‘Awesome …’ she said under her breath.
*
Bright and Professor Weevil reset Miniver’s shoulder. ‘Just dislocated,’ Bright said. Sparkle bore the ordeal bravely. Calamity had fetched help as soon as she had heard Sparkle’s squeal of pain and seen Miniver’s left foreleg hanging limply. Calamity was worried. Not just for Miniver, but for Crimson and Grunge. If Miniver was hurt, Calamity knew her friends were in trouble. And she wasn’t there to rescue them.
*
Amelia watched the Mix from the slope of the snowfield. On the river in Beadleburg, she had been too busy trying to escape to see the transformation. It fascinated and repelled her at the same time. But it offered her the opportunity she needed. The travellers were distracted and she would be able to get a little closer before she was spotted. And she only needed to be a little closer.
The fire still raged behind the group and she saw they were getting ready to move east towards the peak where the blue ice was mingled more densely with the snow. Once there, they would be safe from the fire. She had prepared one or two more areas of fire rock between them and the peak, but if luck ran their way, they would miss them. Luck, however, had no part in Amelia’s plan.