Blue Fire and Ice

by Alan Skinner

  She was less than fifty paces from the companions when they spotted her. She heard the bear roar a warning. They were midway between the fiery rock and the safety of the blue ice. Amelia saw the bear – or lion or donkey? – swing towards her. She brought her arm back and threw the snowball at the area directly in front of the travellers.

  Inside, a fire rock lay, its power checked by the small piece of blue ice she had pushed into the snowball. When the snowball hit the snowfield, blue ice would be thrown too far away to be able to contain the fire. And the field beneath the snow was a solid bed of fire rock. The companions would be helpless, caught between two infernos.

  The snowball hit the surface of the snowfield. The group saw a brief glow as it smashed apart. The ground where it struck erupted. With too little blue ice to suppress its fire, it ignited with a shattering roar, flames leaping into the air. Then the fire turned, and hurtled towards the companions. Amelia smiled grimly. In a few minutes they would be gone and she would be free to return to the Land to finish the job she had started.

  *

  Miniver roared her warning and turned towards the robed figure on the slope. The earth shook and fire erupted between them and the blue peak. They were caught between two fires.

  ‘We can’t go that way!’ shouted Grunge. ‘And we can’t go back!’

  To the south, the snowfield ended in a sheer cliff. They looked northward, up the slope of the field. Already flames from the two fires had started to converge in a large arc, cutting off any escape to the north. Beyond the flames on the slope, they could see a solitary lone figure, watching.

  Crimson watched the flames. That same call she had felt at Farrow’s farm came to her now. It was not quite as strong – the presence of Bright and Wave within her tempered the call – but still she felt herself moving towards the flames.

  ‘Crimson!’ Grunge’s voice seemed distant and far away. She walked slowly towards the flames.

  Grunge grabbed her shoulders and spun her round to face him. ‘Crimson, no! Keep next to me.’ She nodded. Inside, she fought against the urge. ‘Dot!’ yelled Grunge. ‘Stay with Crimson!’ The young apprentice nodded. She took Crimson’s hand in her own and clutched it tightly.

  ‘There’s no way out,’ said Copper. ‘If we go down the slope it will chase us off the cliff. Our only hope is to run through where the fire is thinnest.’

  ‘The blue fire burns hotter than other fire,’ Grunge said. ‘We’ll be running uphill and in the snow. It’s not much of a chance.’

  ‘There’s less than that if we stay here,’ said Aunt Mag.

  A sharp crack echoed across the mountains. They turned to watch as a chunk of blue ice broke off and plunged to the surface of the snowfield. Snow sprayed in a large wave and they could see pieces of blue ice spinning in the air. One piece landed amid the blue fire. The fire hissed and its flames wavered but still kept burning. The piece of ice was too small for the fierce blue fire.

  ‘Wait!’ said Copper. He watched the cap of blue ice on the peak. ‘Listen!’

  They stopped and kept silent, listening. Then they heard it. Ice scraping against ice. The faint crackle of ice shattering from within.

  ‘The ice cap is breaking! The shock waves from the explosion must have cracked it. If enough breaks off, it might be close enough to the fire,’ cried Grunge.

  ‘The ice isn’t moving,’ said Crimson. ‘It could be too late. We can’t wait!’

  Grunge looked down at Japes’s drum hanging from his waist, and the thick drum-sticks in his hand. He turned and faced the cliff. Now he would play. Play for all their lives.

  He struck the drum as hard as he could. The deep boom rolled across the snowfield and shook the blue peak. The companions could feel their bodies tremble with the reverberations of the drumbeat. Again, Grunge beat the drum, even harder this time, and again a deep boom shook the ice cap. The faint creaking grew louder.

  ‘Again, Grunge!’ yelled Crimson.

  The drum boomed across the mountains, again and again. The two fires circled them, raging relentlessly towards them. It was too late to run for it.

  The crack of ice that finally answered the drum was like a gunshot echoing across the mountain. The companions saw the ice cap split. From the edge of the cap it shattered, the lower half falling down the cliff face. It was five hundred paces from the peak to the snowfield below and the impact threw up a spray of white and blue. Crystals caught the rays of the sun and sparkled, brilliant cold gems of ice.

  The ice flew, high and far. It flew towards the companions and the fire that lay between them and the peak. It flew beyond them to the fire behind. They threw themselves on the ground as the ice rained on them, the little crystals like pinpricks on their skin. Blue ice met blue fire, and the air was filled with a swirling blue cloud. The fire spat and crackled, desperately fighting against the ice. It was an unequal struggle. The mountain had shed enough ice to turn the snowfield blue and within moments the fires had gone.

  The companions stood. They shook particles of ice from their clothes. The mist of steam dissipated in the wind and for as far as they could see the white of the snowfield was mottled with blue.

  A cry of rage carried down the slope. They turned and saw the hooded figure raise her arms in futile protest against the mountain. She glared at the group and Crimson could feel the hate and anger that flowed from her look. This time, she met the feeling with anger of her own. The pull on her wavered. It tugged, strongly for an instant, then lessened; and then it was gone. For the first time since they crossed Bourne Bridge, Crimson was free of its weight.

  The hooded figure fled back up the slope. At the crest she turned to the west and disappeared behind the mountain top.

  The sledge lay in ruins, the tank bent and the solar panel smashed beyond repair. After the elation of their escape came the despair of failure.

  ‘We’ll never bring back the blue ice now,’ said Grunge. For the first time, his optimism was missing. He had believed without doubt they would succeed.

  Copper picked up pieces of the solar panel. ‘I couldn’t fix this even with a workshop.’

  ‘We’ll have to go back and make another one. We’ll come back and get the ice next time,’ said Dot. Her pluck and determination made Crimson smile.

  ‘I’m not sure we have time, Dot. That cry sounded like someone who won’t quit. I fear that she’ll return to the Land soon and start the fires once more. It may be too late by the time we get back again.’

  ‘If we don’t have time to get the blue ice, then there’s only one other choice. We have to stop her,’ said Grunge.

  ‘I agree,’ said Copper. ‘Follow her and stop her.’

  ‘What about the sledge, Copper?’ asked Dot. ‘We can’t just leave it here.’

  ‘We’ll come back for it later. We’ve no time to lose.’

  ‘Miniver, can you catch her scent?’ asked Grunge.

  ‘Not now, but I had it before, so I can find it again.’ Miniver’s growl was certain and determined.

  Crimson’s face showed no less determination. ‘Then let’s go find her,’ she said.

  They proceeded up the slope with as much speed as possible. Bray’s hooves were not as suited to the snow as Miniver’s broad paws, but Bray’s stamina, Eugene’s heart and Miniver’s determination more than compensated. Yet, by the time they reached the point where Amelia had disappeared behind the mountain, she’d had a half-hour head start.

  The crisp white snow made it easy to follow Amelia. Her footprints led west, towards the ridge where they had made camp. Whether it had never occurred to her that they would follow, or didn’t fear them if they did, they couldn’t tell. Either way, it didn’t matter to her trackers. Without the blue ice, stopping her was their only choice.

  Behind the mountain, just before it joined the ridge, her footsteps veered towards the base of the peak and into an opening in the side of the mountain. She had stopped before entering, though for how long they couldn’t tell.

&nbs
p; They peered into the opening. Copper took a torch from his pack and shone it inside. The light revealed a cave about the size of a house. It was empty. Her scent was strong here, though, and Miniver growled and paced, anxious to catch up with their quarry.

  ‘Lead on, Copper,’ said Crimson. ‘Miniver, you follow Copper.’

  They entered, and Copper shone the light clockwise around the walls of the cave. He stopped with the light on the wall to their right, the torch beam illuminating another entrance.

  ‘A tunnel?’ said Aunt Mag, uncertainly.

  ‘Yeah,’ replied Grunge. ‘Let’s go.’

  And so Copper led them into the tunnel. It twisted its way westward, sometimes narrowing, sometimes sloping downward but always running to the west. There were no connecting tunnels to confuse them, no choice of direction to make. Just one way to go and they travelled that way with as much speed as they dared.

  ‘We must be travelling under the ridge,’ mused Grunge. ‘Into the mountain on the other side of the camp.’ He remembered the black wall behind the tent and wondered what lay in store.

  It took them almost a full sweep of the clock to emerge from the tunnel. It ended in another cave that was much like an antechamber or entrance hall to a house. To their right, through the mouth of the cave, they could see the mountains and tops of trees. To their left was an arched opening, covered from within by a large, heavy curtain. Faint light peeped between the folds of the curtain.

  No one spoke. Miniver walked over to the curtain and then turned and looked at the others. Then, without a sound, she pushed through the curtain and into the lighted cave. Crimson slipped through the curtain after her and she felt the others follow.

  They had entered a sparsely furnished stone living room.

  Immediately to their right was another curtained room, and yet another in the far wall. On the left wall was a fire, its smoke curling up through the small hole in the ceiling above it. A hearth rug lay in front of the fire at the foot of a small armchair. Another chair, simpler and without arms, had been pushed against the far wall near the curtained doorway. In the middle of the room was a writing table. A book lay closed on the table, a pen left lying on its leather cover. Light from several lanterns gave the room a yellow, cosy light.

  A third doorway lay directly to their left. Through the doorway, a chair and the corner of a table were visible. Miniver raised her nose in the air and charged through the doorway. And roared at the strange Beadle kneeling on the floor looking very miserable.

  Chapter 15

  Fire and Ice

  Brian’s arm hurt, his head hurt and his knees had been scraped. He was frightened and, worse, he felt absolutely alone. He was sure his friends would never find him and just as sure that whatever Amelia had in mind, he wasn’t going to be very happy about it. He wished he’d never met the Muddles, never been a special envoy and had never agreed to go climbing around strange mountains. Most of all, Brian wished he was sitting in his living room having afternoon coffee and lamingtons with Megan.

  He lost all sense of where he was. Amelia had taken the same tunnel through which he had come, until they came to the place where Brian had felt the warmth through the wall of the cave. There, she had slipped behind a narrow opening in the wall which Brian hadn’t noticed. All Brian knew was that they seemed to be going deeper into the mountain.

  Amelia remained silent throughout that dreadful descent. Brian saved his pleas. Dragged behind her, he was unable to see her face but from her long, determined stride and the set of her shoulders, she was not to be swayed from whatever terrible purpose she had in mind.

  He had no idea how long they travelled through the tunnels. It could have been but a quarter of an hour; it could have been a full sweep of a clock’s face. He became aware, though, that it was getting warmer. He could feel the warmth coming from the wall of the tunnel to his left. As they continued to descend, the warmth increased until he could feel the perspiration on his face. He wanted to take off the warm coat he was wearing. He wondered how Amelia could suffer the heat in her long, thick cloak.

  Then he noticed a glow ahead. It was a soft blue glow which danced into the tunnel from an opening on the left. Amelia turned so abruptly into the opening that Brian was swung off his feet and his body crashed into the solid rock of the opening. The blow winded him and when Amelia suddenly pulled him around in front of her, he was unable to stand. He lay gasping for breath, his nose pressed against the black floor of the cave.

  ‘Stand up!’ Her voice was harsh, full of fury and disdain. Brian wondered what he had done to make her hate and despise him so. He pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, still trying to get his breath.

  ‘Up!’ she repeated. She grabbed his collar and pulled him to his feet.

  Brian tried to focus his eyes. They were in the largest cave he had seen yet, a huge underground cavern. Amelia had dropped her torch. There was no need for it, for the cave was lit by the same flickering blue glow he had seen through the entrance. A cold, dancing glow that came from the flames of the blue fire burning in the middle of the cavern.

  The fire issued from a single, gigantic stone, a monolith of fire rock, beyond the reach of the blue ice here within the mountain. It had burned for countless years. Its flames had burned the very rock around it, eating away a ring of stone on every side so that it was surrounded by a moat of blue flames. The more it burned the rock in which it stood, the deeper the moat became, exposing more and more of the rock. The heat and the flames increased with each little particle of fire rock finding life in the air.

  Brian tore his gaze from the burning stone. ‘Wh -?’ he cried.

  ‘Betrayer!’ Amelia spat the word at him, cutting off his question. ‘You and all your kind! You betrayed us!’

  ‘Betrayed? Who betrayed … what … what do you mean?’ Brian felt confused. He had never betrayed anyone. Why was she doing this?

  Amelia didn’t answer. She pushed him nearer to the fire. Brian dug his heels in and tried to wriggle from her grasp.

  ‘Wh-what are going to do?’ The fire was close. He could feel the heat on his face.

  ‘Nothing more than you deserve,’ she snarled at him. He tried to pull away. Amelia spun him round so that he faced the fire directly. She grabbed his jacket at the shoulders and lifted him so that his feet left the ground. ‘It’s a pity you tried so hard only to fail. You would have had me at the hospital if it wasn’t for those pathetic Muddles.’

  ‘Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to hurt us?’ Brian struggled but Amelia held him fast.

  ‘Punishment is meant to hurt, Brian. That’s what they call you, isn’t it? You all have to be punished. And your punishment will set an example to all the other Beadles.’ She bent close, so that her lips were almost touching Brian’s cheek. ‘Besides, I don’t think I like you very much, Brian.’ She leaned closer and whispered in Brian’s ear, a low, threatening whisper that chilled Brian’s heart. ‘And then the Myrmidots will be punished. I will leave the Muddles until last but their punishment will be far harsher than yours, believe me. At least yours will be quick. Theirs will last far longer, Brian.’

  ‘I don’t understand!’

  ‘You don’t have to understand! You’re a Beadle!’ she cried and she lifted him higher and prepared to throw him into the terrible blue fire.

  Miniver’s teeth closed on Amelia’s robe. The bear gave her head a shake and threw Amelia aside. She staggered and fell to the stone floor. Her fingers loosened their hold and Brian tried to wrench himself free. He wriggled and twisted but Amelia gripped her fingers around his jacket and pulled him to her, putting Brian between herself and the bear.

  Amelia regained her feet and turned to face Miniver. Miniver’s amber eyes glowed with anger. She snarled and bared her long, white razor teeth. She took a step towards Amelia.

  ‘Wait, Miniver.’ Crimson’s voice was calm. She laid her hand on Eugene’s back.

  The others stood behind Crimson in the entrance, forming
a semicircle around Miniver. Crimson faced Amelia. She could see the blue fire, she could feel it calling to her. She wanted to walk through the burning moat and dance with the blue flames. She concentrated all her will on ignoring the call.

  ‘So you did follow me,’ said Amelia with some surprise. Casually, she brushed the dirt from her robes with her free hand. ‘Well, no matter. It will make it easier to deal with you all.’ She noticed Kevin at the back of the group. ‘Kevin! I should have guessed you’d betray me. Just like all the others. Well, you shall have your punishment, too.’

  Crimson managed to keep her voice calm and deliberate. ‘Enough, Amelia. We don’t want to hurt you.’

  ‘Ah, well, actually, Crimson …’ began Brian, but Amelia shifted her grip to his neck and squeezed. Brian closed his mouth.

  ‘Hurt me? You, Crimson?’ Amelia laughed. ‘I doubt it. Oh, I doubt it very much.’

  Her eyes went to the others.

  ‘Or are you going to hurt me, Miniver? Are you going to bite me with those sharp teeth of yours? Or tear me apart with those long claws? Or smash my skull with those hooves? You don’t know whether to growl, to neigh or to roar! I have more than hot powder for you, Miniver.’

  Now Amelia fixed her eyes on Grunge.

  ‘Or perhaps you are going to stop me, Grunge? Clumsy Grunge. What will you do? Beat me with your little tin whistle? Or drive me insane playing that awful harmonica?’

  ‘I’d say you were already insane,’ said Copper.

  ‘Really, Copper? And do you think you’re a match for me? Even with the help of your little friend, Dot? Poor Dot. Poor orphaned Dot.’ She saw the look of surprise on Aunt Mag’s face. ‘Ah, you didn’t know, did you, Aunt Mag? Her parents died in an accident when she was very young. She blames herself. I’m not sure whether she hates the world more or herself.’

  Dot was furious. ‘You’ve been eavesdropping when I’ve been talking to Miniver! How dare you!’

  Amelia laughed, a mirthless, scornful laugh. ‘I enjoyed it. You’re a pitiful little girl who can love only a poor dumb animal.’