Black Ice (Black Records Book 3)

by Mark Feenstra

  I kicked apart the fire, shoveling snow over it with my hands to ensure it was completely out. I then made my way to the beginning of Nathan’s snowmobile track where I climbed the ridge we’d descended earlier that day. I might have been dry and mostly warm, but I was still exhausted. Every bit of magic energy I’d regained had gone into drying out my clothing. Once darkness truly enveloped me, I might be able to risk a bit of a spark spell to light the way, but that was about it. I’d have to push my overtired muscles even harder to have a chance at hiking back to town. After seeing how badly my legs trembled when I kicked steps in the deep snow, I wasn’t exactly optimistic about what was yet to come.

  At least Nathan’s snowmobile track was easy to follow. The heavy machine had dug a deep groove into the snow, providing me with a slightly easier trail to walk on. My feet still broke through the lightly packed crust, sinking as deep as my thighs in places. I nearly lost my boots several times after trying to free my foot from a particularly deep patch of damp snow. All I could do was keep trudging forward, trying to cover as much ground as possible while the fading twilight still made it possible to see the path ahead.

  When darkness finally fell, it wasn’t as bad as I’d worried it would be. With no artificial light to ruin my vision, my eyes adjusted to the dimness. The snowmobile path still stretched out before me, leading the way back to civilization. I followed it for what felt like hours. My phone had been ruined after my dump in the hot spring, so I had no way of telling what time it actually was when I stumbled upon something that made me sit down and begin to cry.

  Several sets of snowmobile tracks fanned out in every direction. I could sense a general pattern of where Nathan had ridden around in wide looping circles on the off chance I managed to free myself and follow him out. Dampness soaked through my butt where I sat in the snow, and I wiped snot from my nose while staring off into the gloomy darkness.

  I couldn’t walk another step. My throat still stung painfully as a side-effect of having burned so much magic. My stomach was an empty pit. I was so hungry I couldn’t think straight. I’d eaten a few handfuls of snow in an effort to keep myself hydrated, but that only forced me to use a bit of magic to keep myself warm again. Every muscle hurt. The effort required to wade through the snow was more than I’d had to put into anything in my life. I didn’t know how many miles I’d traveled since leaving the hot springs, but I knew I still had several more to go. At this rate, I didn’t know if I’d have the energy to make even another mile. Without Nathan’s truck waiting for me, I’d still be stuck in the middle of nowhere. Based on the condition of the road we’d taken to get to the trailhead, no one else had been up this way in a while. It could be weeks before another snowmobiler came through here.

  Blinking away tears, I forced myself to my feet and staggered off down the trail that cut through the middle of all the others. None of this area looked familiar, so I wasn’t able to use landmarks to backtrack along our original route. All I could do was guess until I hit a trail that didn’t loop back on itself.

  After more than an hour of trying, I’d crisscrossed over my own path several times and was no closer to finding the way out. The air had gotten considerably colder, and I knew morning couldn’t be far off. The clouds had blown away, revealing glimpses of a brilliantly starry sky between the branches above my head. Unable to take another step, I collapsed to my knees. I was so tired. If I could just sleep for a few minutes. That was all I asked for. I curled up into a little ball, the soft snow feeling as inviting as my bed back home in Vancouver. I could no longer feel the cold that had clawed at my bones for the last several hours. I closed my eyes, ready to give in to my exhaustion once and for all.

  My mind drifted towards sleep, but something soft brushing against my face caused me to twitch and open my eyes. There, standing in front of me, was the owl from my vision. One wing stretched out to caress my cheek, it stared down at me with its now familiar glowing yellow eyes.

  “What do you want from me?” I asked in a hoarse whisper. “I’m done. I can’t even save myself. How do you expect me to save Nicola or the rest of the town?”

  I’d half expected the owl to speak, but it just bobbed its head up and down a few times and then launched itself into the air. It spun around me in a lazy circle, then hooted and flew off down one of Nathan’s trails. It landed on a branch a hundred yards away, hooting insistently until I staggered to my feet and trudged after it.

  As soon as I got close to the owl’s perch, it dropped lazily from the branch and flew off down the trail again. Still struggling against the desire to collapse into the snow so the blissful warmth of death could finally embrace me, I followed the thin thread of hope the owl’s presence gave me. Each time the owl moved down the trail, I felt a little more energy return to my legs. My hunger became more distant, and my lips felt less chapped and dry. I didn’t notice the fact that my pants were soaking wet again, or that we’d veered away from the snowmobile tracks completely. I put all of my faith in the owl, praying it was looking out for my best interests.

  As I walked, I noticed I was sinking into the snow less and less with each consecutive step. After I’d traveled another mile or so, my feet were barely leaving prints in the snow. Even crazier, I felt magic welling up inside me like someone had cracked open a fire hydrant of raw energy. After how much I’d used, it should have taken days of bed rest and three-thousand-calorie meals to recover. Instead, I felt myself become supercharged. I was so invigorated, I began to run. Feet barely brushing the snow’s surface, I was able to maintain a full sprint, leaping over obstacles without difficulty.

  No matter how fast I pushed myself, I never grew tired. I was moving so quickly that the owl was no longer stopping to wait for me. It flew ahead, occasionally looping back to glide over my head, encouraging me onward. I don’t know how fast I was running, but I was certain I’d broken every human land speed record in the book.

  Before I knew it, I was back at the road. Without slowing my pace, I spotted tire tracks where Nathan had loaded the snowmobile back onto his truck and driven away. I sprinted towards town so quickly trees blurred at the edges of my vision. I pumped my arms furiously, head down while I barreled towards the highway.

  Once back on the narrow rural highway, I sprinted along the shoulder until headlights flashed behind me, I stopped and spun around, thrusting out my thumb and waving with my other hand for the truck to stop.

  “What the hell are you doing out here at five o’clock in the morning?” the woman asked when she pulled over and rolled down her window.

  “My car broke down back there,” I lied. “Any chance I can get a ride back into town? Tried calling for a tow, but they said they wouldn’t be able to get out here for another few hours yet.”

  “Hop in,” the woman said. “I’m not going into town, though. Okay if I drop you off at the village gate?”

  “That’ll be perfect,” I said. “That’s right where I need to go.”

  “Will you look at that,” the woman said when she pulled out onto the road again. “Thirty years I’ve lived out here, and I have never seen a snowy owl fly along the road like that.”

  The owl had swooped low over our windshield, gliding down the highway ahead of us. It beat its powerful wings once, rolling over onto its side and seeming to stare back at me before flying off over the trees and out of sight.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  I thanked the woman for the lift, then shut the car door and started jogging down the road. The supernatural burst of speed and energy had disappeared along with my mysterious guardian owl, but I still felt light on my feet and empowered from escaping near-certain death. I still had no idea what the owl really was, but it seemed to be looking out for me. I tried not to dwell on what would have become of me had I been left to my own devices. I’d probably be frozen solid by now, my body lying miles from nowhere until the spring thaw exposed it to some unlucky hikers.

  Once inside the village, I made a beeline for Nathan’s shop
. I didn’t expect to find them there, but I had to check anyway. It was too early for the shop to be open, and when I went around back, I didn’t see the truck parked nearby. Unless someone had already loaded it up to take it out for a tour, the most likely scenario was that Nathan still had it. Just to be sure, I figured I’d take a look inside the loading bay.

  Using a simple trick I’d mastered long ago, I placed my fingers in front of the door as though I was holding the key. I sent a thin thread of energy into the lock and twisted my hand. The deadbolt slid open with a thunk.

  An alarm beeped somewhere, warning me that I only had a few seconds to deactivate it. I ignored it. Even if it was connected to a local security office, I’d be gone before police arrived on scene. A quick glance around the empty loading bay was enough to tell me that neither the truck nor the snowmobile was sitting inside. Wherever Nathan had gone, he still had the snowmobile with him. That meant I’d need help if I was to have any chance of tracking him down.

  I shut the door behind me, then set out for the Bloedermeyer chalet. It was too early for Nicola’s father to be at work, and if I was lucky I’d be able to catch him at home.

  “Ada!” I shouted as I pounded on the door. “Ada, it’s me Alex. Open the damn door.”

  Several minutes later, a disheveled Ada opened the door a crack. She flung it wide when she saw me, pulling me into her arms and squeezing me tightly. When she’d finished her ferocious hug, she held me at arm’s length while she inspected my pathetic state.

  “Is Nicola with you?” She looked past me to the empty driveway. “Where is she? Please tell me she’s someplace safe.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “Someone took her. I think I know where she is, but I’m going to need Mr. Bloedermeyer’s help to go after her. Is he home?”

  “He’s still sleeping,” Ada said. “I’ll go wake him right now.”

  I followed Ada upstairs and went into my room to quickly change into clean dry, clothes. I knew I had no time to waste, but Nathan had been right about one thing. The Protector was using a crack in its prison to influence the local population. I wasn’t entirely sure where that crack was yet, but I was pretty sure it had to be somewhere near the Bloedermeyer development.

  “What’s going on?” Bloedermeyer asked when he ran into me in the hallway outside my room. “Ada says Nicola is not with you? Where is she? What happened to her?”

  “I am so sorry,” I said. “But I don’t have time to go into details right now. It’s imperative you help me find her as quickly as I can. In order do that, I need access to a driver and a snowmobile. I have to go to the new development site, and I need to get there fast.”

  Bloedermeyer ran a hand through his hair. He looked like he’d hardly slept. For all Nicola’s belief that her father didn’t care what she did, it was obvious he’d been worried sick about her. I felt terrible for failing him so completely. Only getting Nicola back unharmed would make up for what a terrible bodyguard I’d been.

  “Forget the snowmobile,” he said. “I’ve got something much better than that.”

  Bloedermeyer went back into his room. He came out a second later, dialing a number on his cell phone.

  “Rick?” He said into the phone. “Sorry to wake you so early but this is an emergency. I don’t care what it costs, or how many laws you have to break, but I need you to put that helicopter in my driveway fifteen minutes from now.”

  Without waiting for an answer, he hung up the call then shoved the phone into his pocket.

  “I’ll get dressed,” he said. “Then we can go together.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said before he could go back into his room. “This may not be easy to swallow, but this is bigger than just eco-warriors trying to sabotage your business. I don’t have time to explain everything. You’re just going to have to trust me.”

  Bloedermeyer spun back towards me, jamming his finger into my chest as he pushed me back up against the wall.

  “Trust you?” he asked. “After how much I’ve paid you already, and the fact that you’ve lost my daughter not once but twice – don’t think I didn’t know about that – you expect me to trust you? What gives you the nerve?”

  I calmly brushed his hand aside. My magic had been restored to the point where I could have obliterated him with a casual thought. My self-defense instincts had already kicked in, energy surging to my fingertips, itching to be unleashed. But he didn’t deserve that. Bloedermeyer had every right to be angry. He’d hired me to do a job, and I’d let him down. Now I was asking him for more resources without giving him any indication of what I was going to use them for. If I’d been in his shoes, I wouldn’t have trusted me either.

  “There are some people,” I began carefully, trying to figure out how to put it into terms he could wrap his head around, “who believe that an ancient malevolent force has been awakened. These people also believe that only a human sacrifice will lock it away. I know it sounds crazy, but these people have your daughter. They’re going to kill her to get what they want. This is all happening because of your development. You’re angry with me right now, that’s fair. I also know you’re frustrated that there seems to be nothing you can do, but you really do have to trust me. We don’t have time to argue about this. Every second we waste is another second Nicola’s life is in danger.”

  Bloedermeyer backed off. He paced up and down the hallway a few times, opening his mouth to speak, then shaking his head and turning away from me. He stormed up to a narrow table in the hallway, sweeping a ceramic vase onto the floor where it shattered into a thousand shards.

  “I don’t care how dangerous it is,” he finally said, head hung low, eyes on the shattered remains of the vase. “If this truly is my fault, I want to be there when we confront these people. If you want to use my helicopter, you’re going to have to take me with you.”

  The man had a point. I hoped it wouldn’t come down to it, but maybe bringing him along would make Nathan hesitate long enough to consider going after the father instead of the daughter. I didn’t like gambling with people’s lives, but if it had to be one of the two of them, I’d rather put Bloedermeyer’s head on the chopping block.

  “Get changed,” I said. “I’ll meet you downstairs.”

  “You really think you know where Nicola is?” Ada said while she followed me back downstairs.

  “I have an idea of where to look,” I told her. “I remember seeing a bunch of large crevasses on one of the satellite maps I downloaded while researching the site the other day. I didn’t note the significance at the time, but I think there are unstable fissures at the edge of the development zone. If someone is holding her prisoner out there, this is the only place they could really be. It would certainly explain why we were attacked coming back from that region a few nights ago. I think we were traveling too close to the source, and whatever it is that’s been attacking Nicola and her father was trying to stop us.”

  “I hope she’s okay,” Ada said. “I pray whoever has her is treating her humanely.”

  “Me too,” I said. “As sad as it is to say, I think the person who has her genuinely means well. He’s incredibly misguided, but I don’t think he’d do anything to hurt Nicola unless he thought he absolutely had to.”

  We stood in awkward silence for a moment. I knew what Ada wanted to ask, and I knew I didn’t want to answer it. I looked at the stairs several times, hoping to see Mr. Bloedermeyer coming down before Ada voiced her deepest concern.

  “How do you know she’s not dead already?” Ada asked, her voice a bare whisper.

  “I don’t.” Maybe I should have tempered my response somehow, padded it in hope. I was too afraid to be helpful. All I could do was go after Nathan and hope I found Nicola still in one piece when I got there.

  I was saved from having to say anything more by Mr. Bloedermeyer coming downstairs. He’d put on sturdy hiking boots, waterproof pants, and an expensive looking ski jacket.

  “The helicopter will be here in
five minutes,” he said. “What’s your plan?”

  “I’m fairly certain the person who has Nicola is holding her somewhere within the development site,” I said. “The only problem is that I don’t know exactly where. My guess is that it will be somewhere underground, like a cave system or a natural fissure like a crevasse.”

  “There’s nothing like that around the site,” Bloedermeyer said. “I have stacks of geological surveys at my office. We wouldn’t have built in that location if there were any known instabilities.”

  “There has to be something you’re missing,” I said. “Everything is pointing to that location. I know this might be a bit of a stretch to believe, but something seriously bad is happening right now. There are forces of nature at play here you can’t fully understand. The place we’re looking for has to be in that area. It just has to be.”

  Bloedermeyer checked the time on his phone. I wished I had something more concrete to give him. I didn’t know how to tell him that at this point my plan was to basically just go to the site and hope I found Nathan’s snowmobile tracks. In theory, if Nathan thought I was dead or lost, he should have no reason to hide the route he’d taken. The only problem was that there were several access points to the development site. I doubted he’d gone in through the front gate, so it was a matter of stumbling across some random sign of him. With the helicopter, we might at least have a chance of spotting his tracks and following them to wherever he was holding Nicola captive.

  I explained as much to Bloedermeyer. A deep frown settled onto his face, but he simply nodded, knowing he had no other choice if he wanted to find his daughter.

  “We’ll do whatever it takes,” he said. “Let’s go.”

  I heard the chopper before I saw it. Flying low over the village, it swooped in and landed right in the middle of the wide road. Snow swirled wildly in the rotor wash, creating a miniature storm we had to run through to get to the open door. The second we were inside, the chopper lifted off. I took one of the headsets Bloedermeyer offered me and placed it over my ears.