by Logan Byrne
“Oh, you kids be careful out there, and remember to watch each other’s backs. The Arctic is as unforgiving as Kiren,” she said, winking.
“Take care,” Britta called, as a gust of cold air blew into her home as we walked out.
“Well, that was nice,” I said, listening to the hard packed snow on the road crunching under my feet as we walked off.
“Well, there it is,” Faus said, pointing off in the distance at the vast, untouched wilderness teasing us. I took out my sunglasses, shielding my eyes as the sunlight gleamed off the sparkly white dust. It was like diamonds, refracting even the smallest rays of light.
“Can you girls get us over there quicker?” Blake asked, as Britta and I looked at one another.
“Sure, if we get into cover first,” I said, smiling. I’d never even thought of making this process a bit quicker.
We walked beside a café, one of the few in the small yet colorful town, before Britta and I took out our wands and focused on the icy fjord nearby.
A moment later we hopped out of the teleport, the five of us standing on the edge of the snowy bank that separated civilization from the untamed wilds, before turning around and taking it all in.
“I have a feeling this really isn’t going to be easy,” Faus said, as the wind whipped around the fur outer lining of his hood.
“No, Faus, I don’t think it will be, but it will be worth it in the end,” Blake said.
“Get the wand, get the power, and then defeat Kiren. That the plan?” Britta asked.
“Yeah, that’s it,” I said, smiling, as we took our first steps towards greatness.
10
“Perhaps we should set up camp,” Faus said, as the sun started to retreat slowly into the horizon.
There was an eerie calm to the tundra. I stood there, looking around and breathing in the cold air as snot dribbled down my nose before I quickly wiped it away. There hadn’t been anything in sight all day besides the endless monotonous landscape that never seemed to end. I tried using my mark, my gut feeling, but nothing had spoken to me yet. I hadn’t thought I would feel it on the first day, but I thought maybe, just maybe, I would get a fuzzy feeling that would at least point us in the right direction.
If there was one good thing about this mission, though, it was having my friends with me. I couldn’t imagine doing this by myself.
“Do you have the tents?” Blake asked Britta.
“Right here,” she said, setting down her pack before rustling out three tiny tents, each of them no bigger than a pill bottle. She spaced them out, seating them on the crusty snow, before pulling out her wand.
They grew before our eyes, coming up to size, before stakes plowed into the ground and ropes kept the tents from flying away. The tents all had their doors pointing towards a middle spot, our main area to hang out and cook in.
“How are we going to make a fire?” Charlie asked, looking around. “I just realized there aren’t any trees here.”
“I have that covered,” Britta said, smiling. Clearing her throat, she pointed her wand at the middle of the area, incanting a spell I’d never heard before. “Ignatius Procurus.”
A fire started to form, thick wooden logs and all, as the harsh Arctic wind tried to blow it out. “Don’t worry, it can’t be blown out, it’s magical,” Britta said, putting away her wand.
“You can do that?” Blake asked.
“You can do anything with magic,” she said, tossing her and Charlie’s bags in one of the tents.
“I take it I have a tent to myself?” Faus asked, walking over to another of the tents.
“You do indeed. I figured three was enough, right?” Britta asked.
“It’s fine for us,” Blake said, nudging me a little.
“Nothing weird. Remember, it’s not like these walls are thick,” Faus warned. “Why don’t we get settled in and then come back out in half an hour to make our food?”
“Sounds good to me, I could use a rest,” Charlie said, before getting on his hands and knees and crawling inside the tent.
“Can’t believe we get to be together all night,” Blake said, zipping closed the tent door after we crawled inside. The tent was small, enough to sit up in with some head room, but it definitely wasn’t as big as the ones from the camp. I supposed we only needed them for sleep and shelter, not to lounge around in, after all.
“I know, it’s a treat we aren’t usually afforded. How are you doing so far?” I asked.
“I’m doing well, just holding it in. I figure if things get really bad I can always shift. My fur will keep me warmer,” he said.
“I didn’t even think about you doing that. I guess Charlie could do the same,” I said.
“Nope, I have that over him,” he said, grinning from ear to ear. “He would have to go into his jaguar form on all fours, with his paws in the snow. Can’t see him doing that.”
“You guys have such a funny rivalry. Britta and I love watching you two compete,” I said.
“Come here,” he said, lying back, using his pack as a pillow. I crawled over to him, lying down beside him, as I heard the wind howl and rattle the walls of the tent. “Quite powerful winds,” Blake said.
“Do you think I can do it?” I asked bluntly, out of nowhere.
“What?” he asked, treading carefully.
“Defeat Kiren,” I said.
“Don’t you think you could? Besides, it’s not like you’d be doing it alone, Lexa. You’d have me, Britta, Charlie, Mirian, Pote—everybody would be involved. It’s not your burden to carry. We all have a part to play in it,” Blake said.
“Yeah, but if they could all beat him, they would’ve already done it, right? Assuming we don’t find the crystal wand, then what? I don’t think I have what it takes now, even if I sometimes act really confident,” I said.
“Well, I’ve seen what you can do, and I think you’re more than capable, but it’s okay to be a little unsure of yourself at times. It’s a lot to think about, and a lot on the line, and I think you think you’re going to let people down, which you’re not,” he said.
“Yeah, I guess. I just really hope we find this wand, so that I know I can get the job done. He’s powerful. If there’s any respect I have for him, even the tiniest sliver, it’s for his ability. Guess that’s what you get for a master rune mage,” I said.
“We’ll find the wand, you’ll be worthy, and then things will come together. M.A.G.I.C. will go back to the people, we’ll go back to normal, and before you know it, this will all be a distant memory that we sometimes look back upon and wonder why we didn’t do it sooner,” Blake said, kissing my forehead.
“Yeah, I hope so. Hopefully with him in prison things will change. I believe they will,” I said.
“Well, prison or death, things will change. The people will see that his marital rule isn’t the way they want to live,” he said.
“Let’s just take a nap for a little bit,” I said, snuggling up to him. He didn’t say anything else. The tension in my mind grew, as a million and one thoughts ran through my head.
I didn’t particularly like feeling doubtful, that was for sure.
•••
I woke up panicked, my eyes shooting open as far as they could go, as I looked around and tried to work out where I was. The flaps on the front of the tent flapped violently in the wind. I calmed myself, realizing we were out on assignment. “Doing okay?” Blake asked, running his fingers through my hair.
“Just forgot where we were for a second. That doesn’t usually happen,” I said, wiping my eyes. “How long has it been?”
“Just over thirty minutes. I heard somebody rummaging around out there, probably Faus. We should go out,” Blake said, getting up and putting his layers back on. “I can’t wait to eat.”
“Yeah, we definitely need it. How far do you think we walked today?” I asked.
“Well, I do have to say that things are a lot easier with two witches on the team. I can’t imagine it would be too much fun having
to push our way through all this snow. To answer your question, probably six or seven miles, give or take. We didn’t have a full day,” Blake said.
“Maybe we can hit ten tomorrow,” I said, slipping my gloves on.
“Well, we do need to start checking out the terrain a bit more. We can’t just keep walking,” Blake said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, we have to come up with a theory on where the wand is hidden. Maybe there are naturally occurring caves, caverns, or mountains that would make sense for something like this to be hidden in. If we just keep walking in a straight line we’ll miss everything around us,” Blake said.
“I guess you’re right. We can go over it with the others,” I said, before unzipping the tent. I’d definitely forgotten how much colder it was outside compared to inside the tent, even though the tent wasn’t very well insulated to begin with. I shivered a little, rubbing my hands together through my gloves. “Dinner time?”
“Getting the things out now,” Faus said, just as Britta and Charlie emerged from their tent.
“Nothing like a little catnap to energize you, right guys?” Charlie asked, all smiles.
“Yeah, love your snoring,” Britta said, rolling her eyes.
“The fire is still going strong. Man, sometimes magic just astounds me, and I’ve been around it all my life. What is there that a trained witch can’t do?” Blake asked.
“Here you go,” Faus said, handing each of us a prepackaged meal in a thick silver envelope.
“What’s this?” Britta asked.
“You just need to toss it on the edge of the fire to heat it up. The indicator at the top will turn green when it’s ready to eat. It will be hot on the inside, but the outside package is charmed so it won’t burn your hands. My own little invention,” Faus said with a grin.
“Is that what they had you working on at the precinct? I thought you were sorting DNA and blood and stuff,” Blake said, as he tossed his pack on the edge of the fire.
“I worked on a lot of different things, Blake. This has a lot of applications in the mortal realm as well. I could be rich with something like this,” Faus said, scoffing.
“Well, I think it’s a great idea, Faus. I’m also glad I won’t have to hold a scalding hot bag to eat dinner,” Britta said.
“Well, thank you, at least somebody appreciates it,” Faus said, pushing up his falling glasses.
“While our food is heating up, we should start to think of where we want to hit tomorrow. I was talking to Lexa about it in our tent, and I think we need to start looking at locations where Merlin would have hidden the wand, like caves, caverns, mountains, and anything else that would be logical,” Blake said.
“Makes sense. If he were serious, he definitely would’ve put it somewhere off the beaten path. My guess would be a cave of some kind,” Britta said.
“Know of any?” Charlie asked, looking at Faus.
“Here, I have this, maybe it will help,” Faus said, rummaging around his bag before pulling out a laminated map that he unfolded on the snow and kept down with some rocks.
“This looks weird,” Charlie said, squinting.
“It’s a topographical map of the area. I was able to hack into a mortal satellite and download it. There are a lot of peaks and valleys across the area we’re in. It makes the most sense for a cave to be towards the bottom of any of these compared to the top,” Faus said.
“What if we just start off tomorrow and walk towards them? Maybe I’ll get a better feeling once we’re near,” I said.
“That could work. We have some distance to cover before getting there, so we might as well start the journey towards that side of the map,” Faus said.
“Oh, mine’s green!” Charlie exclaimed, before grabbing his pack and ripping off the top. “Beef stew,” he said, salivating, before beginning to suck down everything inside.
“Pace yourself, you don’t want to get sick again,” I said, my usual line to him because he always got sick after eating too fast.
He looked up, brown sauce all over his lips, his expression that of pure ecstasy. “That good?” Britta asked.
“Oh, yeah,” he said, and the rest of our packs turned green. There was something rugged yet homely about eating these meals. It was nice knowing that no matter where in the world I went, I could always have a home-cooked camp meal waiting for me. I took that kind of food for granted most of the time.
“So Faus, how was your date last night?” Britta asked, making his wind-burned cheeks turn even redder.
“Well, it was nice. She’s a very sweet girl,” Faus said, nodding.
“Boo, tell us more!” Charlie said, starting to heckle him.
“A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell,” Faus said.
“So you kissed?” Blake asked. Faus’s face went blank as he immediately realized that he’d just given up everything he just said he wouldn’t, although he did it inadvertently.
“Well, I mean,” Faus said, stumbling on his words.
“We’re happy for you, Faus. You’re a great guy, and you deserve happiness. I was next-door cellmates with Rosie in Filtonshire, and she’s probably the only reason I was able to not only get through it, but get out. I know you two would be happy together,” I said, smiling. Faus smiled back, a look of love and gratitude on his face.
“Well, thank you, Lexa. She really is a great girl. I just hope things work out,” he said.
“Why wouldn’t they?” I asked.
“Just, uh, you know, my last girlfriend. The things that happened there,” he said, gently pushing around the food in his packet.
“What happened? I didn’t know you’d dated somebody before,” I said, concerned.
“She died, actually. It’s okay, though, it was a while ago. We were fourteen, so it’s not like it just happened or anything,” he said.
“I’m sorry, Faus,” Britta said, scooting over and hugging him, putting her head on his shoulder. “We’re always here if you need us. Please remember that.”
“It’s okay, it really is. Like I said, that was years ago, and I moved on a long time ago. I guess I just get worried opening up to people and letting them get close to me,” Faus said.
“You’re afraid it will happen again,” I said.
“Exactly,” he said.
“I get that. I also know that she would want you to be happy. If you never open yourself up to another woman, then you might never know what could happen. Nothing could happen, sure, but something amazing could also happen. She could be the love of your life, and you never would’ve known if you hadn’t taken the chance,” I said.
“Here’s to hoping,” Faus said, lifting up his food packet, and we all clinked ours together, Charlie’s obviously licked clean.
There was a certain sense of camaraderie that came from being out in the field together. Charlie and I had it during our stints, but we never got the full effect with the others. There was London, but it didn’t have the same vibe as out here. We were alone, in the untamed and untapped wilderness of Greenland! There were polar bears, foxes, oxen, and so many other things that went bump in the night. In London we sat around in a little cottage, safe and warm by the fireplace, but out here we had to depend on one another to make it out alive.
What would happen if both Britta and I went down? The guys could try to radio out for help, but they couldn’t teleport themselves out of here. What if we were attacked by a polar bear? I would be happy that the guys were here to fend it off. There definitely was a partnership here.
“So are you guys itching to get back to work?” I asked later that night, as the roaring fire had melted some of the snow around it.
“I think so,” Britta said. “I just like knowing I’m busy, I guess.”
“I do want to go back, but I’m appreciative of this vacation,” Blake said.
“This is a vacation to you?” Charlie asked, his mouth hanging open. “Dude, I’m freezing out here. First African deserts with the extreme heat, and
now this place. When are we ever going to do missions in the jungle?”
“Hopefully soon,” Britta said, laughing a little. “You just want to climb trees and you know it.”
“I saw him climb one in his sleep in Morocco,” I said, laughing. “He was moving his legs like he was pawing at some bark.”
Britta and I fed off one another, starting to cry because we were laughing so hard, the tears rolling down our cheeks beginning to freeze. “Oh yeah? Well, Lexa farts in her sleep, and it’s loud and smells bad,” Charlie said, a stern look on his face.
“Yeah,” Blake said, laughing, and I slapped him on the arm.
“I do not! You guys just want to make fun of me,” I said, before pulling out my wand. “Don’t forget, I could give you guys the beating of your life!”
“Should we test that theory out?” Charlie asked, licking his lips, obviously hungry for the competition.
“No, you guys aren’t allowed,” Faus said, interrupting us.
“Aw, come on, Dad!” Charlie moaned.
“We need to conserve energy out here. If you start sweating in this climate you could get hypothermia. I know we’re magical beings, and you two have wands, but we can’t risk anything that doesn’t need to be risked,” Faus said.
“I agree, it’s a good idea. An injury or overexertion could keep us here longer. We definitely wouldn’t find the wand then,” Britta said.
“When we get back to the camp I’ll let you have a go,” I said.
“Oh yeah, with the crystal wand, no doubt,” Blake said.
“What’s the matter, the big bad wolf all scared?” I asked, before tackling him with a hug and falling into the small snowy bank that had begun to form outside our tent.
“Barf,” Charlie said, standing up. “I’m going to get in bed, it’s too cold out here.”
“I’ll join you, we need to get to bed anyway. We’re setting off first thing in the morning, so be ready,” Britta said, before the two of them crawled into their tent.
“Goodnight all,” Faus said, copying Britta and Charlie.
“It’s just me and you, kid,” Blake said, brushing some snow from the tip of my nose.