As Winter Spawns

by Jason Hamilton

  “Not a threat, just the ‘real world.’” Jak replied, throwing his words back at him. “Because you’re right. I don’t hold the power I once held. And I will not be able to stop seven thousand people from bearing down on you when you choose to make yourself their enemy.”

  Vander considered her, his face contorting with building rage. Yes, he knew she was right. Deep down he knew that he was the problem here. But his pride was too much to admit that fact. She could only hope that the others saw it.

  Finally, Vander spoke in a low tone. “I want you out of here. You are no longer welcome among our people.”

  Jak nodded. She had been expecting this. Yet she noted with some satisfaction that some of the Fae, particularly the Bright Elves were looking at Vander as if to make sure they had heard them right. After all, no one had given more than Jak for their cause. And they all knew it.

  “I’m sorry, Vander,” she said as she began to turn away. “I wish we could remain friends, I truly do. But I have long promised myself, on the bones of my parents, that I would help those in need, those who were oppressed. That once included you, before today. Now you are the oppressor.”

  “You got us into this mess,” he spat back at her, but she put one foot in front of the other, away from Vander. Away from the toxin that was infecting these people. His voice carried behind her. “If you hadn’t brought us here, none of this would have happened. We could have stayed in the valley. We could have had room to grow, plenty of food and water, and time to rest. But thanks to you, we have none of that.”

  Her anger burned away the effect of his insults. The elf was resorting to personal attacks now. She had gotten to him. That was a victory if not one that would lead to peace. She could only hope that the others saw what she saw.

  She exited the caves, pausing to look at the Shadow Elves that guarded the entrance. “You won’t be allowed to let me in after today,” she informed them. “But whatever happens, please know that I will go to my grave doing everything I can to bring stability between our peoples.”

  The elves cocked their heads at her with curious expressions. They hadn’t overheard her conversation with Vander after all. But she didn’t give them time to ask questions. Instead she continued walking back to the outside camp.

  That was when a chorus of screams reached her ears. They were coming from directly ahead.

  9

  Jak broke into a run. What had just happened? She couldn’t see anything that would have caused the screams. No one was attacking, and the weather was relatively normal. But then something flashed in front of her, a purple-like burst of energy, in a circular pattern. It expanded in a split second, cutting through the fabric of a nearby tent, before collapsing in on itself as quickly as it had appeared.

  Jak blinked. This was something new. With Vander causing his trouble, and the problems with the cold, it took awhile for her brain to process a new threat. But as the strange circular light vanished, it left a tear in the tent where it had been moments before. Just then, another purple disk appeared ahead of her, cutting right into the arm of a woman who had just stood up to see what was going on.

  The woman screamed as the disk sliced off her arm cleanly at the elbow. She jumped out of the way just in time to avoid having the disk continue on into her chest. But she fell to the ground, and blood was already flowing out of the woman’s arm, staining the snow red. She needed help straight away.

  Instinctively, Jak reached for those wells of power within her, but came up with nothing. Of course, there was nothing she could do. At least not with her brands.

  She grabbed hold of the tent fabric that the mysterious energy disk had sliced moments before, and tore a large piece away. Then she ran to the injured woman and knelt next to her. She folded the fabric as best she could and pressed it against the woman’s stump of an arm, hard.

  The woman screamed again, and her eyes rolled back in her head. Her body went limp as she passed out from the pain and loss of blood. Jak continued pressing the fabric against the bleeding arm. She had to staunch the bleeding or this woman would die within seconds.

  Then someone knelt beside her, and a pair of strong hands took hold of the makeshift tourniquet to hold it in place. It was Seph.

  “I’ve got this,” he said. “Find Skellig. Figure out what’s going on.”

  Jak hesitated. Everything was happening so fast. What was this strange phenomenon?

  “Go!” Seph shouted, and the urgency in his voice prompted her to action.

  She got to her feet and ran. She started towards Skellig’s command tent, but chaos surrounded her. Packed as tightly as they were, everyone had seen what happened to the woman, and there had to be others who were injured, judging by the screams she had heard earlier. They ran in all directions, and Jak had to push through to make any forward progress.

  “Skellig!” she yelled as she caught sight of the woman’s short hair above the crowd. The major turned and caught sight of Jak. Then she rushed forward to meet her.

  “Jak, what’s going on?”

  “I was going to ask you the same question,” said Jak. “You have no idea how this started.”

  They both jumped to the side as one of the shimmering disks opened up next to them, just a little too close for comfort.

  “Could this be Vander’s doing?” Skellig asked, her expression resolute. Jak stared around them, trying to get a clear view of one of the flashing disks. “No, I don’t think so,” she said. “It doesn’t seem like a magic that they would have. I left the caves just before it started so it could be happening there too.”

  “We’d better check on that just the same. If the people in the caves were safe, we might need to entertain the possibility that this was a hostile act on their part.”

  Another disk flashed just above them, causing them both to jump, though they could never have avoided it in time had it appeared too close. It formed and dissipated with surprising speed. But something about it seemed familiar to Jak. Something about the way it looked when it was fully formed, before it collapsed in on itself. Or maybe it was the sizzling sound it made when it appeared.

  “Vander kicked me out of the caves,” she said. “You’ll have to go yourself to talk to him. Or ask Yewin.”

  “The latter would be preferable I think,” Skellig said, still tense. “He’s the only one still friendly with us.”

  “There are others inside,” Jak corrected. “They just don’t know what to do, I think.”

  “We’d better hope so. Or our being here could turn ugly. Especially after all this…” she trailed off.

  Jak noticed it too in the same moment. The disks had stopped forming, at least temporarily. There was still shouting and chaos among the people, but as hard as Jak listened, she couldn’t make out the sizzling sound of the strange disks.

  “Perhaps we’re in luck,” said Skellig. “Let’s assess the damage.”

  Jak nodded, “I’ll get right on it.”

  “Jak?” Skellig called to her. Jak half turned to face the major. “You’ve been through a lot lately. You don’t have to involve yourself in this. Take a break and let us handle it.”

  Jak’s lips formed into a line. “I appreciate the sentiment, Skellig. I know I can’t do what I once could, but holding me back is literally the worst thing you could do to me. Especially now that Vander has banned me from the caves.”

  Skellig hesitated, then nodded. “Very well. I want you continuing to coordinate the scouting missions. We’ll need that distraction after whatever this was,” she waved a hand at the mayhem surrounding them. “Round up as many as you can, and enlist the help of as many Sky Fae as are willing.”

  Jak nodded. “I can do that.”

  They set to work. While Skellig inspected the damage left by the disks, it became Jak’s job to pretend like nothing was wrong, recruiting others for scouting trips. That, however, proved impossible.

  “You expect us to just get up and leave when the Fae are blatantly attacking us?” said o
ne man. “We have to fight back or we won’t last long!”

  “It wasn’t the Fae,” responded Jak. This was unconfirmed, but she was sure that none of the Fae possessed any such powers. “It was something else. The Fae are actually working to expand the caves to fit more people. But we have to do our part and search for other options to work with in the meantime.”

  But her words were ultimately meaningless. “We won’t last long anywhere if the Fae are turned against us,” said one woman.

  “We outnumber them now,” said another. “If we don’t take action that might not last, and they’ll wipe us out for good.”

  “Please listen to me,” said Jak. But the people weren't listening. Wherever she went, she heard similar reports. The people were afraid, and they needed something to blame. Or someone. Unfortunately, Jak had no explanation as to what the strange, destructive phenomenon had been. Though she could swear that something had been familiar about them. If only she could get a better look at one. From a safe distance of course.

  But for now, they had bigger troubles. The people were gathering up against the entrance to the caves, shouting and waving their fists at the Shadow Elves that stood guard there. The elves were tense, and it didn’t take long before more of them appeared, bearing their gleaming obsidian daggers in hand.

  “Please, stop this!” Jak yelled as she tried to fight her way to the front, to get between the people and the Fae. “Fighting isn’t going to solve anything.”

  Suddenly a jet of fire shot into the sky. It caught everyone by surprise, including Jak who followed the source of the fire to see Skellig emerging from the front of the crowd. She must have been fighting her way to the front just as Jak had.

  “Enough!” she roared. “If anyone takes another step, I will have every Telekinetic under my command force you back. And if that doesn’t work, I will stop you myself.” She let a small burst of flame out of one palm for emphasis.

  “You would take their side?” yelled a man Jak couldn’t see. That prompted a chorus of shouts from those that were close enough to hear.

  Once again Skellig raised a palm and shot her flames over the heads of the crowd. That seemed to have the intended effect, because most people quieted down.

  “We will confer with the Fae to find an explanation. We will learn what caused this. Until that time, we will not take impulsive action. Not on my watch. And not if you want to live.” She half turned to look at the Shadow Elves, who continued to wait with their obsidian blades at their sides. Their bodies taut. Jak spied Viona, but Vander was nowhere to be seen.

  Jak breathed a sigh of relief as the majority of the crowd hesitated.

  Skellig spoke once more. “Meanwhile, it’s time for ration distribution. Return to your places and I’ll make sure you get something. If you do not, then I will reserve what food we have for those who obey orders.”

  Jak frowned. That was a dangerous thing to say. What happened if the people suddenly realized that they could eventually overwhelm Skellig and her followers, taking the rations for themselves? Hopefully none of them were so far gone as to attack their own. Not yet.

  Skellig’s pronouncement seemed to have the desired effect, for now. The crowd dispersed and went back to their wagons and tents. But Jak remained behind, as did Seph and a handful of others.

  Skellig was breathing hard. When it seemed that most of the danger had passed, she walked over to where Jak stood, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

  “You’d better hurry,” she said. “If we don’t find another place to live soon, I won’t be able to stop them.”

  “I understand,” said Jak. Skellig acknowledged her with a nod, and continued past Jak to join the main group.

  “What is it she wants you to do?” said Seph, coming to rest next to Jak.

  “I’m to coordinate the scouts,” she replied. “And after today, I think we’d better hurry.”

  Seph nodded, “I suppose that even with what happened to Bretton—”

  “We have to push forward,” Jak said, finishing his sentence. “We’re all going to die here eventually if we don’t.” She took another deep breath. There was so much they had to worry about. Would they ever have a break?

  “What can I do?” Seph asked, sensing her distress and holding out both arms for an embrace.

  She responded by leaning into him, enjoying the faint warmth that they shared, and the feel of his breath washing over her as he held her close.

  “I...I think you would do best by staying here and preaching to anyone who will listen. You give the people hope.”

  He nodded, “I suppose by my ‘staying here’ you intend to go with the scouts.”

  She hesitated. She didn’t want to leave him. And the scouts would do well enough without her. She was only one person after all.

  But she also knew that she could never sit still if she stayed behind. She needed an outlet, and if that meant leaving with the scouts, even leaving Seph for a time, then she would have to do it.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “We’ll try to find something soon. Just keep people from murdering each other while we’re away.”

  The corners of Seph’s lips twitched, as if he had been about to laugh. But they both knew that Jak was being totally serious.

  “I will do my best,” he said. “Just be safe out there.”

  Jak could do nothing more than nod.

  10

  Jak spent the rest of the day rounding up volunteers. While many were disgruntled with the Fae, and still in a rage from the events of the day, many were also rearing to do something, even if that meant leaving the main camp and risking their lives.

  Even some of the Fae seemed more willing to help out. Perhaps it was the threat of the people invading their caves, or maybe they wanted to find a place with more room. Though none of them said it outright, Jak suspected that many of them were opposed to Vander and the Shadow Elves, and were serving out of the kindness of their hearts.

  Jak was just glad that they weren’t all under Vander’s sway. Several gnomes volunteered, though Jak asked many of them to remain behind to continue removing what they could from the back of the caves. But warmth was important, so she made sure to assign at least one to each group of scouts.

  Sky Fae volunteered in great numbers, to Jak’s delight. Perhaps they had realized that they were the most valuable of the Fae when it came to scouting. The Sky Fae didn’t have much in the way of powers, but they were used to the cold, and were perfect for their current predicament.

  Others of the Fae volunteered as well. Some dwarves, Bright Elves, and even one Shadow Elf: Viona. Jak cautioned her to remain behind, unfortunately, since she wasn’t sure how Vander would take one of his own choosing the humans over him at this stage.

  It wasn’t long before Jak had twelve individual groups of twelve people, with at least one gnome and Sky Fae per group.

  She included herself in one group, taking with her Perchel the Sky Fae, and Girwirt the gnome. They were both leaders of their respective races, and Jak wanted to make sure she had some time to talk to them. Besides, they would be needed for where they were going, because Jak had assigned her own scouting group to follow in the footsteps of Bretton and his companions. Perhaps while they were out, they would discover the nature of what froze them to death so quickly.

  They set out the next morning, after Skellig had approved Jak’s request for a week’s worth of rations for each group. The sky was clear but the air as cold as ever.

  They spent most of the first and second day without much conversation, other than some talk of the sudden appearance of those magical disks, which Jak quickly interrupted to change the subject. It wouldn’t do to speculate too much on that account. But it was now the second unexplained problem that they had encountered, after the mysterious storm or whatever had frozen Bretton and his group.

  Perchel spent most of his time in the sky, searching for anything that could be of use. And Girwirt grumbled about the cold, as well as pretty much anything
else that bothered him. But he mostly kept to himself, which meant that Jak had a lot of time to think. And that only led her down a spiral of negativity as she considered all the obstacles that they had to overcome to survive. If they didn’t find any more caves, or a food source, they weren’t going to survive out here for very long.

  “I see something,” said Perchel, alighting on her shoulder.

  “What is it?” she said, hope rising despite her efforts to keep them down. It wouldn’t do to get her hopes up.

  “I’m unsure, but I think it’s those disks again. But they’re isolated ahead of us. All of them are appearing within a hundred yard radius of each other.”

  A few of the humans in her group shuffled their feet nervously at that pronouncement. Jak felt the hairs on her back prickle as well. “Alright, we’ll avoid that area for now. We can stay here until they quit appearing, assuming they act like last time.”

  “There’s more,” said Perchel. “I think something’s coming out of them this time.”

  Jak narrowed her eyes. That was something new, though the revelation tickled something in the back of her mind. “Straight ahead, you say?” she asked. Perchel nodded and she found herself moving forward. “Everyone else stay here. I’m going to get close enough to get a good look at what’s happening.”

  No one argued with her. Perchel flew off her shoulder to guide her close to where the disks were appearing. Sure enough, Jak could make them out faintly, their light flashing a bright purple color across the snow. Lying in the snow were several dark shapes, not large enough to be anything more than objects the size of Jak’s arm. Certainly not bodies or anything more substantial.

  She found herself creeping forward to get a better look. But Perchel’s warning held her back. “Jak, be careful. You’re not as invulnerable as you once were.”

  Jak paused. Perchel was right. It wouldn’t pay to risk her life in this situation. Not when she could wait for the phenomenon to pass.

  And pass it did, though they had to wait a long time, longer than the last time the strange disks had begun appearing. Finally, the little bursts of light ceased, and Jak waited just a few minutes more to make sure they were not coming back any time soon.