Frost Arch (35 page)

Time seemed to pass in slow motion as the black bird took flight from the branches above and soared towards the ground so elegantly that it almost broke my heart to see such beauty.

Yet the bird’s beauty was nothing compared to Ræven’s true form. She morphed into her Mage self before she had even touched the ground, landing perfectly upon her feet. Ræven’s piercing blue eyes looked serious and as usual she only seemed to acknowledge me. She stared, and I stared back. Jack and I were both thinking the same thing. Was she here to let us know that it was all over? That I had been found? Perhaps there were people on the way? We didn’t know how long she had been following us. Surely long enough to fly away and collect reinforcement.

“Ræven” I breathed, “Please.” My eyes were wide with fear.

The young girl held up her hand to indicate silence. Her fingers were pale and petite like the rest of her. I suddenly wondered what Sebastian Forsythe had offered as a reward for my capture. Of course he would go to the fastest Mage’s in the city for help capturing me, and the fastest I knew were those who worked in the Messenger Service shop.

Ræven took one step closer to us, her hand still raised to indicate silence. Or was she warning us not to move now?

Jack had his hands on my shoulders, and I could tell from his body language that he seemed to be in a protective stance. It was flattering, but the silly boy was getting himself into trouble when he had done nothing wrong. Once again I was making someone’s life difficult.

“Jack, you should leave.” I muttered under my breath.

I felt his hands tighten their grip upon me.

“No.” He hissed without taking his eyes off Ræven who took another step closer.

“People might be on their way.” I objected, turning to face him.

“You don’t get it, do you?” Jack said incredulously, taking his eyes from Ræven and turning to look at me, “I’ll follow you no matter where you go.”

I stared at Jack as he snapped his head back to Ræven whom he glared at.

During my moment of speechlessness I turned to watch the beautiful girl before me. She was only a few paces from us now, staring at me intently. Her face held no emotion and I wasn’t quite sure what to make of this. My feet felt paralyzed and I noticed that I had become numb from the cold due to fear. I was useless. I couldn’t even protect myself.

“Avalon, you should run.” Jack whispered so soft that I barely heard him.

“No.” My eyes widened.

“I will stall her.” He promised as Ræven took another step closer, “She is only small.”

“Jack, I’m not leaving you!” I said a little louder than intended in my panicked state.

Ræven stopped and looked at us curiously. Her expression was one of confusion. She smiled.

My heart skipped a beat.

“Please.” Jack said to her, “You don’t understand.”

“No, Jack, wait.” I said, realizing something and putting a hand to his chest as he prepared to step in front of me.

“Avalon, no, I won’t let you be taken away.” Jack said angrily, “She’s stalling us because reinforcements are on the way.”

“Jack, shut up you silly boy.” I hissed, tugging at his shirt, “Look.” I said pointing to Ræven, “Really look at her.”

She stood there, her short black hair blowing slightly in the light breeze, the gathering darkness surrounding us. The moon was reflecting upon the snow and an eerie glow seemed to emanate from Ræven as she opened her mouth ever so slightly to whisper.

“Do not worry.”

Her voice carried on the wind like an angel’s and my breath faltered momentarily. Her voice was a pure song that felt as though it were caressing my ears as the wind blew past me. I looked at Jack and his mouth was hanging open, his eyes slightly unfocussed and arms dangling limply at his sides.

I couldn’t pin point the feeling but somewhere deep in my gut I really had stopped worrying. About everything.

I shook my head and attempted to remain focused, but I felt slightly dazed and lazy.

“Her voice.” Jack whispered, “It … I … I mean … she spoke … and it … it-”

“It affects everyone differently.” I said slowly as my head got clearer.

“It … it … I-” Jack struggled to find the words.

“Jack?”

Jack seemed to have forgotten who he was momentarily so I took the opportunity to sort this out once and for all.

“I know who you are.” I breathed, pointing a finger at Ræven who took yet another step closer to us. She was a mere meter away now. It seemed she was refraining from talking, which I appreciated for I needed to keep my wits about me for the time being. The effect was extremely pleasant, but not appropriate right now.

“Ava.” Jack muttered, returning to his senses, “Ava, do you realize who this is?”

“Yes, Jack, I know.”

“Ava, its Madame Feather.”

“Jack, I know.”

“But it’s her, it’s really her! That’s why she never talks!” He seemed quite excited that we were about to be given-away by his ultimate fantasy-woman, so I decided to ignore Jack for the time being.

“You have two Powers?” I said to Ræven quietly.

She nodded slowly her eyes focused on me as though she were trying to communicate something.

“I’ve never heard of that before.” Jack chimed in.

“You never talk because you lead two lives.” I confirmed, and Ræven nodded again. I couldn’t figure out what her eyes were trying to tell me. Could she really not talk without bringing me to the brink of unconsciousness?

A twig cracking in the distance made Jack and I spin on the spot and search for the cause of the sound. We saw nothing but a squirrel scurrying away. Turning back to Ræven I eyed her skeptically.

“Are people on their way?” I asked her seriously.

She shook her head and I saw no shadow of a lie upon her face.

“Why have you been following us?” Jack asked, sounding a little too eager. As usual Ræven completely ignored Jack and kept her eyes glued upon me. Jack hadn’t exactly asked a ‘yes or no’ question though.

“Are you going to hand us over the Sebastian Forsythe?” I asked, holding my breath.

Ræven shook her head again and I felt myself relax. I didn’t know why I believed her, I just did.

I wanted answers, but I could not get them without Ræven explaining herself. Perhaps I should take the chance and risk being incoherent for a few short moments in order to understand what she was doing here. Perhaps she knew where Hawthorne was!

My heart drummed wildly in my chest, “Do you know where Hawthorne is?” I whispered, my voice faltering, “Is that why you are here?”

Jack shot me a look, but I simply held Ræven’s gaze. Time seemed to go at a snail’s pace as I waited for her answer. Very slowly, Ræven nodded.

Before I knew it my hands were on Ræven’s shoulders and I was shaking her, “Please, you have to tell me. I don’t care if I pass out or go stupid, I have to know.”

“Avalon, how does she even know who Hawthorne is?” Jack said pulling me away.

“Who cares, Jack? She knows where to find him!” I was frantic and struggling to free myself from Jack’s grip.

“It could be a trick.” He muttered in my ear, so low only I would be able to hear it, “She could be stalling us, or trying to get information from us, without even saying a word.”

“That’s exactly it though.” I hissed, “If she wants us to be captured, she could simply hum a tune and knock us out cold.”

Jack didn’t know what to think of the whole situation, but my mind was made up.

“Not to mention she revealed her own secret to us, Jack. We know who she is and what she can do. Is that not enough proof that she won’t betray us?”

Jack frowned and loosened his grip.

“Please.” I turned to Ræven as Jack released me, “Please.”

Ræven looked at me skeptically for several seconds and she seemed unwilling to bestow her Power upon us. I was so frantic that I didn’t think anything could stop me from finding Hawthorne, not even Ræven’s most beautiful song.

Finally, she spoke very slowly and clearly. The clearest words I had ever heard, rippling through my being. The form her words took as she spoke them sounded like elegant wind chimes tinkling through my mind. I was sure this was how angels were meant to sound. Yet what I heard coming from her mouth still gripped me and rooted me to the spot with fear.

“I was flying above on a messenger job when I saw the servant Creeley twins harassing many half-humans in the poorer parts of the city. I took no notice until one of the brothers pointed to something in the shadow of the woods. Together they entered the trees and I heard a commotion. The sound of an animal growling reached me and I stopped upon a treetop to observe what was happening below.

“The Creeley twins have the power of teleportation, making them impossible to outrun. They were circling the winged fox you call Hawthorne and taunting him, teleporting themselves at an alarming rate making it impossible for your Hawthorne to escape.

When the game was lost they simply touched the fox and teleported him with them and out of sight.”

As Ræven stopped talking I felt light headed and realized I was kneeling in the snow. I had fallen to my knees and not even realized it. Looking behind me I saw Jack had his fingers stuffed in his ears, but it didn’t seem to have worked as well as he hoped. He was managing to remain upright, but staggered a little when he helped me to my feet. After several seconds I felt clear enough to form coherent sentences.

“They’ve taken him.” I breathed. Defeat seemed to be suffocating me, “Those men have taken Hawthorne.”

Jack scowled, “I told you I didn’t like the Creeley brothers.”

I vaguely recalled Jack’s brief explanation of the Creeley twins several weeks ago.

“Where would they have taken him?” I panicked, wringing my hands together.

“They work for Elvira Frost.” Jack reminded me.

Ræven cleared her throat and Jack stuffed his fingers back in his ears instantly.

I braced myself.

“Early this morning I delivered a message to Frost Mountain and I believe I heard yowling.”

My throat felt very dry as I recalled the enormous mountain that disappeared beyond the cloud bank which cloaked the sky, “Are you sure?”

Ræven nodded and I let out a groan of despair, “Argh, Jack, I told you someone got him!”

Jack bit his lip and ran a hand through his disheveled black hair. His ears, which were already noticeable due to their slightly larger size, were very pink.

“What do we do?” He said quietly, “We’ll get killed if we are caught sneaking into Frost’s lair. We’d never even make it past the Creeley brothers. Not to mention we’d be useless in a fight. All I could do is heal our wounds, and you can’t even use your Power to defend yourself at the moment.”

It was true of course. Any attempt at rescuing Hawthorne would be useless. Why did the Creeley brothers want to keep him there anyway? Was Hawthorne locked away in a freezing dungeon, being primed for experiments, or worse? Perhaps Elvira Frost was intrigued by such a strange creature.

“We need a plan.” Jack concluded.

“I know.” I muttered. I wanted nothing more than to burst in on these Creeley twins and Elvira Frost and pummel them stupid. How dare they take away the only good thing in my life. All this time I had thought that Hawthorne had run away and didn’t want to see me, when really it turned out he had been snatched away while giving me some space.

“We’ll go back to the Inn … we’ll think of something, I promise.” Jack said placing a hand on my shoulder for comfort.

I turned to Ræven, “Will you come?” Something about her presence here made me feel calm.

Ræven shook her head and gave me a small smile. As usual such beauty made my heart pang.

“Thank you for helping.” I said sincerely.

Ræven gave me a small nod, and glanced at Jack momentarily before turning on the spot and rocketing towards the sky in her bird form. I sighed looked at Jack helplessly.

“Do you think we will see Hawthorne again?”

Jack frowned and considered his answer for several moments, “I hope so.”

By the time Jack and I returned to the Inn it was very late. The bar was empty except for Samuel Bludvok who stood there cleaning glasses with a dirty rag, looking very intimidating, and Toby Stone, who appeared to have drunk quite a lot once again. Stone gave me a cheery wave and a smile which faltered when he saw Jack with me. Bludvok nodded to us and I gave him an appreciative smile as Jack and I ascended the stairs to the room I was staying in.

“Who was that?” Jack muttered to me once we were in the room and the door was locked.

“Who?” I said absentmindedly, removing Jack’s coat and heading to the fireplace. I scowled at the matches sitting on the mantelpiece and sat on the bed instead.

“That man with the curly hair.” Jack said, a crease forming on his brow as he acted casual and shrugged my coat from his shoulders.

“Oh, Toby Stone. He is a guard at the entrance gates to the city-”