Frost Fire (Frost Series #6) (18 page)

Rose noticed how Logan bounded to his feet at the sight of Breena, his face shining with happiness and love. She bit back her envy.
Now isn't the time
, she told herself.
Not now.
But there was no doubt in her mind that Logan's love for Breena was as strong as ever. Why should she be surprised, she told herself bitterly? Had she thought that during this adventure, during their quest, he had begun to wean himself off from this love?
Never
.

“We came as quickly as we could,” said Kian. “The symbol of Frost Fire – blue and gold light – was enough to lure us in.”

Blue and gold light.
The magic they had used to free Alistair! No wonder they had gotten here so quickly, Rose thought.

“We were in the middle of a diplomatic meeting with the Pixies,” said Breena. “Not as far as we might have been. The Pixies' palace isn't too far off from here.”

“Negotiating.” Delano stepped up behind Breena, his voice light with irony. “It appears our Breena hasn't lost her touch since becoming Queen.” He tried to keep his tone jocular, but Rose saw the longing in his eyes. So, he too was in love with Breena. Rose smiled bitterly. The Pixie King and the Fairy Queen – what a combination! But Delano's mournful expression vanished and was replaced with a more business-like countenance. “Is it the Hordes? Are they back?”

He was answered by the roaring of the mountain. It cracked from side to side with a loud rumbling, and the gang could see more figures emerge from the shadows within.

“We've found the suns,” said Logan, pointing to the charcoal balls that lay in the middle of the pit. “But right now they're pretty useless. We'll need to use all of Feyland's magic to restore the suns.”

“So, this is all that's left of our beloved suns...” Delano scowled as he approached the crater. “So, this is what has become of all that we hold or held dear. Yes, you're right – it would be difficult to restore them from this state. Even impossible. We'd need great magic – not just fairy magic, mind you, but Pixie skill as well. The ancient magic of Feyland, that came before the division of its creatures into different tribes of creature.”

“Whatever magic we need,” said Shasta, “we'd better use it pretty quickly” She drew her sword, breathing in deeply. “They're coming closer.” As she spoke, one of the Dark Hordes – an enormous Minotaur –  swooped down upon their camp, neatly goring one of the Centaurs – arrived with the Fey – with its tusks.

“Get back!” cried Kian, brandishing his sword. But as he stabbed the Minotaur, he looked back in horror. His sword had gone clean through the creature, which seemed to have transformed into mere shadow. “They've attained new power,” he cried. “It's not safe, get back!”

“Rose!” Breena cried, rushing towards them, “Alistair! You have to use your magic. You two are the most powerful magicians in Feyland – you know what to do. We need to restore the suns; it's the only way. We can't fight them off the normal way – without the suns, we'll be slaughtered!”

Rose and Alistair approached the crater, reciting all the spells they knew. They concentrated their Summer energy on the suns, and saw that a few pale sparks were emerging from the lifeless balls of sun.

“It's not enough,” cried Rose. “We need all of you to do it with us – Summer, Winter Fey, Pixie Wolf – everything together...come on!”

But she looked up in horror as she saw what had retarded the rest. Another crack had appeared in the opposing mountain – one far larger than the one in the mountain nearest them. Rose shuddered in terror. More Hordes were approaching – each more fearsome than the last. They were truly outnumbered.

Chapter 19

T
he battle was raging all around them. Kian and Breena quickly found that the Dark Hordes could only attack when they had taken material form – their shadowy selves, though unable to be killed, could also not kill – and this realization allowed them to survive a little longer than they had feared. Kian was able to wave his sword into the air, slashing the wind, and by so doing force the Hordes back to some degree. But they knew it was hopeless. Even Rose knew it, as she hurriedly chanted the same spells over and over, willing something more than sparks to appear in the suns. She and Alistair were holding hands, now, their connection stronger than ever as the pulse of fairy magic ran through them both. Breena and Delano, Rose noted, were fighting back to back, warding off the Dark Hordes together. She remembered bitterly that Delano had once been her enemy and theirs – like Shasta, he had helped to bring the Dark Hordes into the world. But now he was redeemed, fighting along Breena as – if not a lover – then nevertheless a friend, an ally to all Fairy kind. Rose looked up to see Rodney and Shasta fighting alongside the other Frost Fire knights, expressions of determination on her face. Logan too was some distance off, fighting with Josephine against a coterie of banshees whose screeches made Rose's ears bleed.

“It's just the two of us then,” Rose said shakily. She knew that as long as the others were distracted by the fighting, they would not be able to join the circle – the magic would never work.

“Don't lose heart,” said Alistair. “We're so close. We've made it all the way out here to find the suns. The Sorceress – she's desperate now. She knows how close we are – how close we are to restoring the suns and destroying her power forever. She knows – that's why she's doing this. She's scared. We've scared her. We have to hold on to that.” The suns were getting a bit brighter now, glowing a faint but unmistakable shade of red, growing in size. Rose's heart leaped. Could their magic be working?

“We need more people,” said Rose. “Even if it means stopping fighting – we need Breena.” She rushed to Breena's side, whispering the plan in her ear. “Right now it's more important to have magicians than fighters – we need anyone with magic to use it – now.” Rose saw Breena look up at Kian – a knowing look passed between them.
Telepathy
, Rose thought. Rodney and Shasta too communicated in the same way, and Rose felt a pang. Telepathy was the provenance of lovers, she knew – but hadn't she felt that same connection with Logan? Whatever it was, it certainly was gone now.

Delano, Breena, and the others approached the circle.

“You need to give your magic to the suns,” said Rose. “Just hold our hands and
focus
. Pixie magic, Fey magic – all together. We need to tap into the ancient magic of Feyland.”

“We wolves don’t have that magic to give,” Logan said grimly. “We’ll fight them off while you restore the suns. Now go!”

“Not alone!” Breena cried. “It'll be a bloodbath.”

Logan said nothing, but only nodded as he walked off to join Josephine and their wolves. It was a suicide move, Rose knew, her heart stopping as she cast her eyes over Logan's firm and stiff expression. Sacrificing himself to keep them safe enough to perform the magic. Tears sprang to her eyes.

“We have to start now,” Alistair pulled at her hand.

They all held hands, Rose and Alistair leading them as they gave over the power of their magic to the suns. Slowly the suns began burning brighter – not only with the red glow of summer but also with the silver of winter and the green color of the pixies, growing in size. Rainbow-colored flames began to lap at the balls of charcoal – flames that shone with magic.

Out of the corner of her eye Rose could see the wolves fighting a losing battle against the Dark Hordes, their red blood staining the earth as one by one, they dropped to the ground, dying in the service of the cause.

Is this what always happens?
Rose wondered.
The wolves – dying for the Fey?
She was awestruck by their bravery.

“Keep fighting!” Logan was calling out. “Don't hang back. If we die, we die in the service of Feyland. We have to hold them off until the suns are restored or everyone in Feyland, dies.” His wolves howled in assent – they too were brave enough to sacrifice their lives, not just for Breena, but for all of Feyland.

Now Logan was on the front line – the next to fight the Hordes, the next to be slaughtered...

“No!” Rose whispered. “Please, no...”

But to her surprise a female figure pushed Logan out of the way, receiving a Minotaur's horn straight in the stomach: a killing blow. “No!” It was Logan's turn to cry aloud in agony. Rose watched as Josephine crumpled to the ground, an expression of stern defiance on her face. Her relief at Logan's survival mingled with her pain: Josephine had sacrificed her life for her cousin. Would Rose have been as brave, she wondered?

But there was no time to look back now. She and the other Fey were chanting aloud, chanting words that Rose spoke, that seemed to come not from Rose's conscious mind but from the depths of her being, shaking her to the core. Words in a tongue she did not know and could not understand – a power that went beyond her own knowledge, her own understanding.

And suddenly the balls of light were glowing brighter – the multi-colored flames pouring into the core of the suns. They began to rise from their position in the crater, growing larger and larger as they floated upwards, their penetrating rays shining forth over the Dark Hordes.

“It's working...” Rose whispered. “We're doing it...” As she spoke these words, she was gripped with an intense burning warmth that radiated through her entire body until it shot forth a single pure white flame, reaching up to hit the core of the suns. It was the final flame that was needed to ignite the suns once again.

The suns rose high in the sky, and the light was blinding as a wave of magic swept through all the Fey and Wolves alike, causing them to shake to the core. In an instant, the light swept over the earth, and the Dark Hordes vanished, extinguished by the sun's glorious shadow.

All was silence. Those who survived were shaking with exhaustion, as their magic at last gave out. Shasta and Rodney fell to their knees; Breena and Kian fell into each other's arms. Alistair was on the ground, his eyes closed, his skin whiter than wax...

“Rose!” Breena ran forth. “What's happened to you?”

Rose looked down in surprise. Something in her – no, her very body itself – was glowing – her auburn hair had grown long and glimmered with a shining white light; her skin was white and shining with some strange power. Breena was looking over at Alistair. “Alistair – what's happened to
him
?”

The voice with which Rose spoke was not her own. “He couldn't handle the magic,” she said, in an ethereal voice. “The magic was too much for him. The Sorceress' shadow was able to overtake him earlier – now he is exhausted.”

“Your voice...” Breena looked up in confusion. “I remember that voice. The Enchantress – from the mountains...” She looked Rose in the eye, and recognized the glimmer there that she had seen in that ancient but ageless woman who had once offered her Kian's life in exchange for her own. “You're back.”

The Enchantress touched her heart. “Your friend is alive, fear not. She is in here. But the time of the Sorceress is approaching. This defeat is but one battle, not the war. She does not take kindly to this defeat. But Feyland is in need of ancient magic to protect it. More ancient than even you can provide, Queen. Feyland needed a saviour to protect it. If the Sorceress can harbour her magic in another, so can I. She chooses the weak, but I choose the worthy. Rose had potential – her goodness, her strength, her innocence and power alike made her a fitting vessel for the ancient powers from the dawn of Feyland. She had a destiny. That is why she could read the Book of Gwenhyfar without fear. I was with her in those times. I absorbed the darkness that was in that book.”

“So that's why it worked for her and not for Alistair...” Shasta approached.