SWNOVELS Chapter AIA - INTO THE ICE AGE
Kars, Davin, Ezra, Daisy and Meara appeared in a flash of light. The sun was high above. They had expected it to be cold, but not the bitterness of the wind. A shelter stood nearby. Kars rotated taking in the scenery. The icy wasteland looked endless in every direction. He could feel the bitterness of the air and a strange sensation that he couldn’t identify, like his strength was being leached away.
“Holey moley,” Davin breathed out. Ezra was speechless.
“Everybody inside now!” Daisy ordered them; Meara was already at the door of the shelter, “Come on.”
Inside the shelter, the heater was burning. Karst and Daisy pulled their swords as Ezra unshouldered his AR. Someone was there.
“Show yourself,” Kars demanded, teeth chattering. He felt strangely dizzy, but he fought it.
A giant man and hooded woman, both clad in furs, stepped out from behind a stack of footlockers.
“Are you the Oracle?” the woman asked cautiously.
Daisy bowed, “Yes Princess,” she answered. She pulled off her head gear and fished out her amulet from under her clothes, “I am the Oracle, my name is Daisy. I wasn’t expecting you to come, I thought only your guardian would be here.”
The princess flipped her hood back. She was beautiful, blonde and had eyes like sapphires. Her regal pretense was abandoned as she rushed forward and hugged Daisy, “Thank you for coming to save my people,” she gushed gratefully, “When I received your first message, it was...”
“Daisy, it’s Kars!” Davin alerted her.
Kars was trembling uncontrollably as he sagged onto a crate, his sword clattered to the frozen floor.
Daisy calmly pulled her tablet, hooking it to the emitter cuff. “Sit as still as you can, Kars.” She removed his balaclava.
The princess gasped, demanding, “The lost prince?! What is wrong with him? What have you done?!”
Through gritted teeth, Kars asked, “D-D-Daisy...What is h-h-happening?” He focused on her, fighting the closing darkness to stay conscious.
“Hang on, almost there... this is going to sting, are you ready?” Daisy sounded completely calm.
Kars nodded, she tapped her tablet and his whole body jerked. He cried out through gritted teeth. It more than stung. He breathed in and out slowly, while she was taking readings. The pain and weird sensation began to fade.
“Better?” Daisy asked. She handed her tablet to Davin, who frowned at the readings.
“Yes, th-thank you.”
“What is the meaning of this?” the princess demanded.
“Forgive me, Princess, but the concentration of time energy is exponentially higher than it was when I took the reading last year. The effect was stronger than I expected. I have made the adjustments that should allow Prince Karstien to resist the effects of the time poisoning for a while,” Daisy explained.
“But how? Why would he have time poisoning?” The Princess demanded.
“Because, Princess, he exists twice now,” Daisy answered factually.
The giant warrior clenched his fists as Allura exclaimed in fear, “But he will die, he cannot stay here.”
Before Daisy could answer, Kars interrupted, “Do not blame the Oracle, it is a risk I was willing to take to save your people, my princess.” He looked up at her eyes, they were the most perfect color of blue, and for a moment he was afraid she was a hallucination.
“Thank you, my prince,” the princess responded softly, not looking away. He was willing to die for her people and for her, and they had just met. Being from a royal court filled with selfish status climbers and betrayers, it amazed her because she has never met anyone so selfless except her guardian.
Daisy held up Kars’ wrists, “These cuffs will protect him for the side effects for a time. They are secured with a locking mechanism and cannot be removed except by one of us. The Prince is as safe as I can make him.”
After a moment, Ezra asked, “How did all our gear get here in two trips?”
“Actually, there were a few more, six in total.” Meara laughed, announcing, “Taylor loaned us a few guys... and I was bored between tourneys once school summer break started... and Daisy needed to get readings... and send messages the princess. And we knew you wouldn’t suspect both of us of time-jumping.”
Ezra shook his head as Davin rolled his eyes, and Meara giggled at them. She bowed to the princess, and introduces herself, “Princess Allura of Atlantia, I am the Mazoni Meara Garrett, here to protect and aid you in any way I can.”
The giant scarred guardian stared down at the small Mazoni, through tinted goggles, nodding impassively. Allura smiled graciously at the youthful warrior. “Many thanks, Mazoni Meara Garrett, we have not had one of your rank for many generations.”
“Ezra, Meara, can you please get the gear ready? Davin and I need to take readings,” Daisy asked politely.
Ezra eyed her suspiciously and nodded, if she was being this polite to him, there was a problem. She and Davin headed out the door, the guardian followed.
“We have to get Kars off the ice,” Davin said, “the time energy has doubled since the last reading.”
Daisy nodded and added, “The emitter field was designed for 17 to 21 days, but the battery won’t take this drain for more than 11, even 10 days is risky. The ice is amplifying the effect on him. We have to find its source and shut it down.”
The guardian spoke for the first time, his voice was harsh and deep, as though it had been damaged. “Did you bring the lost prince here to die, Oracle?” He accused her. His goggles hid any expression of concern or emotion.
“No,” Daisy stated flatly, “But we only have 10 days to reclaim Atlantia, destroy the source of the ice, and banish the Shadowed king. No matter what happens to the rest of us, Guardian, in 10 days, you must return the prince here and send him home, or he will die. The beacon will return for the rest of us after. Do you understand?”
“Yes Oracle, the beacon will return in 10, and again after,” He answered.
“Do your people know where the ice comes from, Guardian?” She asked.
“No, Oracle,” he answered. “We have searched but the sickness from the ice forces the parties to return, if they return at all. Many have been lost.”
“Thank you for your help, and your concern about Prince Karstien. We will do all that we can to aid your princess and your people,” she announced in a formal tone. He bowed and turns back to the shelter. She looked after him, fingering the amulet under her coat.
“Jeez, Daisy! 10 days!” Davin shook his head, running a gloved hand through his bleached hair then pulled his hood back up.
“We can do it, we have to,” she insisted, looking out across the ice field. “You know what will happen if we fail.”
They rode the snow machines across the frozen wasteland, by late afternoon they had arrived across the sea from the great city. Daisy had place them far enough away from the city that their arrival point would not be detected. Near the edge of the ice, they set up a temporary camp in an ice valley out of sight of Atlantia. Their zodiac would carry them across to the city after nightfall. Damien would have no idea they were here until they wanted him to. Together, they climbed the ridge, to look at the city through binoculars.
“Oh, wholly crap,” Ezra exclaimed in English, “The freaking ice just stops.”
Meara was gaping like a fish, she grabbed his binoculars and looked through them, the strap still around his neck, half-choking him.
"Ack! You're... ch-choking... me..." he twisted to get his head out of the loop as she scolded, "Hold still."
“It looks like the tropics, how is this possible?” Davin asked in Atlantian while they struggled beside him.
“The city protects itself from the ice, as it would from any natural disaster.” Allura explained, like it was perfectly normal for a 60-foot wall of ice to stop in a perfect circle. There are a few places where there are crevasses down to the water.
Finally freeing his head from the strap of the binoculars, Ezra gave a low whistle, “Think of all the lives we could save with that tech.”
Before anyone else could speak, Meara interrupted, “Damien, black tower at 11 o’clock, second balcony from the top.”
Daisy looked through the scope of her custom sniper rifle, her breath hissed through her teeth. She could kill him now. For a moment, she felt all her pain from the death of her family and Kaleth. It would hurt him if she kills him now, when he revived he would be in pain for days. It was so tempting.
Kars sensed her distress, and he placed his gloved hand on her arm, “Easy Daisy, remember the mission.”
She rolled over onto her back; tears were freezing on her cheeks as she pulled her balaclava back down. She slid away from the ridge and rose, slinging her rifle on her back, then stomped through the snow toward the camp hidden in an ice cave. They all turned back to the city, except the Guardian, who watched her until her snow camo turned her into a ghost on the wasteland.
“She could have pinged him, it would have hurt,” Meara pointed out.
Ezra nodded. They had seen Daisy’s shooting skills during their training sessions, any target up to two miles away was dead if she decided to shoot it. Neither would mind seeing Damien dying or regretted the pain he would feel after he revived.
Princess Allura asked curiously, “Does the Oracle seek Prince Damien’s death?”
Kars nodded as he watched Damien surrounded by his followers, answering somberly, “I should tell you, my princess. He is my brother, and he has murdered everyone she has ever loved, including my father. She knows if she kills him, he will suffer but we will be revealed. If she forever kills him now, all but one she lost could be saved. However, she also realizes the timeline would be corrupted beyond repair. She knows he must live and be banished. I would kill him myself for the pain he has caused and will cause, but it cannot be.” He finished angrily, seeing his brother again through the high-powered scope, reminded him of all the pain and evil his brother had wantonly caused but if they killed Damien now, none of them would ever meet. They would not know to come back and stop the ice age, the change would destroy the future.
Allura placed her hand on his, saying softly, “I am sorry for her loss, she must be very brave.”
“She is.” Kars turned to look at her, and praised, “And you are very brave for living in the presence of such evil, and not giving up hope.”
She blushed, he decided she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and in nine days, he would have to leave her. possibly for thousands of years. He doesn’t care, he could feel his love for her now, he feels like his whole life had led up to meeting her. Finding his sealed one felt exactly like his father and grandfather had said it would.
After dark, they skimmed across the water in the zodiac, and K’eth, the guardian guided them through the channels. Meara had finally charmed his name out of him. The murmur of the city covered the whisper of the motor as they stealthily sneaked into the city. They were led through a labyrinth of tunnels to a secret entrance leading to the princess’s garden terrace.
“I have clothing and hats so you may blend in with our people,” Allura offered, “And these rooms are for your rest and refreshment, none shall find you here.”
“Thank you, princess,” Karstien responded. Meara and Daisy murmured their thanks in ancient Atlantian.
Ezra flopped on a bed, “Oh man, I need a nap.” He said in their modern language
Davin rolled his eyes, and groaned, “I just need a cup of coffee and a shower.”
Daisy nodded, then begged, “Me too, make some please.”
“I thought you packed it,” Davin gasped.
“No, you were supposed to bring it,” Daisy insisted. “I am not allowed to go in the kitchen. Remember?”
“Ohgawd, I forgot to pack it… I don’t even have instant,” Davin confessed.
Daisy stared at him horrified, then shouted, “Omigawd, we have no coffee in the middle of an ice age!”
For a moment, Daisy looked like she was going to attack him as Meara snickered, “Well, we might as well go home, Damien’s gonna win.” To Allura, she said in Atlantian, “My Princess, do your people drink coffee? It is a hot beverage made from the roasted seeds of a rubiaceae bush.”
Allura frowned, shaking her head as she muttered the strange word. “Cof-fee… I am sorry, Davin, Daisy, but I don’t think we have cof-fee. I have never heard of it. We have tea if you desire a warm beverage.”
Daisy and Davin both groaned like they were ill, as Meara laughed at them. Ezra just snickered, then said in their language, “Don’t look at me, I don’t have any. I gave it up because the smell makes Fianna's morning sickness worse.“
Karstien half-smiled at their banter, then added in Atlantian, “Tea is fine, Princess Allura. Thank you for your consideration.”