Blue Fire and Ice (37 page)

Whatever it was, it roared again and advanced towards Kevin. It was an angry roar and Kevin was certain it was going to eat him right there in the kitchen. Kevin didn’t have a problem with the creature eating in his kitchen. It was the menu that worried him.

The creature was right in front of him. Its eyes blazed and as it opened its mouth to roar, Kevin could see each and every one of its long, sharp teeth. He couldn’t move and waited for the teeth to sink into him.

They didn’t. The bear didn’t even roar. Instead, it emitted a long, rumbling growl. It raised an extremely large, furry paw with wickedly sharp claws – and poked him in the chest.

Miniver was puzzled. Finding another Beadle in the cave was very unexpected. She had expected to find the woman she had trailed here, not someone who reminded her a great deal of Brian. She sniffed the air and suddenly realised what the other smell was that she had detected. Brian. Brian had been here. And if Brian had been here and that dreadful woman had been here …

Her anger rose again and her growl became a roar. She raised her paw – well, Eugene’s paw – and pushed Kevin backwards.

‘Where is she!’ she roared. ‘What’s happened to Brian?’

Of course, Kevin didn’t understand a word she said. He didn’t even know she was talking to him. He feared the bear – the creature – was playing with him, like a cat plays with a mouse just before it pops the mouse in its mouth. He wished he would faint. If he was going to be eaten alive, he preferred not to know about it until it was all over.

‘Miniver!’ came a voice from the outer room. ‘Miniver! Be careful!’

Kevin was aware of figures rushing through the doorway, calling. Miniver. That sounded familiar. Relief flooded Kevin as the bear dropped its paw and turned to look at the approaching figures. Kevin, his heart pounding harder than should have been possible, caught sight of the people coming into his kitchen. And then he fainted.

*

He opened his eyes. A woman’s face peered anxiously at him.

‘That’s a nice face,’ Kevin thought, his head still feeling fuzzy. ‘I must be in hospital. She’s wearing a nurse’s blouse. And board shorts.’ And he fainted again.

‘I think he’s fainted again,’ said Crimson. She plucked a watch from her pocket and felt for Kevin’s pulse. ‘Pulse is fine. He’ll be OK. The dude’s just had a shock of some kind, I think.’ She shivered. ‘Right now I wish Wave wore long trousers. It’s too cold up here for shorts.’ She looked at Grunge. ‘And a tutu. You’ve got goose bumps on your legs.’

‘At least Japes wears long sleeves,’ said Grunge, smiling.

‘Here, let me look at him,’ said Aunt Mag. She stood over Kevin and shook him gently. ‘Come on, wake up,’ she said softly. ‘Wake up, now.’

Kevin stirred and moaned. He seemed to be holding his eyes tightly closed.

‘He’s definitely a Beadle, but I’ve never seen him before,’ declared Aunt Mag. ‘I wonder where he’s from and what he’s doing here?’

Copper and Dot entered through the alcove.

‘There’s another tunnel through that alcove. She might have gone through there. And we found this on the floor,’ said Copper. He held up a torch. ‘It’s Brian’s, I think.’

Crimson looked at Miniver, sitting on Bray’s hind legs. ‘Then Miniver was right. She said she could smell Brian here.’ Crimson sounded worried. ‘But where is he?’

‘Has he come to yet?’ asked Dot.

Aunt Mag nodded. ‘He’s just coming around. Now, don’t start asking him questions right off. Give him a minute or two.’

The six of them surrounded Kevin. He groaned and opened his eyes. Fortunately, the first face he saw this time belonged to Aunt Mag. She smiled and patted his arm.

‘Feeling better, dear?’ she asked.

Relief flooded through him at the sight of Aunt Mag. He nodded. ‘You’re a Beadle, aren’t you?’

‘Why, of course, dear,’ she replied. ‘I’m Aunt Mag. And who are you?’

‘Kevin. My name’s Kevin.’ He glanced at Crimson and Grunge. ‘Are they … Muddles?’ he asked Aunt Mag.

‘That’s right, dear. This is Crimson, and this is Grunge. And this one’ – she pointed to the bear – ‘is Miniver.’ Crimson and Grunge gave Kevin a smile. Miniver just gave him another low growl.

Kevin sat up and whispered in Aunt Mag’s ear. ‘Are they always like that?’

‘Oh, gracious, no. They’ve just mixed.’

‘And are they …’ he looked at Copper and Dot, ‘… Myrmidots?’

‘They are, indeed. The serious one is Copper and the young, pretty one is Dot.’

‘They’re not … Factors, are they?’

‘Factors? I don’t believe so.’ Aunt Mag turned to Copper and Dot. ‘You’re not Factors, are you?’

‘What’s a Factor?’ asked Dot.

Kevin slumped back in the chair. ‘Then Brian was telling the truth,’ he said. He hung his head and put his face in his hands.

The companions looked at each other.

‘Kevin,’ said Crimson, ‘we need to know about Brian. ‘Where is he? Is he OK?’

Kevin started to sob. ‘I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. He could have got away but I stopped him. It’s all my fault. Now she has him.’

‘She?’ asked Crimson. ‘The woman with the red hair?’

Kevin nodded. ‘Amelia. Her name is Amelia. She took Brian.’ He made a great effort and stopped sobbing.

‘Where did she take him, Kevin?’ asked Grunge.

Kevin pointed towards the alcove. ‘The tunnel. She took him into the tunnel.’ He looked at the companions. ‘She hurt him. He kicked her and she hit him.’ Guilt filled his voice. ‘He wasn’t moving.’

Miniver stood. Her hackles were up and she growled.

‘Yes, Miniver, we’ll get Brian. Don’t worry,’ replied Crimson. ‘Kevin, where does the tunnel go?’

He shook his head. ‘I don’t know. I’ve never been in there.’

‘I’ll find him,’ growled Miniver. ‘And her, too. Let’s go.’

Copper handed Brian’s torch to Crimson. ‘Here. Now we have two.’

Kevin slid off the chair and went to a box in the corner of the kitchen. He opened the lid, reached inside and brought out two more torches.

‘Here,’ he said. ‘You can use these as well.’

Dot and Grunge took the torches.

‘Thank you, Kevin,’ said Grunge.

The companions made for the alcove. Kevin stood, watching them. He hesitated, then said, ‘May I come with you?’

‘Sure,’ said Crimson.

Kevin wiped his eyes with his sleeve. ‘Thank you,’ he said.

They filed through the alcove and into the tunnel. Kevin felt his remorse overtaken by determination. He would help find Brian. He would make up for what he had done.

Chapter 14

A
melia walked quickly through the tunnels, the light of her torch a yellow pool in front of her. She knew these tunnels well. She could have made her way in darkness through the twists and turns had she chosen.

Her grip on the small hand in hers never weakened. Amelia could feel Brian stumble after her. Whenever he fell, she dragged him without pause, until he regained his shaky feet.

Curses flowed through her head. It should have been so easy! She knew they would make for the snowfield and she had made sure she was ready before the sun had risen. Then she had waited.

Earlier that morning, from her hiding place on the slope of the mountain at the western side of the snowfield, she had watched them appear at the crest of the ridge. They were later than she had anticipated, and it had puzzled her that there was one missing. She had scanned the companions. The pompous little Beadle must have stayed behind. ‘No matter,’ she had scoffed. ‘He would be easy to deal with.’ She laughed to herself and gave Brian’s arm a sharp tug that sent him sprawling again. She was so very right; he was. Just like all his kind.

The travellers had stood at the crest and looked out over the wide expanse of the mottled snowfield; a wide expanse of white dotted with patches of blue. They had started to descend from the ridge onto the snowfield, the great bear pulling the sledge. Amelia didn’t move. She had made her preparations. All she had to do was wait. And watch …

*

Miniver barely felt the sledge. The surface of the snowfield was smooth and even; its coating of snow light and soft, with a thin icy crust that made the sledge glide without effort. Occasionally, in places where the snow was softer or the icy crust hadn’t formed, she could feel the runners bite, but her momentum carried her forward without pause. She resisted the urge to run. It seemed easy now, but she knew it would be harder once they had the ice. She would need all her strength.

From the moment they descended the ridge, Crimson felt the voiceless calling grow stronger. The sense of connection, that strange pull that had been in her head since they crossed the river, grew stronger. She was sure that whatever called to her was near.

As they made for the peak, they could see why the ice would periodically shake loose from the mountain and tumble to the snowfield. From the field to the line of the ice it was no more than ten metres but the mountain rose almost vertically from field to ice. No snow clung to its steep face. Here and there, blue icicles, like long, sapphire tears, pointed downwards from overhanging rocks and small outcrops but the face was too sheer to hold even the lightest wisps of snow.

Halfway across the snowfield they stopped for a brief rest. A cold wind had begun to blow from the mountain due north; the highest mountain of all the High Mountains. Dot foraged in one of the packs and retrieved a piece of dried fish for Miniver.

‘Thank you, Dot,’ growled Miniver and she swallowed the snack in a single gulp.

‘You’re welcome,’ replied Dot.

Miniver cocked her head and looked quizzically at the young girl.

Dot laughed. ‘No, I didn’t understand but it wasn’t hard to figure out what you said,’ she said, stroking Miniver’s flank. ‘It’s not just words that speak to us.’

The others stood and looked at the sheer face of the blue peak.

‘Well, we won’t be going up that way,’ said Copper. ‘Even without the sledge, we’d never climb it.’

‘We’ll go up the snowfield to the ridge that runs from that big mountain. It seems to lead to the top of the peak on the other side,’ decided Grunge.

‘And if not?’ asked Copper. ‘How do we get the ice if we can’t climb up there?’

Nothing was going to dampen Grunge’s spirits. They had come this far and they would get the blue ice. ‘Well, we could wait until it falls on us,’ he answered cheerfully.

‘No point in just standing here discussing what if,’ said Aunt Mag. ‘Let’s go and have a look.’

Dot was standing next to Miniver, waiting for the others to decide. She glanced over at Crimson, who had an uneasy, watchful look on her face.

‘Are you all right, Crimson?’ Dot asked.

The question caught the attention of the others. As one they turned to look at Crimson.

‘That feeling is stronger out here. It’s not the feeling of someone but something,’ Crimson replied. ‘It doesn’t feel threatening, exactly. It’s just … here.’

‘Well, the sooner we get the ice and get back to camp, the better,’ said Aunt Mag in her no-nonsense voice. ‘And that wind is getting stronger. I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re in for some snow later.’

Grunge glanced at the sky. It was still bright and clear, unmarred by clouds except for a small wisp of white hovering above the western horizon.

They set off again across the ivory-white field. The destination that they had risked so much to reach loomed directly in front of them, a tower of rock and blue ice in the highest reaches of the Land.

*

Amelia watched the sledge slew sideways. The runners dug through the thin layer of snow she had spread over the fire rock. She had mixed just enough blue ice with the snow to keep the rock from igniting until the runners would disperse the snow and ice, exposing the rock to the air. Now the power of the blue fire would do the rest.

Miniver trudged in her harness, her thick fur keeping the chill wind at bay. Ahead of her, Crimson and Aunt Mag tramped towards the blue peak, their snow sticks helping them to stay upright on the slippery surface. Dot was at Miniver’s side, as usual, holding onto the harness and keeping up a steady stream of chatter. Grunge and Copper walked behind, their backs bent against the strengthening wind.

Miniver heard a small, sharp explosion and felt the ground tremble. The sledge lurched and tugged at her harness. She tried to adjust her stride to bring the sledge back into line but her hind legs were pulled from under her. Miniver staggered, knocking into Dot and sending the young apprentice sprawling. Clawing at the icy surface, the bear had to use all the power of her legs to get upright, then she pulled the sledge away from the fire burning the snow and white ice behind her. She could feel the tank starting to sway, threatening to overturn the sledge.

Crimson and Aunt Mag turned at the sound of the fire rock igniting. They saw tongues of blue flame shoot from the ground and Miniver struggle to control the sledge.

‘The fire rock!’ cried Crimson. ‘There’s not enough blue ice in the snow!’ She scanned the ground around her. ‘There!’ She pointed ahead where larger patches of blue dotted the snow.