Mystic Firestorm 2 Read online

  “By whose authority are you holding me?” she asked as the man tied her hands behind her back. He did not answer her as the other stranger examined the unconscious Prince.

  “Ariq take a look at our captive.”

  “Impossible, we could not have captured him,” Ariq said while lifting Prince Grandur's head up. The bearded man removed a knife from underneath his heavy cloak. “I want to know who you are and who he is?”

  “My name is Arieal and he's Prince Grandur.”

  There was a small pause of silence that was followed by a strange kind of laughter. Arieal did not find the man's humor to be funny at all. It was a cold, twisted laugh of discovery, a sound that had no compassion, no life. The Wildergirl had to think of something fast to get herself out of this predicament. She decided to wait these two strangers out and see what they were after.

  “Prince Grandur?” the other man laughed. “Girl, you must think that I'm a complete idiot.”

  “I'm not lying to you,” she replied desperately. “Who are you and what do you want with us?”

  “Forgive my manners,” he said with a mocking tone. “Your Prince will know me. I am Valendor.”

  “We have never met you before. We have done nothing to you. Prince Grandur has never been to this place that you call Iclandia.”

  Valendor lumbered past the Wildergirl with slow cautious steps. “Your lies do not convince me girl. Why would you be in the Upper Maze Mountains? Why would you be near the great Sloping Spikes? I have been tracking you for days. I lost you because you eluded me when you past the valleys of Iclandia. Now I will bring you back to my people to be tried for treason. You and your Prince will be executed shortly after.”

  Arieal couldn't believe what she was hearing. She looked at Valendor with disgust. The entire conversation made no sense at all. It was obvious that Valendor and Ariq had them mistaken for two other people.

  “Ariq, your companion will not listen to reason then you must. First of all, we have never seen you. Second of all, we come for the Kingdom of Shannon, from the far southlands, below the Lower Maze Mountains.”

  Ariq raised his hand. “I am sorry, but you must come with us. He is the one we have been searching for. He must go before our Council of Peers for the crimes he has committed. I don't know who you are, but you will also be executed for treason.”

  “Listen to me,” Arieal said rubbing her face. “You have us mistaken. I have never heard of this place called Iclandia. Where are you from?”

  “I have had enough of this. You will carry him girl,” Valendor ordered. “If you try to escape, I will kill you.”

  Arieal walked over and the men raised the Prince to his feet. Prince Grandur moaned as the blood rushed from his wound and Valendor grasped him by the collar with a powerful thrust. “You try anything and the girl dies.”

  “I understand,” Prince Grandur said weakly.

  They walked as Arieal wrapped her arm around his waist to support his weakened body. She wondered where they were going. The cold winds bit through her cloak as she looked before the towering peaks of Sloping Spikes.

  Arieal knew that each step brought them closer to death.

  **

  Quaid watched the colors of the sky change. They went from a light blue to deep amber as the winds blew across the barren rock. Noleann followed the stranger hoping to learn more information about him. The Bounty Huntress kept up with his quick movements. His large frame seemed to cut the chilling wind. They rested momentarily on a cliffside, which overlooked huge rows of great ice walls. She knew that it was an unexplored region to the southlands, but had the feeling that Quaid knew the entire region. He did not seem to be of the Six Providences. His dress was rugged and cumbersome. The huge furs looked warm and appeared to keep his body dry. Noleann felt her toes beginning to numb and she slowed her pace. The man stopped only after noticing that she was dragging behind.

  “We have little time,” the man said looking at the tired huntress.

  “I know, but my toes are hurting me.”

  “You are not very prepared for this journey. We only have a little more time to go before we reach a small mountain village.”

  That thought made her hungry. She rubbed her stomach and folded the cloak tightly around her neck. The man untied his tie strings and a small outer cloak draped into his hand.

  “Take this, it will keep you warm.”

  She took the fur cloak and wrapped around her frame while the man went through his undergarment. Beneath his cloak she could see large daggers that were strategically placed for easy access in case of ambush.

  “What village are you speaking of?”

  “I cannot tell you the name or the whereabouts of this place. It is much too dangerous. My identity and the position of this place must remain unknown to the others.”

  “Quaid, I have no idea who you are or what trouble you're in, but I will do my best to help you. I must go back to Treacherous Gorge and find my friends.”

  “It will be dark soon and I'm afraid you will have to wait for another day. I cannot guarantee you anything at this time. If they find us. They will kill us.”

  “Who is they?”

  The man handed her a pair of fur socks and tied his cloak up tightly. She took her boots off and put the socks on. Moments later they were on their way. Noleann knew that the man had purposely ignored her question. She followed behind hoping that they would reach this unknown place. She was getting cold and tired. Noleann was determined to find out the real identity of Quaid. The Bounty Huntress could see a long row of ice tipped mountains and in the back one huge, towering sheet of ice that slashed into the sky. The Northlands was a place of cold beauty. It was a land that few men walked or could survive because there was nothing but barren rock and snow. Noleann knew she was lost, and that Quaid was not going to show her the way back to her homeland. She knew it would be days before she could return to the familiar valleys of the midlands. She would have to stay at this unknown village in a place she knew nothing about. She knew that Arieal and Payne Axel were lost to her. She felt a terrifying helplessness at the destiny of her friends. Noleann had to find her cousin and she had to destroy the Hearthstone Sword. The Bounty Huntress knew that she was running out of time and there was nothing she could do except to wait until Quaid showed her the way back. They continued to walk as the great ice mountain spiked up into the air. Before her, another world was revealed, one that was harsh and uncaring.

  Tonight, she would dream more of what was to come.

  TWO

  The winter storm blasted the Sloping Spikes as Quaid and Noleann made their way through threadlike passageways. Huge snowdrifts formed from scraping winds that threatened the exposed areas of the body. Noleann's fur cape was white with snow and Quaid's beard frozen to his face. Quaid was eerily quiet and Noleann felt her body tingle as they reached another set of twisting paths that went around and up. All around her storm clouds swarmed and the snow blinded their view. Quaid steered her around specific areas that were thousand-foot drops covered by drifts. It was apparent to the Bounty Huntress that Quaid knew this strange land

  Noleann stopped in her tacks, “I can't go on.”

  “Just a few more leagues and we will be in the safety of a warm tavern in a small village.”

  “I hope you’re right,” she said as he extended his hand to her. His mask covered his face and she did not know what he looked like. Noleann had wrapped the scarf around her head and kept the cowl tightly closed to protect herself from getting frostbite. This storm did not appear to slow as the Mountaineer kept up his strong pace against the elements. Noleann felt herself become dizzy as she moved against the wind. Thick white clouds shrouded the great peaks of the Northlands. The cold biting snow would give her no relief as she trudged forward. Quaid stood before her and promptly disappeared as a gust of snow seared her face. She turned and called his name out as the snow blinded her. Noleann stepped forward and lost her footing. She fell and felt the snow press all aro
und body. Everything went black.

  The storm did not subside but grew and actually intensified in a harsh blast of wind and snow. Quaid ran through a small street carrying the wrapped-up girl in his arms. He ran down the cobblestone streets and past the sloping roofs in which warmth could be found. He turned the corner and went up an alley, his boots sinking into the foot of snow that had already fallen. He banged on the door three times and it opened. He rushed inside as others shot up to help him.

  “Shade sakes, Quaid, you know that you are not supposed to bring strangers here,” a woman with dark straight hair said.

  Quaid went to the end of the tavern and went into the next room and made his way up a spiral staircase. The women followed him and grabbed some hot water and tea. The others went about their usual business and ignored the situation.

  Quaid opened a door and entered a bedroom and placed the frozen body of Noleann on the bed. The women with the straight black hair pushed him aside and rushed him out. She then tended to Noleann.

  The Mountaineer sat at a table that overlooked the small village street below. No one was outside and the snowstorm had subsided. The girl with the black hair came to the table and sat down.

  “You broke our rule,” she whispered.

  “How is she?” he asked with great concern.

  “She'll be fine. If you’d been a few minutes later, she would have been dead. The cold air will just draw the life from you.”

  “Is she awake?”

  “No, ah, not yet.”

  “Gabreal, no one must know that she is here. Do you understand?”

  “Why?”

  “I cannot explain it to you know, but I will tell you this. She comes from below the Sloping Spikes, past the Maze Mountains, from the southlands.”

  “What is she doing here?” Gabreal sighed while watching the few strangers come in and sit down. “You know that she could be a spy sent here. She could jeopardize our lives, our haven.”

  Quaid grinned and rubbed his smooth face, “she is not threat to us. She may be able to help us.”

  Gabreal's blue eyes and red cheeks flushed with worry. She sat back and examined the situation with close scrutiny. She looked out the window and could see the large stars shining through the storm was gone. Icicles hung at the tip of the window and glistened with the firelight from the hearth.

  “She must gain our trust,” Gabreal shifted to see one of the strangers looking around.

  “She is no spy but may be able to help me in my quest.”

  “I understand, you know I would go and aid you, but I must stay here. The information we receive is valuable, it may help us to gain our rightful place back someday.”

  “Iclandia is plagued with too many problems, our people no longer belong,” the man yawned as he watched a stranger make his way over to the table.

  “You are wrong!” she stood up and folded her arms. Quaid went to say something, but Gabreal walked away. Quaid sat at the window and stared at the cold night.

  Noleann was served a bowl of warm soup as she sat up in the large pallet with intricate carvings. She felt the return of her senses as she sipped the soup and wondered how she had survived. She could not remember to many details except the cold feeling of suffocation by the dark snow.

  Quaid, her mind flashed. Where was he?

  “Right here Noleann,” his voice answered. She turned to see a clean-shaven face with large brown eyes and a masculine chin. Noleann smiled warmly and gave a laughed as he sat at the end of the bed. “What do you find so humorous?”

  “You’re nothing like I imagined.”

  “Sorry to disappoint you, Southlander.”

  She sipped the soup, “I'm not.”

  “Good because we have a lot to discuss,” he continued with his face becoming more serious and stern, “I have a grave problem that I cannot reveal to you at this moment, but I need you to trust me. I need your help.”

  Noleann sat up and examined the canopy covering around her bed. She took some more of the soup and nodded.

  “I will try to help you, but I must know what I'm getting into.”

  “If I reveal anything to you and they find out, everything will be ruined.”

  Noleann placed the bowl of soup down on the nightstand and took the napkin and wiped her lips. “I cannot help you if I do not know. I don't even know where I am, how I got here or really who you are for that matter.”

  Quaid was taken back by her direct inquiry and was compelled to ignore her questions. He felt torn between his reason and want. He stared out the window that was halfway covered with a thin frost. Noleann was fascinated by his reaction to her and found it hard to understand his reasoning. She felt odd for a moment and stared blankly at the air, Quaid sat there and looked at her.

  “Something wrong?” he managed after a moment of examining her.

  “I must get back. I have a mission.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Noleann wrapped the blanket around her frame and raised her soar body off the bed. She walked directly past a wooden bureau and opened a small closet.

  “You would never understand, Quaid.”

  “Try me.”

  “It would take me days to explain and some of it I don't understand,” she said while she slipped her leggings on and tucked in her shirt.

  “I need your help,” he pleaded.

  The Bounty Huntress stopped and stared at him. She felt a need to hear him out. Noleann sensed a horrible desperation, which lingered in the way his voice sounded.

  “Quaid, my friends are in danger.” I must go to the Eastland and search for them. I must find them.”

  The Mountaineer did not respond to her statement, he sat quietly on the bed hoping that the answer would fall in his lap. Noleann sensed his stress and turned to him with an angry look.

  “Quaid, if I could help you I would, but something terrible is about to happen in my land. I must go and help my people.”

  The words slipped from his lips, “they're going to execute my wife and my six-year-old daughter.”

  Silence filled the room as she stood there and threw the blanket on the bed.

  “Executed, but why?” He did not respond to her. “I cannot stay anymore.”

  Noleann looked out the great glass windows, in the distance, she could see huge white mountains towering into the night. Noleann felt an obligation to Quaid. He had come to her rescue on several different occasions, each time saving her life. Noleann thought about Dayven and the image she had seen, the vision that had been bestowed upon her. She knew down deep inside that if she did not reach him and the others would die. She was paralyzed by the very thought of her cousin's death. She knew that she had to reach him before he entered an unspeakable place that existed somewhere in Shannon. Noleann was faced with a choice, a sacrifice of her own bloodline or the innocent murder of a child and a woman. She turned to Quaid and wanted to speak, he stared at her reaction and left her alone in the room.

  Noleann had chosen to leave.

  The last of the customers and traders had left the tavern and Gabreal closed the doors and latched them. Blue stars peppered the northern edge of Iclandia. Quaid sat at the corner table and stared at the remaining embers and watched the ashes float up the chimney. Just as they floated upward, he thought about his daughter Jenya and his wife. He missed them and realized that time was running out for them. He would have to make the decision to give himself up to the Wizards of Iclandia. Quaid knew that once they had hold of him, he would be imprisoned. He knew that they were powerful and could sway the royal family. Quaid knew that something had to be done. The Mountaineer knew that if he were caught, they would torture him to get the location of the others. Quaid could not think of giving up the location to Crystal Breach, nor the secret tunnels of ice that the rebels made their way through. Quaid laughed at that thought and knew that he would have to kill himself. There were too many matters of state at hand. The soft shadow of Gabreal stood beside him and he felt her warm p
resence. Quaid felt the pain that she held inside. Gabreal had not seen her brother in a long time. Both shared the anger together but nurtured the memories of their loved ones. Gabreal watched him and then spoke.

  “She will not help you,” her blue eyes beamed brightly.

  “It was foolish of me to ask.”

  “What did you reveal to her?”

  A distant look washed over Quaid's face as he answered her question, “Nothing.”

  “Maybe it is better,” Gabreal tried to smile, but could not. Quaid did not respond, and she continued, “what was her reason?”

  “She did not answer.”

  “She cares nothing for our families or our feelings. It would be too dangerous to have her help us. Why must it be her? Why must you choose her?”

  Quaid grasped her hand and squeezed it lightly. “There is a feeling that I get from her. It is a strong, compassionate feeling, one filled with courage and fear.”

  Gabreal nodded and did not question Quaid's decision to pick Noleann to help her. She sat for another moment and looked out the window see the pale blue light reflect of the ice crystals. Her eye caught something, and she rose as Quaid realized the look in her eye. Suddenly the door was slammed with a blasting force and a blue light flashed into their eyes as Quaid and Gabreal ran for a side panel.

  “They have found us!” Gabreal screamed as she grabbed a fur on the wall and closed the panel. The women made her way through the dusty corridor and wound up a set of stairs. Quaid flashed quickly behind as they heard the entire place fill with booming voices and crashing glass. Quaid grasped a panel and opened it into a secret panel as Noleann turned ready to fight. Pounding noises were heard as she grabbed her cloak and boots and disappeared into the compartment.

  Gabreal did not waste a moment’s time as she moved throughout a stone wall that was cold and icy. Quaid tugged at Noleann's arm as the Bounty Huntress lunged forward in the darkness.

  “Where are we going?”