The Dream Keeper's Dragon

3.41 Ice and Fire

An eerie silence came from the room, it was strange, but they didn't really think much of it as they walked. They turned the corner and Kirin stopped. Aurelie took one step forward, then stopped, turning to see what drew Kirin's attention.

Purple swirls surrounded him, and a silver ring formed around his pupil. As his shadow split from him and grew its own form. A wall of ice lurched out of the ground and split the two of them.

Aurelie set fire to her hands and turned. A chill wind blew. The dull knocks of Kirin's fists were almost unheard. Lukas stood in the middle of the room, clad in a floor-length, ice-blue coat, the collar of which was covered in sharp transparent crystals.

"Welcome," he said, putting his hands together as if in prayer.

Kaiden's body was frozen right beside him, and the bodies of the council members were spread around the room in various positions. One had his hands up, the other looked to be running toward the door. Aurelie stopped herself from inspecting Kaiden. She didn't want that to be her last memory of him.

"Fire always wins, Lukas," she said.

"What have you won?" He cocked his head like an inquisitive bird. "You've done nothing for yourself. You got your power by being born. Your granddaddy gave you more power because he thought you'd be the easiest target. The only reason he couldn't is that you had an army protecting you and I wasn't bothered enough to help him. I killed your daddy so that you could have his crown. And then, like a good little girl you dragged them all her." He lifted a finger. "I bet it was when I killed your daddy. I can almost picture you now," his lifted his hands as if an image appeared right in front of him, "dressed in white - nice job marrying the bloke from Redayrah, that I didn't see coming - "

"Is that because I was so utterly and completely disgusted by you?"

"Is that my - " He looked at her and exaggerated look of surprise on his face. "It cannot be!"

"Lukas," she said, she looked away and back again in confusion, "We have you surrounded." Had he woken up by a sudden slumber?

A loud cracking noise sounded from above her. It sounded like glass but duller, less

"No," Lukas said quite smugly. raising a finger, "actually, that's incorrect."

A spine turning, a raspy grinding sound came from above her, before Aurelie could even look up, icicles, three times the size of her, landed around her, entrapping her in a thick icy prison.

"I called," he shrugged, "and you answered."

There was very little room for her to move.

"Aurelie!" she heard Kirin's muffled voice come from outside along with dull knocks. It sounded like more people had gathered outside and started to beat at the wall with pickaxes.

Aurelie called fire to her hands and pressed them against the ice. It melted but much too slowly. She was a sitting duck. Who knows what that maniac was up to. It didn't feel cold at first, but a deep chill quickly set into her bones. After a moment, she couldn't feel her hands. She'd only gotten through about a centimeter of ice before she started to let go.

When she pulled her hands away, a paper-thin layer of ice formed over both her hands. Lukas laughed. The ice thickened. Aurelie pulled back but the ice was too strong to break now.

Her heart hammered. Had Lukas gotten to Alorah after all? Aurelie was sure she died. She even heard her grandfather say it. There was no way that Lukas was able to absorb her magic. And yet . . . somehow, he had magic that was overpowering hers.

"Got ya!" he told her.

Aurelie pulled back harder, starting to panic. The tips of her fingers ached and she couldn't feel the rest of her hands. The ice went up her wrists and crawled higher, the rest was frozen solid. Her skin looked blue beneath the ice . . . just like Kaiden's and that of the rest of the council.