Embers of Frost

Chapter 14 - Dawn

"Now, tell me, wasn't that the most fun traveling experience you've ever had?" Janet asked, a smirk playing at her lips.

Dawn stumbled a few steps forward, her knees buckling under her. She placed her hands on the snow-covered ground, breathing heavily. Her insides still churned with an unpleasant feeling, bile rising in her throat. She could almost feel the taste of the sparse dinner she had had a few hours ago.

Abby's powers... they're intolerable. To melt through walls and objects like you're just a mere phantom, like you're fading out of existence with each step that you take. I could never control a power like that without throwing up each time. How Abby manages it every day is beyond me.

"Keep it down, Janet, or I'll tell Dawn about the way you had reacted when you first transported with me," Adam said, a soft snicker leaving him.

"W-What? What are you talking about? I don't remember anything like that!"

"Oh, really now? I'm pretty sure that your memory isn't that weak. Don't you remember how tightly you had clung to me, begging to be put down? You kept crying the whole time, right from the start till we finally reached. I'm still surprised that you weren't arrested by the imperial guards for that annoying wailing of yours. And how can I ever forget that you had actually piss-"

"Alright, I get it!" Janet quickly interrupted, her tone desperate. "You've got your point across, now would you just stop?"

Adam chuckled. "Sure."

Dawn suppressed a smile and stood back up, bearing witness to a red-faced Janet. She was glaring in Adam's direction, his laugh now replaced by a wide grin.

She ignored the two of them and looked around herself. They were standing in the middle of a wide street, somewhere in the commoner sector. There weren't as many houses here than where she had lived, probably because it was at the edge.

"So this where you last saw Gwen and her escort," Abigail muttered.

Dawn jumped at her sudden voice, turning to see Abigail standing beside her. She had her arms crossed, walking a few steps forward. She knelt down and swept her hand across the ground. And that's when Dawn finally noticed the crimson splashes all around the ground, the blood dried up by now.

"That's a lot of blood..." Janet said, her voice trailing off. She made a gagging sound, shuddering at the sight.

"It's a relief that Henry wasn't incapacitated, or he might have never been able to use his powers again," someone said from behind Dawn, a tall man nearing Abigail.

His golden hair were sticking up on his head, muscled arms visible under the thin black clothing. When he glanced her way, she realized that he was the eldest amongst them, somewhere in his mid-twenties. His expression turned sour at her sight, a slight scowl forming on his face. But then he just turned away, placing a hand on Abigail's shoulder.

"Come, Abigail," he said. "We must chase after them at once, before Gwen's taken away from our reach. We can't let them leave the city."

Without saying a word, Abigail stood up and looked over to her left. "I'm guessing that they took a turn here, you can see the scratch marks the carriage's wheels made into the ground quite clearly," she said. "It hasn't been long since you returned, Peyton. They couldn't have gone far. We can still catch up to them if we hurry."

And without a further word, Abigail sprinted down the street. Her footsteps didn't make a single sound, only lightly grazing the ground. She looked back toward them, beckoning with her hand. The man, Peyton, nodded before all that Dawn could see was a blur. She blinked in surprise but when she looked again, the man was nowhere to be seen. Her eyes widened when she saw him right standing right next to Abigail. What just... happened?