The Elementals - The Ice Princess

Chapter 32

I am awaken by Laney after what I think is a couple of hours sleep. I take a quick glance at the clock and see that it reads 12:07am. My body doesn't want to cooperate all that much with getting up as this will be the first time I think I have ever been up past midnight in my life. I love sleep.

My muscles are sore from yesterday's run.

Laney is standing above me with her arms crossed. She is waiting for me to get moving. I let out a tired moan, but that doesn't seem to phase her, she simply waits without saying a word. So I reluctantly and under protest get out of bed.

Within 10 minutes, I am wide awake, dressed and standing on the outside of Goodale Park again. The thought of running laps doesn't sound all that appealing to me, but running laps isn't what Laney seems to have in mind.

"I'm going to give you a head start. About 10 seconds."

"What happens after 10 seconds?

"I am going to hunt you and I am going to hurt you."

I don't have time to respond when she starts counting out loud. I found myself running into the dead of night, not caring about my safety because I know that if Laney is anything, she most certainly is NOT a liar. She actually does mean to do me harm in this little training exercise. My heart is racing as I try to find cover. I need someplace that will conceal me from her as she hunts me the way the Achlys most certainly will.

To my right is the pond, which I immediately rule out because of what surrounds it. Nothing. There is next to no brush or trees to hide behind and anything other than a couple of metal benches that will provide poor cover. I notice that the frozen pond looks peaceful and serene in the moonlight, almost as if the ice is as smooth. Inside the pond is a statue. It looks like a tall 4 layer wedding cake with an elephant that is sitting on his hind legs on the top of it. It's quite an odd statue.

A little further down the path is a tall street lamp. It's giving off a yellow light that dimly illuminates the path and the metal bench that sits quietly underneath it. I curse the fact that the light is there simply because it takes away more real estate for me to hide in.

About 100 yards behind me I hear Laney shout that she is done counting and that I had better be ready. This causes a bit of panic inside me as I am certainly not ready for this. Laney appears to be a trained warrior and I am simply a scared little girl that is unable to control any power that she does have. I know that I can't go toe-to-toe with Laney, especially unarmed.

I turn back to look for Laney and listen quietly for anything. I don't see or hear anything. I try to squint in the darkness but the street lights glow affects my vision of the night. I can only maybe see 10 – 20 yards in front of me and the rest is complete blackness. Maybe she didn't come this way I think to myself. One thing is for sure, I need to get out of this light as I am a sitting duck here.

I very slowly and as quietly as possible make my way out from under the light and into the darkness. There still isn't much for me to hide behind. I walk slowly through the night, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. It's taking longer than I would like, especially with Laney tracking me.

After what feels like forever, but must have only been a couple of minutes, I can see in the dark again. I take a look around me and still don't see much.

In the distance, it looks like there is shelter. I can't make out too much detail in it, so I begin to make my way towards it.

I tried to move slowly and carefully to avoid the light and the sound of the snow crunching between my feet. I slowly make my way toward the shelter when out of nowhere I feel something pierce my left arm. I reach up instinctively and find that there is a long piece of sharp metal that has somehow managed to go find itself into the side of my arm. I grab a hold of it when I hear something whiz by my head and that is when I know that Laney has found me.

My arm stings as I turn to run toward the shelter. As I turn, I hear another object whiz by my head. This one is closer and I could swear that I feel it go through my hair.

Laney isn't joking around, she said that she was going to hurt me and she wasn't kidding. When running, I can feel the object that is in my arm move and the pain nearly stops my run dead. With a surge of strength, I reach up and pull the object from my arm. I can feel warm, wet stuff drip onto my fingers. Another two objects fly in my direction, one misses and the other hits me in the back of my shoulder. The pain is worse than the one that hit my arm. My whole right side goes numb as I jump over the railing and come crashing down on the floor inside the shelter.

The pain is immense. Not only do I land on the arm that was once impaled with the piece of metal I held in my hand, but when I roll over, I roll on top of the metal that is sticking out of my back.

I hear a quick snapping sound and am sure that I have just broken a piece off of whatever Laney threw at me inside my back shoulder. I try to fight the pain that has now flooded my head and shakily get to my knees.

The shelter is nothing special. It looks to be a simple gazebo. There is a railing that sits about 3 feet high that I am currently crouched behind and anything higher than 3 feet is completely open. I know that if I stand, I will be completely in the open. The one benefit that I do have though is that inside the shelter is almost total darkness.

I have regained my senses a bit and think that if I can work my way to the back of the shelter, I may be able to hide in the darkness and maybe even surprise Laney when she pops in to check on me. I slide off to the side to the nearest support beam and very carefully poke my head around the corner to see if I can guess where she is coming. I don't see much. I slowly move my head out a little more when a loud "thwack" hits the beam I am hiding behind. I focus my eyes on the object that has just nearly missed my face. I can't believe my eyes. It looks like a ninja star.

I duck behind the post again. I can't believe how close that was. Laney isn't trying to hurt me, she may actually be trying to kill me. There is a sense of panic that is swelling inside me. I really have no way to get out of here, no plan and no way to call for help. I don't think Alexander knows we are out here and even if he did know, how could I contact him and tell him that Laney is actually trying to hurt me.

I am on all fours, limping slowly to make my way back to the edge of the gazebo. I take a look around and see that there is only one exit and it's all the way on the other side of the gazebo. I would have to have my back to the direction that Laney is attacking from. At this stage with a broken ninja star in my back and one in my shoulder, I don't think turning around would be a good thing.

My back is against the wall and I am sitting waiting for Laney to peek around or finish her assault when I hear something directly outside the gazebo. It sounds like crunching snow.

From my vantage point being on the ground and facing out into the night, I can see the light from the lamps that illuminate the park. I am looking into the light when all of a sudden a shadow appears in front of the light. It looks to be a human shape but only for a moment. It breaks apart in places and I realize that I am not looking at a human shadow, I am looking at a dark cloud, an apparition with yellow eyes.

I use my feet to push myself further back but have reached the absolute limit of what the gazebo will give me.

In the distance, I hear someone yelling. It's Laney. She is yelling for me to stay down. I look over and through the vertical railing I can see a flash of blue light appear in the distance. It's moving quickly towards me, but I don't think it's going to move fast enough.

I turn back to look at the cloud which has now entered the gazebo. Laney is yelling my name and rushing toward my location and what happens next, happens so fast, I don't remember all of the details as the cloud lunges at me.