New School Magic

Chapter 4

By the time they had arrived much of the ice had melted, making it difficult to understand just how large some of the structures were. And there was always an element of human error when it came to witness statements. It wasn't unusual for people to exaggerate. Not on purpose of course, people just took on a different perspective when the adrenaline pumped.

But what Mel had in her hands was evidence of an incredible act. It was a bridge of ice and though incomplete, it was huge. And the speed it had been created was unlike anything she had even heard of. Screenshots were taken a second apart and in each one the structure of the bridge was drastically different as chunks had fallen away at the back and more ice created at the front.

"Tim, could you call the Guild and warn them I'm coming? This can't wait."

"Going on your own?" Tim stared her down, not to change her mind, just to make sure it's what she wanted. She could be hasty at times and occasionally she needed his gentle stares to make her stop and think.

Mel shook her head. "There's too much to do here. I need you keeping an eye on things."

"In other words you need someone to do the heavy lifting?" She could see him smirking behind his cup. He was joking but he wasn't wrong either. There was CCTV footage to look for on the other side of the river, more potential witnesses to find and a hundred other things to do. "Don't worry, I've got things handled here. Call me when you've got something."

 A small group of policemen were congragating next to her car and blocking the door. They jumped aside when they saw her coming. She nodded to them and stepped inside. She took a few moments to set up her phone with a destination to use as a sat-nav.

Between the Underground, buses, sky train, cable cars and everything else in the city, Londron was said to have the best public transport. But you'd never catch a police officer using any of it unless they were investigating an incident on the Tube or keeping an eye on the crowds after a football match.

Mel's car had most definitely seen better days. Every other time she tried the ignition the engine spluttered with a false start. Every time it happened she told herself she'd get it sorted. Three months and counting and not one appointment with the mechanic had been made.

The journey to Oxrod would normally take a little over an hour in light traffic. Unfortunately for Mel, she'd spent just long enough standing in a freezing department store for the world to catch up to her. She hit the morning traffic and sat in it just long enough to add another 40 minutes to her journey. Once she was on her way out of the city, she was against the flow and it was an easy drive to Oxrod.

The centre of Oxrod was a stricly car-free zone. It had been that way practically since the invention of the car. So Mel made use of one of the many car parks at the edge of town and called Tim. "They're ready for you. Someone called Victor Hathoun is going to meet you at the main entrance to Bath Hall."

Once Mel was out of the car park there was instant transition from black tarmac to beatifully paved, walkways and roads. Young men and women passed her by on bicycles, battery powered scooters and gyroscopic skateboards. The town was a haven of personal transportation. Beside the carpark was a rental stand for bikes and scooters which Mel eyed with some disdain. Her only other options were to walk for the best part of an hour or go full tourist and book a horse and carriage. She sighed heavily before paying the fee with her phone and helping herself to a bike.

There were definitely worse places to ride a bike. Most of the buildings in Oxrod had been there for over a century. It was unusual to see so much unique architecture without a tower block or shopping centre to ruin the tone. Mel came to a slow stop outside of Bath Hall, hoping to avoid being thrown from the bike with over enthusiastic braking. Victor Hathoun was there waiting with a young apprentice ready to take the bike from her. She nodded her thanks when the teenager jogged forward and began wheeling it away.