Chapter 25 - Finding The Others
They continued following different stairways down into the lower levels. Kait snapped her fingers to create a light when they got below the levels with the ice walls. They still kept going down. She knew they must be below the level where she entered the castle. It was so dark outside their little pool of light she didn’t know if they had gone through the great stone hall again. Everything was silent. They called for Bryan and Connor over and over again. The longer they went without any sign of the others the more worried Kait became. She had already been looking for them all day. She wondered if the warriors were somehow keeping them from finding the others. She looked up at Aiden. He was already watching her.
“We’ll find them, don’t worry.”
“You seem very sure.”
“I’m positive we’ll find them. There’s no reason we shouldn’t.”
“I wish we would hurry up and find them. I don’t like this place.”
“At least there’s nothing here. It seems to be just an empty castle. It is weird that everything is made of ice.”
“I don’t know that I would say there isn’t anything here.” She shook her head. “This place isn’t as empty as it looks.”
“Have you seen anything?”
“I did earlier before I found you. I don’t know where they are now. They could still be in the room where I left them or they could be everywhere. They were all invisible when I first went into the room.”
“What did you see?”
“People. They were all gray.”
“Like ghosts?”
“No, they were just gray. I don’t know that they were either dead or alive.”
“What else could they have been?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t like them. I hope they’re not listening to me now.”
He squeezed her hand. “We’ll talk about it later, when we’re not where they could be listening.”
“We should probably concentrate on finding the others anyway.”
“As the Guardian, can you...feel Connor? Do you know where he is and how he’s doing?”
She hesitated. It was still a little uncomfortable so talk to freely about being the Guardian. “In a way, yes. I can usually find him. It’s like intuition. I don’t think about it, I just go.”
“Could you use that to find him now?”
She shook her head. “I can’t feel him at all. There’s something about this place. Ever since being in the valley I haven’t been able to sense the Shadows as much either. I know they’re still coming, there’s no way they would change their minds. I can’t help us find him that way, I’m really sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, it’s not something you can help.” He looked down at her a bit worriedly. “There’s something I want to ask you but please promise you won’t get mad.”
“It’s that serious?”
“I did something and heard something while we were in the Haunted Valley. I’m not really sorry I did it, Connor and I were worried about you and Alec and Bryan were acting like they knew something -”
She felt the blood draining from her face. “You followed them,” she whispered. “They went off to talk and you followed them.”
He nodded guiltily. He pulled her to a stop. “I know you’ve got secrets you can’t tell me. I don’t blame you. I trust that if you could tell me, you would. I didn’t hear much when I followed them, I promise. I still don’t know what you’re secrets are, I don’t even know what they are about. I did hear Bryan say there’s some sort of connection between the two of you. I don’t understand why or how, but I thought maybe you could feel him too, like you can with Connor?”
She swallowed hard. Bryan needed to know he had been overheard. She didn’t want to get Aiden in trouble with him. His intentions were good. He hadn’t followed Bryan to hear secrets, he had followed to find out if she was okay. “There is a connection between Bryan and I, I’m sorry I can’t explain it. You shouldn’t even know.” She looked down at the floor. “I wish you didn’t know. I feel bad enough that I can’t tell you.”
“No, don’t feel bad. The only reason I brought this up was because I thought maybe it would help us find Bryan.”
“It won’t, I can’t control it. It’s not like it is with Connor. We can feel the other’s intense emotions so we know when the other is in danger or very scared. That’s why he was the first one at my side the night I woke up feeling the Shadows.”
“Okay, we’ll keep looking like we have been. Please don’t feel bad about not being able to tell me anything. I promise I don’t mind. I won’t ever ask for the truth.”
He didn’t deserve to know she had all these secrets and know she couldn’t tell him. It wasn’t right that she should let it continue. She turned away but didn’t let go of his hand. She was more afraid of getting separated again than she was of looking up at him knowing what he knew.
“Kait, I’m sorry,” he said, a note of pleading in his voice.
“I wish you didn’t know, not because I am keeping things from you but because I can’t tell you. It was so much easier to pretend I don’t have secrets when I didn’t know the extent of what you’ve learned.”
“I understand you can’t tell me that’s why I don’t mind.”
“It’s not fair to you.”
“You and Connor have given me a life I never imagined I could possibly have. I have friends, I can go into a town without worrying about being made fun of, I’ve been to the capital, I learned to dance, I have you. I can handle a few secrets.”
“You say that now,” she muttered. He didn’t know her secrets, he didn’t understand.
“Please don’t be mad. I wasn’t trying to upset you.”
“I know. It’s my fault. Don’t worry about it, I’ll be fine.”
“Okay.” He sounded a bit skeptical.
She let it drop. She felt bad letting him accept that she had secrets. She knew if they kept talking about it she would feel even worse, bad enough that she might just tell him everything. She couldn’t tell him anything, she swore she wouldn’t.
“Let’s go this way.” He smiled at her. “I have a good feeling about it.”
Kait let him lead her to the far side of the room that had been shrouded in darkness. Her little light bobbed over their heads as it lit their path. She didn’t pay any attention to where they were going. She was sure it would only lead to more emptiness. Everything seemed so much less hopeful now. She barely noticed when he picked up his pace, pulling her along. He was almost running.
“Hello?” he called. “Is someone down there?”
“Aiden?”
The voice was faint. It was still enough to catch Kait’s attention. Her head shot up. Ahead of them was an arched doorway with a gate over it. The metal bars were topped by spear points. She ran forward to the gate.
“Bryan?”
“Kaitlyn? Are you there?” He sounded far away.
“Yes, I’m here. Where are you? Come up the stairs.”
“I can’t find them. My magic isn’t working down here, I can’t make a light.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Are you okay?”
“Fine.”
“There’s a gate on the door. We’ll have you out soon.”
“Is your magic working up there?”
“I haven’t had a problem yet.”
“Don’t come down here, we’ll all get lost.”
“We’ll come get you without getting lost just give us a moment.”
“Be careful.”
“Of course.”
She turned her focus to the bars. She pulled off her mittens. The metal was shockingly cold. In the first instant she wrapped her hands around the bars her skin stuck to the metal. As her body heat warmed the metal her hands came free. She pulled on the gate. It wouldn’t budge. It barely made any noise as she shook it. She couldn’t find anything resembling a lock when she looked closer at the door.
“I think I’m going to have to use magic. I don’t see any way to unlock this gate.”
Aiden moved up beside her to look as well. For several moments they both went over the door, back and forth.
“I think you’re right,” he finally said. “If there is a lock here it doesn’t look like a lock. Even if there is one we would probably waste hours trying to find it and open it. If there’s a faster way to get it open I think you should do it.” He held out his hand to her with a slight smile on his face. “Do you want to try it with a little extra force behind you?”
She returned the smile as she took his hand. “It can only make this go faster.”
The hinge of the door looked like it was on the right side so she grasped one of the bars on the left. She pulled on hers as well as Aiden’s power. She was very careful not to take too much of his. When she was completely focused on unlocking the door, she gave it a hard yank. The whole thing exploded. Rock and metal flew back at the two. They both barely had time to raise their arms to shield their faces. When Kait looked again the only thing remaining of the gate was a pile of rubble in the doorway.
“Bryan?” Kait called.
“I’m coming, are you okay?”
“We’re fine.”
A moment later she heard padded feet pounding on the stairs. She tried to calm herself from the rush of using Aiden’s magic. Her skin was tingling slightly especially her hand that had been on the gate. She hoped Bryan wouldn’t notice.
Bryan came tearing up the steps. He sailed over the pile of debris on the floor. He threw his arms around Kait as soon as he saw her. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
She hugged him back. “Other than tired, I’m fine.”
He looked back to the rubble on the floor. “I saw the flash of the explosion. What happened?”
“I guess I expected a little more resistance from the gate that was there,” she said, a sheepish little smile on her face. “I may have put a little too much power behind opening it. I was only trying to unlock it, I swear.”
Bryan grinned and hugged her again. “As long as you’re okay I’m not worried about it.”
“Have you been down there the entire time?”
He nodded. “How long has it been?”
“More than a day,” Aiden answered. “We looked for you but when we didn’t find you we started walking again. We assumed we would meet up with you here. We stopped to rest and Kait tried to use my mind to contact you. None of us were sleeping. Connor just disappeared. The same thing happened later when Kait and I stopped again.”
“I take it Connor is still missing.”
He nodded.
“Let’s get somewhere more brightly lit. I’m sure I’m the only one down here. I’ve been calling for all of you since I woke up. That room down there is huge and without any light. I was all turned around.”
“This way,” Kait said. She led the others to the set of stairs she and Aiden had come down.
The lower levels didn’t seem as unfamiliar as the upper levels made of ice. She couldn’t see anything but the staircase was exactly where she expected. She was worried about getting back into the upper levels. She wasn’t as sure of her ability to get around up there. She didn’t have a choice, though. Connor had to be in the upper levels somewhere. They weren’t going to find him by staying in the dark lower levels.
They came out onto a carved ice hallway much like the one Kait saw when she climbed the stairs the first time. She still didn’t recognize her surroundings. Bryan stopped at the top of the stairs to look around, his mouth hanging open slightly in shock. The red shades of sunset lit the ice all around them. The details of vines and flowers carved into the ice walls stood out much more distinctly in the deepening light. The floor was the only thing that was still blue.
Kait gently pushed Bryan’s mouth closed. “Mother would have your head,” she said quietly.
“This is all ice?” he asked, stepping away from her.
“All of it. It makes it very hard to keep track of your surroundings.”
He touched the wall closest to him. “I didn’t believe Connor when he said it was a castle of ice.”
“He didn’t believe it himself,” Aiden said. “We should find him. I don’t think we’ll be able to find him once darkness completely falls. It’s hard enough to get around in daylight.”
“He’s right,” Kait said. “Sorry Bryan, you’ll have to look as we go.”
“That’s fine. I would rather get out of here anyway.”
Kait had no idea where to look for Connor. She didn’t even know which direction to head. She was sure she had passed this section of hallway at least once before. Unfortunately, that didn’t help her to know where they were. She knew Aiden was waiting for her to tell them where they were going. It was part of her job to find him.
“Let’s try this way,” she said as she turned to the right. She didn’t know where they were going.
They wandered the halls just as Kait had been doing all day. Kait and Aiden called for Connor over and over again. Bryan stayed quiet behind them. As the light around them continued to seep into darkness Kait started to get more frustrated. They didn’t have time to wait until morning to find Connor. She also didn’t have the energy to keep going for much longer. Her eyes were already burning. Luckily, she hadn’t started stumbling yet.
“Stop!” Bryan cried.
Both Kait and Aiden jumped at the sound of his shout. Kait spun around to see what was wrong. Bryan’s eyes were squeezed shut. He looked like he was straining to focus on something. She anxiously waited for him to tell her what was wrong. She had to cross her arms over her chest to hold herself still. The longer she had to wait the more she wanted to demand he tell her what he was doing.
There was a firm look in his eyes when he finally opened them. “I finally got ahold of Connor. Since neither of you can do it I figured the idea hadn’t occurred to you. It was really hard to find him. Something here is trying to block us.”
“I know, I can’t feel the Shadows anymore,” Kait said. “Did you find Connor?”
“He’s outside by the lake. He’s been trying to get inside. There’s something after him. I told him to run for the castle. We’ll make a door if we have to.”
“We need to hurry. First we have to find a wall to the outside on ground level.”
They took off running. They kept stopping trying to see where they were in relation to outside. In most places the ice was too thick to even see into the next room. They finally found the outside wall as the reds and oranges of sunset were fading into the deep blues and purples of twilight. They were still up one level too many.
“Let’s not waste anymore time,” Bryan said. “I don’t know how much space Connor had between him and whatever was after him.” He knelt down on the floor as he pulled off a mitten. “Let’s make an opening to the floor below right here. We know we’re right by the outside wall facing the lake. We’ll make him an opening.”
Kait knelt down beside him. “What if our magic doesn’t work down there like yours didn’t before?”
“We’ll test it before we all go down.” He put his palm flat on the stone floor. “Let’s get started.”
Aiden knelt down beside Kait. Very discreetly he took her free hand. Use my power. It makes everything go faster, remember?
Thank you.
Kait put a bare hand on the floor just like Bryan. They both started chanting in a whisper the words to break open rock. Kait had to be very careful only to take a tiny amount of Aiden’s power. Bryan knew her ability far too well. If she started pulling ahead of him in breaking through the floor he would know something different was happening. Even the small amount of power she took from Aiden had her skin tingling. The stone under their hands quickly started to crack. As the fissures started to connect the floor began to crumble. As soon as there was a hole large enough for Bryan to fit his arm through, he sat up straight.
“Before we spend any more time on this, we should find out if our magic works down there.”
Kait sat back to wait as Bryan stuck his arm through the opening. The sound of his fingers snapping was very muffled. Before his arm was fully out of the hole she could already see light shining through.
“I guess that answers that question. Let’s keep going. It shouldn’t be much longer before we can get through,” Bryan said.
They both leaned down again. The floor quickly started crumbling away. Kait could hear the rocks falling to the floor below. As soon as the hole had spread far enough that they could fit their bodies through both Bryan and Kait sat back.
“I’ll go first,” Aiden said, already moving closer to the hole. “I’m the tallest, it’ll be easier for me to catch the two of you.”
“Not to mention you’re also the strongest,” Bryan added.
“That too. I’ll let you know when I’m ready.” Aiden pushed himself off the edge of the hole and into the darkness below.
A moment later Kait heard a heavy thud followed by more rocks falling to the floor. “Aiden? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Come on down. The floor is a little farther away than I expected. You’ll have to let go completely before I can reach you.”
“Here.” She snapped her fingers, reigniting the light. “Now you can at least see what you’re doing.”
“Thanks, that’s helpful.”
Bryan lowered Kait into the hole. “Ready for her?” he called when he couldn’t go any farther.
“Ready,” Aiden called back.
Bryan let go of her arms. There was a moment when she was free falling. She stopped abruptly when Aiden caught her around the waist. He set her down gently.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Thanks.” She stepped aside as Bryan lowered himself into the hole.
As soon as he was on the floor they all turned to the wall. They couldn’t see through this wall to know exactly where they were. All they knew was that they were facing the lake and they were on ground level. They didn’t know how close to Connor they were. Bryan placed his bare hand on the wall. Kait put hers right under his. Aiden waited to take Kait’s free hand until after she and Bryan started chanting again. She could feel as his power rushed to join hers.
The wall cracked just as quickly as the floor above them had. It started crumbling in the crude shape of an arched doorway. Kait leaned against the wall, hoping to make it fall faster without taking more of Aiden’s power. When the opening was clear enough for her to fit through she let go of Aiden’s hand. She started to rush outside to look for Connor. She almost fell backward when Bryan grabbed her hand.
“What are you doing? We have to find Connor, remember? Let go so I can look for him.”
Bryan didn’t let go of her hand. “We don’t know what’s out there and we doing know what’s in here. Don’t let go of me.” He looked over to Aiden. “Take my hand. I’m going to step outside with her. You stay inside. That way if there’s something in there that could close this hole it won’t be able to, okay?”
Aiden nodded. He took Bryan’s hand and moved forward as the other two stepped outside the wall. When his arm was stretched to its limit Bryan squeezed Kait’s hand.
“We can’t go any farther. Call for Connor, that’s all you can do.”
“It would really be easier if you just let go. Stay here like this. I’ll go get him and bring him back.”
“Not if we don’t have to. Call for him. I’ll try to reach him, too.”
She knew there wasn’t any point arguing yet. She wasn’t going to wait very long before she planned to give up on calling for Connor. It would be much more effective for her to run out and get him. “Connor! We’re over here! Can you hear me?”
There wasn’t any answer. She looked back at Bryan. There was a look of deep concentration in his eyes. He was still trying to reach Connor. Even outside the castle it wasn’t any easier.
“Connor! We’re here!”
She thought she heard something. She pulled on Bryan’s arm as she tried to stretch farther. She couldn’t see much in the shadows.
“Connor!”
Something was moving.
“Connor! Is that you?”
It was moving fast, racing toward her.
“Connor, run faster!”
As he got closer Kait could see that it definitely was him. She had never seen him run so fast. She stretched out an arm toward him even though he was still far away. She could see what looked like shadows growing behind him. She didn’t think it was from the Shadows. It was close enough that she was sure she would be able to feel the evilness again. These things had shapes like the little carvings the villagers had given Aiden. She didn’t want to believe the nature spirits were real. She wasn’t sure she had a choice anymore. There seemed to be several of them right in front of her.
“Connor, hurry!”
He lowered his head as he plowed forward. As soon as he was within reach, he lunged forward. Kait grabbed his hand. Together, the three pulled him inside. He tumbled to the floor and stayed there.
“Bryan, see to him. I’ll take care of the barrier.”
She was almost surprised when Bryan didn’t argue. As she stood up in front of the opening, she heard movement behind her. The black shapes were still flying toward the castle. She held up her hand in the opening as she whispered the words to the strongest barrier she knew. Connor would need to put up a permanent barrier but at least she would be able to hold them off until he caught his breath.
The shadows took on more defined shapes as they got closer. She recognized all of them from the figurines. They were much more horrible as giant shadows charging toward her. They had large, human-like bodies. Some had heads that resembled deer or dogs. The ones that had human-like heads all had horns and massive mats of dark hair plastering their heads. The ones with large distorted heads had their tongues hanging out, wagging back and forth. Their eyes seemed to roll uncontrollably. The ones with human expressions were snarling viciously. She looked back over her shoulder. Connor was sitting up, scarfing down a mangled lump of bread. Bryan already knew she needed Connor. She looked back outside. The nature spirits were getting closer. They looked wild. There wasn’t any possible way that leaving loaves of bread around would have appeased these things.
Connor staggered to her side. He was still breathing hard. He put his hands on either side of the opening. The rocks she and Bryan had broken down started sliding back up into the hole. She didn’t let go of the barrier. She didn’t think the spirits could come inside but she didn’t know for sure. They reached the castle before Connor was finished. She could feel them pressing on her barrier. They were snarling but there wasn’t any sound. The scents of moist earth, snow, and wood sap filled the air around her. The rocks replacing the wall slowly climbed back into place. She wished the wall would return faster. The drain on her power was making her feel weak. None of them had been sleeping or eating enough to really do significant magic.
Kait watched the very last stone roll into place anxiously. Once the wall was sealed she let go of the barrier. Connor collapsed at her feet. His eyes were closed and his breathing was ragged. It was almost as if he hadn’t gotten any sort of break after running. She dropped to his side.
“Connor, are you okay?”
He nodded weakly. “Would you believe it if I told you I was really hot right now?”
She smiled. He was still making jokes. “Actually, I would.” She looked up at Bryan to ask for more bread. He was already tearing apart what was left of a loaf.
“Here.” He dropped a piece onto Connor’s hand that was laying on the floor.
“Thanks.” Connor didn’t even open his eyes as he took the bread to his mouth.
“You have one, too.” Bryan held out a piece to Kait. “You just did a lot of magic. This isn’t much but it will help.”
She didn’t argue. He was right, she needed to eat. They all needed to rest. They were almost relaxed while Connor and Kait ate quietly. She felt almost safe.
“I think we should stay here to rest for a little while,” she said, almost afraid to hear the response. “We’re all tired. There doesn’t seem to be anything here. Would we be any good if we went looking for the Shield now?”
“No, not really,” Bryan admitted. “I guess it can’t hurt to stay for a while. I take it you feel relatively comfortable here otherwise you wouldn’t have suggested staying.”
She nodded. “We could take turns sleeping and not for very long. I think this is the best place for us to stop. It’s almost warm here.”
Connor sighed with a smile on his lips. “Actually, I think the best word for it is not as cold. I’ll take it, though. I wouldn’t mind staying for a couple hours.”
“Aiden? What’s your opinion?”
“I’ll follow whatever the rest of you have to say. I haven’t been doing any magic but I will say I am tired.”
She knew he would be tired from all the power she had pulled from him since finding him. “I think we should stay, then.”
“I don’t disagree,” Bryan said. “I think you and Connor should sleep first, you’ve been doing the most magic.”
“As long as you’re sure you’re okay to stay awake.” She looked back and forth between Bryan and Aiden.
They both nodded.
Bryan opened his arm for her. “Would you like to be a little bit warmer?”
She smiled as she moved to his side to his side. “Thanks.” They sat down together, then she laid her head on his shoulder, her eyes already closing. “Don’t tell Alec, but you’re the best.”
He laughed softly. “I’ll try not to let it slip.”
“Good, he might be offended.”
“Go to sleep, you can worry about that later.”
She tried to stifle a large yawn. “Good night everyone.”
Quiet ‘good nights’ echoed around her from the others. Her body trembled as she finally let it fully relax. She let out a soft sigh at Bryan pat her arm.
Chapter 26
“We’ll find them, don’t worry.”
“You seem very sure.”
“I’m positive we’ll find them. There’s no reason we shouldn’t.”
“I wish we would hurry up and find them. I don’t like this place.”
“At least there’s nothing here. It seems to be just an empty castle. It is weird that everything is made of ice.”
“I don’t know that I would say there isn’t anything here.” She shook her head. “This place isn’t as empty as it looks.”
“Have you seen anything?”
“I did earlier before I found you. I don’t know where they are now. They could still be in the room where I left them or they could be everywhere. They were all invisible when I first went into the room.”
“What did you see?”
“People. They were all gray.”
“Like ghosts?”
“No, they were just gray. I don’t know that they were either dead or alive.”
“What else could they have been?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t like them. I hope they’re not listening to me now.”
He squeezed her hand. “We’ll talk about it later, when we’re not where they could be listening.”
“We should probably concentrate on finding the others anyway.”
“As the Guardian, can you...feel Connor? Do you know where he is and how he’s doing?”
She hesitated. It was still a little uncomfortable so talk to freely about being the Guardian. “In a way, yes. I can usually find him. It’s like intuition. I don’t think about it, I just go.”
“Could you use that to find him now?”
She shook her head. “I can’t feel him at all. There’s something about this place. Ever since being in the valley I haven’t been able to sense the Shadows as much either. I know they’re still coming, there’s no way they would change their minds. I can’t help us find him that way, I’m really sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, it’s not something you can help.” He looked down at her a bit worriedly. “There’s something I want to ask you but please promise you won’t get mad.”
“It’s that serious?”
“I did something and heard something while we were in the Haunted Valley. I’m not really sorry I did it, Connor and I were worried about you and Alec and Bryan were acting like they knew something -”
She felt the blood draining from her face. “You followed them,” she whispered. “They went off to talk and you followed them.”
He nodded guiltily. He pulled her to a stop. “I know you’ve got secrets you can’t tell me. I don’t blame you. I trust that if you could tell me, you would. I didn’t hear much when I followed them, I promise. I still don’t know what you’re secrets are, I don’t even know what they are about. I did hear Bryan say there’s some sort of connection between the two of you. I don’t understand why or how, but I thought maybe you could feel him too, like you can with Connor?”
She swallowed hard. Bryan needed to know he had been overheard. She didn’t want to get Aiden in trouble with him. His intentions were good. He hadn’t followed Bryan to hear secrets, he had followed to find out if she was okay. “There is a connection between Bryan and I, I’m sorry I can’t explain it. You shouldn’t even know.” She looked down at the floor. “I wish you didn’t know. I feel bad enough that I can’t tell you.”
“No, don’t feel bad. The only reason I brought this up was because I thought maybe it would help us find Bryan.”
“It won’t, I can’t control it. It’s not like it is with Connor. We can feel the other’s intense emotions so we know when the other is in danger or very scared. That’s why he was the first one at my side the night I woke up feeling the Shadows.”
“Okay, we’ll keep looking like we have been. Please don’t feel bad about not being able to tell me anything. I promise I don’t mind. I won’t ever ask for the truth.”
He didn’t deserve to know she had all these secrets and know she couldn’t tell him. It wasn’t right that she should let it continue. She turned away but didn’t let go of his hand. She was more afraid of getting separated again than she was of looking up at him knowing what he knew.
“Kait, I’m sorry,” he said, a note of pleading in his voice.
“I wish you didn’t know, not because I am keeping things from you but because I can’t tell you. It was so much easier to pretend I don’t have secrets when I didn’t know the extent of what you’ve learned.”
“I understand you can’t tell me that’s why I don’t mind.”
“It’s not fair to you.”
“You and Connor have given me a life I never imagined I could possibly have. I have friends, I can go into a town without worrying about being made fun of, I’ve been to the capital, I learned to dance, I have you. I can handle a few secrets.”
“You say that now,” she muttered. He didn’t know her secrets, he didn’t understand.
“Please don’t be mad. I wasn’t trying to upset you.”
“I know. It’s my fault. Don’t worry about it, I’ll be fine.”
“Okay.” He sounded a bit skeptical.
She let it drop. She felt bad letting him accept that she had secrets. She knew if they kept talking about it she would feel even worse, bad enough that she might just tell him everything. She couldn’t tell him anything, she swore she wouldn’t.
“Let’s go this way.” He smiled at her. “I have a good feeling about it.”
Kait let him lead her to the far side of the room that had been shrouded in darkness. Her little light bobbed over their heads as it lit their path. She didn’t pay any attention to where they were going. She was sure it would only lead to more emptiness. Everything seemed so much less hopeful now. She barely noticed when he picked up his pace, pulling her along. He was almost running.
“Hello?” he called. “Is someone down there?”
“Aiden?”
The voice was faint. It was still enough to catch Kait’s attention. Her head shot up. Ahead of them was an arched doorway with a gate over it. The metal bars were topped by spear points. She ran forward to the gate.
“Bryan?”
“Kaitlyn? Are you there?” He sounded far away.
“Yes, I’m here. Where are you? Come up the stairs.”
“I can’t find them. My magic isn’t working down here, I can’t make a light.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Are you okay?”
“Fine.”
“There’s a gate on the door. We’ll have you out soon.”
“Is your magic working up there?”
“I haven’t had a problem yet.”
“Don’t come down here, we’ll all get lost.”
“We’ll come get you without getting lost just give us a moment.”
“Be careful.”
“Of course.”
She turned her focus to the bars. She pulled off her mittens. The metal was shockingly cold. In the first instant she wrapped her hands around the bars her skin stuck to the metal. As her body heat warmed the metal her hands came free. She pulled on the gate. It wouldn’t budge. It barely made any noise as she shook it. She couldn’t find anything resembling a lock when she looked closer at the door.
“I think I’m going to have to use magic. I don’t see any way to unlock this gate.”
Aiden moved up beside her to look as well. For several moments they both went over the door, back and forth.
“I think you’re right,” he finally said. “If there is a lock here it doesn’t look like a lock. Even if there is one we would probably waste hours trying to find it and open it. If there’s a faster way to get it open I think you should do it.” He held out his hand to her with a slight smile on his face. “Do you want to try it with a little extra force behind you?”
She returned the smile as she took his hand. “It can only make this go faster.”
The hinge of the door looked like it was on the right side so she grasped one of the bars on the left. She pulled on hers as well as Aiden’s power. She was very careful not to take too much of his. When she was completely focused on unlocking the door, she gave it a hard yank. The whole thing exploded. Rock and metal flew back at the two. They both barely had time to raise their arms to shield their faces. When Kait looked again the only thing remaining of the gate was a pile of rubble in the doorway.
“Bryan?” Kait called.
“I’m coming, are you okay?”
“We’re fine.”
A moment later she heard padded feet pounding on the stairs. She tried to calm herself from the rush of using Aiden’s magic. Her skin was tingling slightly especially her hand that had been on the gate. She hoped Bryan wouldn’t notice.
Bryan came tearing up the steps. He sailed over the pile of debris on the floor. He threw his arms around Kait as soon as he saw her. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
She hugged him back. “Other than tired, I’m fine.”
He looked back to the rubble on the floor. “I saw the flash of the explosion. What happened?”
“I guess I expected a little more resistance from the gate that was there,” she said, a sheepish little smile on her face. “I may have put a little too much power behind opening it. I was only trying to unlock it, I swear.”
Bryan grinned and hugged her again. “As long as you’re okay I’m not worried about it.”
“Have you been down there the entire time?”
He nodded. “How long has it been?”
“More than a day,” Aiden answered. “We looked for you but when we didn’t find you we started walking again. We assumed we would meet up with you here. We stopped to rest and Kait tried to use my mind to contact you. None of us were sleeping. Connor just disappeared. The same thing happened later when Kait and I stopped again.”
“I take it Connor is still missing.”
He nodded.
“Let’s get somewhere more brightly lit. I’m sure I’m the only one down here. I’ve been calling for all of you since I woke up. That room down there is huge and without any light. I was all turned around.”
“This way,” Kait said. She led the others to the set of stairs she and Aiden had come down.
The lower levels didn’t seem as unfamiliar as the upper levels made of ice. She couldn’t see anything but the staircase was exactly where she expected. She was worried about getting back into the upper levels. She wasn’t as sure of her ability to get around up there. She didn’t have a choice, though. Connor had to be in the upper levels somewhere. They weren’t going to find him by staying in the dark lower levels.
They came out onto a carved ice hallway much like the one Kait saw when she climbed the stairs the first time. She still didn’t recognize her surroundings. Bryan stopped at the top of the stairs to look around, his mouth hanging open slightly in shock. The red shades of sunset lit the ice all around them. The details of vines and flowers carved into the ice walls stood out much more distinctly in the deepening light. The floor was the only thing that was still blue.
Kait gently pushed Bryan’s mouth closed. “Mother would have your head,” she said quietly.
“This is all ice?” he asked, stepping away from her.
“All of it. It makes it very hard to keep track of your surroundings.”
He touched the wall closest to him. “I didn’t believe Connor when he said it was a castle of ice.”
“He didn’t believe it himself,” Aiden said. “We should find him. I don’t think we’ll be able to find him once darkness completely falls. It’s hard enough to get around in daylight.”
“He’s right,” Kait said. “Sorry Bryan, you’ll have to look as we go.”
“That’s fine. I would rather get out of here anyway.”
Kait had no idea where to look for Connor. She didn’t even know which direction to head. She was sure she had passed this section of hallway at least once before. Unfortunately, that didn’t help her to know where they were. She knew Aiden was waiting for her to tell them where they were going. It was part of her job to find him.
“Let’s try this way,” she said as she turned to the right. She didn’t know where they were going.
They wandered the halls just as Kait had been doing all day. Kait and Aiden called for Connor over and over again. Bryan stayed quiet behind them. As the light around them continued to seep into darkness Kait started to get more frustrated. They didn’t have time to wait until morning to find Connor. She also didn’t have the energy to keep going for much longer. Her eyes were already burning. Luckily, she hadn’t started stumbling yet.
“Stop!” Bryan cried.
Both Kait and Aiden jumped at the sound of his shout. Kait spun around to see what was wrong. Bryan’s eyes were squeezed shut. He looked like he was straining to focus on something. She anxiously waited for him to tell her what was wrong. She had to cross her arms over her chest to hold herself still. The longer she had to wait the more she wanted to demand he tell her what he was doing.
There was a firm look in his eyes when he finally opened them. “I finally got ahold of Connor. Since neither of you can do it I figured the idea hadn’t occurred to you. It was really hard to find him. Something here is trying to block us.”
“I know, I can’t feel the Shadows anymore,” Kait said. “Did you find Connor?”
“He’s outside by the lake. He’s been trying to get inside. There’s something after him. I told him to run for the castle. We’ll make a door if we have to.”
“We need to hurry. First we have to find a wall to the outside on ground level.”
They took off running. They kept stopping trying to see where they were in relation to outside. In most places the ice was too thick to even see into the next room. They finally found the outside wall as the reds and oranges of sunset were fading into the deep blues and purples of twilight. They were still up one level too many.
“Let’s not waste anymore time,” Bryan said. “I don’t know how much space Connor had between him and whatever was after him.” He knelt down on the floor as he pulled off a mitten. “Let’s make an opening to the floor below right here. We know we’re right by the outside wall facing the lake. We’ll make him an opening.”
Kait knelt down beside him. “What if our magic doesn’t work down there like yours didn’t before?”
“We’ll test it before we all go down.” He put his palm flat on the stone floor. “Let’s get started.”
Aiden knelt down beside Kait. Very discreetly he took her free hand. Use my power. It makes everything go faster, remember?
Thank you.
Kait put a bare hand on the floor just like Bryan. They both started chanting in a whisper the words to break open rock. Kait had to be very careful only to take a tiny amount of Aiden’s power. Bryan knew her ability far too well. If she started pulling ahead of him in breaking through the floor he would know something different was happening. Even the small amount of power she took from Aiden had her skin tingling. The stone under their hands quickly started to crack. As the fissures started to connect the floor began to crumble. As soon as there was a hole large enough for Bryan to fit his arm through, he sat up straight.
“Before we spend any more time on this, we should find out if our magic works down there.”
Kait sat back to wait as Bryan stuck his arm through the opening. The sound of his fingers snapping was very muffled. Before his arm was fully out of the hole she could already see light shining through.
“I guess that answers that question. Let’s keep going. It shouldn’t be much longer before we can get through,” Bryan said.
They both leaned down again. The floor quickly started crumbling away. Kait could hear the rocks falling to the floor below. As soon as the hole had spread far enough that they could fit their bodies through both Bryan and Kait sat back.
“I’ll go first,” Aiden said, already moving closer to the hole. “I’m the tallest, it’ll be easier for me to catch the two of you.”
“Not to mention you’re also the strongest,” Bryan added.
“That too. I’ll let you know when I’m ready.” Aiden pushed himself off the edge of the hole and into the darkness below.
A moment later Kait heard a heavy thud followed by more rocks falling to the floor. “Aiden? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Come on down. The floor is a little farther away than I expected. You’ll have to let go completely before I can reach you.”
“Here.” She snapped her fingers, reigniting the light. “Now you can at least see what you’re doing.”
“Thanks, that’s helpful.”
Bryan lowered Kait into the hole. “Ready for her?” he called when he couldn’t go any farther.
“Ready,” Aiden called back.
Bryan let go of her arms. There was a moment when she was free falling. She stopped abruptly when Aiden caught her around the waist. He set her down gently.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Thanks.” She stepped aside as Bryan lowered himself into the hole.
As soon as he was on the floor they all turned to the wall. They couldn’t see through this wall to know exactly where they were. All they knew was that they were facing the lake and they were on ground level. They didn’t know how close to Connor they were. Bryan placed his bare hand on the wall. Kait put hers right under his. Aiden waited to take Kait’s free hand until after she and Bryan started chanting again. She could feel as his power rushed to join hers.
The wall cracked just as quickly as the floor above them had. It started crumbling in the crude shape of an arched doorway. Kait leaned against the wall, hoping to make it fall faster without taking more of Aiden’s power. When the opening was clear enough for her to fit through she let go of Aiden’s hand. She started to rush outside to look for Connor. She almost fell backward when Bryan grabbed her hand.
“What are you doing? We have to find Connor, remember? Let go so I can look for him.”
Bryan didn’t let go of her hand. “We don’t know what’s out there and we doing know what’s in here. Don’t let go of me.” He looked over to Aiden. “Take my hand. I’m going to step outside with her. You stay inside. That way if there’s something in there that could close this hole it won’t be able to, okay?”
Aiden nodded. He took Bryan’s hand and moved forward as the other two stepped outside the wall. When his arm was stretched to its limit Bryan squeezed Kait’s hand.
“We can’t go any farther. Call for Connor, that’s all you can do.”
“It would really be easier if you just let go. Stay here like this. I’ll go get him and bring him back.”
“Not if we don’t have to. Call for him. I’ll try to reach him, too.”
She knew there wasn’t any point arguing yet. She wasn’t going to wait very long before she planned to give up on calling for Connor. It would be much more effective for her to run out and get him. “Connor! We’re over here! Can you hear me?”
There wasn’t any answer. She looked back at Bryan. There was a look of deep concentration in his eyes. He was still trying to reach Connor. Even outside the castle it wasn’t any easier.
“Connor! We’re here!”
She thought she heard something. She pulled on Bryan’s arm as she tried to stretch farther. She couldn’t see much in the shadows.
“Connor!”
Something was moving.
“Connor! Is that you?”
It was moving fast, racing toward her.
“Connor, run faster!”
As he got closer Kait could see that it definitely was him. She had never seen him run so fast. She stretched out an arm toward him even though he was still far away. She could see what looked like shadows growing behind him. She didn’t think it was from the Shadows. It was close enough that she was sure she would be able to feel the evilness again. These things had shapes like the little carvings the villagers had given Aiden. She didn’t want to believe the nature spirits were real. She wasn’t sure she had a choice anymore. There seemed to be several of them right in front of her.
“Connor, hurry!”
He lowered his head as he plowed forward. As soon as he was within reach, he lunged forward. Kait grabbed his hand. Together, the three pulled him inside. He tumbled to the floor and stayed there.
“Bryan, see to him. I’ll take care of the barrier.”
She was almost surprised when Bryan didn’t argue. As she stood up in front of the opening, she heard movement behind her. The black shapes were still flying toward the castle. She held up her hand in the opening as she whispered the words to the strongest barrier she knew. Connor would need to put up a permanent barrier but at least she would be able to hold them off until he caught his breath.
The shadows took on more defined shapes as they got closer. She recognized all of them from the figurines. They were much more horrible as giant shadows charging toward her. They had large, human-like bodies. Some had heads that resembled deer or dogs. The ones that had human-like heads all had horns and massive mats of dark hair plastering their heads. The ones with large distorted heads had their tongues hanging out, wagging back and forth. Their eyes seemed to roll uncontrollably. The ones with human expressions were snarling viciously. She looked back over her shoulder. Connor was sitting up, scarfing down a mangled lump of bread. Bryan already knew she needed Connor. She looked back outside. The nature spirits were getting closer. They looked wild. There wasn’t any possible way that leaving loaves of bread around would have appeased these things.
Connor staggered to her side. He was still breathing hard. He put his hands on either side of the opening. The rocks she and Bryan had broken down started sliding back up into the hole. She didn’t let go of the barrier. She didn’t think the spirits could come inside but she didn’t know for sure. They reached the castle before Connor was finished. She could feel them pressing on her barrier. They were snarling but there wasn’t any sound. The scents of moist earth, snow, and wood sap filled the air around her. The rocks replacing the wall slowly climbed back into place. She wished the wall would return faster. The drain on her power was making her feel weak. None of them had been sleeping or eating enough to really do significant magic.
Kait watched the very last stone roll into place anxiously. Once the wall was sealed she let go of the barrier. Connor collapsed at her feet. His eyes were closed and his breathing was ragged. It was almost as if he hadn’t gotten any sort of break after running. She dropped to his side.
“Connor, are you okay?”
He nodded weakly. “Would you believe it if I told you I was really hot right now?”
She smiled. He was still making jokes. “Actually, I would.” She looked up at Bryan to ask for more bread. He was already tearing apart what was left of a loaf.
“Here.” He dropped a piece onto Connor’s hand that was laying on the floor.
“Thanks.” Connor didn’t even open his eyes as he took the bread to his mouth.
“You have one, too.” Bryan held out a piece to Kait. “You just did a lot of magic. This isn’t much but it will help.”
She didn’t argue. He was right, she needed to eat. They all needed to rest. They were almost relaxed while Connor and Kait ate quietly. She felt almost safe.
“I think we should stay here to rest for a little while,” she said, almost afraid to hear the response. “We’re all tired. There doesn’t seem to be anything here. Would we be any good if we went looking for the Shield now?”
“No, not really,” Bryan admitted. “I guess it can’t hurt to stay for a while. I take it you feel relatively comfortable here otherwise you wouldn’t have suggested staying.”
She nodded. “We could take turns sleeping and not for very long. I think this is the best place for us to stop. It’s almost warm here.”
Connor sighed with a smile on his lips. “Actually, I think the best word for it is not as cold. I’ll take it, though. I wouldn’t mind staying for a couple hours.”
“Aiden? What’s your opinion?”
“I’ll follow whatever the rest of you have to say. I haven’t been doing any magic but I will say I am tired.”
She knew he would be tired from all the power she had pulled from him since finding him. “I think we should stay, then.”
“I don’t disagree,” Bryan said. “I think you and Connor should sleep first, you’ve been doing the most magic.”
“As long as you’re sure you’re okay to stay awake.” She looked back and forth between Bryan and Aiden.
They both nodded.
Bryan opened his arm for her. “Would you like to be a little bit warmer?”
She smiled as she moved to his side to his side. “Thanks.” They sat down together, then she laid her head on his shoulder, her eyes already closing. “Don’t tell Alec, but you’re the best.”
He laughed softly. “I’ll try not to let it slip.”
“Good, he might be offended.”
“Go to sleep, you can worry about that later.”
She tried to stifle a large yawn. “Good night everyone.”
Quiet ‘good nights’ echoed around her from the others. Her body trembled as she finally let it fully relax. She let out a soft sigh at Bryan pat her arm.
Chapter 26