Chill

Chapter 9

"What did the note say?"

Tam quietly asked this question when he and Maena were alone together the next day after the rescue. Evie lay very still upstairs in a guest room of the Madrullian mansion with her watchful parents by her side. Unconscious still, her life lay in the balance.

"Well, everything really," Maena discreetly replied with a blush, shifting a little on the familiar red sofa where they sat in close proximity. "I hope she gets through it and they'll be more understanding. Both families are in shock all over." Apart from this observation Maena refused to say any more on the matter.

Evie Darkwater remained in bed for two days at the mansion. She lost three toes and two fingers and suffered frost damage to various organs, but Professor Madrullian financed a transfer to Ithak where she would receive the best medical care available on the whole of Troy. Of course it was at a Crystal Lumos run clinic that specialised in such things. Her stay was expected to be long as reconstructive surgery would be required so the Darkwater family moved to be near their daughter. Sara Manderby once more became a part of the young girl's life and the families found themselves planning an unexpected future together.

Following on from the departure of the Darkwater family, more and more often the big red sofa squeezed so snugly in the crowded lounging room of Professor Madrullian's home found itself occupied by his granddaughter and the now always welcome Tam Sorrell. In spite of the heavy snow and slippery path down from the inn and the equally treacherous return journey, Tam thought nothing of making these frequent appearances. The Madrullians, both young and old, were increasingly fascinating to his enquiring mind, tinctured by the exotic offworld essence that pervaded everything he set eyes upon within the thick stone walls of the mansion.

The hum of electronics, muttering video streams and occasional visits by the preoccupied elder were a constant in the ever changing world of Upper Maeven and he was growing comfortable with it. As was the intimate location on the sofa, next to the energetic and frothy Maena, whose slightly throaty voice attracted him more and more. When she spoke he found a hunger to listen. There was no physical attraction. She was simply not his type, or rather the type as dictated to him by the demandingly luscious Sara Manderby or the statuesque athleticism of Tessanna Diomaristal. He had always been at ease with female company as much as male, so that Maena became for him a friend, a very interesting friend with the added curiosity of being a lithe and energetic teenage girl. Her attentions to him were embarrassing at times but he felt no incentive to encourage them, considering her flirting as something more for her own benefit, a release valve of loneliness. She had no close male friends other than her grandfather, an elderly scientist.

These meetings on the family sofa were contact points for exchanging ideas and experiences in private, conferences where they could digest everything that happened in Maeven and beyond. Tam no longer considered the girl a mind reader and conversely opened his mind to her more willingly. She was very human, very like himself, yet an enigma wrapped in colourful secrets. The only way to unravel her was to engage in conversation on topics they both were interested in.

With the subject of Evie Darkwater folded up and put away for another day they could not then avoid the other major talking point of the day. In spite of Evie's dangerous condition, so close to their hearts, this second demanding topic was a far greater cause of apprehension for the future. The burning of the mining compound at Proctor Bridge was huge news among the isolated community, the shockwaves of which had even reached the debating chambers at Troy Totalis.

"There's footage of masked men torching sheds and dismantling fences," Maena said and leaning forward with a gizmo between finger and thumb she brought up video clips on the nearest big screen to where they sat. Tam watched the clips for a while in silence, seeing if he was able to name any of the perpetrators. He could guess who some might be. Muffled up, they were all unrecognisable, but the way they moved gave clues to the identities of certain individuals. One could even be seen commandeering a forklift truck which was driven with gleeful destruction through stockades. The shaky camerawork eventually showed the vehicle ablaze too. Tam wondered if there were any casualties.

"Not that grandfather is aware of," Maena confirmed. "He made enquiries."

"What purpose does it serve, all that destruction?"

"Letting off steam. Men have to do that sometimes," Maena observed knowingly. "It's a regular theme in many Rosy Love Romance episodes," she added in serious tones. "There's one I read recently where the hero, spurned by the love of his life, crashed a space cruiser into a comet to divert it to his beloved's home world. He was determined to obliterate everyone living there in his despair, only to have a change of heart at the last moment. He died vaporising the fallout with an atomic charge. All for love and what he believed in."

"Sounds heroic," Tam said, fixing his gaze on Maena's offworld silvery eyes a moment with sarcastic admiration. He received a cushion in the face for his troubles. The battle threatened to escalate into dangerous tickling and pinching attacks when the professor breezed in through a connecting door and coughed for attention.

"Please save your youthful energies for more important matters," he said with a smile, looking from one to the other of the panting teenagers. It was lucky for Tam he intervened when he did for the young lad was getting the worst of it. They sat up straight.

"I've just had these sent over from the Sumoe family," Professor Madrullian explained his reason for the interruption, waving a couple of colourful cards. "One for you, and you," and he handed a card to each of them.

"Oh, wow!" Maena gurgled. "Wedding invites! Fallow and Sumira are really going to do it."

"Those cards are more than mere invites. Everyone who can is welcome to attend. You have the honour to be chosen as supporters, obliged to be at command for both bride and groom at a moment's notice. If you fail to attend there is a micro shocker in the cards to remind you of your obligation."

Tam looked at the glittering hologrammed slither of plastic with apprehension.

"Dressing up," he added in distaste. Maena of course was enchanted and clutched her tiny torture device fearlessly. She would not need to be reminded. The professor ignored the reactions of the youngsters.

"Under the circumstances it was decided by all parties concerned to bring the ceremony forward. Weather permitting there is even a suggestion we hold it out of doors."

"A snow wedding! How romantic," the girl sighed.

"Sounds crazy," Tam soured the moment with boyish cynicism.

"I think the idea is to lighten the mood for everyone," the professor pursued. "We're under siege here, both from above and below. After what happened at Proctor Bridge, the Crystal Lumos are not going to be comfortable with the fact a mining depot has been destroyed. They will take measures. Some of the families down there in the Wilds Proper are up in arms about the matter, calling us mountain savages and the like." The old man chuckled, amused at the idea of associating himself with this little world on the edge of barbarism. "Some community rebuilding may be in order in the future I think."

"They don't know what it's like up here," Tam said dismissively. "When we go outside for any reason it's like a pioneering expedition with a doubtful outcome. Food will soon be scarce and fuel doubtful."

"Your mountain man seems less than bothered about the food since spotting elk tracks in the snow," the professor said. The news of his discovery had been spread by word of mouth through the various households remaining in Upper Maeven. "I hope he can keep to his promise of providing us with fresh meat and warm furs."

"Can I have a flash rifle, dear grandfather?" Maena asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid that will be a no," came the swift response.

"Why not? Is it because I'm a girl?"

"Not at all, my dear, it is because you are you," Professor Madrullian replied decisively. Tam laughed at this and departed in haste on seeing the look in the girl's eyes, a savage look indeed.

Back at the inn, once he had disencumbered himself from the padded thermals so essential to casual visits, he was greeted by the pleasant sight of his best friend Teric Jonas waiting for him in the warm and bustling drinking hall.

"Did you see?" the boy enthused without preface. "They burned that place to the ground." He seemed impressed with the act of vandalism down below.

"Who did?" Tam casually asked.

"The Maeven Mountaineers!" came the unexpected reply. Clearly there had been discussions among the lads about the various merits or otherwise of the event while Tam had been at the mansion getting the offworld view of matters. The incident had clearly acquired a heroic tincture among his friends in his absence.

"Our brave boys," Tam muttered, rolling his eyes. "Listen, killing zinc sheeting and messing up neat coils of cabling is hardly productive, and the Crystal Lumos will not take the matter quietly." He had seen the way they continued to treat an old man who crossed swords with them decades ago. The Lumos had long memories, "They're organised, richly funded and determined. Why would anyone want to mess with that, leastwise a bunch of out of work sheep farmers?"

"Because they owe us boy," came a gruff response and Dorstal Pamistoe turned to face him from where he had been propped up against the small bar in one corner of the drinking hall. Tam's mother, wiping down the bar, gave him a worried glance.

"How do you figure that?" Tam said bravely, refusing to yield to what he thought madness.

"Hey Tam," the voice of Eastel cut across the hostile atmosphere and he felt his arm pulled by the boy. "We've saved you a seat and a drink, over here." Allowing himself to be led away, Tam slid onto a bench among school friends and mugs of refreshing foamy berry juice.

The three boys hunkered around the table nearest the fire, sipping their juice and talking things through, mainly regrets regarding girls who had left and the prospect of hunting big game in the snowy wastes. Eastel Pamistoe was especially keen on the latter.

"Got my own rifle now. Been practising," he declared proudly.

"Wow, really," Teric said. "Bagged any mountain bears or Crystal Lumos agents yet?"

"All in good time," the boy responded seriously. This made Tam frown. Hunting elk was all well and good, but the increasing spread of arms suggested another fight was being planned. He did not like the way matters seemed to be shaping up. There was a belligerency brewing in Upper Maeven against all outside influence. Perhaps even extending to those offworlders who resided in the Madrullian mansion.

"You can't use flash rifles on a human being," he said quietly, hoping Dorstal at the bar did not hear him.

"'Course not," Eastel agreed. His mind was clearly not on revolution. "The reflective fabric in all our clothes disperses the energy as harmless light," he lectured cheerfully. Such precautions were part of the legal requirements for all lethal weapons. Animal fur of course had no such protection, whether a domestic pet or a great arctic elk.

"Unless you reset the phasing frequency," came a booming voice that made everyone jump and Teric spilt his juice. Fallow laughed as he towered over the youngsters at the table. "Fortunately that requires specialist knowledge not usually found among sheep farmers," and he laughed again.

"Hi Fallow," the lads said in unison. For a big man he could be incredibly stealthy at times, Tam thought admiringly.

"Day set for the wedding?" Tam asked, the card he had received and which was burning in his back pocket of course having no date on it.

"Short notice only so I expect my supporters to be ready at all times," the man said, giving the boys a knowing wink. It seemed they were all a part of the ceremony. "Plan is to hold it on Lake Mirron," he sniffed.

"On?"

"Frozen solid. Been checking it out this morning. A herd of bull elk could camp on it without leaving a crack."

"That would be a sight," Eastel piped up. "When are we going on an elk hunt?" This was far more important to him than any wedding.

"Right after the betrothal," Fallow said. "I want to present my bride with the horns as a honeymoon gift. Traditional where I'm from," he added with grim humour. He was very much a man of tradition. With that he turned to the bar and bumped elbows with Dorstal as he ordered a drink.

"We all got one!" Tam said and they produced the shining metallic cards in an attempt to trump each other.

"Snap!"

Everything was quickly made ready so that the only unknown was the weather. With the exception of the inevitable and largely tasteless mutton, food was scarce. Sugar had been hoarded or bartered so that appropriately festive confectionery could be made. The Sumoe sisters worked hard with what they had to create cakes and sweets and edible love tokens for the great day.

Costumes were measured and woven, being designed to withstand sub zero temperatures for considerable lengths of time. Bright colours predominated and bridettes as they were called, female friends and supporters of the bride, were to be decked out in padded body suits with fleecy trimmings and hoods, some red, some yellow, to represent the two districts based on the predominant soil colours. The orangy red soil of Maeven joining with the pale gold soil of the Frozen Peaks. Skirts there were but the impracticality of the weather meant they were merely wrapped around the hips for decorative purposes, the body suit being the main source of warmth and protection. For the boys the body suits were cut less closely to the contours of the figure with a second layer complementing the girls' skirts as faux jackets, complete with glowing buttons. Where the girls had hoods the boys had furred helmets hooked under the chin military style. The colours were more subdued, metallic or shining, so Maeven was represented in ruby and the Frozen Peaks in gold.

Tam was in a sad mood as he swept out the empty sheds where the flock originally were wont to winter. The bodies had been brought down one by one from the Lammer Field, perfectly preserved in the ice, cut up and stored for food, distributed where most needed. There were only so many ways to dress mutton before it began to pall though. It seemed lighter that afternoon as he tidied up the stone floor with his uncles in a bid to keep warm out of doors so it was no surprise when the signal came.

Merry Dimsoe peered round the icy doorway breathless with excitement. He was the elder Dimsoe boy, still willing to make the trek up the hill from Lower Maeven in spite of the heavy snow. The fact Karanie Fornoe was a resident of the upper slopes inspired his activity.

"Bride's on the move!" he said, this being the agreed watchword.

The female half of the procession were already assembling in the agreed location half way up the slope under the shelter of the Madrullian mansion, the grandest house in the whole settlement. The weather had eased and the wedding was on.

With well practised precision Tam discarded his wire broom and raced into the living quarters to don the wedding garments he had been assigned for his role in the ceremony. He was a supporter of the groom along with Teric, Eastel and Milon Boerat who had travelled all the way from Pashak days before on hearing the news of the impending wedding. He had brought ominous news of Lumos conferences regarding the garrison burning at Proctor Bridge but all that was put aside. The eternal joining of two young souls was much more important.

The lads gathered rapidly in the drinking hall. They gazed at each other in their unaccustomed finery and laughed. Eastel and Milon were the gold supporters for the honour of Frozen Peaks and Tam and Teric the ruby Maeven supporters so that a degree of good-natured banter was exchanged between the two groups before the appearance of a distinguished elder gentleman put a stop to the boisterousness.

Dressed all in black, bulkily padded to the point of being hardly able to move, Proproctor Maristal, granduncle of the formidable beauty Tessanna, huffed and puffed his way into the hall. He had civil authority to perform numerous ceremonies, weddings being among them, but it took a crate of genuine vintage Vivid to persuade him to forgo the comforts of his warm fire of home for the freezing gales of Arcadia Valley.

"Let's get this over with," he said grumpily but there was a twinkle in his eye that belied his mood. This was something of an adventure he could regale a Proctor's banquet with. His grandniece was to be a bridette and he must not let the poor girl down.

The watchword had done its work and before long the groom appeared on the stairs dressed in black and gold. Parthan Fallow transformed from a woolly mountain man of fierce demeanour to a freshly scrubbed gentleman of giant proportions. Even his bushy eyebrows had undergone something of a trim. His long hair was swept back and tied with a gold ribbon and he had foregone the helmet of the supporters in favour of a fur lined cap so that his handsome cleft jaw was visible and his darting active eyes flashed nervous fire every moment. The surety and confidence of the mountain hunter had been replaced by uncertainty as he stood there at the top of the stairs to take the cheers of the swelling crowd in the hall. Glasses were raised and the applause thunderous.

Lick and the other older men had gone on ahead with the props and decorations to prepare for the ceremony on the very surface of frozen Lake Mirron. Everybody would be standing, ready to abandon the location instantly if the weather turned suddenly worse, but flags and banners and the essential Love Gate that must be passed through had to be assembled before the guests and participants arrived. The womenfolk would be driven to the edge of the valley but the men had to walk the distance from the Wayfarer Inn first and be in place to witness the bridal procession.

As Tam made his way out and up the snow covered slope, a familiar sight now, he noted the sky was brighter. He had not seen the orange ball of Myscenna for days, but he could just make out the place where it sat in the sky this early afternoon. Snow was still falling but only intermittently, light flakes, yet sharp as razors, so cold they no longer melted in the hand and could be crushed like beetles between finger and thumb. The effects of the last gale on one corner of the inn was noticeable as solid stone had been scored by these lethal ice missiles, a far cry from Maena's violent but non-lethal snowballs.

It was a short yet fatiguing journey up the stepped path away from the slippery routes of old and the Proproctor, fully wrapped up so that he could barely see, kept asking if they had arrived yet. Eventually they did and the setting was magnificent.

Arcadia Valley, so green and lush only a few weeks ago, now presented a spectacle of purity without compare. Blinding whiteness engulfed them as the sloping sides rose up around the festive assembly, dwarfing dark little figures in the distance. The Plighting Oak was barely recognisable, stripped of leaves and many branches and smothered in a thick glistening blanket of crystals, casting a ghostly blue shadow across the lake beyond.

Tam could see the Love Gate swaying in a cold breeze, coloured brightly in red and yellow, banners flapping and protesting in the wind. It was anchored to the ice by ropes and pitons hammered deeply into the steely surface of the lake. The Proproctor took up his position in front of the colourful arch, book in hand, and awaited events. Like everyone else he wore spiked shoes but still managed to convey the air of someone terrified of moving lest his feet shoot out from under him.

With no immediate family of course the groom was to be presented by his new employer, Lick Sorrell, who looked dapper in his military cap and glowing buttons. He glanced up at the towering figure of Fallow and gave the young man a reassuring nod.

"First one's always the toughest," he joked but the nervous light in the groom's eyes remained undiminished.

"Rather face a bear," Fallow confessed in rumbling tones but his thoughts were distracted by the sound of clashing symbols and the haunting melodies of the wedding song. Damsin Sorrell inevitably provided the vocals and her silvery voice floated through the frosty air, carrying across the great echoey hollow with powerful resonance. Everyone turned.

On the lip of the valley pass a gathering of beauty presented itself. The bridettes Maena, Tessanna, Floriante Castel and the notorious Karanie Fornoe swept down the slope in unison and Tam could not help regretting the absence of Sara and Evie who he felt sure would have loved to be a part of this. However the tall graceful figure of Maena Madrullian sheathed in bright red, skirt flapping in the wind, cut an impressive figure amid such companions as Tessanna and Floriante. She seemed to glide effortlessly past the Plighting Oak in her ubiquitous skimmer shoes as she guided the procession towards the Love Gate. Tam was so absorbed in watching her lithe figure go through unconscious dance moves as she took up her place in the ceremony that he almost failed to notice the entrance of the bride herself.

On the arm of her father, Sumira Sumoe glowed with pride as she marched through the snow with sure steps towards her future. Like the bridettes she wore a body suit, and as a Maeven girl it was predominantly red. The difference though, that which marked her out as the honoured participant, was the mass of foaming pink lace that frothed around her limbs and fluttered in the breeze as she walked in stately fashion to stand next to her betrothed. As she stood there, panting visibly, she seemed like a little pink lamb snuggling up against a fierce dark mountain wolf. The song of the wedding died away so the only sound was the moaning wind. Thus the ceremony began.

In a gruff clear voice the Proproctor Maristal went through the forms of address as the couple held hands and affirmed their eternal love and determination to marry. All the while the tinkle of snow flakes on ice made the scene like a magical fairy world to all concerned, a million star leagues from the toil and struggle of a populous galaxy. It was a little moment of peace and tranquillity amid storms and fear.

"You may enter the Gate," the man said finally, bowing as he shifted to one side. With a sudden gesture Fallow picked up the tiny ball of pink froth that was now his wife and marched gallantly beneath the arch as everyone cheered and cheered.

Then there was a flash of red light and a scream. A crack formed on the lake ice and figures dressed in black and wielding rifles appeared from different directions through the surrounding haze, men in the uniform of the Crystal Lumos Agency.

"Everyone stay where you are!" a commanding voice shouted.

Professor Madrullian, who was acting merely as a witness to the ceremony, stepped forward.

"By what authority do you interrupt this ceremony?" he said, hands raised placatingly but with anger in his voice. Already Fallow had thrust forward in fury. Having placed his bride on the other side of the symbolic Love Gate, the fierce northerner was ready to take on the intruders single-handed if need be. The professor felt obliged to place a hand on his arm to restrain him. Big fists clenched, Fallow stayed his ground but glared at the approaching Lumos agent who by his actions signalised himself their leader.

"By authority of Troy Totalis," the man said, eyeing everyone with deliberate calm. "Which I recall includes the High Peaks, being still a part of Troy." He held out a plastic card which gleamed in the half-light. The professor could see the symbols of authority on the card. "We're looking for one Dorstal Pamistoe, believed to be the ringleader of a gang who damaged valuable property at Proctor Bridge. Would he by any chance be here?"

"I would," came a quiet, hard voice, dripping with menace. Dorstal stepped forward, muffled and barely recognisable in his thermal wear. His nephew made to stop him identifying himself but he shook him off and in a sudden gesture raised a flash rifle, pointing it straight at the Lumos agent. In defence the agent dropped his reflective visor to protect his face and then smiled.

"That weapon cannot harm me or my men," he said.

"Unless it's been phase adjusted," Dorstal observed. The agent shifted his weight from one foot to another and people standing near him sidled to one side to be well out of the line of fire.

"That's a life offence," he stuttered. "Tampering thus with a lethal device."

"Well then," the erstwhile sheep farmer smirked, lowering the weapon and pointing it at the agent's feet. "Glad I am I didn't tamper with it. Still, you may not be aware but Lake Mirron is quite deep round about here, and I reckon I could cut a neat circle right around your shiny boots and send you to the bottom in the time it takes to spit on a Troy Totalis authority card."

His threat sent everyone scampering off the ice to the safety of the shore so that only Dorstal and a number of other dissatisfied men, also wielding rifles, remained confronting the dark figures of the Crystal Lumos heavies. The ceremony was forgotten, Sumira was crying and others were bellowing with frustration and anger. Fallow swore eternal revenge against the Lumos for interrupting his special day but it was the actions of Maena Madrullian that called a halt to the stand-off.

As everyone stood in a circle on the edge of the lake cursing the intruders, she wandered over to the Plighting Oak's wind blasted trunk. Snow began again to fall heavily and she unzipped her bodysuit, stepping out of it so that her pale slender limbs were exposed to the merciless elements. Without seeming to notice the cold she hugged the tree, crying all the while.

"This is not right," she shrieked over and over. "It's too hot still, make it colder - colder!" and as if in answer to her command, a powerful blast of wind scattered those on the exposed lake surface, destroying the Love Gate and sending a blizzard of unprecedented harshness down upon the assembled people.

Tam had noticed Maena wandering off and quickly guessed in all the excitement there was a problem. Although he reached her first it was Fallow who grabbed her, wrapping her in his powerful arms and leading the way down off the mountain with Sumira by his side. No one looked back, no one cared whether they ran with friend or foe, only that they had to escape the freezing blast from above. As a result the Proproctor almost didn't make it, if not for the motorised sled which brought the girls to the valley, but even with the aid of this he was unconscious by the time they reached the relative shelter beneath the escarpment and then the safety of the hall. A swig of Vivid soon brought him to.

The Lumos men were refused entry once the confusion of the retreat had resolved itself. Their presence was deeply resented and they were obliged to make their way to Lower Maeven as best they could. A hollow victory under the circumstances for everyone looked around at the spread of sweets and cakes on tables in the hall, sadly aware the day had gone horribly wrong. No one spoke for some time and people gathered in quiet solemn groups. Finally the defiant Dorstal stood up.

"Reckon they owe us even more now," he said.

"We can't fight them," Fursten Sorrell protested. "The Lumos, Troy Totalis and the offworld might of the Resource Directorate. What chance do a few sheep herders have against all that?"

"Don't need to fight, just hold them off. Let them know we don't need them."

"Independence?" someone voiced the unthinkable.

Fallow came down the stairs, having seen Maena safely to bed in one of the rooms prepared for overnight stayers and caught at the word.

"Independence is one thing certainly," he said, gazing around the room at the assembled men. "We got that already, but we call it by another name. Isolation. No one comes in, no one goes out. Let the talkers in the chambers at Ithak work out the legal niceties of it all among themselves. The truth is we already are independent of those people. It's the nature of things, is that not right professor?"

The bearded elder addressed stood slowly. All eyes were upon this offworld oracle.

"There is indeed precedence for this sort of thing," he said quietly, bowing his head. "Colonies do break away from their parents, like rebellious teenagers." He glanced at Tam for some reason. "Yet Maeven is more a babe in arms, not yet weaned. We cannot go this alone, and I fear the chill will be the end of us long before that."

Great rumblings from high up in the valleys told of massive avalanches and this seemed to underscore the professor's pessimistic prediction for within twelve hours from when Sumira Sumoe joined with Parthan Fallow in eternal matrimony the electrical power of Upper Maeven failed.

To be continued...