Call of Ring(Compleled)

30 Ice Elements

         Blake and Sadie found their way safely to the main boulevard. Somewhat relieved that the path they had rushed into did indeed lead them back to the Path of Senna, they slowed their pace a bit. Blake was surprised that in their sprint, Sadie was just as quick as he. He wondered if she was even faster than him. As they slowed to a brisk walk, Blake scanned their surroundings in all directions, and seeing no one, he snuck a quick look at Sadie’s face. She was waiting his attention with a smile that seemed to somehow dispel his fears.

         Sadie grabbed his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. He returned the gesture gripping her hand tightly, but quickly released his grip indicating to her that he believed there was still an eminent threat. Sadie took advantage of their slower pace to speak.

         “Blake, I must teach you some of the ways of our people. It will help protect you in battles, but we will also be able to fight better together.”

         Her words provoked a deep sense of intrigue within him, but he chose a measured response.

         “I will listen to whatever you are willing to share, but we must remain vigilant in this moment. I do not believe the threat is over until we are safely back within the compound of the Calvin School of Magic.”

         The market they had just left was a large one. Blake was now contemplating this fact further. Because they had exited hastily from the opposite end of the market, they were still far away from the entrance to the school. In fact, he was surprised that they were now back at the fountain where Princess Sophie’s conversion had taken place the day before. Even though Blake kept vigilant watch, there was still no danger to be detected. Nonetheless, to Blake’s surprise, Sadie abruptly stopped in front of the fountain.  

         “I’m sweating Blake. I want to wash my feet and face in the fountain,” she said pleading with him innocently.

         Blake’s thoughts became entangled. He felt as if he was fighting a battle between his desire, and his propensity toward caution.

         “Alright, but do make it brief,” conceded Blake.

         “Will you join me?” she asked as she stepped into the fountain.

         “I’d love to, but someone needs to keep watch…for danger” he clarified replying with resignation in his voice.

         “That’s twice you’ve declined to enter the water with me,” she said trying to tease him. “But I’ll forgive you these times.”

         Blake forced a smile in response but made the mistake of looking at her. Sadie was splashing water up onto her legs, and as she did so, she was lifting her gown to clean as much as she could without disrobing altogether. Blake tried to turn away, but he felt frozen as if in a trance.

         The sound of a violent wind suddenly filled Blake’s ears. He looked to behind him to see where it was coming from but could not detect at first the source of this sound. Blake kept searching and quickly turned in a complete circle, but still saw nothing. But when his eyes returned back to the scene of the fountain, water was spewing everywhere. Worse still was the realization that Sadie was trapped in a small cyclone of wind. It looked eerily similar to the one that had almost taken Apollos’ life.

         Blake could not see Sadie’s face clearly to assess how she was feeling, but she was already a foot off the ground, and was slowly rising higher into the air. He could only see that her white gown was whipping about in the tornado of wind. Remembering the dead space of air he had found underneath Apollos’ cyclone, Blake dove into the shallow fountain under the spot in which Sadie hovered now a few feet off the ground. He reached up and grabbed onto one of her ankles hoping he could prove to be stronger than this newest cyclone. But as he grabbed at her with all his might, cold air suddenly filled his lungs, followed by the thud of a body on top of him. Instantly, the wind was gone.

         Blake’s ability to process what was happening around him stalled momentarily. He recognized now that the body laying on top of him was Sadie’s. She had fallen on top of him, and was now laying in his arms.

“But where is this cold coming from that I feel?” thought Blake.

Blake then realized they were laying on a thick sheet of ice. There was no more running water. The fountain was frozen, and they appeared to be safe from any further wind threat. Blake adjusted his position so he could try to find Sadie’s eyes, but as he did, he realized that her body felt like dead weight. Her eyes were closed. Blake put his head to her chest and listened. An overwhelming sense of relief came over him as he heard her heartbeat, feeling her bosom intimately rise and fall with each breath. Blake was tempted to remain cuddled in this position, but he also knew he had to get them to safety.

It was hard to get to his feet without slipping on the ice while carrying Sadie. She was a petit woman, very light, but the ice was proving to be a challenge. Blake eventually managed to get them both off the ice. He carried her to the Path of Senna looking carefully in both directions to ensure there were no threats. As he looked to the south, the way that would lead them back to the school, nothing of note could be spotted. But as he turned his attention northward, he noticed a few statues.

“Why did I not see these before,” he wondered to himself.

Blake took a few steps in the opposite direction of the school, so he could assess better the situation. The scene that met his eyes seemed incredulous to him. Three men stood frozen in individual blocks of ice. Blake decided that he need not get any closer to them and determined they must have been the enemies from the market.

“But where did all this ice come from?” he asked himself.

Sadie shifted slightly in his arms, and slowly opened her eyes with a smile spreading simultaneously across her face. Before Blake could smile back, his peripheral vision caught something that moved his eyes from hers. Three gigantic explosions went off. It was as if someone had taken a massive hammer to the ice sculptures. Body parts of the three men shot into the air, flying in all directions. Blood stained patches of the path came into view as if a large bomb had decimated anything in its proximity.

Blake’s reaction to it all was to bury Sadie more deeply into his arms. She decided to take advantage of the closeness squeezing her chest into his. As she hung on tightly, Blake couldn’t help noticing that she also seemed completely unsurprised and even unphased but what had occurred. Slowly, Blake lowered her to her feet, ensuring she was strong enough to stand under her own strength.

“I’m fine Blake. Stop worrying about me,” she said with a reassuring smile that Blake took time to admire, hoping he would not be soon interrupted again.

“I’m glad to hear that you’re okay, but what the hell happened?” inquired Blake sounding almost annoyed.

“Well, I was looking forward to telling you more about some powers that we uniquely possess as an Ice Race. But it looks like you got to see some of it before I could even tell you about it,” Sadie replied.   

They turned around and began walking south in the direction of the entrance to the school. Sadie grabbed his hand, but this time Blake was happy to hold on for a while.

Sadie began to speak.

“When the element of wind was used to target me, its power does affect me momentarily as it does anyone. But our special ice element is able to defeat wind. I felt you grab my ankle just as I had closed my eyes to request the supernatural freezing. I’m glad you were beneath me. You helped to cushion my fall. The ice element automatically kills the wind and freezes any threats nearby.”

“I was so scared. I thought you were dead,” replied Blake with sincere concern.

“When we invoke this power, it knocks us unconscious. But when we wake up, the ice sculptures containing our enemies instantly explode. That is what you saw. I was so happy to wake up in your arms,” said Sadie.

“Well, I am very relieved to know that you’re okay,” Blake said with affection.

“Maybe we can enjoy an uneventful walk back to the school,” she said while squeezing his hand just a little tighter.