Chapter 33: Frozen

JONAH

Dealing with the aftermath was not so much fun. Since we got the shit beaten out of us, and somehow managed to lose two of our group, we didn't manage to meet the deadline. The ice woman returned just like she said she would, placed frozen shackles on us, then dragged us off to a cave.

„At least there's fire," Raksha says, though I can't tell if he's talking to me or himself. „We might have died out there."

„We might die in here," I reply, keeping my hands close to the flame. Never thought I'd miss the sun so much. The cold is getting pretty ridiculous. We're all going to freeze to death unless we find something warmer to wear. „What do you imagine she wants?"

„She's a devil, yes?" the djinn asks, blowing some wind on the flame to make it burn more intensely. „I would not presume it to be anything good."

„A country for ice devils," I mutter, glancing at the cavern walls. „That would include the one I killer – the one who possessed Snow's corpse. Do you think she wants revenge?"

„No," answers Raksha, rubbing his earlobe between his thumb and index fingers. „If that was her goal, she would not have given us a chance to escape."

„So this is just the punishment for failing to get away?" I can't help but scoff. If she wants us out of Jotunheim, all she has to do is let us leave. She wants nothing to do with Nyarlathotep, and we can't well afford to make an enemy of her. It would be for the best to go our separate ways. We've got our hands full as it is.

„Something is troubling you," my ever so intuitive companion says. „You are dissatisfied with your strength."

„Yes," I reply, though he wasn't really asking. I expected to be as strong as an Apostle. What's the use in being a fairy if I can't master magic the same way a djinn can? I had too much trouble with Arrow, who was just a subordinate of Ryan's. I've got all this dormant power, and I can't do shit with it. Whenever it comes down to a fight, I fizzle out. Failing to switch from one elemental attribute to another is a mistake I can't afford to make against stronger opponents. „Rem was a joke. He's nothing like Juno and Risk, and it took all of us to fight him. Even then, we failed to find a way to put him down."

„You were not the only one to fail," he tells me, his stomach growling from hunger. „I was nearly felled by an opponent you yourself had defeated before. It was disgraceful."

„She had help. Besides, I didn't actually win against her, and even then, I shortened my life by gods know how much."

„Gods?" he inquires, glaning at the sleeping Yukiji briefly.

„I'm not big on faith."

Seemingly genuinely surprised, Raksha leans forward, hands above the flame once more. „You do not believe in anything? How is it possible to live without faith?"

„Didn't you mention you belive in mana? I fail to see how that's faith."

Scowling, he allows his mana to flare up for a moment, before forcing it back down. „I do not appreciate having the customs of my people questioned, Jonah – even if it's you."

Shrugging, I look to the cavern entrance, realizing it's snowing heavily out there. „There's proof mana exists, right? We use it all the time. How, then, can you call it faith? Isn't faith supposed to be belief in something that can't be proven?"

„That would be blind faith, and it is for fools." There's an edge to his voice as he explains himself, his fingers once against playing with his ear. „We have faith because we trust mana. We are born into it. We live by it, and we forfeit it once we die."

„You do?" I wasn't aware of that bit. „What about shades? Shouldn't all djinn become them?"

Shaking his head, he leans back against the cavern wall. „Only humans can become shades. It is not a pleasant fate. Some djinn consider it a punishment for your kind, since you were never meant to learn magic."

Scoffing again, I lean back as well. If we can feign indifference, then so can I. „Not my kind, remember? Besides, who's to say they weren't meant to learn it? Only a god could decide something like that, and you said you were against blind faith."

„They were born without it," he speaks tiredly, emphasizing the first word, „so it isn't a stretch to assume they should not have it. Mana itself might dislike them. It sure does its best to permit them as little magic as possible."

"But they found a way around that, right? So who are you to judge them?"

"They locked us away like a pack of rabid wolves," he snaps, the fire rising with his anger. "We taught them everything they needed to survive. We granted them warmth, and we granted them light. We stopped them from being on the very bottom of the food chain, and they repaid us by locking us away forever." He releases a bitter laugh, still glaring at me. "And you have the nerve to ask why I judge you?"

An uncomfortable silence befalls us, the flames dying down as Raksha stops talking. When we're this quiet, we can even hear the wind howling outside. Only Yukiji's faint breaths accompany it.

"You said "you" again."

"You partook, did you not?" he says. "You took me from my people without a care about my feelings. You wanted to protect your own family, as I do mine. You made me a slave, Jonah. Do not think I have forgotten, or that I so easily will, in this life or the next."

"So what now?" I ask, raising my voice only slightly. "What were all those moments between us? What are we?" He doesn't answer me right away, so I take a deep breath and try again. "What are we to each other, Raksha?" Still, no answer comes from him. I summon my mana again, and try to melt the shackles around my wrists, but nothing happens. No matter what I do to the ice, it keeps growing back.

"They are made from my own body," the cold voice of the snow devil says as she enters the cave. "They cannot be melted by the likes of you."

At first I just glare at her, but then I realize she's pulling someone behind her. Two someones, actually, and I know them both. I've tried to kill them both. "Guess karma's a bitch," I spitefully tell them. Rem doesn't reply, as he seems to be having a panic attack, but the other prisoner, Risk, narrows his eyes at me.

"Your kind faced karma's wrath long ago, Jonah."

"Quiet," says the snow woman, pulling the chains she's bound the two with until they're in front of her, after which she pushes them forward. "There will be no interference with Jotunheim. Nyarlathotep will return the land to what it once was, or he will receive your heads." She turns towards risk slowly, as if she's a statue. "Your friend outside will deliver that message." When Risk flinches, the temperature in the cave drops suddenly, and the woman reaches down, grabbing the cat devil by the single horn coming from his forehead. "Do not think you can trifle with me, Risk. Royalty or not, you are no match for the Queen of Gehenna."

"Former queen," Risk spits at her, resulting in an icicle piercing his shoulder. He most definitely enhanced himself to endure the hit, but it drew blood all the same. "The rest of the Great Hunt will come for me, Jericho. You're a fool to think otherwise."

"I do not think otherwise," the woman replies coldly, a solemn smile on her face. "You will have the honor of watching them die."

"Then Juno will come! Or Tiburon, or he lord himself. You have no chance of winning."

Jericho delivers a painful kick to his head, slamming it into the cave behind him. Rem scurries away from the scene, tears and snot covering his face. I can't believe he was intimidating at one point. Even Risk looks pitiful right now. "If Nyarlathotep can defeat me so soundly, why does he seclude himself? Why not, then, make his presence known?" For the first time, she's showing some emotion. It's not very easy to tell what it is she's feeling, but I would assume it's anger, or perhaps hate. Those two are the hardest to hide.

Suddenly, the shackles around me disappear – as do those binding Raksha and Yukiji, who is now awake, though fully silent. Immediately, I reach for some fire, and aim it at Jericho, swinging me fist toward her. She catches my fist easily, and encases it in such power frost that no fire can possibly come out, least of all mine. "You have faced one of mine before," she says, acting as though I didn't just try to kill her. "Once he got his body, you fought him and you killed him." Shit. I'm fucking dead. Jericho looks at me, not a care in her eyes, then lets my fist go, removing the effects of her spell instantly. "He begged you to kill him, and so you did. For that, I now release you."

None of us move right away. I slowly look at Yukiji, who is nodding at me, then at Raksha, who seems ready for a fight.

"You cannot beat me," the Queen says, though it really wasn't necessary. If a sneak attack did nothing, then there really isn't much we could ever hope to do to her. Shit. Is Nyarlathotep this powerful?

Slowly, I nod, taking a step toward the entrance. Risk kicks at me with one of his legs, which immediately gets impaled to the ground with a thin, long spear of ice. He cries out in pain as black blood flows out of the wound, filling the cavern with a dreadful stench. "You are marked," he barks at me, fighting back tears of agony and frustration. "One day, I will hunt you down. That is, if you survive Juno's wrath. She will assume you are to blame for my disappearance, and she'll rip you apart. Your friends already fought her, you know – the ones in Alfheim. She knows where they are, and she's going to slaughter them." Taking a deep breath, he starts trembling a bit. I can't tell if it's from the cold, the anger, or just sheer madness, to go by the look in his wide eyes. "You're dead! You filthy fucking fairy! We'll pluck your wings and feed them to-"

Without my notice, Jericho freezes him whole, preventing him from finishing the sentence. "Raving fool," she whispers, turning to look at Rem, whom she starts approaching. "There is a temple on top of the Borealis Peak. Inside it, you will find a Doorway. Use it to get out, and spread the word of Jericho, the new Queen of Jotunheim. None may enter this land, and all who do will meet the same fates that await these two." She subtly gestures toward Rem, who backs away even more.

I open my mouth slightly, intending to ask if she would join us against the other devils, but decide not to voice my inquiry. I'd rather not be near her a moment longer. As such, we leave without a word, fighting the cold blizzard as we walk away. We walk in complete silence, only capable of seeing where we're going because of the vast amounts of snow covering whatever this is. Are we on a mountain? In a valley? I truly have no idea.

An even colder breeze blows through me, eliciting a sneeze. In response, I create a small ball of fire, then approach Yukiji, letting it warm us both. It doesn't do much at all, since the flame keeps dying out due to the wind, and we still end up shivering as we walk.

"I-Isn't there a heat spell or something?" I ask, but Raksha doesn't answer me. He's just walking forward, refusing to admit that he, too, is freezing. "Raksha, we're going to die if we don't do something about this. We haven't had shit to drink or eat in a l-l-long while, so could you please cut the crap?"

"High Enchantment," he replies simply, then blasts a fireball ahead of himself, melting away some of the snow before us.

"I can't do that," I tell him.

"I know."

"Then recommend something we can do, perhaps?"

"Learn," he says. "Your use of elemental magic is abysmal. Learn enchantments."

"Oh, well, why didn't I think of that?" I make my fireball slightly larger as the snow returns. "Does Ishtar know any?"

"Mother is the greatest enchantress our village has ever known."

"And it did not occur to her to teach me about them?"

Sighing, he takes a step back, falling in line on the other side of Yukiji, and creates his own flame. "Truth be told, Jonah, she distrusts you immensely. You kidnapped her son, then returned with news of war, allegedly having lost most of your memories by then, and now as a member of an extinct race."

"Allegedly?"

"She has no proof, and she does not believe it." There's something he's hiding from me right now; I can tell. Do I push it? Best not. Don't want to reignite the awkward tension.

"Do you know where we are going?"

"The north winds blow from the north," he tells me, pointing straight ahead. Whatever may be there, I'm unable to see it from all the snow, so I focus some of my mana into my eyes. It does extend my sight range, but it doesn't actually make anything easier to see. "The Borealis Peak is the northern border of Jotunheim, as the Australis Peak is the southern-most location. We can follow the wind."

"And would it happen to be close?" When he doesn't respond, I know the answer is no. "Raksha, this isn't working. We're going to freeze." Just as I say it, a coughing fit comes over me, and I end up spitting out an unhealthy amount of mucus.

"We need coats," he says to himself, looking around. Good luck finding a shop around here. "I am better suited to this. You take my shirt-"

"Don't you dare," I snap. He grew up in the warmest place I've ever been in, completely used to being shirtless all the time. If anything, he's taking the worst of this. "Isn't there some way to make clothes from magic?"

"Perhaps with plant manipulation-"

"Can you do it?"

"...which I cannot do."

I groan, huddling closer to Yukiji upon hearing her sneeze. "What about you, kid? Got anything in mind?" Shaking her head, she sneezes again. Accepting our fates, we keep pushing forward, struggling not to freeze the entire time. We walk for hours on end, the scenery around us all the same. This night is eternal. How can it possibly last this long? This bloody north...

After some more time, Raksha finally speaks again. "You know, it's not really so cold anymore."

I look at him like he's the biggest fool alive, because it sure as hell still is. "It's freezing."

He turns his head toward me slowly, and I'm shocked by how pale his face is. His lips are almost entirely blue, and frostbite has started to form on his cheeks. "Raksha, we need to get you warmed up, now."

"I just told you, I'm fi-"

"You are about to freeze to death," I tell him. "That warm feeling you're getting is one of the symptoms. You need to heat up immediately." Raising my arms, I hurl a massive swirl of fire into the air, melting away the blizzard around us, as well as the snow at our feet. Revealed below the snow isn't grass, but instead simple dirt. Raksha still looks horrible, and the fire seems to have peeled off some of the frost, leaving wounds all over his face. "How can you keep warm? What spell do we use?" I instinctively look around, and I'm reminded that, for once, there aren't a whole lot of people willing to save my ass. This time, it's on me.

"E-Enchant," Raksha mutters, then falls to his knees. Yukiji immediately grabs a hold of his shoulder, keeping him upright, and turns to look at me, a scared look in her eyes.

"Is he dying?"

"Not on my watch." I approach him, already stirring up my mana, then place a hand on his shoulder. This better work. "Raksha, if you know anything, take me through it."

"F-F-F-Forget it. Yo-You'll fry my insides."

"You're dying!" I scream, my voice bouncing off the mountains in a terrifying echo. "I can already do basic enchantments on objects. Even if you get hurt, at least you'll live."

"F-Fire," he mutters.

"I thought you said it was different?"

"S-S-S-S-Shut up." Yes, waste time on that, please! "S-Separate heat...from light..."

Great. How the bloody fuck do I do that? "Crash course, please!"

"Link," he whispers, doubling over. I immediately take his hand, allowing our mana to flow together. He allows me to be the one initiating this time, and a few seconds later, the connection is there.

"Now what?"

"Y-Your mana... into my body..."

I do exactly that, but he winces right after, glancing at his arm. "Rough." Shit. I fucked up. Okay, okay. Don't panic. You can't panic. If you panic, people die. Deep breath, and analyse the situation.

I can enchant objects. I can make a stick sturdier than a sword. But Raksha isn't a stick. He's a living being, and I can't enchant them the same way. Not only that, but I'm not looking to make him sturdy at all. I need to make him warm. Alright, alright. Now, how do I make things sturdy? I pour as much mana into them as I can. That doesn't work here. He doesn't need that much mana in his body. Just a tiny bit, then...

"It's in," I tell him, and he nods softly, sinking even further down. Yukiji struggle to keep him upright, her hands entirely red. "What now?" When he doesn't respond, I shake him a bit. "Raksha? Raksha!?" He's not dying on me now. "You fought a fucking devil. Don't let some snow beat you!"

As I yell, my mana flares up, and he suddenly jolts awake. Looking around in dazed confusion, he seems entirely lost, and incapable of speaking.

"Raksha," I mutter, grabbing his face between my hands. "Raksha, how does heat enchantment work? Raksha, tell me right now." When he doesn't, and starts to faint again, I do the only thing I can think of in this situation, and start the process of using fire magic. The two joined types of mana inside his body start rubbing together, creating the friction needed to make flames. Instead of shooting them out, though, I keep the mana inside his body, preventing it from actually igniting. When that doesn't work, I push some more of my mana into him, repeating the process. This goes on for ten or so minutes, and I finally start to notice some colour in his cheeks.

"Working," Yukiji comments, shivering against Raksha's body. "How are you doing it?"

I don't answer her, instead continuing my treatment. That's it. I'm doing it. I'm using an enchantment on a person. That's big. This is a big step. Come on, Raksha. Live, god damn it!

Suddenly gasping for air, he throws his head toward the sky, and his body becomes warm to the touch. Still somewhat in disbelief, I fall down on my ass, breathing just as heavily. We sit there for a few minutes, and I don't think to force myself to move again until I realize the blizzard is actually growing in intensity.

"We need to... We need to keep moving."

Nodding, Raksha stands up, ushering Yukiji toward me. "Now do the same for her."