Crystal Guardian

11

The next night was even colder than the last and, to make things worse, a blizzard whipped up, coating the cloudy buildings with a fresh lick of white. Aldric held the extra blankets around himself even though they scratched. He had not bothered to change, his own clothes would suffice. Hours passed before he fell asleep but when he opened his eyes, Aldric felt that they had only been closed for a tiny amount of time.

Sitting up, he found that the only other person in the room was Cozmo, a star-shape beneath a scraggly orange and pink throw blanket. Wondering where everyone else had gone, Aldric made his way out the front door, stood shivering on the step and glanced in all directions. A few people strolled up and down the streets, dressed in woollen jackets or cloaks. Aldric wandered amongst them, all the way down to the tavern.

The door slid open. He caught sight of Evie and Raiden sitting together at a table, engrossed in conversation. Aldric tried to slink in unseen but it was too late. He had been spotted. Evie noticed him first. She nodded in acknowledgement but did not meet his eyes. Raiden gave a slight wave of the hand before turning the movement into a casual brush of his hair. Aldric shuffled over to them and pulled up a spare seat.

'Morning,' he said.

'So it is,' replied Raiden. 'Selwyn and K went to a garage or something, to see if there's any way to fix the ship.'

'Uh huh,' Aldric mumbled. 'Then we can go home right?'

'That's the plan,' said Raiden. 'I'm not leaving Feliciana.'

Aldric thought of all those people trapped in Gliendale. So many would be dead by now. December, where would she be? Where was his father? Could he be...? No. Aldric wouldn't consider it. What if he was looking for him, not knowing that he was millions of miles away? For a moment, Aldric's vision became blurred and he could feel the pulse in his neck thudding. He took a deep breath and everything melted back into focus.

K and Selwyn burst through the door. It was obvious from the looks on their faces that they had no luck. Their chairs scraped across the icy floor as they took seats opposite him.

'There's one more place we haven't tried,' Selwyn said without preamble. 'It's a bit out of the way but-'

Raiden stood up. 'Where?'

'Edge of the mountain range,' Selwyn leant on the table. 'But with no means of travel? And I don't suggest walking, not with the storms we've been having lately.'

'Maybe over a couple of days?' suggested K. 'I've done the journey before. You know I can handle myself out there.'

'No,' said Selwyn, clenching his fist against the table.

If only there was a way, thought Aldric, and then he remembered what had happened when they had only just arrived onto this world. Raiden's strange incantations and how that terrifying beast had become tamed.

'We can fly there,' said Aldric.

'Eh?' Raiden looked perplexed. 'The ship's wrecked and we left it way back. Or have you not been paying attention?'

'By Ripto,' Aldric explained. 'You can calm one, like you did before.'

'That would be almost impossible,' said K. 'Last time was a fluke.'

'Nothing I do is an accident,' said Raiden. He raised both of his eyebrows melodramatically. 'Come on K, I'm up for it.'

'Do what you like,' said Selwyn, 'but K stays with us.'