There was a brief moment between jumping and falling where they were simply suspended in the air, weightless and left feeling as though time itself stood still. Claire stared in awe at the world below, the dark green of the boreal forest stretched onward for miles before giving way to the flat, white of the icy tundra. Barely visible on the horizon, obscured by thick flurries of snow were the sharp, jagged peaks of the Ninguid mountains, dark and foreboding.
Claire couldn't help the feeling of unease that crept into her heart at the sight. What secrets lay buried there and for what reason?
Without warning, a sharp gust of icy wind caught the glider under its wing and sent it spinning out of control, spiraling groundward at an alarming rate.
Claire let out a scream that was swallowed up by the wind before she closed her eyes and willed herself to be anywhere else but plummeting through the air to her inevitable death. She could feel Draz straining to regain control of the contraption and realized that there was no way he'd be able to do it alone.
Gritting her teeth, she forced her frozen limbs to move, pulling up on the handle of the glider as she leaned in the same direction as Draz. It took all she had in her not to cry out as she was painfully reminded of half a dozen bruised ribs. Gasping, she fought through the pain and after a few seconds the glider stabilized.
When Claire finally gathered the courage to open her eyes, the ground, which had seemed miles away prior, was so close now she was certain they'd been minutes from meeting an unpleasant end.
"Get ready for a rough landing!" Draz called out, his voice rising over the sound of air rushing by. "I'm going to aim for that clearing but... I've never been very good at flying these things."
With the trees speeding towards them at an alarming rate, Claire prepared for impact. At first it looked like they would make the clearing, but the closer they got the more obvious it became that this was not the case.
"Hold on tight!"
Claire wasn't sure if the snapping sound was the glider breaking up as it struck the trees, or branches giving way under the force of the impact. Claire closed her eyes and ducked her head as branches scraped at her hands and arms. Fortunately, they'd hit the tree line just low enough that the glider took the brunt of the impact and upon breaking up left them suspended several yards above the snowy ground.
"Are you okay?" Draz asked breathlessly.
"Y-yeah," she replied despite the throbbing burn in her side. "Yeah, I think so. How are we going to get down?"
It wasn't the first time Claire had found herself in this sort of predicament. Unlike last time, however, she didn't have the magic cards to aid them. She assumed the cards would eventually find their way back to her, but she couldn't be positive about that either. They were new, after all, and not as well trained as the cards her father owned.
"We're going to have to climb down," Draz replied before he began untying the knotted rope from around his waist.
"Climb? Are you sure?"
"Unless you'd rather jump," Draz said, leaning forward slightly as though he was gauging the distance. "I wouldn't recommend it though. Climbing down is definitely the better option."
Claire scowled.
"Come on now, it's not that bad," he said. "I'll go first. We'll take it one branch at a time."
Without giving her a chance to protest further, Draz dropped down to the branch just below them. He reached out towards her and with great reluctance she released her hold on the glider's cross bar and grabbed his outstretched hand.
"Now lower yourself down, slow and steady," he said, his grip firm. She did as he instructed and was relieved when the branch didn't simply give way beneath their combined weight.
"See? That wasn't so bad," he replied. "Hell of a lot easier than jumping across a moving train I wager."
Claire couldn't help but laugh.
"Come on, let's get out of this tree and figure out where the others ended up."
By the time they reached the ground, Claire's fingers and palms were decorated with tiny scratches where the rough, icy bark had bitten into the tender flesh. She was also so cold she couldn't stop her teeth from clattering together or her body from trembling. The thin, wispy material of her gown was now tattered beyond recognition and offered no protection from the elements.
Draz wasted no time starting a fire, but no matter how close she got, Claire just couldn't get warm enough. Whatever chill was plaguing her had settled deep in her bones and she found herself staring out into the darkening expanse of forest.
"Do you think—"
"He's fine," Draz replied, cutting her off before she could finish her macabre question. "I told you before, I'm not that lucky."
Claire tried to muster up a smile but failed.
They sat for several minutes, the sound of the fire snapping and popping the only sound to fill the small clearing. Every now and then Claire would shiver so hard her entire body would shake.
In the end, Draz pulled her against his chest and before wrapping both arms around her. The move was so unexpected that Claire wasn't certain how to respond.
"Draz–"
"Don't argue with me," he interrupted, "It doesn't mean anything. I'm just tired of hearing your teeth clacking. Besides, if I let you freeze to death, that idiot will make my life a living hell. I mean, more so than he already does..."
Claire found herself laughing, the warmth emanating from Draz finally penetrating the icy cold that had taken root in her.
As the cold began to fade, she became more acutely aware of the steady, burning ache along her right side. She shifted slightly, trying to find a more comfortable position without sacrificing the newly acquired warmth.
"What's wrong?" Draz asked, loosening his hold.
"Nothing," she replied. "Where do you think the others are? Should we go look for them?"
"I'm sure they aren't far," Draz replied. "I think it's best if we wait here."
As if on cue, the sound of branches snapping echoed across the clearing. Claire looked and could make out a tall, shadowed figure making its way through the trees. She started to rise, expecting it to be Rollan or her father. Draz pulled her back just as the figure cleared the tree line.
Claire felt her heart leap into her throat.
Alex.
"Well, don't you two look cozy," he said, a smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth. Claire pulled away from Draz and this time he didn't stop her.
"You're alive," Claire managed, her voice thick with emotion.
"Are you disappointed?" Alex replied. "Did you hope to find my mangled corpse tanged in the branches of a tree?"
"No I-"
"You're a right bastard, you know that?" Draz interrupted, stepping around Claire.
"I see you've got yourself a new champion," Alex drawled. "The great Drazenko Haval!"
"I-"
"Don't bother, Claire, this bastard isn't in his right mind," Draz said, fire spiraling to life between his fingers. "Talking isn't going to work. This requires a more physical approach."
"You want to fight, Haval? Let's fight," Alex replied, shedding the tattered remains of the cloak he was wearing. "When I'm finished with you, you'll be begging me to kill you."
Draz smirked before turning to Claire.
"Stay clear, I promise I won't kill him," Draz said. Claire hesitated a moment and then nodded.
"Do you need a moment to say your goodbyes?" Alek called.
"You're in a hurry to die, Drosselmeyer," Draz replied, turning towards him. Fire wrapped slowly up his arm.
"The only one who is going to die today — is you," Alek said as dashed towards him, kicking up snow in his wake.
Claire could see his lips moving as he uttered a string of words neither of them could hear. The air around him began to shimmer, distorting his figure as though he was encased in a ball of water. The fire Draz was manipulating twisted upwards before it became an arching spiral racing towards an inevitable collision with Alek.
Unable to watch, Claire squeezed her eyes closed and waited.
The resulting explosion caused the ground beneath her feet to shake and the nearby trees to sway and groan. She felt wind rushing by, uncomfortably hot despite the frigid winter air. Feeling as though her heart was going to pound its way out of her chest, Claire opened her eyes expecting the worst.
The landscape of the forest in front of her had changed. The trees closest to the point of impact had been reduced to smoking piles of kindling and ash. Those further out where charred black, some still glowing from the flames.
In the midst of it all, without a single scratch, was Alek. The air around him was charged and the shimmering bubble that had surrounded him began to flicker and crackle like lightning.
"Impressive," Alek called as he casually began to roll up the sleeves of his dress shirt. "Is that the best you've got?"
"I'm just getting warmed up," Draz replied before firing off three large balls of flame in his direction. Alek dodged the first two, but the third split again catching him by surprise. The larger of the two newly formed fireballs struck the barrier first and with enough force that it caused the barrier to flicker wildly before beginning to fracture.
"Keep trying, Haval, I'm sure—"
His words were cut short when the second, smaller fire ball came sweeping in from behind. It penetrated the barrier causing it to explode in a flurry of sparks before slamming into Alek's back. He staggered forward a few steps but managed to maintain his balance. Thin tendrils of smoke rose from where the fire had singed his clothing and Claire was relieved to see no major damage had been done.
Alek grit his teeth and ran at Draz, arms rising as his fingers sliced through the air leaving a glimmer of red light in their wake. Moments before the two would have collided, Alek dropped, sliding to the left while dragging the palm of his now glowing hand across the ground which began to tremble in response.
There was a thunderous crack and Claire saw the ground in front of Draz suddenly split open like the mouth of a hungry beast ready to devour him whole. Fortunately, Draz managed to leap over the chasm, hitting the ground on the other side and rolling for several feet before finally coming to a stop.
When he didn't immediately get back up, Claire felt her heart begin to race. Why wasn't he getting up?
Alek rose, dusting dirt and mud and snow from the palms of his hands as he approached the prone fire mage. Claire wanted to scream at Draz to get up, but the words were trapped in her throat. As she staggered a few steps closer she saw a gleam of red now painted the side of Draz's face and she followed it with her eyes to the source – a cut of some kind hidden beneath his unruly blond hair.
Kneeling beside him, Alek grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled the unconscious man up briefly before dropping him back to the ground.
"Pathetic," he said, shaking his head. "If I had known it would be this easy to get rid of you, I would have done it a long time ago."
He pushed back the flap of his jacket and Claire watched in mounting horror as he drew a dagger from his belt.
"No!"
Alek paused and looked back at her. "Don't worry, you're next," was all he said before turning and raising the dagger over his head. Claire rushed forward just as he swung his arm down, fully prepared to plunge the blade into Draz's chest.
She'd only made it halfway when a gust of wind ripped past her causing her to stumble and then fall. Looking up from her hands and knees she expected to see Draz with the dagger buried to its hilt in his chest.
Instead she saw Alek struggling to get back to his feet while Draz groaned and rolled over onto his side as consciousness slowly returned. Alek looked back at her, fury burning in his eyes, but he wasn't looking at her, but rather past her at something else.
Turning, Claire saw several familiar figures rushing towards her, cutting around trees and ducking below branches.
Rollan was the first to reach her, sliding across the snow on his knees when he was mere feet away.
"Are you okay?" he asked, eyes searching for any visible sign of injury.
Her father arrived next, cards of his deck caught between his fingers.
"I'm fine," she said before he could ask. "Help Draz, please."
Xeiren was already on it, leaping gracefully over the chasm, a long ornate sword with the hilt of a dragon grasped in his hand. He knelt beside Draz, checking the wound on his head.
"Ow, be gentle you bloody bastard," Draz shouted, causing Xeiren to grin.
"He'll live, he didn't hurt anything vital after all."
"Where did Alek go?" Claire asked, the forest around them now devoid of the master's mage's presence.
"Wherever it is, it's not far enough, I'm going to tear his head from his shoulders when I get my hands on him," Valerick growled as his gaze panned the tree line, no doubt hoping for some clue as to where Alek had disappeared to.
"Can you stand?" Rollan asked.
"Yes, I just tripped, that's all," Claire replied before rising shakily to her feet. She might not be hurt but she was still cold as hell and the snow had soaked all the way through the thin shoes she'd been wearing.
Valerick seemed to notice because he shrugged out of his coat and draped it wordlessly over her shoulders before crouching down beside her. "Get on," he said, his voice gruff.
"I don't-"
"Don't argue," her father said. "We've got a bit of a walk ahead of us and your shoes won't survive the journey."
With some reluctance and a little help from Rollan, Claire managed to get onto her father's back which proved to be quite warm. Rollan replaced her wet shoes with some thick socks and Claire felt almost normal again all things considered.
"How is Draz?" she asked.
"He's on his feet, Xeiren is doctoring him up," her father replied. "Are you sure you're not hurt?"
"I'm sure," Claire said, only partially lying. She wasn't injured but her heart ached something fierce. Would there really be no saving him? Was Alek lost to her forever?