Toby Neighbors: Crying Havoc

He knew two things for certain as he clung to the bucket. First, Prince Wilam was being used by the witch. It didn’t take a master strategist to understand the benefit of having the Crown Prince of Yelsia in the witch’s service. He knew that somehow he needed to get to the Prince and rescue him from the witch’s power, but he had no idea how he could do that without falling under her spell again. Secondly, Quinn knew that Mansel was going to Yelsia to fetch Zollin back to the witch. He couldn’t believe how stupid he had been. He remembered that he had planned to leave Mansel behind as well. He remembered how he had felt in his zeal to please Gwendolyn. He shook his head angrily. He should have been on his guard, but he had been consumed with his seasickness since the ship had set sail. Now, he was in trouble. He couldn’t see land in any direction. He knew the ship had been sailing north, but he had no idea how far they had come or even how long they had been at sea.

He kicked his feet and tried to look for any signs of land, but all he could see was water in every direction. He was lost at sea, and that prospect filled him with dread. His son needed him, but he was completely helpless and dependent on a wooden bucket just to stay alive.

“Oh, no,” Zollin said softly.

He was trying to move his legs but nothing was happening. He tried to delve into his magic but he couldn’t. He felt completely helpless.

“I’m hurt,” he said, his voice shaking slightly.

“Okay,” Brianna said. “It’s going to be okay.”

“No, I think my back is broken.”

“Okay,” Brianna said again, her face a mask of restrained panic. “You just need to heal yourself, that’s all.”

“I can’t,” Zollin said, fighting the tears that were stinging his eyes. “I can’t feel my magic.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean it’s not there. I’m helpless.”

The tears couldn’t be contained. He was in pain and he was afraid that he was going to die, but what shook him the most was the realization that he couldn’t feel his magic. He was a wizard with no powers.

“You mean you lost your magical powers? How?”

“I don’t know,” he said, his breath coming in ragged sobs. “I don’t know if I lost it or used it all up or if I just can’t feel it.”

“Okay,” Brianna said, as she stroked his face and wiped the tears away. “It’s going to be okay. I promise it will. We just need to figure out what to do next.”

She looked around. There wasn’t much to see. They were at least ten feet below the surface of the snow in what amounted to a small crater formed by the impact of their falling bodies.

“We need food and a way to stay warm,” she said. “Maybe if you have some wine and some rest you could get your power back.”

“Maybe,” Zollin said, but he didn’t really believe it.

He had been exhausted by his magical powers before. Once, when Kelvich, the old sorcerer who had taken Zollin under his tutelage, had first started helping Zollin discover and control his power, he had been tied to a post for hours in the freezing cold. He had been exhausted and unable to free himself, but he could still feel his magic then. Now, however, he felt nothing. It was as if the lower half of his body was gone.

“Okay, so we’ve got to get out of this hole,” Brianna said, trying to remain positive and productive. “I can climb out. Then I’ll find our supplies and get you some food. Are you okay to stay here?”

“I don’t really have a choice,” Zollin said bitterly.

“All right,” Brianna said. Then she leaned over him again and stared fiercely into his eyes. “We’re together,” she said. “We’re both alive and we can make it through this. Don’t you dare give up on me, Zollin.”

“I won’t,” he said, though his voice, quivering and cracking, was unconvincing.

“You stick with me. It won’t be easy, but one way or another we’re getting out of this mess. I love you, and you promised you’d never give up on me, remember?”

Zollin nodded. He did remember. He remembered being on the road with Brianna, happy and carefree, when she suddenly withdrew her affections. She had been afraid that Zollin was using his magic to influence her feelings. Zollin had been afraid that she would never trust him again, but after weeks of struggling as they pursued and fought the dragon, she finally came back to him. He had her heart now, and even though he was hurting and scared, he resolutely fixed his mind on doing whatever it took to get Brianna out of the Northern Highland Mountains.

“Okay, try to stay awake,” she told him.

Then she stood up. It was difficult at first because there was so little room around his legs. She was afraid she might step on him and hurt him without realizing it. But once she got her feet set, she was able to stand up. The top of the snow was much higher than she was, but she had her dagger, and she went to work chiseling out a place right at knee height that she could use as a place to put her feet. She stepped up and braced herself with her arms on either side of the snow cave. She repeated the process again, but this time she was almost tall enough to reach the top of the snow, and when she tried to brace herself her arms sank into the snow where it was not as compacted. After a moment’s struggle to get her balance and make sure she wasn’t going to fall onto Zollin, she made another small hole and then put her dagger back in its sheath on her belt.

When she stepped up to the third hole she was more careful. She could see above the snow now. It was a weird feeling to see what looked like the ground right at eye level. She began digging in the snow with her hands, careful to toss the snow so that it didn’t fall back down into the hole. It was hard work. Soon her back and legs were aching with fatigue and her hands were burning from the cold, but she was able to crawl from the larger hole into the smaller one she had created. From there she was able to get on top of the snow.

Her feet sank down in the loose snow, so that her leg was buried almost up to her knee. She took a few clumsy steps and then looked back. The hole seemed dark and foreboding, like and open grave. She looked up and saw that the sun was sinking behind the mountains. What little warmth the sun gave to the northern range of mountains would soon be gone, and Zollin would freeze to death if she didn’t do something to save him.

“I made it,” she shouted. “I made it to the top, Zollin. Can you hear me?”

“Yes, good job,” he replied, but his voice was frail and weak.

“I’m going to find our supplies and come right back. Do you hear?”

“Yes,” he said.

“Good. You stay awake.”

She didn’t wait for a response. She knew it would take all of her strength just to get across the snow field. But just after she had begun moving, she suddenly stopped to think. She knew right where they had left their supplies, but she had no idea how much snow now covered them. What if she struggled to get to the supplies only to realize that she couldn’t dig them out? Fear felt like it was dragging her down deeper into the snow. She had no bow, no food, and no other way to get food. Their supplies were all they had to survive on. They were the only hope.

She struggled through the snow for almost an hour before finding what she was looking for. They had left their supplies near the foot of a cliff that had a twisted tree growing from it. The tree was unmistakable, but she had trouble spotting it again. She could tell the snow was angling down when she finally spotted the gnarled trunk. It had been hit by the snow and ice, and the limbs had been broken off. She hurried as fast as she could to the tree and began digging. At first the snow was easy to move. She shoveled it aside with her hands. But then the snow became packed and frozen. She had to use her dagger to break up the packed snow and then shovel out the chunks she had broken free. It was exhausting work, but she knew she needed to find their supplies or Zollin might die.