Break The Ice (17 page)

“Fa,” Dan says.

The rock creature snarls again.

“Enough,” I say, trying to mimic Striker. It works and Fa steps back. “We’re wasting time.”

Fa’s eyes lock on mine. He nods his massive head, the rocks in his neck grinding together. “Follow.”

“I don’t like this,” Dan says.

“Following a talking rock into a city full of Dinmani?” I say.

Dan shakes his head. “No. Striker helping us.”

“You heard the way he talked about his planet. It sounds like he doesn’t want a group of Dinmani terrorists taking it over.”

“Just keep your guard up,” he says, staring at Fa. “Even if they’re offering us help, I don’t trust them.”

You don’t trust me, either. “Do you think–”

A bright light reflects into my eye and stops me from talking. It takes me off guard. The world has been so dimly lit that I never expected anything blinding. I shield both eyes with my arm.

“Are you seeing this?” Dan says, awe in his voice.

I lower my arm and expose only one eye at first. It’s not as bright this time, but a strong beam of light still shines back at me. The scene in front of me unfolds completely, and I drop my arm.

A city plucked straight from a fantasy book. Small buildings crowd around a plaza square, growing larger until they break for the edge of a massive castle. No stones make up the fortress, only ice.

Thin pillars and fat columns. Arching towers and full drawbridge. All sculpted entirely of ice. Light refracts off the buildings and, even this far away, I make out mixtures of reds and blues and yellows, swirling together inside every square foot. A colossal wall envelops the castle, cutting off access from all sides. The only way across appears to be the drawbridge.

All of the small buildings shine beneath the castle. They look like they’re made of ice but no reflections bounces off of them.

Fa takes off down the hill leading to the city. He leaps over deep caverns and bulldozes through the biggest ice shards. The farther he gets away, the faster he runs. I lose sight of him after he drops down a steep cliff.

“Should we follow?” I say.

Dan steps up to the first gap. He looks down and the color drains from his cheeks. “I hope you can jump far.” Stepping back, he gives himself enough room for a running start and leaps over. His foot catches the edge. Even though he lands flat on his face, he manages to keep from sliding backwards. “Your turn,” he calls back.

I want to take a look first to see how far I’ll need to jump, but I can’t convince myself to walk over. If I second guess it, I’ll fall. Pushing off with all of my strength, I bolt straight ahead. Fifteen feet. Ten. Five. I reach the edge but my footing is off, leaving me to jump with my left leg.

The awkward jump sends me tumbling across the cavern. There’s no way I’m going to make it. I land with the tip of my shoe gripping the edge. I pitch forward, diving onto the ice. My foot slips on the edge, sending me straight down. I slam my entire upper body onto the ground. The wall behind me is closer than I anticipated, and I’m able to stop myself from falling into the crevice by kicking my legs out. It takes a few excruciating seconds, but I crawl forward to safety.

By the time I climb to my feet, I’m out of breath.

Dan hasn’t budged from his spot. Did he want me to slide into the hole? He doesn’t waste any time moving once I’m up. The second I plant my feet on solid ground, he races after Fa.

Lucky for me, a clear path leads the way.

Fighting against a growing side stitch, I run along the trail, closing the distance with Dan. I don’t like how compliant he’s been, going along with Striker’s plan. Or mine. I killed his dad. Even though I didn’t know at the time. But that doesn’t change anything. What if we get into the city and Dan melts it to the ground? I already saw that he’s capable of clearing an ice field in no time.

No. He wouldn’t risk everybody we know back on Earth dying. Not for a petty chance at vengeance. I keep telling myself that over and over as we near the city. Fa waits by the entrance, a small wall that looks like it may have been an accident.

“Humans. Slow. Make Fa wait.”

“Sorry about that,” I say through tight breaths, although I’m not sure why I’m apologizing to a rock creature.

“Follow,” Fa says.

The outskirts of the city remind me slums I’ve seen on too many National Geographic specials. The poorest in the city live here, that much is obvious. Many of the buildings have large cracks and chips in the exterior ice. A few have jagged holes punched through the walls. A child pokes his head out from behind one only to pull back as soon as our eyes meet.

“They don’t want us here,” I say.

“Human, no threat. Easy kill. Sunjin dangerous. Unstable.”

“Watch yourself,” Dan says.

I nudge Dan’s shoulder.

He recoils from my touch, almost falling over a thin wall that surrounds one house. “What?” he says, straightening himself. “Nobody here even knows anything about the Sunjin, I guarantee it.”

“Fa knows truth. Fa knew Uthra Ka.”

“Uthra Ka?” Dan says. His eyes widen, mouth stuck slightly ajar. “Do you know what happened?”

Fa shakes his large head. “Fa obeys only master now.”

“Who is he?” I say.

Dan takes a few seconds to respond. He’s lost somewhere in thought before he snaps out of it. “He’s a myth, even among the Sunjin. Remember how I said the Dinmani caused the last ice age? Well he’s the one who stopped it.”

“False. Lies,” Fa says. “Dinmani tried to stop glaciers. Betrayed.”

“Semantics,” Dan says.

“What happened to Uthra Ka?” I say.

“We don’t know. He told his men to fall back in case he failed. Nobody ever found his body.”

I’m watching Dan talk, so I don’t notice that Fa has stopped moving. I bump into his side and a searing pain spreads through my hands. My entire body involuntarily jumps back. No heat radiates from him like with Dan in the field, but I’m left with a large welt on my palms.

“Behind doors, find Shindrow. Goodbye, human.” Fa bounds over a collection of trash and turns into a side alley.

“I think he warmed up to me,” Dan says.

“Should we go in?” I say.

“Why not?” He pushes the door as it slides open on a hinge.

“Not what I expected,” I say, looking around the room. The inside looks much different. Instead of ice everywhere, there’s furniture, tables, electronics, although none of them appear to be turned on. Even a couple plants in a small window. A staircase leads underground. A kitchen takes up a majority of the adjoining room. I take two steps when something falls behind me.

Spinning around, I catch a glimpse of Dan landing on his side, eyes closed. There’s a red mark on his forehead. A tall, thin Dinmani stands above him.

“What are you doing?” I say.

The Dinmani jumps over Dan’s body and lunges at me. He takes me by surprise and crashes into my chest. The force drives us both into a nearby wall, shaking the house.

I dig my elbow into his neck, trying my best to choke him. It doesn’t work, and he slides me up the wall. My feet leave the ground. I need to try something before he throws me over his shoulder and knocks me out. I swing my legs, seemingly helpless at first until my foot connects with the Dinmani’s kneecap.

He staggers for a moment but pins me tighter against the wall. It pushes all the air from my lungs, and my vision blurs. I can’t breathe. To keep myself from blacking out, I swing my feet one more time. When I figure out where his legs are positioned, I thrust both legs.

Something pops and the Dinmani drops. His knees hit the floor and he screams, falling back and cradling them to his chest. He allows himself no more than three seconds before he shoves the joint back into place.

I’ve almost regained control of my breathing. I’m wheezing in short, sporadic bursts, but breathing.

“Not bad,” a voice behind me says.

I spin again, looking for the person who did nothing to stop the fight. Something solid strikes the back of my head. It doesn’t knock me out, but I lose my footing and drop to a knee.

“That’s enough for now, Tem. Thank you.”

The Dinmani looms over me and bows. He doesn’t look at me again. Heading for the front door, he steps over Dan’s still unconscious body.

“You should never turn your back on a Dinmani warrior,” the short, fat man says. He’s easily half my height but twice my weight. His head shines in the limited light, completely bald. He wears a deep red robe and cloak, much different from the Dinmani’s usual skintight clothes with mute colors.

“What did you do to Dan?” I say.

“The Sunjin? He’ll wake up soon. He hasn’t seen much battle, I can tell. Knocked unconscious by a single blow. Novice.”

“Who are you?” I say. “You don’t talk like any other Dinmani I’ve met.” But there’s no denying that he belongs to them. Not with that icy blue skin.

“My name is Shindrow. I am the oldest being you will ever meet, and I’ve travelled across far too many galaxies to have my speech limited like others.”

“How old?” I say, unable to think of anything else.

“Dear boy, that’s not something you ask at your first meeting. Besides, we have more important things to discuss. Striker visited me not long ago. I knew you had arrived before anybody else, though I didn’t anticipate your welcome to be so…welcome.”

“You thought Striker would kill us on sight?”

Shindrow shrugs. “I’m surprised he didn’t. Glad, too, I suppose. It’s been too long since I had a real challenge.”

“I can already use the Dinmow,” I say. “I don’t know what he wants you to teach me.”

“If you can use it, why did Tem almost choke you to death?”

Heat rises in my cheeks. “I wasn’t expecting it.”

He laughs out loud, the skin on his face bobbing up and down. “That’s how I know you have much to learn.” He wobbles over to a small chair. Grabbing the arms, he bends his knees and hops up. “Why do you think you’re here?”

“To kill Tinjo.”

Shindrow grimaces. “I don’t recommend opening with that. People respect Tinjo around here. My favorite student, actually. Before current events took place.”

“So then why am I here?”

“You’re the first human to possess his own Dinmow in my lifetime. Trust me, that’s quite a feat. There’s very little information on how to handle such a situation. Some would have me kill you on the spot. Others prefer to pretend nothing is happening behind closed doors.”

“And your thought on it all?” I say.

Shindrow leans forward in his chair. His feet struggle to reach the ground but only the toes touch anything. “I’m curious,” he says. “We’ll see after some rest. Down the stairs, turn right, pick any room you’d like. And take your friend along. As much as I hate to say it, he’ll be joining us.” He settles back and closes his eyes.

At the mention of resting, my whole body shudders. When did I get so tired? Jetlag between universes. Dan weighs me down like a sack of lead as I throw him over my shoulder. Trying not to smack his head against a wall, I walk down the stairs, taking each step with caution in fear I’ll slip on the ice.

Subtle lighting from the moons filter through the building, lighting up the basement level. Four rooms line the hallway to the right. I choose one at random and, after making sure it’s empty, I drop Dan onto a bed, if you can call it that. Bits of straw and pieces of fabric shoot out from slices in the seams.

Falling onto the other open bed, I cough from the debris that flies out of mine. It seems like more dust than straw. I lie still for a few minutes. Up until that moment, my brain has been racing, trying to comprehend all of the craziness around me. The Sunjin are gone, but then the Dinmani turned evil. Kaitlyn made it to the top of the mountain safe, until she got kidnapped. Mom was being treated, except her doctor is now my worst enemy.

My head throbs. I use my knuckles to rub my temples. It helps sooth the pain but doesn’t stop the thoughts. After a full minute of massaging, I stop. If it’s going to hurt, I’ll let it. At least the pain lets me know that I’m not dreaming. After all, I did fall onto a different planet. And survive.

Something brushes against my hip. My phone slid out onto the bed. I don’t know what to expect, but I press unlock anyway. The time reads
0:00
and two bold words at the top say
No Service
. I read a few of the earlier texts from Kaitlyn, trying to remember back to the Orange Cone before everything went to Hell.

Seeing her at the table for the first time. Sitting under the tree. Even the time after Ted showed up. All of it seems like ages ago. Thoughts of mom creep up when I reach texts I sent from in the hospital. The hospital. That doesn’t even feel like this lifetime anymore.

“We’ll get them back, you know? All of them,” Dan says. He sits up and rubs his head. “How long was I out?”

“Only a few minutes,” I say.

“Felt like days. What happened?”

“Some stunt Shindrow pulled to see how much training we’d need.”

“What’d he decide?”

I let my phone drop onto the stiff mattress and stare up at the icy ceiling. I can’t see through it clearly, but, obscured by cloud swirls, somebody moves around. “You’ll want to get some sleep. We’re going to have a busy day tomorrow.”