I was broken from my thoughts when Frost reached towards the enormous ice chain holding Hawthorne back from attacking us.
“No!” Jack and I cried in unison. We both knew our fate if he were to be released. Yet to our horror she grasped the chain and we watched it begin to deteriorate before our eyes.
What happened next seemed to be instinct for R?ven. One second she was her Mage self standing next to me, but as soon as that chain began to fade away she had exploded into a bird. At first I thought she might be trying to escape the oncoming slaughter but I was shocked to see her flying straight for Elvira.
“R?ven!” I cried at my friend who was heading straight towards danger.
Elvira Frost looked up just in time to see sharp claws and a beak a mere meter from her very face. She was startled and cried out as R?ven pecked and scratched at her. The chain remained unbroken for the time being but now we had to worry about R?ven.
Jack and I watched in horror as the scene unfolded before our eyes. R?ven ripped at her flesh as much as possible before Elvira raised her pale, thin hands and let out a burst of freezing air that would be sure to stop any living thing in its tracks. Sure enough the sub zero temperatures hit R?ven with such force she was sent flying backwards.
“No!” Jack and I cried as she spiraled towards the ground. As R?ven fell she transformed into her Mage form and hit the ice with a sickening crunch.
“Jack!” I cried, grasping at his clothes.
“Right!” Jack sprinted towards R?ven, intent upon healing her wounds. Elvira Frost was panting, standing at her throne and holding her ruined face. When she saw Jack running towards R?ven she scowled and raised her hand again.
“I think not!” She screeched at him.
“Jack!” I screamed.
Before Jack had a chance to reach R?ven, Frost pointed one long, cold finger at him. From her fingertip she created a long, thick spear of solid, slick ice. It rotated slowly on the spot, taking shape; the tip becoming as sharp as any weapon. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion. It was still for only a moment before Elvira sent the spear shooting directly towards Jack. I watched as it flew across the room; so fast it would be impossible to avoid.
The impact of the Ice spear plunging into Jack’s chest was so great that it sent him flying from R?ven’s side. He skidded across the slick ground and only came to a halt when he hit the back wall mere meters from the door where the Creeley brothers stood watching and laughing. Jack went limp against the wall unable to hold up his own weight.
I ran to his side, my legs shaking so much that I feared I would simply crumble to the ground into a million pieces. I fell to my knees beside Jack, my hands fluttering around him uselessly. I watched as his clothes became damp and red from the blood oozing from the wound where the ice spear was still plunged into his chest.
“Jack,” I said breathlessly, “You have to heal quickly! You’re bleeding everywhere!”
Jack was panting hard, his eyes slightly unfocused but he somehow managed to prop himself against the wall properly. More blood soaked his clothes.
“Right you are.” He muttered, his top lip beginning to perspire. His face had gone quite red.
Jack grasped the ice spear with both hands and tugged at it, but he merely cried out in agony. The spear remained embedded into his chest, vital fluids pumping from him heavily.
“I can’t heal while it’s still in me.” He was struggling to talk now.
“Get it out!” I demanded of him, “Get it out now!”
“I need your help.”
“Oh, no, no, no, no.” I said panicked, my eyes beginning to brim with tears of panic.
“Avalon you have to help me!” Jack’s voice was panicked now also. His face was covered in sweat and I could hear Elvira Frost laughing in the distance as she enjoyed the show.
My heart pounded wildly as I wrapped my hands around the circumference of the ice. The cold stung my hands and made it hard to hold onto but I persevered for Jack’s sake. His face screwed up in pain and tears streamed down his face as he prepared for the weapon to be wrenched from his body.
“One … two,” I began counting for my own comfort, “Three!” I gave a great tug upon the ice yet to no avail. My hands slipped upon its surface and I fell backwards.
Swearing I got back up and hurried to Jack’s side, “Oh, no, hang on Jack!” I begged, tears streaming down my face now. Jack’s eyes were wandering and his breathing was becoming erratic. He would surely die if we could not remove the spear. Meanwhile Hawthorne’s tremendous growls made the room vibrate.
“Fire.” Jack managed to breathe, his face becoming ghostly pale. The floor around us was covered in shining blood.
“I haven’t got any matches!” I was sobbing hysterically now.
“You are a Mage!” Jack said grabbing my wrist quite tightly for someone who was bleeding to death, “You are a Fire Mage!”
“I can’t!” My voice was becoming shriller every second. Elvira let out a shriek of laughter.