On Thin Ice

An icy wind swept over the alpine trees. It raced over their crowns, driving frost across the crystalline waters of the lake. Erin awoke with a start, blinking and shielding her eyes against the gale. She lay in the middle of the frozen expanse, her long black hair splayed out in every direction from where she had been dumped unceremoniously. The water had been frozen into jagged edges as if it had been solidified during a tumultuous storm, giving the lake an eerie, alien feel. Erin tried to remember what brought her here as she struggled to stand. Her legs felt like jelly and her arms were equally weak, but she forced herself to her feet. As she stood, breathing raggedly, eyes half shut against the wind, a voice boomed out.

"Stand up straight, Spiras! When I kill you, it will be on your feet! None will say I was a coward!"

The gravelly voice had an artificial quality to it that made Erin shiver all over again. It sounded more machine than man. Her mind was starting to clear and she remembered. The attack on the city, death, fires, and... him.

"Korben!" Erin screamed in fury. She brought herself up to her full height, her dark hair streaming regally in the wind behind her. She looked around for the man but could not see him.

"You'll always be a coward, Kor! Killing me won't change that!"

She felt the attack before it reached her and turned in its direction, reaching one hand out in front of her, willing an aura of protection around herself. A beam of pure, pearlescent energy split the air toward her, impacting with the energy she wove. Intense as the beam was, Erin was able to diffuse it into the air around her, sending small sparks and arcs of light flying in every direction. The beam cut off suddenly, leaving Erin unscathed. She dropped her arm and readied herself, sure that the next attack would follow soon. She needed to control the situation, to bait Korben into an opening. She quickly searched for the nearest ley line and found a small one laying just beyond the tree line. Tapping into it, she cemented her link to ensure she had plenty of reserves for whatever Korben could throw at her.

"You won't defeat me with magic, Kor! You are nowhere near a match for me!"

Erin felt the ice underneath her shift, the reverberations pinging throughout the lake. She jumped back, using magic to augment her speed. A split second later, Korben crashed into where she had been standing, the impact forming a shallow crater into ice that must have been many feet thick.

He was more machine than man. She could see metal glisten underneath the ruined skin of his hand. Long, thick metal appendages made of tightly linked joints snaked up his sleeves, and his long white coat barely hid the horrific amalgamation of flesh and metal that was his legs. Bright red filaments burned in empty eye sockets that stared back at her. Korben's face was contorted in rage and malice.

"Lucas couldn't stop me! What makes you think a woman like you will fare any better?"

"Lucas? What did you-"

Erin was caught off guard as one of Korben's whips curled around her ankle, pulling her off her feet. She hit the ground hard, driving the air from her lungs. She could feel Korben pulling her closer, jagged ice scraping her skin and catching her clothes.

"He's gone, Erin. He can't save you this time. And that girl! I finally have her! When The Lords are done with her, she will become something glorious!"

Erin felt terror grip her heart. Lucas was one thing, but Ember? That little girl had deserved none of what she had been put through, and now this monster was going to lay hand on her? Never!

Erin reached deep inside herself, conducting a rite she had sworn never perform. She shut out all stimuli; the cold, the rushing wind, Korben's voice, pain, fear, grief. All drowned out as she opened herself up to the true source, The Life. She felt the life force of the trees and the animals hiding amidst them, the current of underground rivers, even the fish frozen fast in the lake, all of it beckoning her to become one with them. It was almost too much for Erin to deny. She felt herself slip away, her own life becoming one with the world. But she fought. She refused to be taken. Instead, she would be the one to take. One by one she felt the life forces around her, becoming part of the power that was her. She pulled it all in, more power than she had ever used before. Her eyes snapped open.

Her once midnight-black hair, now a stark white, swirled around her in the increasing gale. Her eyes glowed white with the power she held, and once again stretched out her hand towards Koben. The skies grew black and thunder rumbled.

"You are vile," Erin's voice was calm, but it boomed across the lake, "Begone."

A circular rune appeared in front of her outstretched palm for the span of but a second before appearing under Korben's feet. He had less time than that to scream in wordless rage before the sky opened up above him to vent its rath. Blots of lighting converged to crack the ice, vaporizing it into billows of steam. The lake heaved under the strain, the sound of crushing ice and rumbling thunder causing snow to shake from trees and birds to take flight for miles around. Erin closed her eyes as she was engulfed in the intense light, leaving her spell to run its course, letting herself drift off into unconsciousness.

She lay on the shore, the heated waters lapping around her. She was finally ready to let go, to let The Life take her away, but something tugged at her, pulling her back. She heard a man's voice call her name.

"Come on, Spiras. Don't leave us just yet."

Erin opened her eyes slowly, blinking against the sunlight. Lucas Cainswright stood over her. She tried to reach out to him but couldn't seem to move her arms.

"Woah there. Don't try and move. You're barely hanging on there. Joss!" Lucas called back over his shoulder. "She's over here! Bring the Physician!"

Lucas bent toward Erin and scooped her up into his arms.

"Let's get you home, Spiras." He said much more calmly than Erin had ever heard him speak before. "We need you safe at home."