Chapter 14 Ice castle

~Fiona~

I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

I was in full dragon form, now that I was out on the street. I had shrunk myself to fit in the building, but now I towered over the nearby firetrucks, my body nearly as long as one of the engines. Not counting my tail.

I stared up at the burned-out building, my jaw hanging open.

Ice. Covering everything. The walls were covered in sheets of glimmering white-blue water, frozen in a waterfall pattern. The windows and doors were overhung by hundreds of crystal-clear icicles. Cold radiated from it, like a giant refrigerator.

I looked down, tearing my eyes away from the sparkling sight, to see Kerata emerge from the interior, a man draped across her back. A moment later, Duncan scurried out behind her, lifting off as soon as he was over the threshold. He settled on my crest, wingclaws gripping my horns. I snorted at him. "Did you do this?"

"No..." He sounded like he had seen a ghost.

I ruffled my wings impatiently. "Well, who did?"

"Actually, that was me."

I turned to see Kerata, walking toward us from where she had delivered the man to the EMT.

I stared. She looked... different. Something about how her hooves hit the pavement struck me as odd. I felt Duncan's talons tighten next to my ear. "You... what?"

She pawed at the ground. "I covered the building in ice." She said matter-of-factly. "I have no idea how I did it... I mean, I could kind of feel what I was doing, but I have no idea what triggered it."

I blinked at her.

We stood in the road for a few minutes, me staring, lost in thought, and her shuffling her hooves nervously. Finally, she burst out, "Well? Aren't you going to say something?"

I shook my head, coming out of my stupor. "Ummm... I need to think about this. Let's get back to base and get some rest. I'll get Dane." I waited while Duncan jumped off my crest, then whirled around and jumped upward, ignoring the firemen and policemen that were still scurrying around, checking victims and gathering evidence.

I eyed Kerata over my shoulder. For a moment, I thought I saw blue light flicker around her hooves, and something about the way her mane and tail moved... I'll figure it out later. This has already turned my thoughts inside out and upside down. I think... I need some caffeine. Maybe mountain dew? Or... actually, some hot tea might hit the spot right now...

~Kerata~

I was exhausted.

I lowered my head a little, though it didn't feel heavy. My body felt incredibly light, as if it were made of air. It also felt like it could collapse at any moment.

Duncan landed at my feet, and looked up at me with concern. "Are you hurt?"

I shook my head, wearily. "No, I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

I sighed. "I'm just tired. That's all."

His face cleared. "Ah. Yes, special abilities require a lot of energy, and you just froze an entire building. In fact, you should be on the ground, gasping for air. Most beginners have to train their abilities for years before they affect anything larger than their body. I'm quite impressed."

I stared at him. A compliment? From Duncan? I think I died.

He eyed me for a moment. "Well, you're certainly not getting home in your current condition. Fiona already left, so we're on our own. I could carry you, if you were Changed."

I glanced at the people around us. Nobody was giving us more attention than usual. Most of the people who were around us were either firefighters, policemen, EMTs or victims. A few people were standing behind the police line, taking pictures, and there were the usual media stations gathered there too, but no-one close enough to hear. I nodded, too tired to argue that I would be too heavy for him.

He took off, and I headed toward an alley at a trot, too worn out to try to make my way to the tops of the buildings again. I rounded a couple of corners and slowed to a plod, then turned into a dead-end. Duncan fluttered down, while I concentrated on becoming human again.

As soon as I was back to 'normal', I felt a set of claws grab my waist, and I was yanked into the air. I gasped, and looked up, to see Duncan flapping his wings faster than my eyes could follow, though he didn't look like he was straining at all. I glanced down and discovered that we had already risen above the surrounding buildings, and were soaring in the direction of the barn. I clutched his claws tightly, and tried to make myself as streamlined as possible.

When we finally reached the barn, both of us were panting like marathon racers, and we stumbled straight to the ladder and up into the loft, ignoring the startled looks and proffered food of our companions, and collapsed in a heap on the straw, too tired to sort out whose bed was whose.

The last thing I felt before I blacked out was his back against mine.