Page 58 of Legacy of the Heirs
“I have no idea, but I’d rather not wait to find out.”Kazaar pushed himself up and tightened the vines around the floating platforms on his side.
“Plan?”Elisara asked, trying to control her breathing as she frantically searched for more movement.
“I can pull more vines between us to create a path, but you must run fast. If it comes back while you are on it, try to freeze some of the water in its path.”Kazaar began filling the space between them with vines as the platforms of ice floated further away, spurred by the creature’s movements. On the island, Vlad ran to the other side of the lake, far from their destination point.
“Over here!” Vlad screamed. His sword glistened as sunlight peeked through the trees on the island; he swung it repeatedly at a rock, creating as much noise as possible. “Over here!” he yelled again. Elisara pushed to her feet as Kazaar’s vines twisted around the platform where she stood and formed a sturdy path between them. Another crash resounded as the creature flicked its tail through the water and swam towards Vlad on the island.
“Go!” Kazaar urged, and Elisara ran. She summoned a thin wall of ice to encircle the vines as a fail-safe should the creature change direction, but they snapped, with Kazaar’s power faltering like her own. Kazaar’s air kept Elisara steady as she ran towards him. Behind, the creature’s tail appeared again and flailed, attempting to hit out towards Vlad. Her captain continued taunting it as Elisara leapt from the breaking vines and onto the sturdier ice, falling into the safety of Kazaar’s arms, which gripped her tightly.
“I’ve got you,” Kazaar murmured, moving his hand to the back of her head. She buried herself in the nook of his shoulder. “I’ve got you, angel.” Elisara’s nod was subtle as she loosed a shaky breath.
“Get a move on, you two!” Vlad shouted from the island. Elisara watched him over Kazaar’s shoulder. Vlad threw stones intoNerida’s side of the lake to tempt the creature further away, which only seemed to confuse it. Water thrashed on the lake’s shores as the creature constantly switched direction, exposing more of its colossal size and scaled back. It roared beneath the surface again, sending a wave under the ice. Elisara did not wish to wait to find out what the monster would do if Vlad continued to enrage it.
Her hand slipped into Kazaar’s as they raced across the safer, fully formed ice towards the island. Air whipped at their backs, propelling them onto the frosted grass. At the same moment, a roar sounded above the surface. Elisara did not need to turn to know the creature’s head had breached the ice; it was evident by the paling of when Vlad’s face paled and he dropped his sword. They reached him, yet the sound of splashing water forced Elisara to whirl and face the beast. She was too late to see its entirety. All Elisara saw was the giant wave its movements had created, heading towards the two remaining guards who stumbled across the vine path. It submerged them within seconds, taking the splintered remains of the vines with it, hiding any trace of Kazaar’s power. Elisara, Kazaar, and Vlad all watched and waited silently, but their bodies did not reappear. Nor did the creature. All that remained before them was the patchwork of ice.
“We cannot leave them,” Vlad said, stepping onto the ice. Kazaar grabbed his shoulder and tugged him back.
“If they have not resurfaced now, they will not at all.”
Vlad sighed but gave a curt nod, and for a moment longer, the three stood in silence, watching the lake.
“How are we going to get back?” Vlad asked. Elisara did not answer. She waited for the creature to reappear.
“We will face that problem later,” Kazaar said gruffly. Elisara turned, reminded of the task at hand. Was the creature defending the island? She had never heard of such beasts in the waters of Novisia, but there was never a reason to cross the surface before. The divide between Vala and Nerida was clear as she surveyed the island, where the snow-capped trees and frosty ground faded intogreen. She wondered if the landscape of their realms would remain like this once they moved the talisman.
“Could they have chosen this spot because of the protection offered by the beast?” asked Kazaar.
“It’s a smart place to hide it,” said Vlad, walking forward and squinting at the trees. “Plant it on an island where a beast roams the waters, and build watchtowers under the guise of monitoring the borders.”
“We are positive it is here, then?” asked Elisara, following Vlad through the trees.
“If the beast was not enough of a deterrent, I would say this confirms it.” Vlad held a branch out of the way for Elisara, allowing her to step into a clearing.
“Wow,” she breathed, straightening to take in the sight before them. From a distance, the island’s trees appeared tightly packed, blocking any view of the land behind it. Up close, however, it was a carefully planted line of trees: a defence to guard the sparkling ice maze behind it. The ice was not natural; the towering walls were intricately carved with whirls and patterns, reminding Elisara of the ice mausoleums where her family were buried.
Elisara took slow steps towards the towering wall; it was several feet high but paused below the treetops. She pulled off her gloves and trailed her hand over the patterns dancing from the base of the wall and stretching upward. Elisara furrowed her brow at a repeating symbol, one she had traced on Kazaar’s arms. She had seen it alongside three other symbols on the mountain floor in the Unsanctioned Isle. Did it symbolise Vala? Was that why only one symbol appeared? Did the other three on Kazaar’s arms symbolise the other three realms?
“Somebody sculpted this purposefully. It must be the place,” Elisara murmured, trying to memorise the shapes. While she could appreciate the architecture of such work, she saw behind its ruse. Someone could easily get lost within the maze, freezing or starving to death within it before ever reaching the talisman.
“How far do you think it stretches?” Vlad peered into the entrance that extended like a frozen corridor before splitting off in different directions.
“The island is not much bigger than the Neutral City’s plaza. It cannot be that large,” Elisara said while wondering how to determine which paths to attempt. Seeming to have the same thought, Vlad cautiously stepped into the opening of the maze, his feet crunching on the frost-covered grass. Elisara opened her mouth to stop him.
“It is his job,” Kazaar said. A shiver tingled up her spine as he rested his hand lightly on her lower back. Elisara pursed her lips to refrain from calling out to her captain. Instead, the pair watched as Vlad knelt to inspect the first turn into a new corridor.
“While the island may not be large, these walls are thin, and the pathways narrow.” Vlad rose and inspected the other pathway behind him. “There could be multiple paths, turns, or dead ends. Anyone could get lost in here.”
Kazaar frowned, silently assessing the walls.
“I could melt it,” Kazaar offered. Vlad leaned against one wall and crossed his arms.
“All of it?” he asked, lifting an eyebrow in challenge. Elisara rolled her eyes.
“Well, I would not stay within the walls to find out,” Kazaar scoffed. He uncrossed his arms and clenched his fists. Vlad was quick not to test him and exited swiftly, his pale blond hair falling into his eyes as he winked playfully at Elisara. He kept his back to the pair to guard the tree line.
Kazaar stepped into the arched entrance to the maze with his back to Elisara. He cracked his neck and flexed, keeping his hands by his sides. Most would expect a great show, perhaps an intricate flourish of his hands or arms, but all Kazaar did was clench his fists and engulf the maze in flames so thick she could not see the ice within.
Elisara was entranced by the flames and moved on instincttowards them, but as she stepped close enough to Kazaar for her hand to graze his, the flames changed, flickering between orange and a white that matched the snow. She withdrew her hand from Kazaar’s, and his furrowed brow mirrored her own as the flames returned to their normal glow. She glanced at Vlad, but he continued to guard the tree line. Kazaar’s fingers felt calloused as she slowly intertwined their hands. Despite their closeness last night, there was something oddly intimate about the action.
