CHAPTER TWELVE
The Messiah
After an interesting conversation, they had covered a huge distance. Chloe started realizing how she was now able to endure these extreme conditions. The bitter cold could wake any soul and the wind and snow looked powdered. She had absolute faith in herself at that moment. However, Clijsters had told her about the violent storms making it difficult even for the trolls. He had warned her of several things along the way, leaving her with many unanswered questions.
Clijsters led her to a snow cave; she had never seen one before. They both glanced at it. She got no impression at all; and she turned her eyes back at him. He showed her that it was of great importance to them and she wanted to clearly understand why he had decided to stop before the cave. He looked as though he was trying to see something, maybe at a distance? She wondered, but could not figure it out then, thus she remained numb. But the same feeling came back to her, suspicion escalating, filling her heart, and she wasn’t so familiar with such intense feelings.
Both looked like idols at that moment; awaiting each other. Chloe sensed that Clijsters had sensed danger happening or may be happening to them soon. “Clijsters why have you decided to stop here when you said they’re closing on us every minute wasted.” Said Chloe, in a calm voice and almost scared. “Have you sensed something dangerous?” The phonation of Chloe echoed into Clijsters ears, but he was still mentating. He had just talked about the Santa trolls a few minutes ago. And she remembered well that he said they lived in the caves below and were very difficult to sense. Chloe trembled with fear; as the icy ground started creaking ominously and jerking unexpectedly at times. It felt like something was reaching out to grab them as they glimpsed several cracks in the snow. She was frightened to death, and struggling to gain her balance.
“Stay where you are, don’t take a step, something is happening here,” Clijsters roared. “We have to be very careful, now.” When he screamed, she suddenly remained still.
Indeed, all they could see then was smoke again, from snow cracks a few paces away from them. Clijsters had also stopped in one place; this kind of microseism was abrupt. It had alarmed nobody. But at least Clijsters had tried to sense it. His face looked kind of unfamiliar with the incident too. His eyes were narrowed on the other side where the smoke was rising from a few inch cracks. Suddenly, there was the royal penguin surging from the smoke, towards them. It seemed to have noticed their presence as soon as Clijsters recognized it too. Immediately, Clijsters also started walking its way. Chloe isolated them, lurking where she was standing, watching Clijsters, as he walked to encounter the penguin.
His face looked so strange, and Chloe didn’t understand why he looked furious like that.
“Give me the girl, Clijsters,” said the penguin. Clijsters looked at it with grief, as though he was trying to understand it. Chloe was standing a few meters behind them, and Clijsters was mindful that she had not heard what the penguin had just said. However, Chloe was trying to figure out the topic of the conversation between Clijsters and the penguin. He looked back at her several times, before replying to the penguin. He coughed, but a light one, intended to clear his throat. He looked down to the royal penguin. It also watched him intensely.
“I can’t let anyone get her,” he declared. “If it’s to happen, then that’s over my dead body.” He sensed that Chloe now was curious to hear their conversation. Obviously, something was on her mind and he didn’t want her to hear this. Was the penguin frightened by Clijsters statement? It yanked back without a second look at him. Was it trying another approach? “She belongs in this kingdom. You don’t own her, and your days would be numbered here if you don’t give up the magical girl to her odyssey.”
