Missing

Fire and Ice

I didn't hear what my teammates said after that. The footsteps had grown louder in the hallway. Thinking fast, I stuffed the letter into a pouch and hurried to the door.

Summoning my flame power, I heated the handle until my side was red hot. I heard my opponent near the door, getting closer, and closer ... and closer ... then cry in pain. A cruel grin crept onto my face as I reveled in the sound.

Something started crackling in the hallway. Just a heartbeat later, I was sent flying across the room, the heavy metal door sandwiching me between it and the stone wall. As I fell to the ground just behind the bed, I managed to catch a glance at my opponent, new light flooding in from the hall.

He was a large man, towering over my slim figure. Long, jagged spikes of ice came off of his helmet like a crest, resting in uneven layers. I couldn't see his face at all, but I still knew that he was fuming. His icy armour went beyond just his mask. Two pauldrons were mounted onto his shoulders, one much larger than the other. The larger pauldron showcased a monstrous spike surrounded by smaller shards. Jagged edges ran all the way down his body in patches, encasing it in sharp ice.

One of his hands was facing the ceiling, his fingers tense. Floating just in front of him was a ribbon of ice. Like his costume, it was made of sharp icicles, but it was flexible enough to do whatever motions he wanted it to. As his hand danced around the same space in the air, the ribbon twirled and weaved around itself in a hypnotizing rhythm. The faint tinkling of the ribbon filled the small room.

Fire against ice, huh? I asked myself with relish. This should be easy.

Glancing at the door that lay next to me, the new damage quickly squandered my confidence. A huge gash ran almost all the way across the metal, shredding one side into a tetanus threat. The whole door bent in on itself, almost as if it was protecting its horrific wound.

Feeling my fire coursing under my skin, I launched myself at my opponent, slamming him into the other side of the hallway. Wide cracks spread out like a web on the stone wall. Placing my hands on his shoulders, I blasted the pauldrons with a full flame burst.

Nothing.

The man chuckled, his voice low and smooth. "That's all you got? Pitiful."

A string of chimes rang through the hall as the ribbon shot towards me. Acting on instinct, I launched off of his chest into a backflip. Thankfully I timed it well. I watched as the ribbon flew just underneath me.

As soon as I landed, I found myself in a backbend as I barely dodged the man's dagger. He stood over me, holding his knife in place for a few heartbeats.

"You're spry, I'll give you that," he said.

My thoughts were racing. Ok, he's more dangerous than I thought! Note to self: don't get cocky! I'll disarm him first, then deal with that floating ... ice ... thing.

Kicking his arm out of the way, I sprang back to my feet and grabbed his wrist before he could get his knife anywhere near me. I quickly called on my fire and heated his bracer. He tried to toss his dagger to his other hand, but a heated air burst blew it out of reach. I heard the metal clank against the stone floor as it bounced away.

With a simple flick of his wrist, the man sent the ribbon flying past me. I wasn't quite fast enough to dodge it this time. I felt it slice through my shoulder, leaving a wide gash in its wake. Crying in pain, my previous fear was immediately drowned out by rage.

My fire boiled out of my hands towards the attacker. The flames enveloped him completely. I couldn't distinguish the roar of the flames from the rush of my own blood in my ears. Chimes from the ice ribbon sang through the hall as it searched for me. The sound sobered my anger.