A Second Tyranny

The Ice Queen

WISTY

After I absentmindedly got dressed, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and made my bed, I went to my bedroom window for the seventh time to gaze with wonder and curiosity at the bizarre weather outside.

My head could only form one thought ever since I woke up this morning: it's snowing in the summer; it's July, and I saw snow everywhere in the City.

Normally on a snowy day I would feel excited to pick a snowball fight with Whit or build snow sculptures in the backyard of my parents' house. Whit and I would also go sledding outside, no matter how old we were. We even dared to go down hills that we hoped had a frozen pond at the bottom. Whit had taken Celia along with us a couple of times as well, and the three of us had so much fun together.

But I felt no such determination or excitement for any of that today. The fog, the fierce wind, the large snowflakes in the sky, and the thick blankets of snow covering the streets made for an unwelcome and uninviting sight. Even within my apartment, I could feel a chill in the air.

Watching the blizzard suddenly reminded me of a time during the The One's reign, when Whit and I were imprisoned in a basement in the Brave New World centre. I remembered that The One had wanted me to manifest my Gift within a deadline of twelve hours. With a wave and an incantation, His Coldness had chilled the whole basement with a heavy snowfall from the ceiling, and I felt the temperature plummeting at least fifty degrees. The One said to me that the cold should help me concentrate. Those twelve hours I spent in that room had been one of the worst nightmares of my life.

Why the hell is there a freaking blizzard outside during midsummer? The season changed from summer to winter in a single night. This was totally not what I was expecting. How was it even possible?

I turned away from the window, grabbed my phone from my bag on the floor, and called Whit, hoping to get an answer to my questions. My brother was probably as baffled by the snowfall as I was, but I had to talk to him and try to figure out what we should do.

I paced the room impatiently as I waited for him to pick up.

"Good morning, Wisty." Whit's voice came through my phone.

"Morning, Whit. Let's skip the small talk. I reckon you're aware of the blizzard outside?" I worried, and got straight to the point.

"Of course I'm aware," my brother told me.

"How on earth was it possible for the weather to change from nice, hot, and sunny to windy and snowy in just one night?" I hurried on.

"That's what I was wondering. Maybe it's not possible. Maybe something supernatural caused this to happen," guessed Whit.

"You mean as in magic?" I knew at once what he was implying.

"Exactly. What else could it be? Somebody used magic to bring about snowfall in the City," Whit surmised.

I wondered, "Who could've done such a thing?"

My brother replied, "I don't know, but if that somebody is able to use magic to elicit a blizzard this terrific on an entire City, they must be very powerful. I don't think I've ever known or heard of such a person."

"If the snowfall was created by a person, that is," I muttered and then suggested, "Want to go outside and find out? Track down whoever did this?"

"Sure. I'm gonna go and retrieve my jacket. I'll meet up with you at your apartment in ten minutes, and then we can go together?" Whit asked me.

"All right then," I agreed.