The Angel of Frost

XVIII.

The black ice crept across the river's surface, as sleek and smooth as a snake's scales. Below it, a forest of kelp slowly shriveled to death, corrupted by a dark plague. In desperation to satiate the overwhelming hunger that had suddenly come upon them, thousands of predatory fish tainted the water scarlet with their fishing frenzy. They never stopped, even to rest. Many died from exhaustion.

Hasuantar cried out in pain. Even the massive chandelier in the throne room struggled to keep the liquid darkness that seeped from the ice like ink from completely contaminating the water inside.

His life was tied to the river's; if the river dried up, he would die, too. The ice over the river plagued him in the form of a black liquid flowing through his veins, poisoning his sapphire blood.

He feared for Hasuma, the strange nymph that had visited his waters. He hoped Lissandra hadn't been able to capture her for her evil plans, but he knew Hasuma, even together with Levi, didn't stand a chance against the queen's newly found demonic power.

He felt a strange connection to the nymph. He knew he had seen her before, but he didn't know where.

An uncomfortable feeling settled into his gut, a feeling that was painfully familiar, and meant that someone he valued was in grave danger. It must be the nymph. But why would he place so much value in her? He'd even complimented her with a verse from the Holy Book.

He knew he couldn't leave this post, not until he found a way to save the river from freezing. Until then, he was in no position to help.

*

Jonah winced, feeling the after-effects of a one way, high-velocity trip to Heaven. He massaged his temples. He was vaguely aware of a golden sheen veiling his sight.

Then his vision cleared, and then he saw the throne room in all of its glory.

For a noble of Asraca, the experience would have been much less enrapturing. But for a rugged farmer who had lived a simple life and now suffered the loss of his own family, the sight was a blessing to see.

"You're doing pretty well for a first-timer," a voice said behind him.

Jonah turned halfway, then stopped by sheer force of will. The voice had an ethereal quality to it that reminded him of the unholy screams the corrupted nature spirits had made.

"No, I'm not one of those nature spirits you faced. Their screams are like those of men, for their voices had once sung songs to Hiames, the bearer of winter."

Jonah didn't reply. He was desperately thinking of a way to escape this golden hall, this illusion that the monsters must have surely conjured.

"Jonah, turn." It was Hiames.

Slowly, with muscles stiff with tension, Jonah obeyed. He found himself facing a gorgeous being.

Gorgeous didn't do it justice. The man - if it was even human - was perfect in every way; his body was a spectacle every woman would fall in love with. His muscles, unlike Jonah's, were perfectly shaped and not too bulky. Despite his obvious physical strength, Jonah found no marks or scars on the being's body that showed signs of rough work.

And then he saw the wings. Four, massive wings, white as snow, with feathers a soft, pure white. They glowed brightly with a golden light, but the glow did not change the whiteness of the wings. Like everything else about the angel, his wings were perfect.

Gabriel was snapping his fingers in Jonah's face, and the third snap finally jolted him out of his reverie.

The angel laughed as Jonah blinked once, then twice, as if to make sure he was real. "Hey, I know I look great, but staring's impolite."

Jonah jumped back and reached for his sword, which was gone. "This can't be real. You're too perfect, too good to be true. All of this is too good to be true."

Gabriel chuckled. Deep inside, he was tense with foreboding as he saw the human slowly rejecting reality. If that continued, Jonah would surely become mad.

"I am too good to be true. Unfortunately, I'm not perfect. There is only One who is perfect."

He motioned to the throne. Jonah turned and saw it in all of its splendor. As if on cue, a choir of angels sang in the skies above it, sending deep, soothing tones into the farmer's ears.

Jonah gazed across the throne room with a faraway look as he recalled a distant memory. Golden places...angels...entire choirs of them...is this Heaven?

"It is."

Then Gabriel reached forward and placed a gentle finger on his forehead, returning him to his past, taking him there so he could remember.

*

Hasuma waved her arms, and a wall of hardened water formed just in time to block Levi's blast of blue thunder.

Since when did Levi get these kinds of powers?

In the past few minutes, she'd managed to block a ball of blue fire, a lance of searing plasma, and a wave of ice. The fire and electricity were odd, for through such elements usually possessed blazing heat, Levi's blasts froze her own.

She panted as she fired a ball of swirling water that grew in size as it traveled towards Levi. The ball dissolved under one touch from his scaly hands.

She knew this was a battle she was going to lose. While she was close to running out of energy, Levi showed no signs of fatigue. In fact, he seemed revived by her struggles.

Still, she wasn't going to go down without struggling for her life until her last breath. She prepared another blast as Levi rocketed through the water at an incredible speed, clearly planning to tackle her.

She was about to fire the blast, when an idea came to her. She stopped channelling the waters of the river and dodged Levi's tackle.

With a single word, she had prevented a battle between the two brothers. If she could muster the power to do so now, maybe she could win this fight. Maybe she could make Levi return to his senses.

She took a deep breath. Oddly enough, instead of taking advantage of her attempt to concentrate, Levi was staring at her, grinning.

Ignoring him, she pulled all of her remaining power and hope into her voice, closed her eyes, calmed her soul, and said, "Levi, stop."

Hasuma's eyes remained closed for a moment as she feared that the spell would not work. Then nothing seemed to happen, and she smiled. She opened her eyes.

Levi was right in front of her, still wearing the same grin. "Sorry about that, Hasuma! Looks like that kind of magic won't work on me."

She trembled with fear, and she knew what Levi would do next. She relaxed her arms as she reluctantly accepted her death.

Was everything I did worthwhile? Would I be remembered by any, even if I failed to save the first two friends I had?

"Now, please, allow me to do some magic of my own."

Levi touched a scaly finger to her forehead, and instead of the agony she expected to feel, Hasuma felt her eyelids grow heavy. Her head lolled to one side as she passed out.