I wrote and first posted this story in February 2006, in honor of the Winter Olympics. BtVS is the possession of Joss Whedon, Kuzui Enterprises, and Sandollar Entertainment. No infringement is intended.
"Good catch, Jan. That's quite a nasty magic trap. I think we're safe if we stay 50 yards away from that glow at all times."
"What is that thing, Willow?"
"I'm not sure. I need to see that thing from the rear. Let's walk around." The wind picks up, and Willow shivers. "Is there any cover here, Jan?"
"Willow, we're in the middle of a frozen lake. Can't you just cast a spell?"
"I don't cast unnecessary magic. Besides, with that trap, it would be dangerous. You're lucky, being a Slayer and all. I'm just a California girl."
"Ooh, no. I lived all my life in Bemidji; the cold has never bothered me." The two circle the glowing pentagon in the middle of the lake. Occasionally, they stop and survey the area with their binoculars. When they get halfway around the pentagon, still keeping their distance, Willow stops, whispers an invocation, and sees the truth. Jan waits patiently.
Five minutes later, Willow straightens up. "Oh, Goddess."
"What is it, Willow?"
"That's a Galak egg."
"Never heard of it."
"Galaks are demons of cold. You and I might be against global warming, but Galaks fight it by freezing everything arund them. We really don't want that thing hatching. Fortunately, they only lay an egg every decade; that's why they protect it."
"So, we can't find a way to smash it?"
"That's a heck of a defense set there. Anything magical that goes within 50 yards gets drained, feeding the egg. That's what happened to you last week. Normal people who get within 30 yards get drained slowly, but the closer they get the worse it is. Spells won't work; the energy gets drained. Nothing living can enter that pentagon, and anyone touching the crystals at its vertices simply freezes to death. Finally, nothing over a foot tall can enter or leave that pentagon; that's how the demon chick gets out."
"What about sending somebody nearby and pushing it away with a broom or something?"
"That might work. Let me check." Willow stares at the glow again for a minute, and then she sighs. "No good. There's a malediction in effect within the circle. Anyone inside the circle who tries to affect the center with a physical object will fail miserably."
"Where's the mother?"
"They don't stay by the eggs much. I'm not sure why."
"So, how do we fry the egg?"
"Somehow, we have to get that egg outside the pentagon. Neither of us can get near there."
"No problem."
"No problem?"
Jan holds her hand up to stop Willow, and then she pulls out her cell phone and taps a couple of keys. A few seconds later, the person Jan was calling picks up.
"Arlene, Hi!"
"Jan, is that you?"
"Ya. You bet. Look, I really need some help. I'm over on the lake, near where your dad has his fishing shack."
"Ya?"
"I really need you to get the rest of the rink and drive out here−bring the equipment."
"That's mighty strange, Jan. Is it one of those problems?"
"I'm afraid so, Arlene. It's not as bad as what happened at Fargo last year, but it's gonna be tricky."
"You got it, skip. Ten minutes to get Carlie and Phyl, maybe 15 more to get to the lake and find you. You'd better get into your car; it's mighty cold."
"I know. I've got a Californian here."
Arlene whistles into the phone. "I'd better hurry up then. See ya soon."
"Thanks."
Willow and Jan sit in Jan's Range Rover. Willow is bundled up in a blanket, which Jan disdains. Both are sipping coffee; a Thermos rests between them.
"So, they know about you?"
"Sure. At the Fargo bonspiel last year, we were matched against Team Gundersen. They were throwing awfully hard, like I did before I learned to control myself, and I got suspicious. It turned out that all four of them were vamps."
"Bonspiel? What's a bonspiel?"
"It'll be easier to show than to tell. Anyhow, the real problem was that I had to wait until after the bonspiel before I could stake them all; it was a little too public."
"We've had that problem ourselves. It wouldn't do for Buffy to stake a vamp on the dance floor at the Bronze."
"I needed help keeping track on that team, and I had to keep the rest of my rink safe. So, they found out."
"Rink?"
"The four of us. Team Lundquist. You'll see. So, what have you and the originals been doing lately?"
"Buffy's on Hellmouth guard this month. She's showing some of the newbies the ropes. Giles is in Berlin; somebody just unearthed a library of the occult the Nazis had collected in the 1930s. That's not just an Indiana Jones film. And Xander's dating a college student from Boston."
"Sounds good. How about you and Kennedy?"
"We have our ups and downs. She's still power-hungry, and we all know what happens when I reach out for power. I just don't know."
"That's life."
"So, what's going on here in Minnesota?"
"I haven't talked with Natalie down in St. Paul for a month; I can't tell you what's going on there. Up here, I get about 3 vamp reports a month. Usually, 2 are real, and 1 is a mistake. The biggest problem I've been having is the influx of Viking draugr spirits."
"Draugr spirits? Sounds nasty."
"Spirits of the dead; they take over the bodies of dead descendants, and they're nasty to fight. Fortunately, just like the old Norse sagas, they have one weakness."
"Really? What's that?"
"Law. A good lawyer can tie them up in knots. And if the violate a legal judgement, they are greatly weakened." Jan looks behind her; a minivan is heading towards them. "They're here."
"I have to go outside again?"
"California."
Willow and Jan stand beside Jan's car as the minivan pulls to a stop. The driver gets out, and two more women exit the side door. All are wearing parkas, hats, gloves, and leggings; evidently, being a Slayer does give one a competitive advantage over one's neighbors.
"Hi!" The three women greet Jan, and then they look at Willow.
"Willow, these are Arlene, Carlie, and Phyllis, the rest of Team Lundquist. Guys, this is Willow Rosenburg, chief witch for the WCI."
"Is she a good witch?" asks Arlene.
Willow chokes off a laugh. "Well, I am from the West."
"She's the best," says Jan. "Let's get the equipment."
They open the rear door of the minivan, and Carlie takes a small wagon out, putting it on the ice. Phyllis grabs a blanket covering a small rack and puts it onto the wagon. On the rack, there are 8 large stones; Jan effortlessly lifts them out and stows them on the wagon. Phyllis takes a bundle of sponge-brooms, and Carlie grabs a large gym bag, and they close up the car.
"What are those stones for?"
"Ah. Meet Team Lundquist. We have the honor of being the 2005 Minnesota Junior Women's Curling Champion. Phyl's my first. Carlie's my second, and Arlene's vice-skip."
Willow looks confused, and Carlie pats her on the shoulder. "You'll see."
Phyllis adds, "We're training for the 2010 Winter Olympics. We couldn't do worse than the current team." The five of them move to the front of the van, facing the circle.
"Look carefully over that way," says Willow to the three newcomers. "Do you see anything?"
"No," says Arlene.
"Look carefully. No, don't turn away. Just keep looking."
"No−wait. There's a glow there. Why didn't I see that before?" Carlie and Phyllis nod.
"Avoidance spell," says Jan. "Pretty standard. Doesn't affect the two of us, though."
"You don't see that every day. What is it?" asks Phyllis.
"It's a protective spell guarding an ice demon's egg," says Jan.
Carlie replies, "That must be bad."
"Well, if it hatches, expect temperatures this cold year-round for the next decade," says Willow.
"So, why can't we just get the egg out of there?" Jan and Willow explain the situation.
The three nod, and then they begin to smile. "We'd better practice," says Arlene. They wheel the wagon about 100 yards away from the circle, and then they pull some things from the bag. Arlene takes a small rubber device and hammers it into the ice, while the others put on shoe covers. The four team members grab a broom each, and Jan leads Willow about 50 yards from the others.
"Willow, please stand here. You're the button."
"What?"
"The target. You know, I'm woried about the ice. It won't be anywhere near regular. I guess we're spoiled by the club." Jan looks at the others; they're ready. She steps to Willow's right, and then she calls to the others: "Arlene, back of the 4 weight."
Arlene pushes off the rubber device and slides towards them, propelling the stone in front of her. As the stone slowly slides toward them, Carlie and Phyl sweep the ice hard in front of it. Jan murmurs, "It melts the ice."
Arlene then calls out instructions: "No! Yes! Hard! Stop! Go!" Carlie and Phyl modify their sweeping motion, and the stone begins to curve in its glide down the lake. It stops 6 feet in front of Jan however, and Jan says, "I was afraid of that. Too much friction."
The four confer, and they try it again.
Fifteen minutes later, each of them has slid four stones down the lake. They prepare to start another set, and Willow says, "Um, guys?"
"Right," says Jan.
Arlene pulls the base from the ice, and they head toward the circle. Willow stops them ten yards from the boundary, and they try to find a direction whee the path is flat and unobstructed. They choose a spot, and Arlene hammers the device, called a hack, into the ice again.
The four argue for a few more minutes over shot placement. Carlie's worried that they'll pin the egg against one of the crystals in the back, and they use a clipboard to determine the best approach. Finally, Jan calls a stop. "Arlene, we'll do back 4 weight, back 8 because the ice is so sticky. I'll want to use an in-turn; guve me a target a little to the left. I'll try to get a quarter of the rock; be ready to sweep it out. But don't step into the circle."
They prepare; Jan stands by the hack, and Carlie and Phyl stand ready to sweep. Arlene pushes off and slides toward the glow. When she gets 30 yards from it, she gasps in pain. "Hurry!"
"I'll try to make this count. Get over there!" Jan pushes off and slides the stone, and Carlie and Phyl start sweeping before it. Jan calls out directions, but when Carlie and Phyl enter the danger zone, they falter for a second. "Hard! Hurry!" They start sweeping again; as the stone gets within ten yards of the glow, it slows by a lot and starts to curve. It's exactly on line, however, and now Arlene joins them to sweep.
The stone approaches the glow, passes under the barrier, and heads directly toward the hard egg, ready to make a glancing blow. Arlene grits her teeth and circles the glow, and then the stone hits the egg. The egg starts to slide away, towards Arlene. It starts to nose under the barrier, and then Arlene sweeps the area before the egg. The egg pokes out from under the glow and barely gets all the way past. Suddenly, the glow shuts off, and all the spells collapse. Carlie grabs the stone, now sitting where the protective spell had been, and slides her way back to Jan. Phyl and Arlene head back also, pushing the egg before them.
The five stand around the egg.
"What do we do with it?" asks Phyl.
"I could cook it," says Willow.
Jan nods, and the four pull back.
Willow blows on her fingers and points toward the egg. "Ignis!" A jet of flame emerges from her fingers and plays onto the egg. The egg has defenses, however. A covering of ice seems to emerge from the surface of the egg, and the flame and ice cancel each other out.
Willow steels herself to try again, and then she smiles. "Speculum!" Suddenly, the ground the egg rests on turns a silvery gray. Willow then casts her fire spell, and she plays the jet all around the egg. The heat reflects onto the egg from all directions; its icy defense starts to lose ground. Then Jan yells, "It's Mommy!"
They look; a blue birdlike creature flies rapidly toward them from the north. Jan runs to her car and gets a crossbow from the trunk, while Willow stops her attack on the egg and faces the demon. The bird demon gets within 200 feet of the group; they see its ten-foot-long body and its wicked tusks. Willow shouts a Word of Power, and a golden light emerges from her finger and strikes the demon. It veers off.
The demon circles and makes a second pass. Jan fires a crossbow bolt at it, but it goes high. The demon takes a diving run at them; suddenly, Willow spreads her arms, and a barrier appears between the demon and thm. The demon hits the barrier, caws, and slides down it to the ground. Arlene grabs the hammer from the gym bag.
Arlene stands over the egg; she's ready to try an overhand smash, and then they each hear a telepathic scream: "My baby!" Willow and Jan stand calmly facing the demon, while the other three waver. The demon tries to break through the barrier, but it fails. Arlene recovers; she takes a swing at the egg, but strikes only a glancing blow; some ice chips off. The demon screams again; then, it smashes at the ice with its right claw. Its talons sink into the ice a few inches, and Jan says, "Uh-oh."
"What do you want?" calls Willow.
"I want my baby," the demon calls out, mind-to-minds.
"Here? It will bring misery to millions of people," says Willow.
"You're destroying my world. My baby!"
"It's the humans' world, buster!"
Arlene winds up for another smash, and the demon smashes at the ice again. They hear a rumble from below them.
Willow calls out, "Can we talk? Truce?"
Jan tells Arlene to put the hammer down.
The demon retracts its claws. "What say you, human?"
"Swear that you and yours will stay above the Arctic Circle. Swear that you and yours will avoid the world of men, and we will swear peace towards you and yours. We will let you, unmolested, take your egg North."
Willow stops for a moment, and then she adds, "You might actually be able to do some good."
The demon pauses for a moment, and then dips its head. Willow plays a flame between them, carving a contract upon the ice; she adds her signature. The demon scratches out a giant X below Willow's signature, and then the five women step back, away from the egg.
The demon moves forward, grasps the egg in its left claw, and takes to the air again. It circles, heading North, and soon disappears over the horizon.
"You really never see that in Minnesota," says Phyllis.
Jan turns to Willow and says, "We have a spiel at the BCC tomorrow. Do you want to come? You can get some practice with us beforehand, and you can stay at my house tonight; I've got extra rooms."
"Sure."