"You can't just kidnap my reindeer!"
"Well, Skadi stole the wind, so I don't really have an option, North!" Jack glared into the ice mirror where North's face scolded him from.
"Jack, Skadi has never been troublesome before!"
"Well, she is now. I'm going, and I'm taking Blitzen. See you." Before North could respond, Jack shattered the ice mirror. The reindeer snorted curiously.
"North taught me how to do that; convenient, right?"
Blitzen pawed the ground as Jack hopped on her back. They trotted after the polar bear through the bright frozen world.
They skirted around multiple villages; Jack wondered how many children were in those houses, sick with no hope. "Maybe we should visit them," he called to the bear, but the beast shook its head.
"We have to hurry to Skadi's nest; we cannot waste time."
Jack sighed as Blitzen ran faster to catch up with the polar bear.
In a few minutes they arrived at a forest; after a half hour, the polar bear slowed down and nodded forward. "We are here."
The nest was not in a tree, as Jack had thought. In fact, the nest covered a large area of ground, surrounded by a thick, tangled wall of branches. Jack glanced at the polar bear, who explained, "Wait for Skadi to come back; when she does, retrieve the crystal tied around her ankle. That is her source of power."
"And then?"
"Bring it to me; I'll know what to do. Good luck."
Jack took a deep breath, grabbing onto a branch and lifting himself up, climbing over it and landing in a soft nest. He looked around; the nest was only a foot or two off the ground. Jack stood, brushing feathers off him.
Something occurred to him; Jack turned around, frowning at the empty nest. Something was wrong, but he didn't understand what.
Before he could put his finger on it, a cry echoed from above. Jack held up his staff to defend himself; a large snowy owl dove towards him angrily.
The creature flapped furiously; the force of the draft caused him to fall back. He pointed his staff and a spear of ice shot out, wrapping around Skadi's feathered leg. The owl screeched, pecking at the ice and breaking it, wings forcing more wind at Jack to hold him while she pinned him with her talons.
Jack cried out in pain, struggling to point his staff at her. Skadi's beak darted down, snatching the staff. The great owl threw her head back, crunching the weapon in two above him.
The broken pieces fell around him; Jack squirmed, trying to escape her grip. He suddenly spotted something on the bird's leg; the Guardian grabbed Skadi's talons and froze them to the nest. The owl squawked furiously as Jack crawled out and snatched the crystal that was tied around her leg.
He tossed it over the edge of the nest, yelling, "Hurry up! I'm getting killed in here!"
Skadi screeched in disbelief, her wings pounding as she screamed to the sky.
Jack watched in horror as the great owl suddenly began to shrink; he could see her bones lessening in size, which appeared to cause her great pain.
The Guardian climbed over the edge of the nest. The polar bear was gone; in his place was a tall, black-haired human wearing only the hide of a polar bear. The man held the crystal, gazing at it lovingly. "Thank you so much, Jack."
"You're saving those kids?"
The polar bear laughed, meeting his eyes. "You really think Skadi was the one that made them sick?"
Jack's eyes widened. "You mean…"
"It was me, Frost; I just needed to get my crystal back so I could get back to business."
He frowned. "How did Skadi get it, then?"
"Mmm… I'm not telling." The man frowned at him. "Of course, I can't have you running around giving the game away."
Before Jack could rush the man, his body started to convulse. The Guardian screamed as his muscles and bones shrunk and twisted into new locations. The pain dazzled him, and black spots swam before his eyes as he fell unconscious.