Chapter 33: Showdown on Ice

''Psst, Vanessa!''

''Hmm?'' I slowly woke up, feeling someone poking me in the shoulder. ''What is it Shade?'' I was grumpy that he woke me up so early. The sun was still up and I felt like I had slept no longer than a few minutes.

''We got to leave, remember? Quick, before they get up.''

''Oh, right!''

I quickly rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and together we freed ourselves from Goth's wings. We tried to be as quiet as possible, fearing he might wake up. In that case, everything would be ruined. I didn't even want to imagine what he would do to us. But luckily, Goth was so deep in his narcotic sleep that he noticed not a thing. We were halfway free when Shade accidentally bumped into my broken leg, causing me to cry out in pain. Reflexively he pressed a hand on my mouth to shut me up.

''Señorita!''

Shade and I froze in horror. Like in slow motion, we both turned our heads. One of Goth's eyes was wide open, staring directly at us. But he didn't move. His eye was dead, not fixed.

''He's still asleep'', I thought. What luck!

For the next twenty seconds, the three of us just stared at each other. Waiting to see what happens next. Eventually, Shade moved a bit closer to him. ''Go to sleep,'' he whispered. As if on cue, Goth's eye fell shut, and he breathed evenly again. I allowed myself to sigh with relief before hurrying to free myself from Goth's wing. Afterward, we both crawled over to Throbb. The heavy Vampyrum was sleeping in the exact same position as he did yesterday. Only this time his mouth was closed. Which was very pleasing. Quickly, Shade and I helped Marina to get free as well.

''Uff'', she said, ''I don't think I could have lasted another day. That guy's snoring is just awful.''

''Shhhh!'' hissed Shade. ''Careful, Marina. You might wake them up.''

''I know. I'm sorry,'' she whispered back.

Silently we crept to the entrance of the cave.

''We better close our eyes,'' said Shade, closed his eyes and jumped into the air. Marina did the same, grabbed my hands with her feet, and flew out. In our hurry, I failed to notice how my temporary bandage loosened and the torn off shred of my dress remained behind us in the cave.

I hadn't been outside in full daylight since I got shrunk. Well, except for that one time when Shade and I took that forbidden look at the sun.

Anyway. It was good to feel the sun's warmth on my skin. I really missed it. Yet, I was already warm enough because of my fever. Thanks to Marina's herbs, I felt a little better. But it would doubtless take a while until I'd recover fully. Especially because of my leg.

Once we were a good distance away from the cave, Marina thought it would be best to take a diversion through the forest, rather than just continuing our way by the river. Just in case.

''Goth knows we're following the river. If we remain on this route, he and Throbb will catch up with us in no time,'' she said.

''But what if we get lost and can't find our way back?'' Shade shook his head. ''We must make it to Hibernaculum as fast as possible. We got to warn my colony.''

''I know but Shade...''

''Guys, I share both your concerns. I really do. But don't you think we have some different problems right now?'' I said. ''In case you haven't noticed. We're flying around outside in the middle of the day. I say we better find a place to hide before someone sees us.''

The two of them grew quiet in shame. They still had their eyes closed and probably forgot that it was still daytime. I too had my eyes closed because of the light. But now I opened them again. First, it was a little unpleasant. Similar to when you turn on your mobile phone after a few hours in a dark room. But after merely a few minutes the light no longer bothered me that much.

The surrounding landscape looked simply amazing. Much nicer than on pictures you can find on the internet. Although I was already familiar with everything from our nightly travels, it seemed to me that the sun created a whole new picture of it.

''Say...,'' Marina hesitated, ''Will it hurt us? The sun, I mean.''

''Hasn't turned us to dust yet.''

''But will it blind us?''

I snickered. ''Guys, relax. There is nothing you need to worry about. Those are just stories. Just take your time opening your eyes and never look directly into the sun.''

I didn't hear any response coming from them at first. But then I heard my friends gasping with admiration and I knew they saw just what I was seeing.

''Wow!''

''Everything looks so beautiful. And so different,'' I heard Shade say with awe

I knew what he meant. Under the light of day, the world had a sheer dazzling beauty. Everything seemed to be illuminated from all sides, the trees, the bushes, the dead leaves, the snow, even the air. It was enchanting. Then all at once, it was getting darker. Thick grey clouds moved in front of the sun and icy wind came up, causing me to shiver with drops of rain dropping onto my nose.

''A storm is coming,'' said Marina.

Meanwhile, a tiny mosquito flew into the cave, in which Goth and Throbb were still quietly asleep. The insect buzzed a little around and then landed on top of Goth's nose. The Vampyrum furrowed his brows at the feeling of it but otherwise didn't wake up. The mosquito, however, wandered a little around on his nose until it found a suitable place to sting its sucking trunk.

SMACK!

''Annoying little pest.'' Goth wiped the squashed insect from his face with disgust and sat up. What a day. He just had the strangest dream. He couldn't remember much of it, though. It had something to do with his home, the jungle, and this human girl Vanessa. Goth shook his head. He rarely dreamed. For him, it was a way for Zotz to talk to him. But what did it mean? He looked beside him, expecting to find the said girl cuddled up against him in her sleep. But she was gone. With a quick glance to his other side, Goth realized that Shade had also disappeared.

Furious, Goth tumbled to his feet and plunged over to Throbb. Roughly he nudged him with his snout and lifted his wings to look underneath.

''What? What is it?'' Throbb asked in alarm.

''They are gone!''

Throbb blinked out of the cave entrance. ''It's still daytime,'' he said. ''They can't...''

''They're gone!'' Goth roared once more, sniffing the ground for their scent. But not for long. ''Get up.''

Throbb did as he said, but unlike his cousin, he didn't seem eager to pursue the fugitives.

''Er, you know. Perhaps it's for the best. I mean, just think of all the trouble those three have caused us.''

''You do realize that without them we won't get to Hibernaculum, and might not survive this winter.'' Goth had trouble containing his anger as his voice grew louder with each word.

''I know, it's just ...'', Throbb hesitated and looked back outside, ''There seems to be a storm coming. It would be safer if we stay inside. Besides, we might lose their scent in it.''

''Not if we have something to help us find them.'' A grin spread across Goth's face as he spotted something near the entrance. It didn't seem special. Just a piece of cloth. But Goth recognized it immediately. It was the piece that Marina had ripped out of Vanessa's dress and wrapped around her injured ankle. ''Well, that should come in handy.'' He picked it up and sniffed it. Vanessa's human scent was stuck to it. With this, it shouldn't be much of a problem finding her and her friends.

''I really think we should stay here. It's too dangerous to be outside in a thunderstorm.''

Goth spun around and grabbed Throbb by the throat. ''The winter is dangerous'', he hissed, ''Now get moving before I decide to eat you.''

Throbb gulped and nodded. ''S-sure. Let's go!''

Together they rushed out of the cave and chased after Vanessa, Marina, and Shade.

The initial drizzle quickly grew into a heavy downpour, accompanied by heavy gusts of wind. I held on tight to Marina's feet, hoping we won't get blown off course. Like it happened to me and Shade back when we were with the rest of his colony. Speaking of him, the young Silverwing was trying hard to stay in the air. The wind was throwing my wet hair into my face, so my vision was mostly cut off. Though I could still see that Shade got stronger in his flying. He was still struggling though. But not more than Marina, who was flying a few wingbeats behind him.

''We should land,'' she shouted over to him and I agreed. ''We can't go on in this weather.''

''Easier said than done,'' Shade replied giving us a brief look over his shoulder.

''There's a big pine tree over there. We should be able to get to it'', I nodded ahead and pointed with my foot towards the said tree. It was only a few miles away from us and as long as the wind didn't change its course we might make it without problems.

We turned to the tree and flew towards it when I noticed something between the branches. I shook my head to get my hair out of my face and looked closer. There was something in the tree. Something big with huge round eyes, a sharp beak, and brown feathers. I quickly realized what it was. ''Guys, Stop! There's an owl!''

Marina immediately stopped as best she could, but Shade got caught in another gust of wind and got blown directly towards the tree and the owl. With shock, I saw him trying to prevent the inevitable. But the owl had now noticed him too and flew up to get him. Before I could call out his name, they both collided with each other at full speed and plunged back into the pine tree. I urged Marina to rush over, hoping Shade was alright. Soon after she landed us both on a tree branch and gasped, noticing who Shade just crashed into.

It was no other than our dear friend Orestes. He and Shade lay sprawled out on a branch below. Looking dizzy but unharmed.

''Are you guys alright?'' Marina asked with worry.

Shade groaned and rubbed his head while sitting back up. ''I guess so'', he replied and turned around, now recognizing the owl as well. ''Orestes?''

''Hey, I'm happy to see you guys too. Though you didn't need to crash into me. A simple hello would have been enough.''

I chuckled at his statement.

''What are you doing here Orestes? Didn't you try to find Ursa?''

''I did. I flew to the eastern valley and found the forest animals who followed her, but not Ursa herself.''

''Why? Where is she?'' I asked.

Orestes just shrugged. ''All they could tell me was that she wanted to find a way to stop this war. So I figured I should go back and find you guys. I also heard a she-wolf talking about a giant bat that she saw. I knew she probably meant Goth, so I hurried to see if you guys were alright.''

''Now we are. We just escaped Goth and Throbb and ...urgh!'' I made the mistake to move my injured leg and a sharp pain shot through my body.

''What's wrong?''

''It's her leg'', Marina explained, kneeling beside me, ''Goth broke it to make sure we lead him to Hibernaculum.''

''What?'' Orestes looked at us with his eyes wide. ''H-he broke her leg?''

''We can be lucky that he didn't kill her'', said Shade.

''Yes'', Marina agreed. ''If you hadn't come up with that codeword thing Vanessa, he probably would have gotten rid of you in the first place.''

''Yeah, thanks for reminding me.''

Orestes blinked. ''Codeword thing?''

In a few sentences, we told him what happened to us since we had last seen each other. The young owl seemed shocked but was also glad to see us save and ... well, partly unharmed.

''I still can't believe he did that'', he said, looking at my leg. ''You sure you will be ok?''

''Yeah'', I said with a grimace. ''The pain isn't even that bad like it was at the beginning.''

''Or maybe you are just too sick to care for it much'', Marina replied.

''Yeah, maybe.''

''We better get you to Hibernaculum fast ... Wait. What happened to the bandage I wrapped around your leg?'' I wondered what she meant and looked at my right leg to see my bare ankle red, blue, and swollen. ''It must have fallen off as we fled.'' I leaned over to grab my foot without giving myself too much pain and pulled my shoe off. ''This is much better'', I thought and wondered if I should take my other shoe off as well. But then I decided to keep it on at least for now.

''We should wrap your leg up again'', said Marina.

I shook my head. ''That can wait. We should hurry to Hibernaculum before...''

''Shh!'' Shade hushed me, ''I think I heard something.''

Wondering what he was talking about, I and the others followed his glance towards the sky. It was hard to see something because of the rain, but soon I spotted two very familiar outlines on the horizon. And they were getting closer.

''Oh, no.''

''You think it's them?''

''Who else could it be Orestes'', Shade fluttered over to the branch Marina and I sat on and grabbed my hands with his feet. ''Let's move!'' Without hesitation, the others followed him swiftly out of the tree. I didn't need to look back to know that Goth and Throbb were right on our trail.

''Where now?'' Orestes cried through the wind. Marina pointed with her chin towards the horizon where an enormous mass of clouds was forming. ''Maybe we can lose them in there,'' she suggested.

''Are you crazy?'' I asked, not believing she was serious. ''We can't just fly into a thundercloud.''

''We have no choice, Vanessa.'' I would have liked to protest further but my friends were already heading for the clouds.

A short time later we pushed through the abdomen of the first cloud and were immediately surrounded by sticky grey mist. It was so dense that it was almost impossible to see even half a mile from the tip of our nose.

''Guys?''I heard Orestes call out, but couldn't see him.

''Over here,'' Shade replied. His voice sounding a little muffled by the thick clouds around us.

''I can't see a thing,'' said Marina, who I couldn't see either but assumed to be right next to us.

''Neither can Goth nor Throbb. We should try to break through the top. Then we can take an arc back to the river.''

Said and done. Without further words, we fluttered higher and higher. Or was it lower and lower? To be honest, I had already lost orientation and was clinging onto Shade's feet. We swarmed around hills and valleys of grey fog that became denser and darker the deeper we went into the thundercloud. The surrounding air got so thick, it was getting hard to breathe.

''Say, do you have a strange feeling in your feathers, I mean fur as well?'' asked Orestes after a while.

''What do you mean?''

''Wait,'' said Marina, ''I think I know what you mean. ''My fur does feel kinda funny.''

''Mine does that mean?''

I still didn't understand what the three were talking about until a soft crackling around us gave me goosebumps as well. ''Eh, guys, I think we should get the hell out of here before...'' At that moment a bright flash of light illuminated the cloud, blinding us for a second. Followed by a deafening clap of thunder.

I urged Shade to speed up, as a pair of huge jaws pushed through the mist right in front of us. Just in time Shade rolled with me to the side. Making Goth miss us by an inch. But there was no time to relax. The Vampyrum already rushed forward for a second attack. Fortunately, Shade managed to ditch him again, causing him to crash into the fog instead of us. My heart was racing in my chest, while Shade rushed blindly around. Goth right behind us. I knew it was a terrible idea to fly into the clouds. How should we find our way out without getting grabbed by our enemies or stroke by lightning?

I didn't know where Orestes or Marina was. I just hoped they were fine and not attacked by Throbb, who I also had no idea where he was.

Then a shadow appeared in the wall of clouds in front of us and before I knew it, Throbb rushed out of it. Shade tried to dive out from under him but the Vampyrum was faster. He charged and slashed a hole in the membrane of his wing, causing Shade to wince in pain and almost letting me go. Fortunately, I grasped hold of him myself. Throbb then tried another attack, but got slammed by Orestes and pushed out of our sight.

I could still see the black outlines of the two opponents vanishing into the mist, as Goth reappeared. He got hold of my injured leg and pulled me away from Shade. I screamed in pain and let go of his feet. Shade tried to come to my aid but Goth backhanded him in the face, throwing him into the mist.

''SHADE!'' Horrified, I stared at the place where Shade had disappeared and wished to follow him to know if he was okay. Goth grasped me roughly by my dress and grinned down at my face. A vicious gleam flickering in his eyes. His claws pierced deep into the fabric that I could feel them scratching my skin.

''Hola señorita. Thought you could just run off, didn't you?'' His grin turned to a snarl, and he leaned his face closer to mine. ''I got a new deal for you, human. You and the Silverwing will take us straight to Hibernaculum or I'll rip your guts out.''

I gasped. Suddenly Goth rolled onto his back getting hit by Marina's shiny body. ''Come on!'' she yelled at me. I grabbed her feet and pulled myself free from the cannibal's claws. Marina raced with me down at breakneck speed until we broke through the last layer of clouds and were back in the open.

''Where are the others?'' I asked and looked around searching for Shade and Orestes.

''I don't know'', Marina replied, breathing heavily ''I thought Shade was with you.''

''He was, but then he got knocked into the mist by Goth.''

''Hopefully, he is alright.''

''Yeah'', I said with a nod. ''And Orestes as well.''

Marina circled with me for a few seconds in the air, then headed for a group of trees below us. ''I better get you to safety first, Vanessa.''

''But what about Shade and Orestes?''

''I'll find them don't worry. But you are still hurt and sick. And being too long in this rain might make it worse for you.''

I knew she was right. Still, I wanted to stay with her and help look for our friends. But Marina stood firm on this and flew down to the nearest tree.

In the corner of my eye, I thought I could make out a brief movement. But I couldn't see anything more precise. Only as another burst of thunder caused Marina to stagger for a moment did I see, that Goth had already caught up with us again. I tried to warn her but the Vampyrum was faster. With a single blow, he slashed his claws into Marina's fur and sliced her shoulder. She screamed in pain and rolled to the side, losing her grip on me, causing me to fall to the depth.

In panic, I did the next best thing I could think of and slipped out of my cloak to use it as a parachute. Strangely enough, it worked, and I landed halfway gently on a branch. However, I did not have time to rest. My feet barely touched the wood, when Goth threw himself at me with a mischievous laugh. Without thinking, I jumped out of his way just in time and onto one of the lower branches. The pain that went through my right leg was unbearable but the adrenaline rush prevented me from taking much notice of it.

The tree wasn't too high. Also, there was a small snow-covered thorn bush growing at the foot of it. I let myself drop into it with my parachute cloak. Unfortunately, the vines were very dense and almost tore my dress to shreds while scratching my skin in many places.

''Try hiding señorita. I'll get you anyway.''

I saw Goth flying around the thorn bush, waiting for an opportunity to grab me.

''Shit, what am I going to do now?'' I needed a plan to get out of this bush without getting caught by Goth. For a moment I thought about digging a tunnel on the ground but then immediately dropped the idea. ''I must think of something else.'' The only question was: What?

A crackling sound to my left caught my attention. To my horror, I realized that Goth had grown weary of waiting and was now making his way through the thorns. I quickly crawled out of the bush in the opposite direction. My white cloak got tangled up with the vines. So I left it behind to lose no time.

As fast as I could I limped across the frozen ground in search of a hiding place. I heard Goth's angry growl behind me but didn't dare to turn around.

In a desperate attempt to find shelter, I tripped and fell to the ground. ''Damn it'', I cursed as pain shot through my body like lightning through the sky. Carefully I tried to get up, but my legs buckled underneath me. I felt exhaustion spreading through me. The adrenaline rush was still there, but not as strong as before. Once more I tried to stand up, but my legs were heavy like lead.

Without warning, I was seized by the neck and pushed back to the ground.

"Thought you could escape?'' I tried to free myself from Goth's grip, but the Vampyrum just squeezed harder and pressed my face to the floor, giving me trouble breathing. I struggled as hard as I could. But it was useless. Goth was too strong.

''Now, let's see. What shall I do with you?''

He let go of me for a split second and turned me roughly onto my back so I could look him in the face. ''How about I break your other leg, too? Or maybe an arm? How about both?''I struggled to get away from him, but he just grasped my left wrist and knelt on my stomach to keep me in place.

Though his intentions were thwarted, when something swooped down on his head. It was Shade. He grabbed hold of Goth's ears and pulled on them hard, causing the Vampyrum prince to yelp in surprise and move away from me.

Without hesitation, I made my escape. I felt sick from pain and fear. But I couldn't sit down and rest. With a brief glance over my shoulder, I saw Goth chasing Shade through the sky and thought to see Throbb or Orestes at some other point too. But I wasn't sure about it. Then suddenly the ground beneath me gave way, and I rolled down a slight slope. I hadn't been paying attention and had hurried straight towards the river. Fortunately, the place where I landed was frozen, so I was saved from a bath in the icy water.

I struggled to get back up on my feet but kept slipping over the smooth surface. And as if that wasn't bad enough, I was skidding away from the riverbank. The iced surface wasn't very big. If I wasn't careful, I ended up in the water. And that wasn't a good idea. Because of the storm, the river was stirred up, and the water was rushing downstream. Getting caught into it would be a life-threatening situation.

''Vanessa, watch out!''

Just in time, I rolled out of the way when Shade, still chased by Goth, dashed past me by a hair's breadth. The Vampyrum slashed at him in mid-flight but missed him. Instead, his claws pierced cracks into the ice, which quickly expanded. Terrified, I watched how the thin surface broke apart causing me to drift off on an ice floe.

Meanwhile, Goth had managed to catch Shade and pushed him back to the ground on another ice floe. I saw my friend struggling to break free. Goth hunched over him, ready to slit his throat. Without thinking, I took off my remaining shoe and hurled it towards the giant bat. The missile hit him right in the eye, leaving a bruise. ''Argh!'' Goth cursed and flinched, giving Shade time to get free and jump back into the air.

Furiously, Goth glared after him. Then he turned around to see what had thwarted his plan this time. As his gaze met me, I wished to disappear right on the spot. But before I could even think about what to do, Goth was back at my side with a few flaps of his wings and slammed my head to the ground. Bright spots danced around my vision and my head was screaming in agony. I could feel the pain spreading down my neck and into my back but I tried to ignore it. With one hand Goth squeezed my neck and tied off my air. I desperately tried to free myself by scratched his arm and squirming around. But it was no use.

Goth just laughed at my pitiful attempts to escape and only tightened his grip. I gagged. Breathing became scarce and dark spots formed in front of my eyes as Goth pressed down harder onto my neck. I prayed Shade or one of the others would appear and come to my aid. But none of my friends were anywhere to be seen.

Eventually, Goth loosened his grip for a moment and I gasped for air. With a mischievous grin, Goth leaned closer to me and dug his claw into the ice and slowly began to trace it around my head.

I flinched by the unbearable screeching sound that his claw made. Afterward, Goth licked the ice off his claw and hovered it above me, ready to strike. Thinking this was it, I pulled my good leg up and kicked Goth with full power where the sun didn't shine. His reaction was no surprise. Disbelief formed on his face before he tipped to the side, moaning in pain. I quickly crawled out of his reach and looked for a way back to the shore. Curled up in pain, Goth glared at me with hatred. Now it was clear. Gametime was over.

''Well, I'm dead.''

Much to my regret, Goth got back on his feet much too soon and lunged at me right away. I jumped out of his way and almost fell into the water. Luckily, I was able to stop myself just in time. The Vampyrum made a turn and went for another attack, but again I slipped out of its reach. The cold of the ice burned under my naked feet and my broken leg was throbbing with pain. Though, I didn't have time to pay attention to it. My life was in danger.

By now, the current on which our ice floe was drifting had picked up speed, and the storm was swirling river water over our feet. Over and over again Goth tried to catch me but each time I slipped past him before he could even put a scratch on me. Then another ice floe bumped against ours, causing it to tip. I yelped as I lost my footing and slipped into the freezing water. Scared to death I dug my fingernails into the ice and held on to the edge with all my strength. Again Goth appeared at my side but instead of helping me he just laughed evil and struck. His claws cut deeply into my shoulder. Thanks to the pain I let go of the ice and was immediately pushed underwater by a wave.

I fought my way up again, but the roaring masses of water pushed me back down again, taking away any sense of direction. Eventually, I bumped with my head against something hard and my vision went black for a second. Fortunately, it settled down, and I clung to what I had hit. It was one of the other broken ice surfaces. Laboriously, I pulled myself out of the water and collapsed on my stomach. Breathing heavily, I just lay there on the ice. Exhausted and tired to death. I would have loved to close my eyes and fall asleep but a noise made me look up.

Right above me, Orestes and Throbb were chasing each other in a matter of life and death. And as far as I could see Marina was helping our feathered friend as good as she could. But where the heck was Shade. Or better... where was Goth?

¡Maldito enano!

At those words, I got up on my knees and turned around. Behind me, Shade and Goth were locked in a fierce battle. Whereby the Silverwing, much like I had done before, mainly tried to avoid the cannibal's claws and teeth. Goth roared with fury as Shade then scratched his face with his own claws and attacked him once more. This time Shade wasn't fast enough and Goth's claws slashed his stomach.

''Shade!'' Horrified I watched how the young Silverwing fell to the ground and stopped moving. Immediately Goth was at his side, ready to kill him.

''Leave him alone!'' I cried out, causing Goth to turn his attention to me, his eyes sparkling with rage.

''Don't worry señorita'', he spat back to me, "I'll take care of you soon enough.''

Another flash of lightning lit up the sky, followed by a deafening clap of thunder.

The following sound of roaring water made me look around and with horror, I saw how the three of us were about to tumble towards a waterfall. As fast as I could I hurried from the ice floe where I was onto the one behind it where Goth and Shade were. The Vampyrum had not yet noticed the approaching danger and was lifting his hand to finish Shade off once and for all.

''No!'' I practically jumped right at Goth's back, causing him to lose his balance and stumble onto the ice.

''What the... get off!''

The giant bat tried to push me off but I clung on to him like a limpet and bit his nose. Goth roared in pain and tore at my dress and hair. But I still didn't let go. As the ice floe drifted further to the brink of the abyss, Goth and I rolled around on the frozen surface in a deadly embrace until we came dangerously close to the edge. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Shade regain consciousness and watched him get up. His worn-out gaze wandering around. The moment he spotted me he gasped and wanted to rush to my aid, but the painful wound on his belly prevented him from doing so.

In the meantime, Goth punched me in the face leaving a deep scratch on my cheek. It could not go on like this. I knew I had to do something or Goth would kill me.

The sound of the waterfall was now impossible to ignore despite the storm.

And that's when I knew what I had to do. For a brief moment, I tore myself loose and yelled at Shade to get to safety. Then I clung on tight to Goth and rolled with him into the water on purpose. Only when the icy water masses collapsed over me once more did I finally let go.

I struggled hard to get back to the surface, but Goth grabbed me and pulled me underwater again. My mouth got filled with water and I could hardly breathe. Goth also had problems to keep himself afloat. And together we plunged down the waterfall.

To my relief, Shade managed to rise back into the air and rushed to my aid. I dived again for a moment but then succeeded in grabbing his feet so he could pull me out of the water. I was barely out when Goth's claws grabbed the hem of my dress and pulled me back. Shade tried to pull me out of his grip but the jolt of gravity was too strong for him. Along with me, he got dragged into the icy water. Blocks of ice flew around our ears and I had no clue what was up and down anymore. The last thing I saw was Goth getting hit by another lump of ice before he disappeared into the deep. Then everything went black.

AN: New Chapter. ^^ I have to say this one might be another one of my faves so far. I really enjoyed writting it. Especially the battle seen at the end. As you can see I used the final showdown with Goth and Throbb from the book and mixed it with a few scenes from the show.

And yes this means this story is close to the end but don't worry there will be a sequel. ;)

Also funfact, if I had named my chapter the way Rick Riordan did in the Percy Jackson series I would have called this one: I go ice skating with the enemy.

I think it fits xD

Anyway hope you like it. Feel free to read and review. ^^