Disclaimer: Sorry again about the wait. I do not own Seventh Tower. All characters (except for Jade and Virus) belong to Garth Nix.
Later that night everyone set up camp. They'd managed to get a small fire going and were huddled around it trying to warm up.
"I'm go-gonna freeze to death." Jade shuddered. She was shaking and rubbing her arms trying to warm up. Tal silently agreed with her. Even their Icecarl furs weren't helping much.
"Maybe we sh-should try t-to move around a bit and warm ourselves up." Crow suggested. His teeth were chattering and his lips were beginning to turn a faint shade of blue.
"That might help a little." Milla gasped. Despite all her training and growing up in this harsh environment Milla had never been this cold before. "Jade, do you think you can stand up?"
"I'm not sure." Jade sighed. She tried to pull herself to her feet. She stumbled and started to fall over.
"Whoa!" Crow shouted he stood up and caught her. He carefully helped her stand upright.
"T-Thanks." She gasped. She was shaking again, but not from the cold this time.
Milla started to stand up, but she stopped. She grabbed Tal who was starting to stand as well and shoved him face down onto the ice.
"OW! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT-" Tal started to say, but Milla silenced him.
"Jade! Crow!" Milla hissed. "Get down!" Jade and Crow dropped to the ground and lay on their stomachs. All was silent as everyone listened carefully.
"Milla? What wrong?" Crow whispered after a few moments of silence.
"A Merwin..." Milla whispered, "A big one...and it's coming this way."
Tal shuddered as he recalled his first encounter with a Merwin. How it had attacked him and Milla, how Milla had be nearly fatally wounded try to bring it down, and how Tal had blinded it with his sunstone. He would never forget that battle. It still haunted his nightmares.
"A Merwin?" Crow whispered. His voice had a hint of alarm to it. "What do we do?"
"Keep quiet." Milla whispered back. "Maybe it'll go past us."
A loud roar told everyone she was wrong.
"RUN!" Tal shouted. Before anyone could move, the Merwin was suddenly in front of them. Suddenly Tal could make out a figure sitting on top of the Merwin. Virus sat atop the Merwin's head leering down at them.
"YOU!" Milla shrieked angrily.
"Well, well, well." Virus smirked, "What a pleasant surprise. Jade and her idiotic friends, how nice to see you again."
"Virus..." Jade snarled standing up and shaking her fist at him, "If you've come all this way just to insult me..."
"Silly Jade," Virus said shaking his head, "Do you think I have that much time to waste? I merely came to tell you how your mother is doing."
Jades eyes widened in horror. "No...you didn't...sh-she's not..."
"She's still alive." Virus said calmly, "But just barely. She needs you Jade, and only I can take you to her."
Jade was silent. She had her head lowered and she seemed to be decided something.
Virus stretched out his hand. "Come with me Jade."
Jade shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe you... Even after you did all this...I though you still loved me...but now...you're threatening my mother's life to make me do something I don't want to do? How can you claim to have ever loved me if you're putting me through this hell?"
"I'll sit down and explain it to you later." Virus snapped. "Now come!"
Jade squeezed her eyes shut tight to block the flow of tears coming from behind her eyes. "NO!" She screamed. "I HATE YOU!"
Virus seemed taken aback by Jade's outburst, but he regained his cold-hearted expression almost immediately afterwards. "Very well. If that is the way you want things to be, I'll have to kill your friends and MAKE you come with me!"
Jade froze and looked up. Virus vanished in a flash of black light, leaving one pissed-off Merwin behind.
"Oh bloody hell." Crow groaned. Before anyone could react the Merwin pushed against the ice with it's gigantic flippers and sped forward. Everyone jumped to the side and avoided being crushed just in time. Milla drew her sword.
"I swear upon my clan that I will fight this thing to the last savage breath!" She screamed before she leapt into battle.
"That goes for me too!" Crow yelled drawing his sword. Both of the Icecarl warriors ran towards the monster. It roared and pointed its horn at them and brought it down in a stabbing motion, attempting to impale both of them. It missed and its horn sank into the ice. As it struggled to break free, Milla ran up its horn and attempted to gouge one of its eyes out. It jerked its head free however and launched Milla into the air and sent her skidding across the ice.
The beast shook off Crow, who had been trying to stab it in the head, and went after Milla. It was moving in to deliver the killer blow to the fallen warrior when a blinding flash of light lit up the area and struck the Merwin in both eyes. The Merwin cried out in anguish. The force of the attack had caused the eyeballs to quite literally melt out of the sockets, permanently blinding the beast. Crow looked up and saw that Jade and Tal had both attacked with their Sunstones at once.
"Nice one!" Jade said grinning.
"Oh, it was nothing." Tal said smiling. The Merwin was thrashing in agony. Its pitiful cries filled everyone's ears. So Milla took her sword and put the poor creature out of its misery.
"Well, I say that exercise warmed all of us up." Tal said yawning, "Now let's try and get some sleep."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Later that night everyone set up camp. They'd managed to get a small fire going and were huddled around it trying to warm up.
"I'm go-gonna freeze to death." Jade shuddered. She was shaking and rubbing her arms trying to warm up. Tal silently agreed with her. Even their Icecarl furs weren't helping much.
"Maybe we sh-should try t-to move around a bit and warm ourselves up." Crow suggested. His teeth were chattering and his lips were beginning to turn a faint shade of blue.
"That might help a little." Milla gasped. Despite all her training and growing up in this harsh environment Milla had never been this cold before. "Jade, do you think you can stand up?"
"I'm not sure." Jade sighed. She tried to pull herself to her feet. She stumbled and started to fall over.
"Whoa!" Crow shouted he stood up and caught her. He carefully helped her stand upright.
"T-Thanks." She gasped. She was shaking again, but not from the cold this time.
Milla started to stand up, but she stopped. She grabbed Tal who was starting to stand as well and shoved him face down onto the ice.
"OW! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT-" Tal started to say, but Milla silenced him.
"Jade! Crow!" Milla hissed. "Get down!" Jade and Crow dropped to the ground and lay on their stomachs. All was silent as everyone listened carefully.
"Milla? What wrong?" Crow whispered after a few moments of silence.
"A Merwin..." Milla whispered, "A big one...and it's coming this way."
Tal shuddered as he recalled his first encounter with a Merwin. How it had attacked him and Milla, how Milla had be nearly fatally wounded try to bring it down, and how Tal had blinded it with his sunstone. He would never forget that battle. It still haunted his nightmares.
"A Merwin?" Crow whispered. His voice had a hint of alarm to it. "What do we do?"
"Keep quiet." Milla whispered back. "Maybe it'll go past us."
A loud roar told everyone she was wrong.
"RUN!" Tal shouted. Before anyone could move, the Merwin was suddenly in front of them. Suddenly Tal could make out a figure sitting on top of the Merwin. Virus sat atop the Merwin's head leering down at them.
"YOU!" Milla shrieked angrily.
"Well, well, well." Virus smirked, "What a pleasant surprise. Jade and her idiotic friends, how nice to see you again."
"Virus..." Jade snarled standing up and shaking her fist at him, "If you've come all this way just to insult me..."
"Silly Jade," Virus said shaking his head, "Do you think I have that much time to waste? I merely came to tell you how your mother is doing."
Jades eyes widened in horror. "No...you didn't...sh-she's not..."
"She's still alive." Virus said calmly, "But just barely. She needs you Jade, and only I can take you to her."
Jade was silent. She had her head lowered and she seemed to be decided something.
Virus stretched out his hand. "Come with me Jade."
Jade shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe you... Even after you did all this...I though you still loved me...but now...you're threatening my mother's life to make me do something I don't want to do? How can you claim to have ever loved me if you're putting me through this hell?"
"I'll sit down and explain it to you later." Virus snapped. "Now come!"
Jade squeezed her eyes shut tight to block the flow of tears coming from behind her eyes. "NO!" She screamed. "I HATE YOU!"
Virus seemed taken aback by Jade's outburst, but he regained his cold-hearted expression almost immediately afterwards. "Very well. If that is the way you want things to be, I'll have to kill your friends and MAKE you come with me!"
Jade froze and looked up. Virus vanished in a flash of black light, leaving one pissed-off Merwin behind.
"Oh bloody hell." Crow groaned. Before anyone could react the Merwin pushed against the ice with it's gigantic flippers and sped forward. Everyone jumped to the side and avoided being crushed just in time. Milla drew her sword.
"I swear upon my clan that I will fight this thing to the last savage breath!" She screamed before she leapt into battle.
"That goes for me too!" Crow yelled drawing his sword. Both of the Icecarl warriors ran towards the monster. It roared and pointed its horn at them and brought it down in a stabbing motion, attempting to impale both of them. It missed and its horn sank into the ice. As it struggled to break free, Milla ran up its horn and attempted to gouge one of its eyes out. It jerked its head free however and launched Milla into the air and sent her skidding across the ice.
The beast shook off Crow, who had been trying to stab it in the head, and went after Milla. It was moving in to deliver the killer blow to the fallen warrior when a blinding flash of light lit up the area and struck the Merwin in both eyes. The Merwin cried out in anguish. The force of the attack had caused the eyeballs to quite literally melt out of the sockets, permanently blinding the beast. Crow looked up and saw that Jade and Tal had both attacked with their Sunstones at once.
"Nice one!" Jade said grinning.
"Oh, it was nothing." Tal said smiling. The Merwin was thrashing in agony. Its pitiful cries filled everyone's ears. So Milla took her sword and put the poor creature out of its misery.
"Well, I say that exercise warmed all of us up." Tal said yawning, "Now let's try and get some sleep."
Everyone nodded in agreement.