Chapter 5

Change is a Frightening Thing

The palace had not been the same since Jack's return, the light that once shown with a jubilant color of blues and yellows after dark was replaced with a low crimson glow that only illuminated the inside of building just enough for the walls and floor to be visible while the outside remained dark, as if it too was trying to hide itself from any would-be seekers. The light was not the only thing peculiar about the walls within, for one they seemed to have developed veins of darkness that ran from the floor to the skylight tower and two, they were steadily growing those selfsame spikes that would adorn them whenever he woke up in terror. Jack himself was pacing around his room in that same frantic state he had been in since the moment he'd learned of the attack on his family. He would walk over to his bed and sit with his head in his hands, stay there for less than 5 seconds before shaking his head and standing to pace the room some more. Doing his best to convince himself that the best course of action was in all truth, inaction.

"It'll be okay, if you stay away the monsters will think that the village has nothing to do with you and will leave it alone…. Sooner or later." He muttered and shook his head again before pausing in his pacing and thinking of other reasons. "Every able-bodied man there has some sort of weapon on hand for feeding themselves, they are more than capable of beating those things if they try to do any real harm." This idea seemed to be somewhat better than the last; his own father had a crossbow and plenty of bolts for his hunting trips. He'd even shown Jack how to take care of it through cleaning so that it would last and not fail unexpectedly.

Jack walked out onto his balcony in hopes that looking out over the mountains would help settle his nerves. Night had fallen and the sky was clear of clouds, letting the stars shine down despite Jack's current emotional state causing the weather to turn foul. The full moon hung just above the mountains giving off a bright gentle glow that bathed his balcony in its aura and made the snow-covered mountains shine.

But…. What if they aren't?

It had been nearly two days before Nicholas and Emily saw the outskirts of town again. Both having gotten over the disappointment in failing to get Jackson to return with them and taking solace in the fact that he was alive and well up in the mountains. Their first destination was of course the old schoolteacher's house to pick up Sophie and, with Emily's faith in her, talk about what transpired in their absence. Of course, their return had not gone unnoticed; Egil had spotted them coming into town from the general store window and watched them as they stepped through Mrs. Groa's front door and hoist their little girl into her father's arms while receiving a kiss on the cheek from her mother. Though he clearly saw no mystical boy with them, he had his suspicions that both parents leaving had meant the couple had managed to pull the wool over everyone's eyes and were secretly hiding him somewhere. Once the front door closed Egil finished his shopping and left for the mayor's house.

Sophie was mad, Mom and Dad had left her with Mrs. Groa so that they could go see her big brother. The part about being left with her teacher wasn't the bad part at all, the nice lady had let her stay up when she wanted to wait for her parents to come back and had been told some fun stories from a book of poems that the teacher never used at school. Her parents lied to her about not knowing where he was and then not bringing her with them was what made them the absolute WORST parents and she would never forgive them! The three adults had seen the scowl on the little girls face and after both parents had tried, and failed, to placate her it was the older woman's warning that Sophie would have a face like hers before her time if she kept it that way and furthered the point by showing her usual expression for when she was teaching.

Instead of going straight home after picking up their daughter, they were invited to stay long enough for dinner, an invitation readily accepted. The house had not seen the kind of activity in many years, and it made Mrs. Groa all too happy even though she covered it up with her usual tone. Sophie was one of her finest students, but it wasn't for her grades or behavior during class, but her actions while outside the classroom that warmed her heart. The child seemed to already know one of the most important things of life that even most adults didn't know, have no doubt in the face of adversity. She loved her brother, knew him from birth and would let no one try and sway her feelings on that. For too often it was such a thing that tore worlds apart. The festivities came to an end just before the sun set and it was time to go home for the recently reunited family who barrowed a lantern and set off for their own house, child walking between them hand-in-hand. A figure was standing at their front door waiting for them, Nicholas and Emily recognized them right away, it was Egil.

He watched them approach, standing against their door with his arms crossed and buried in his chest against the cold. He raised his hand in half greeting before stepping off the doorframe and coming forward to meet them. "Still pretty chilly to be going out of town don't you think?" Egil's tone was in no way threatening but after the long period of estrangement between them, Nicholas and Emily moved closer together to block him from Sophie who still looked up to him like an uncle. "What if it is, what is it to you?" Nicholas barely kept himself from snapping at the man, no reason to jump down the guy's throat, at least not yet. Egil put his hands up in slightly defensive gesture before giving his response, "Peace Nicholas, I'm not here to get into a fight with you. I just came to talk." Emily looked at her husband and imagined him being not unlike a dog with his hackles raised in the face of another younger dog trying to move in on his territory. In another situation Emily might have tried getting him to calm down but considering the circumstances….

Their old friend had clearly seen what he was dealing with but after a mild sigh he continued. "Did you see your son out there, is he well?" Wrong thing to ask. Nicholas pushed forward and past him to open the door for his family to get inside, "It's none of your concern so I must kindly ask you to get on your way and leave us be." Simmering anger in every word. However, Egil stepped forward and grabbed his shoulder, "Now see here Nicholas, I'm only doing what I should have done right from the start so stop and talk man!" This had some effect on Emily but she was quick to get her daughter in the house before shutting the door and barring it and looking out the window at the two men.

"Oh, and what is that?" Nicholas turned to fully face Egil, who even though he was brawny man he was still physically half the man Nicholas was, only coming up to his nose and narrow where Nicholas was quite a bit broader. "Come to tell me that it wasn't you who told your boy that it was ok to throw rocks? Or turned away when I was at your door for help with Emily when she was beside herself with grief? What was it you said to me that day? Tell me or don't you remember?" Nicholas verbally tore into Egil who grimaced with every question in the statements. He had been the one to tell Anders to keep his distance from the other family but, it was Anders own choosing to throw stones at the house causing the windows to break, to which Egil had guiltily never reprimanded him for. When Nicholas had come to his door hoping to enlist his wife's help with Emily, Egil had barred his way and said he should clear off for his betrayal of their trust. Over the following months of seeing Nicholas leave the village for his searches he'd watch Emily and Sophie's comings and goings and thinking them crazy for leaving the confines of their home. It was the teacher who had him facing his actions later when he tried telling her she should do the same, only for her to grab him by his ear and give him a good scolding, like he was still a little boy walking through the door wearing his muddy shoes. Now here he was, facing his old friend and understanding that he'd earned all the venom Nicholas had for him.

"Look, Nicholas. I know what I'm at fault for what I have failed to do when it comes to the actions of my own son. That's why I'm here now trying to fix this. Because these new things that have been showing up have me afraid for my own family and I know you wouldn't have taken your wife with you if you hadn't found Jackson." Ice water ran through Emily's veins, Egil knew they'd already found where Jack was! "I'm not here to press you for where he is or to harass you and Emily," He took a few steps back from Nicholas who continued to stare death down on him. "I want to apologize but I know I may very well be too late for things to be mended between us-!" Both men heard a bloodcurdling scream coming from Egil's house and both realized they were standing outside in the dark. Both men paled, that was the voice of Egil's wife!

Both men rushed for the house, Nicholas shouted to his wife to get a light burning as he went. Anders was trying to get his unconscious mother out of the house through a window instead of the door before being pulled back into the house screaming in terror. Egil's wife, Karina, was sporting a massive bite on her left arm and was bleeding freely through her torn sleeve. While Egil saw to his wife, Nicholas rushed at the door and threw it open, only to have Anders fall into him with a shaky yelp. When Anders looks up at him, his pupils are tiny from fear and his breathing is short. Before Nicholas can ask, the young man pushes himself off him and falls to the ground. The look in his eyes tells Nichols everything. Whatever was inside the house that had attacked them, he blamed it on Nicholas. As soon as his father got his attention, Anders rushed over to help with his mother.

"Pa! There's a demon in the house!" More screams erupted from other places in the village and people were running from their homes. Shadow figures were chasing and gathering up anyone not fast enough to escape. Nicholas felt instant dread at the fact that he'd left Emily and Sophie at the house and turned to go call them out.

"EMILY GET OUT OF THERE NOW!"

He was grateful to see that she had already been carrying their daughter towards him, only to see the same manlike monster from a few nights earlier collide with her and snarl. Nicholas whole world moved in slow motion as he felt his whole body seemingly move at a snail's pace in his rush to get to his two girls. The fanged creature was trying to rip Sophie from her mother's arms, but Emily held her tightly with her body and refusing to let any muscle slacken with every ounce of willpower while Sophie screamed at the top of her lungs. The monster opened its maw and was ready to tear into the two of them and Nicholas had only managed to get three steps closer at a dead sprint!

There was the sound of thudding hooves and suddenly a blur of white rammed into the creature, taking it away, leaving Emily and Sophie on the ground, jostled but gratefully still alive. Nicholas closed the distance to wrap them in his arms, holding his wife's head to his chest and whatever weeping was heard wasn't Emily or even Sophie. Egil had seen what happened and was surprised when he saw three more white shapes run into view, three massive white stags. Each of them stood about the same height of a Clydesdale, had pure white fur that was slightly shaggy, but what was most astonishing about these deer was the antlers and eyes being an unnatural blue. One of them trumpeted and reared up before charging off towards the rest of the village followed shortly by the others. The first to arrive retuned to the Overlands and lowered its head so that it could sniff at them and then turned to look at Egil and his family. Nicholas and Emily were looking at it and trying to steady their breathing while Sophie just stared with an open mouth. It was then that Egil realized the antlers weren't actually blue since they were clear and glass-like.

More people came to join them by the beast, having been saved by one of the others as the swept through, making short work of any opposition presented them. The black creatures that were intent on harming them were trampled, kicked, and skewered with ease and quickly turned to black ash. No one could say anything, awe and fear had effectively stolen their ability to speak as they watched the white bucks take down demon after demon in reckless ease. Only the Overlands had an inkling of an idea who was responsible for their miraculous rescue, but hadn't he chosen to stay away?

….

Jack Had been running ever since he'd left the palace, opting to take his own route back to the village. It had taken him a full day to reach old territory now unfamiliar due to his absence and the passage of time. The main reason he knew where he was were little markings on trees that lead him straight on through. His journey was not without problems though, usually he was home on the mountain after dark and ignorant of the dangers that now plagued his world, but now, running back towards his old village he could sense that he was once again somethings prey, a now very familiar and dangerous something, only now it would seem that he didn't account for the fact that there was more of it! As soon as he was away from the mountains and under the canopy of the forest the shadows reached and grabbed at him trying to slow him down enough for them to catch. Jack hadn't waisted time trying to get rid of it but with every lunge of these ashy monsters he was slowed and more would soon be on his heels!

A wave of these things rushed in to bar his way and they looked nothing like the wispy thing he'd trapped before. Each had a relatively humanoid shape with hands and feet but the look seemed like it was hard to maintain and no of them looked alike, one had massive hands for walking while its second set of hands had claws as long as its arms, while another was the size of a small house and didn't mind in the slightest when it swiped a clublike arm and knocked its own kind out of the way while trying to land a hit on Jack. He didn't have time for this, he needed to get HOME!

With every use of his magic, he'd take down some, a strike here and there was a temporary victory as more took their place. Jack had to start thinking broader before it was too late and he'd lose any chance of making it to his destination, and that's when an idea came to him. He didn't have the time to stop and really finesse his idea as he thought back to what he'd been doing the other day. He let the power bleed from his feet and hands as he sprinted and in his wake four white stags rose from the icy ground to run beside him. It's a shame I can't do colors. Thinking of the great red harts from the Viking tales of Yggdrasil. The four looked at him for direction while nocking away the black beasts in his path. "Get to the village and keep them all safe until I can get there!" Jack was half tempted to try hopping on ones back, but he wasn't too confident he'd be able to stay on. Without further command the mighty beasts raced ahead clearing his path as they went.

His lungs burned by the end of this trek, he wasn't sure how, but he was sweating terribly, and he could feel the heat in his face from exertion. The village was in sight, and he was about to cross the old pond. PAIN! Jack lost his footing. What had happened, he hadn't been hit had he? Something was wrong but he couldn't place it. That's when he heard the screams and tried to get back to his feet. He would figure it out later.

As he made his way out onto the pond, he heard the war cry of his stags and new that the fight wasn't over yet. As he was halfway across, he stumbled again as his body was racked with another sharp pain and his vision temporarily blurred. Just what was going on? This wasn't like when he'd fallen off trees or any other physical pain he could think of, but somehow deeper and more debilitating. One bout of this pain had sent him to his knees and the second just seemed to pack on the punishment. With a third stab of this pain, he received a vision of what looked like a giant creature lunging at him and it became clear, something had been taking out his chosen defenders and he was suffering for it.

A whole lot of firsts had happened over the last week and Jack had not been given the chance to understand any of it. Why was he in so much pain when something like the deer was destroyed, why hadn't he felt this when the dog came apart? Any further questions he'd had were silenced as he heard more screams from the village ahead. Taking a moment to steady himself once more, he picked up his sprint and rushed towards the houses just beyond his view.

People had scattered and were doing their best to get just enough distance between them and the giant serpent that had appeared at the village square. It was long enough to wrap a house in its coils, had a mouth easily large enough to fit a family of people and swallow whole, and its eyes were like to candles glowing behind a black curtain. The Snake looked about from building to building and a long-forked tongue flit out from between its fangs as it emulated the creature from which it shared its form; It had yet to eat its fill and those ice creatures that had dared attack it only delayed its feasting. So many tasty fear-filled prey and if it didn't move quickly too many would get away. So, it lunged for the group at the far end of town where the last of the ice beasts stood.

The stag remained where it was between the serpent and the townsfolk who now were too dumbstruck with terror to keep moving away. With another call the Deer's antlers shown with a light like the aurora in the night sky and charged the snake if only to slow it down. It would make its finally stand one worthy of its coming into being and in falling, rejoin its brethren in the heart of their maker. Thankfully this was not to happen as a blast of Ice and cold wind hit the snake in the side of its head, the stag's maker had arrived.

Not at all pleased with being hit with burning ice, the snake turned to face its new opponent and licked the ice caked on its cheek. The flavor of emotion filled magic instantly put this new stripling of a boy at the top of its list of foods to devour and all but forgot the people it was about to feast on. Jack was still panting like mad, and his chest was hurting, not just from his heart pounding so fast from the run but now this lingering mystery pain that had struck him three times just moments ago.

Nicholas had turned to see his son had arrived, Jack had come in his usual shirt, short cape, and calf high trouser but had also dawned his new shoes, perhaps to make the trip more easily on land free of snow. The boy looked absolutely ragged with his heavy breathing and shaking legs and knowing the reason why made his father feel a small twinge of happiness. However, said happiness was quickly snuffed out when the black serpent turned and chased after his boy back into the woods. Neither he or the rest of his family were anchored to the ground, and they rushed after the two receding combatants, the stag close behind.

Jack only got as far as the pond before the serpent's own speed allowed it to circle around in front of him, cutting him off from the far shore. Now Jack had its full attention and he had to fight the urge to do anything but stand his ground as he became the center of that terrible feeling, with this much dark predatory instinct on him he hadn't registered its affect on his own emotional state and what was happening to the land around him. It felt like a dead calm if not for the accumulating clouds and, the ice at his feet, although solid, was beginning to crack and splinter. Instead of the usual blizzard that would accompany him in times like these, he was surrounded by still air as it seemed the whole world was holding its breath.

The monster struck and Jack barely jumped out of the way and shot at it with more ice. He was already tired, and the adrenaline had run its course, leaving him with legs that couldn't keep up with his new opponent. It barely registered the hit as it swept its tail forward to knock him down. The strike was slow thanks to the limb hitting the trees along the shore instead of flowing freely. Jack shot at it again and it gave a hiss that sounded like rushing wind as the magic hit it in one of the eyes. Its next lunge was hard enough that it cracked the ice even more when it missed its target. To anyone watching it may appear like the boy had the upper hand but in truth, Jack was just barely getting out of the way in time. Jack could only react to every move made but soon it wasn't a quick enough, he found himself being tripped up by the snake's tail. Having the wind knocked out of him took the last of his ability to move, on the ground and facing the sky Jack watched as the serpent's fanged jaws came down on him and his whole world went black.

Alone.

He was so utterly alone.

No one would find him.

No one would be waiting for him.

There was no one there to call his name…. and none of them were coming back.

….

The rest of the village had caught up to the battle not long after the Overlands had gone running after the monster. With all present to watch the boy's struggle against the viper they watched as it inevitably took the whole boy into its mouth. The force of its attack broke through the pond and the snake sank into its waters. For a short forever nothing happened, and everyone thought the danger was passed. The Overlands being the only ones to feel worse for the way things ended.

One of the elder folks dropped to their knees, "It's the end of the world." All eyes fell on him. "To think the Vikings had it right from the very beginning. A giant snake faces off against the god of thunder and its venom ends him…." a lady wraps her arms around him and in a hope to calm him down. "Don't speak of such things grandfather, that snake was hardly large enough to encircle the world and that boy wasn't Thor almighty." Despite her words of reassurance which were surely also meant to bring herself some peace, everyone looked back to where the snake had gone into the pond, waiting for the monster to come back, now unincumbered by the magic user from returning to its original task.

Its head erupted from the water and every villager screamed in terror as they started running in the opposite direction expecting it to slither back their way, when it stopped and began to writhe and thrash about, hissing in great pain. None of them had time to question why as its body began to stiffen and change color. The glacial blue ice climbed up its length changing the midnight creature and completely freezing it solid with a final hissed death knell. Again, the villagers found themselves returning to the pond to look at the snake's statue not daring to believe that it might actually be dead.

The body of the beast began to flake and fall apart, becoming piles of snow on the surface of the pond which had refrozen. Nicholas and Emily spotted something in cloth fall and hit the ice with a small thud and recognized their son immediately, but something was still wrong, he wasn't getting up. His magic was still in flux making the air colder and without the monster's body to absorb it, a storm was building around him. No one was out of danger just yet. The stag that had come to their rescue walked out to the motionless body and began nuzzling his face, but it seemed to have no effect. While the winds were picking up and the cold's bite was getting harder to bare, everyone watched as the magical weather caused frost and ice to climb everything surrounding the pond.

"Nicholas, take Sophie, I'll be right back." Emily handed off her daughter and Nicholas pulled the little girl close and wrapped her in his coat so they could share warmth while her mother rushed back into the village. Sophie was very much still shaken from the attack she had narrowly survived just moments ago and had yet to say anything, but she had seen what her brother had done to save them all and as she looked on at his still form in the middle of this growing storm, she couldn't help but want to go and see just what state he was in. Emily was back not five minutes later with a thick bed comforter, "Move aside everyone, out of the way now!" Everyone watched as the woman went out to her boy and threw the bed cover over him. The stag watched on as she took him into her arms and sat down so his head was resting against her shoulder and she started stroking her fingers through his hair. "It's alright now Min Elskede," her voice was a melodic whisper as she tried to soothe her unconscious son into a calmer state or even better, wake him up. From the shore everyone watched, and one question went through everyone's mind. What do we do now?

….

It was so incredibly warm. Dark though it was, he didn't feel the same terror he'd had…. when was it? He couldn't quite place the time or if it had actually happened. Had it been a dream and if not, why did it seem like it was so long ago? Jack found his body constricted but the warmth was so comforting that he felt reluctant to leave it or struggle. So, what if it was dark, this warm cocoon was so familiar and filled with the promise of safety and contentedness, something he had sorely missed. However, the sounds from beyond this place were drawing him out and he felt his awareness returning to the land of the waking world, and Jack slowly opened his eyes only to blink out the light that was coming in as they adjusted.

He was lying down in a strange bed with a comforter wrapped about him, when he tried to lift himself, he felt a weight holding him down around his waist and legs. Even though he was awake he still felt so very groggy and sluggish which probably explained his lack of alarm at being confined. His arms were free to roam so he began to feel around for an opening in the cover and from there, just what was keeping him there. His drifting hand found its way down to the weight around his waist to find an arm draped over him and that's when he realized that said arm would be attached to a person who was pressed up against him. Craning his neck to turn and see who it was, Jack found his mother's face sleeping right against his shoulder breathing deeply in the way one recognizes when sleeping soundly and he felt safe in knowing that she probably wouldn't wake up if he was careful moving her arm away. Once he'd managed that he tried to shift again, "Mmhmmm…." He stopped dead, realizing his mom wasn't the only obstacle to him getting up as he found little Sophie wrapped around his mid-section and his moving had disturbed her. Forget getting up he was going to pull that comforter tightly back around him and wait them out instead. In the next room he could hear voices but couldn't help wondering what the conversation was about.

...

Not long after, Nicholas came to the door and stepped over to check on his family, happy to have the rare chance of them all back under one roof, even if it wasn't his own. The mayor had decided it was safer for the Overlands if they brought Jack to his home while they wait for him to regain consciousness, having feared the other villagers breaking down their door for any misgivings they had about the night before. He gave a light chuckle seeing that Jack, although awake, seemed to be petrified and hadn't moved an inch from his position between the two girls clinging to him. Nicholas had been the one to carry him here and put him to bed before his wife climbed in beside him to continue soothing the boy through the night. Sophie of course wanted to join her in taking care of her long absent brother and it felt strange having a talk with her about being delicate and careful around him. After making sure she understood, he watched her climb in on the other side and listen to her mom give instructions on what she could do. He then shut the door and went outside to help the with the rest of the village. It wasn't at all good, the monster snake had managed to destroy a few homes before it was challenged by Jack's fleet footed creations and many people had lost loved ones. The humanoid monsters had fled with them during the attack and since his son's panicked storm, there were no tracks that would guide a rescue after them. Egil had been fortunate, Anders had taken a fire stoker to the one attacking his mother and she had managed to get out the window with just the wound to her arm. A meeting had been held not long after in which it was decided that no good would come of trying to rebuild their homes here and everyone had somehow decided that where they would go rested squarely on what happened with Nicholas's son.

...

When things had gotten quiet jack opened the door a crack to peak into the rest of the house and upon seeing no one, took the chance to try slipping away. This house was larger than his own and it had things he would not have seen if he was still living in the village. There was a bust of someone who must have been important standing besides the staircase and many fragile looking vases standing on a glass display counter, Jack had learned about monetary value but having grown up without ever setting foot in a store he'd never been able to see what effect it had on greed. With every step he did his best to make as little noise as possible, not knowing who would possibly be in the house. He'd barely reached the front door when A voice behind him made him jump and his powers spasm through the room hitting one of the vases nocking it to the floor causing it to shatter. "Where do you think you're going?" It was his mother.

"I-I'm going back to the mountains." He stammered while trying to get his heart rate to lower. After a few seconds he was able to continue. "It's not safe for me to be here." Emily walked up on her son and put her arms around him so that she could guide him back into the room he'd woken up in. "You're going to have to wait on that until everything is ready dear." What did she mean by that? "What do you mean, ready for what?" She brought him back to the bed and sat him down and took her place beside him. "I mean, that you're not the only one who will be taking this trip up there."

After explaining everything that was planned for the townsfolk and the reasons for it, Emily was happy to see that Jack's gentle heart was still in him and not the apathetic boy from a few days ago who seemed to choose his own safety over everyone else. When every cart and wagon was ready for the trek up into the northern mountains, Jack was leading the way along his own path towards his icy home. The remaining Stag walking just shy of the caravan ever watchful for threats. Everyone had agreed and understood that this would be a difficult move and quite possibly the strangest way of life they were accepting but what other options did they have? Jack had come forward with only one condition: Stay off the North Mountain.

Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah!