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CHAPTER 33

I yelled as soon as it registered in my sluggish mind that he really wasn't in front of me. "Taurin!"

I felt the rope slacken, then gravity dropped it to the ground. A hand appeared through the snow beckoning me forward, beckoning me to take hold. I grasp onto my life line and let myself be pulled towards an unseen barrier. As soon as I stepped through his hand left mine and he backed away. I hardly noticed as I took in my surroundings. All around me was brightness without a sun in the sky. Three moons hung huge above me. The farthest one a blue bulb of light while the other two were large and white. Arches of clear, cloudy, smooth and jagged ice soared into the sky. Some I could see where they connected to the land and others not at all. The ground was covered in snow that skidded on itself as I walked, like hoar frost from home. It crunched up to my shins and smoothed itself out behind me as I walked in circles to survey my surroundings.

I did another slow circle and noticed that there were no shadows here. It was a bit disconcerting to know there was light, but no shadows. It did not compute with my Earth bound logic. "Are we here?" I whispered and looked towards Taurin.

Taurin still said nothing, he just continued to watch me. A little too closely in my estimation.

"What are you waiting for?"

I looked down at my hands and legs to see if anything was different on me. Nothing seemed out of place, so I undid the rope around my waist and let it drop. My pack came next, sitting next to his on the ground. They stayed laying on top, not a single indent in the snow. So strange that we broke the snow, but they didn't.

He finally spoke. "I was just waiting to see if you would freeze into ice or turn into snow."

"WHAT!?"

He shrugged, "I told you that no one but Icelanders can come to the Place of Dreaming. So, I was just waiting to see what would happen. I didn't think anything would since the Ice embraced you so willingly, but I wasn't sure." He grinned happily, "So, let's go."

I closed my eyes, briefly rubbing under them to keep calm and took a deep breath. Yes, I knew this. Really, I did. If you weren't Icelander... I suppose that's how they were frozen into the walls of the cavern. Actively thinking about the Elemental turning someone into ice and somehow transferring them to the cave was a bit disconcerting. I wondered creepily if I was trudging through snow turned wanderers. Taurin was waving me on agitatedly so I followed, there was no use being wary since the Ice could get me at any time.

It didn't take long to get to the entrance and it looked just as I saw in my dream. Taurin walked in on steady footing into the lighted path. He reached his hand back to me. "Hold on to me and you will not slip."

I grasped him tightly, remembering my dream slide ending in a slam into a wall. We walked together and I watched the ice crawl up his boots. Every time he stepped on the ground it seamlessly rose up and fell free from his movements, much like I saw when we first met on the lake. The ice added colors of pink and green lights the closer we got to the center. Everything was familiar to me even though I had never physically stepped here before. My heart beat accelerated as I thought about his wife rising from the ice with her dead eyes to show me what I was there to do. It wasn't until we were in the middle of the frozen mausoleum that I started to doubt my quest.

She was there, same as I saw. The same dullness and emptiness of skin and eyes. She lay horizontal on the alter, not yet merged into the walls of the ice like the others.

As if he was reading my thoughts, Taurin spoke. "She is closer to the wall than when I first placed her here so very long ago."

I brought myself closer to him and the alter he stared down into. I whispered, "Taurin, do you know what is in these walls?"

He didn't stop looking at Soschen, "Of course I do. We've been over this before, Dove."

I grasped the hand that clutched the alter of ice. "No, I mean do you know specifically what lies deep in these walls of ice?"

He finally looked up at me, "What are you not saying, Dove?"

I swallowed, "The Eternal She brought me here to wake up her child."

He rubbed the back of his neck, "Ah. That is what this is all about. The Elemental wouldn't clue me in. What if he wants you in return for releasing the powerful dragon that was frozen here over a millennial ago? Did you think about that, Dove?" His voice was quiet and low as he looked back down at his former wife.

"Yeah, I have and honestly Taurin I think... Hell, what do I know? I can't know the minds of deities. I just know that freeing the dragon is why I am here and if the Eternal She can grant me a favor in the Elemental's realm then I'm going to ask for your wife back."

Taurin barked a laugh and raised his hands in frustration, "And then what, IshaDove? Are you going to take away what I did to her? Are you going to make her love me again? Make her stop trying to murder me, Maureen, and everyone else?" His voice turned harsher the longer he talked, "Coming here was a mistake. I told you this and, as usual, you defy me."

He turned his eyes to me and they were angry. He reached for my forearms as if to shake some sense into me. "I won't let you do it. Free the dragon if the Elemental agrees and honestly, I'm not so sure he does." He pushed me in closer to him until I could feel his breath on me, "And, do you know, if he doesn't want you to then I will make sure that you never do. This may be the ultimate reason that you are here. So, that I can make you a permanent fixture to his collection."

Taurin's hand flew out to indicate the beings trapped within the cavern's walls. He placed his forehead on mine, "Don't follow through on actions that will determine mine. Please, IshaDove."

I breathed out and it was the first time I saw my warm breath fog the air. The cold was seeping into my body at a steady unhurried pace, "Taurin?" I said in fear. "I think it's happening anyway and if the Elemental is going to take me then I won't go down without a fight. I'm going to free that damn dragon just to be spiteful."

Taurin took another deep breath and stepped away, his hands falling away from my arms. He was all Elemental again, no compromise, no mercy shadowing his face. He smiled, "I will enjoy it."

"Fuck." I backed away from him until I was standing against the wall, my feet slipping on the slick floor. I watched the ice on his right arm move and swirl over his wrist and fingers. So very distracting and beautiful to watch. He was going to mesmerize me while the cold seeped into my very blood. My blood. My hot blood. I needed her, that little dragon that swallowed Nazar's fire ball of death and I needed her now. I meditated and focused on my magic, searching for her while Taurin amazingly went to touch the wall to his right, not me.

Somehow I did it, I focused on my power while watching the ice spread over itself and undulate inside the layers. It was coming at me in a fast clip and I felt the ice start to move like the waves of the oceans. It was no longer solid and I fell silent and deep into its hold with barely a breath.

My dragon chirped at me and hiccuped a ball of fire. She was so accommodating even as I started to freeze. My movements were sluggish as I pushed through the centuries of ice trying to reach my destination that Soschen's dead frozen finger pointed out to me. My little dragoness flared again and I moved into the living ice, one unsteady step at a time. My hands braced and merged with the walls only to melt free with Ezra's magic flaring in me.

My concept of time lost all meaning as I froze into the wall as much as the others surrounding me only to break free and go journeying into the past. The creatures I passed barely registered as I focused on moving farther and farther back. The light never dimmed, but I only registered the light glowing a steady blue once I saw the dragon's head in front of me. It's eyes were open and alive.

It remained frozen in a curled state, its head a little below mine so I had to look down. Not by much though because it was so huge. We were settled somewhere in the middle of the wall, as if there was no ground or ceiling above us. I wondered briefly how hard the Elemental would try to keep us here as I reached out to heat up the surrounding ice around its head. I heard the familiar chirp in my head. Not here she said, focus on the throat, the chest.

I froze again in the ice and had to concentrate on warming my hands to move them where they needed to be. It took forever and I was unnerved knowing the dragon was watching me with a steely eye. I had a brief thought that maybe this white dragon didn't want to be free. It was that thought that filled me with a smattering of night sky.

The Eternal She spoke and I knew she wasn't talking to me. 'It is time my daughter. You have slept too long in your grief. Arise.' My breath came out in a whoosh and it was the burning of exploding stars, 'Raven, it is time to steal the sun.'

She left me as quick as she came and the ice melted faster than I would have ever been able to do so on my own. And the dragon, she was awake and moving. Not that slow I just woke up moving. Nope, it was the I just downed an enormous pot of coffee jitters awake. The heat freed us and I braced myself as she thrashed in her melting enclosure. Her tail coming awfully close to slamming into my frail body and her high trilling scream caused me to huddle, covering my ears.

Then the surrounding ice started to crack, not just melt.

Move, move, move I screamed at myself as I crashed through frozen time to get to the room with the ice alter. Every step was propelled forward farther than I could go on my own. My heart raced as I crashed through the ice fractures caused by the dragon's screaming. Oh my Eternal Goddess what had we done? Had we just destroyed the Icelander's Place of Dreaming? Oh Gods! My thoughts raced as fast as my feet. What was the Elemental going to do?!

I slammed my shoulder through the last layer of ice and found my self back in the cavern with Taurin. The walls were cracking and ice was shattering from the ceiling as he stood there smiling at me and spoke calmly.

"This is good."

I almost swore at him, but had to duck and slide away before a loud, creaking plate of ice fell on my head. "We have to get out of here Taurin!"

I could hear the dragon thrashing and shrieking and I knew she was going to bring the whole place down around us. I tried to make it to the entrance but I slipped, falling hard on my butt. I looked up to see Taurin's outstretched hand and I hastily grabbed it. My legs pushed me up and we ran towards the outside together. In my heart I knew I had to stop him though. Pieces of the wall shattered to my right and I shied away.

I screamed and tugged at his hand, "Taurin! You can have her! I know this! Isn't that why I'm here, to get her back?!"

He paused in complete stillness with his back to me, but all I could hear was the creaking and breaking of ice interspaced with the cries of the dragon. I tugged again, "TAURIN!"

He finally turned and looked at me. I let go of his hand and pointed back to the alter, gesturing wildly, "You have to go back and get her if you want her. He will let her go! Hasn't he told you?!"

His reply was covered by the cracking of a fissure of ice across the wall on our right and one on the ground we stood on. The shaking pulled me to the floor and the cold seeped through my mittens as I attempted to keep myself from sliding. I was finally able to focus on him again, "You need to go now or you will regret it forever."

I don't know if he actually heard me over the noise, but he nodded solemnly and ran back into the cavern. It was all I could do to slide my way towards the entrance. Without Taurin anchoring me with his affinity for the ice I was unable to keep grounded. I cried in frustration as my body kept moving from the shaking of the world around me. I could see the clear blue of sky beckoning me as I groped my way forward, relying on nothing but my ability to slide myself in the direction I wanted to go.

I slid haphazardly into the wall and was trying to determine if I should try to get on my feet or keep going on my knees when I heard the pounding of running coming my way. I sighed in relief and turned to see Taurin carrying Soschen in his arms. He never stopped and I was grabbed by the scruff of my clothes and tossed forward on the ice in a skidding motion. I slid completely out of the tunnel and landed with my face full of snow as I heard the deafening crash of the entrance fall behind us. I turned quickly and found my self looking up into the sky as an enormous white dragon shattered through the surface of ice covering the top of the cave. The sight sparkled in my eyes like a million diamonds caught in the sun. She circled around and wailed out an echoing call before flying higher and disappearing from our sight.

CHAPTER 34

I stared at the cavern as it creaked and moaned, listening to the crashes until a silence fell. It was then that I finally turned to look at Taurin. He, too, stared, motionless with his wife in his arms, staring at the wreck of the house of the Elemental. I stood up and brushed the snow crystals from my clothes causing the tinkling sound of bells as it scattered over the top layer of snow.

"Soooo," I directed at him. I opened my mouth to ask a question, only I wasn't sure how to ask what my chaotic mind was still trying to figure out. I watched him look at me briefly from the side of his eyes before he went back to looking at the cave.

I cleared my throat, "So," I tried again, "how long were we in there?"

He didn't answer, just looked down at the sleeping form in his arms.

"O.k. Let me try a different question. Did the Elemental want or not want to wake the dragon...ess?" I looked at him expectantly and bit my lip to keep me from saying anything else.

Taurin took a deep breath and took his sweet ass time to answer, "Yes."

I blinked. Yes. That's it! Nothing else! It wasn't even an answer! I opened my mouth to say exactly these words to him, but he turned around and started moving away from me. The weight of the woman in his arms caused him to sink deeper and drag his steps slightly in the snow so I had an easier time following him. That is until he stopped and I teetered in my movement of raising my leg into his next boot impression. Catching myself before I fell face forward into more snow which was already sliding uncomfortably down my chest I raised my voice, "What?"

He jerked his head forward, "We go back into our reality from here and she will wake." He half turned to me abruptly, "What do I do if she tries to kill me?"

"Oh." I paused in thought. That's a quandary. I mean, what do you do if the person you love is trying to kill you? "She has your demon magic in her and was born with the Elemental in her. You said every Icelander has it, right?"

"True."

"What if you asked the Elemental to give her a job so that she can focus on that instead of letting your demon self take over? He did let her go after all and I don't think he would be pleased if you or your daughter were killed by her."

Taurin's brow furrowed, "A job?"

I shrugged at him, "I know that if I can focus on some other magic that I can dull your and Ezra's inside of me. Fact. She just needs a teacher."

He looked down at her again and I noticed that she started to look more alive. The dullness was gone and her hair flowed in silky waves over his arms. He set her down gently and trudged himself over to the nearest arc of ice. He didn't look at me as he spoke, "Watch over her."

Watch over her? I hoped he was right that she wouldn't wake. I know I didn't want to deal with that drama. I split my attention between her... not... sinking into the ground and him at the structure. He placed his hands on it and bowed his head. He stood deep in concentration and nothing moved. The stillness was so complete that I winced slightly when I caused the snow to skirt and trill with my movements.

Taurin did finally raise his head and make his way back. He picked her up and continued on through the barrier. I watched him vanish and hesitated to give myself time to look back. The moons still shone in the sky and the arcs still sparked from their light. It was beautiful and I'd probably never see anything like it again. I didn't want to forget. With that thought I followed him and found myself back in snowflakes and gray clouds.

He waited for me by an evergreen laden with snow. His head tilted to the left and I followed him. It was just as difficult as getting here and I wondered briefly if I should tie myself to him again, but we left everything at our destination. He never stopped though and I doubted he wanted to place her down in this seemingly harsher environment. When I saw a cabin appear with smoke rising from it's chimney he gestured for me to stay put before he walked to the door.

Someone opened the door before he knocked and I could hear a female with an unfamiliar accent, "First Protector. Bring her inside."

Taurin moved quickly in spite of the additional weight he was carrying and the door slammed shut behind them. I waited for at least a half an hour and found myself shivering in the cold, praying for his return. I convinced myself that it couldn't be long now and still I waited. It was a lot longer than I wanted it to be and I never saw him leave by the front door, but I definitely felt his arms hug me from behind. He leaned in close to my hood and spoke.

"It is done."

I nodded and didn't feel the need to ask questions. My most pressing concern was to get back to his cabin.

"I feel your need and I am heartfully sorry for leaving you in the cold for so long, my lady." He grabbed my mittened hand and tugged me around. "Follow me. Down hill always goes faster than up."

I already knew about it being faster when one was going down the mountain, but some of that quickness was due to my lack of footing and unintentional sliding down embankments. He merely chuckled softly and helped me up each time. I merely grumbled without enthusiasm and counted my footsteps thinking we would never reach his cabin.

It did happen though and he practically pushed me those last few yards to get me inside. Without the fire going it was cold and I spiraled a spell without conscious thought to create a blazing one with the dry wood waiting for his arrival. Even though Taurin was momentarily startled he swiftly reached over to me and stated to unwind my layers of clothes. He grabbed a blanket and pushed me down onto the fur rug again, this time following me down and shedding his own clothes.

I shakily spoke through my chattering teeth, "When don't have the Ice riding you so hard you're warm. Not like on Earth where you are always so cool."

He leaned into me and I felt him smile on my back. "I am undeniably cool on Earth," he quipped.

I sigh in exasperation, "Yup," I said with an pop at the end of my word.

He chuckled and pushed me tighter into his embrace, "Let's raise your temperature and then we'll go to the loft."

I shivered in his arms and was surprised that he didn't make any sexual innuendos. I wasn't in the mood for them anyway.

We did end up in the loft, cocooned in the heat from the fireplace. Taurin started talking without me prompting.

"The Elemental still wants you. Over and over again the Elemental forces us to prove ourselves and that is what the cavern was about. Proving yourself worthy." He gave me serious eyes, "I didn't know the cavern would fall. That was unexpected. What I did know was that you would come out on top no matter how long we stayed there. I just didn't know in what shape you were going to be in, but I would have waited years for you. And we were there for quite some time, Dove. Also, the Elemental graciously granted my request for Soschen. She will become a granter for his home."