Keepers of Ice

Chapter 18 - Prevailed

A trace of smoke lingered just above his scorched arm. It was looking bad as Cody's arm was not only burned but had a large gash that was covered in blood. And he was still screaming and writhing in pain. Stacey tried to look at him past her tears and messy brown hair. The pained expression on his face only made her gasp and tear up more. Watching him suffer like this was disheartening and she could not bear it any longer. What should I do? That was when an idea came to mind. She felt that it was stupid, but Stacey decided it was worth taking the risk.

She grabbed his injured arm and let her powers freeze over the wound, covering it with a protective layer and also numbing it from cold. Cody stopped screaming and looked up at her with eyes wide open. "D-Does it hurt?" she asked as she continued to spray freezing mist onto the wound.

"N-Not as much." He coughed. "It's so cold I can't even feel my arm."

Stacey breathed a sigh of relief and wrapped him in an awkward hug. "You scared me." Suddenly, a thump could be heard only a few metres from her. She looked up instantly and saw David and Estella on the ground. Their bodies were starting to shiver all over.

"What's happening—"

"Shh." Stacey looked around and spotted Cody's sword two metres away. As quietly as possible, she crawled towards it but before she could seize the weapon, her body started freezing up from the inside.

"Not so fast," Ky's voice echoed across the room. "I've had enough of your games. So, I'm just going to kill you all right here, right now."

Ky's grip on them intensified and Stacey rolled onto her back and tried to regain control of her body. Nevertheless, her internal temperature was dropping quickly, and her strength was abandoning her. She could not stop herself from shivering now and she knew she was going to die alongside her brother and friends in the hands of a madman. She shut her eyes and decided to let death take her.

"N-No. Don't give u-up." A cold, trembling hand grabbed hers.

Cody. Stacey gathered her thoughts and tried to calm down. She ignored her freezing organs and muscles and instead, focused her concentration on her powers. Cody's right. I cannot give up now. They need me. She knew fighting Ky's powers would be useless. This time, she ceased any effort to fight back the cold. Rather, she let herself feel the intense temperature and allowed herself to be fully aware of the piercing chills that attacked her body. She squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lips violently to stop herself from whimpering. Concentrate.

Slowly but surely, Stacey summoned for her blizzard powers to reawaken inside of her, and tried fuelling it with Ky's subzero abilities. With great mental effort, she focused on the task at hand and steadily channelled Ky's cold energy into her own. To her surprise, she felt power grow inside her fast. Keep going. You can do this. She carefully channelled that new energy to the world around her, and sure enough, the air started to get colder and intensified to her will.

"What are you doing?" Ky asked. He must have felt a disturbance with his powers in the atmosphere.

But Stacey would not stop now. Ky had tightened his grip on her, but she continued to channel it for her own good. A smile made its way onto her face and she opened her eyes with new strength. She still felt cold, but its effect was starting to diminish as she converted Ky's powers into her own. She slowly struggled to her feet and a wild blizzard was forming around her now, ready to strike at her command.

"Stop fighting the cold, it's no use!" Ky said. But the confident gleam in his eyes was no longer there.

Stacey locked eyes with her target. "It's funny because I'm not fighting your powers." She threw her arms out with her palms facing Ky. "I'm using it." Instantly, the blizzard around her spiralled towards her enemy with great force.