5

Taking a deep breath, I let it out through my mouth slowly but strongly. The white frost cloud began spreading slowly in the room. At the same time, I placed both hands on the floor and began freezing it up gradually. 

Within seconds, the groans of pain in the room had all ceased. By the time the cloud cleared, they had all taken on a light blue hue as they were dead. The girl whom I had spoken to before unleashing my power, had a small smile on her face and her facial features looked more relaxed than in pain. 

"Those monsters." Those were the only words I could utter. I pushed back the tears that threatened to pour out and swallowed the rising bile in my throat. Even though I barely felt human anymore, these people weren't humans. They were animals and I was going to treat them as such. I didn't need to check to know if anyone was still alive here. I just knew in my heart that they weren't.

Steeling my resolve, I entered the remaining rooms in the hallway. Not all had occupants, but the ones that did were I'm no better condition than the people I had just taken care of in the previous one. Doing the same thing three more times, I stood in the hallway once more. I felt a tear slide down my cheek but it froze before reaching my chin. I took a deep breath to calm myself before going back down the steps leading to the bar. 

The sight I was greeted with wasn't too surprising but I should have known better. Everyone had weapons drawn, even the servers. They all had violence written on their faces. There was no innocent person here. Good. It would be better this way. 

"You're dead!" A female server rushed towards me with a long dagger. 

Her movements came to a forced stop and she looked down to see her feet had been frozen in place. "What is this?"...

Screams, swears and murmurs of terror began spreading in the room as they all realized that they had all been frozen from the ankles down. 

"I just needed a place to rest. But I wandered into a den of monsters.." 

Something slammed into me from the side and I stumbled a bit. An arrow had found its mark at my side but I felt no pain from it. All I felt was ice-cold rage. Gripping the arrow tightly caused it to shatter into pieces. 

"Anyone who can offer me the information I need will be spared. The rest will not." I could hear the quake in my voice. 

"No one will offer you anything except death!". The server from before said with a sadistic smile on her face. "You cannot bargain h..." 

I cut her off with a slight wave of my hand. Her entire body was frozen solid in seconds. I took two steps and hit her with all the force my small fist could muster. The resulting blow caused her to topple over and shatter into various chunks. 

"Does she speak for every one of you?" I scanned the place looking to see if anyone would speak up. No one did. "You're all useless to me then." 

A new wave of ice spread from where I stood and slowly encased every other person in the room. One by one, they were all turned into ice sculptures and when none were left, I walked out of the place but not before freezing the building itself and bringing it down on them. 

I found the mare drinking from a water trough near a clearing. I began petting her neck as she drank in an effort to calm myself. Shouts erupted from the direction of the collapsed building and people began running all over. 

"I hope your strength can carry us to our next destination my friend." She stopped drinking and turned her massive head to look at me before snorting. The act made me chuckle and I embraced her head while resting my forehead against hers. 

"From now on, your name is crystal. Because you're as beautiful as one." 

With a smile, I mounted her with little difficulty and held onto her mane. 

"I really need to get a saddle so I don't fall off you in the future." 

With that, we galloped away into the night. The cold air was a much better companion than the people I had left behind. 

A few hours later, back at the town...

"Master, I'm certain she was here. By the looks of it, she left a few hours ago. What should we do?" 

"Find her! Or by Allah, I'll have your skins flayed and wear them as a new coat!".

How could this have happened? Her being alive was already surprising but that power she possesses, I must make her mine wholly. I already let her slip through my fingers once. The mere thought of things I would do to her and with her already has my blood flowing. Walking around the rubble I examine her handwork. 

She is indeed ruthless. Frozen human parts are scattered in the rubble. All as solid as the ice that held her before she awoke. With her power, my dream of taking over the territory could become reality in the shortest time possible. Imagining it made me smile. All would bow before me. 

But first, I had to find her again. Tracking her has been fairly easy so far. She wasn't covering her tracks, not that I expected her to be able to do that. While still looking at the mess she created of the building, I beckoned to one of my soldiers. 

"Send scouts ahead. Their orders are to find her and report. They are not allowed to get close to her. If they mess it up they might as well slit their own throats because there will be no second chances."

With a wave of my hand, I dismissed him. Looking at the signpost of the fallen building in the rubble, I grit my teeth in annoyance. Of all the buildings for her to destroy, it had to be the ant nest. An underworld gang I had been investing in for quite a while. The bar and Inn were just a cover, their main trade was in opium and slaves. 

I had gotten most of mine from them and they always made good on their promises. I was displeased and I had no doubt their organisation head would be displeased. This was a branch used for testing their new strain of opium and aphrodisiacs, some of which I now have to venture further inland to get. 

"Such a waste." I spat. "HAKIM!" I called for the captain of my guards who was investigating another part of the fallen building. 

He was built like a boulder and was quick for a man of his size. Hakim and I had grown up together. His father serving my father allowed for our friendship to be fostered and from there friendship turned to brotherhood. There is no other person in the world I trust than Hakim. 

His tanned skin and shaved head along with grey eyes which stood out were his defining features. The most off-putting thing was his choice of weapon. Many favoured swords or spears along the occasional whip, however, he preferred a long bow and daggers. A waste of his physique in my general opinion. 

"Hakim, is there anything we can salvage from this crisis?" I scratched my chin while thinking. "I doubt everything was destroyed when the place came down." I looked at him. 

"It's possible that not everything was destroyed, but it'll take a while to dig it up. We'll need more slaves than what we have if we want to do it as soon as possible." He folded his large arms while looking at the rubble. He stayed quiet for a while after that but I could tell something was weighing on his mind. 

"What troubles you my friend?". I began walking away from the collapsed building. For some reason, it still remained cold and its effects seemed to be increasing. 

"Do you think you'll fully be able to make her your?" His face was serious and I waited for him to finish because I could tell he wasn't done. "We don't know the extent of what she's capable of and we have no idea where she's headed as well. There are too many unknowns involved with her." He looked at me as we came to a halt in front of the small town's entrance. 

"I have something in mind that might help me deal with her so ease your worries, my friend." I patted his shoulder. "As for your second concern, I believe I have an idea. The merchant who sold her to us said he found her in the ruins of the Persinia empire that was destroyed some years ago. If she truly is from that place, then we have to get there before she does." 

"Persinia you say. I do wonder what kind of disaster struck that place." He looked back at the town. "And what do we do here?" 

A thought came to mind and I smiled inwardly. "Dispose of the rest and take whatever valuables are left. It's better than what will become of them should that group get here. Let's use the opportunity to mold the image of our little runaway." 

With that, I climbed my black stallion and rode off with a few of my guards in tow...