The Cold (1)

I stopped kicking the blankets, finding myself inside the middle of a snowstorm. A breeze of never-ending snowflakes landed on my hair, sparkling like jewels in the place of my accessories. The bed started to sink inside the pure white landscape, my ears hurting from the fierce howling wind. I shivered from the cold, wondering why the warm blankets felt like sheets of ice within a few minutes. We weren't inside the Suilett family mansion anymore, Lucius gone from our sight.

"Maybe we're in the sixth district again," I mumbled.

"We're still in the first district," Alex pointed out the high mana levels in the air.

Luke took this chance to chant a barrier, trying to buy some time while we tried to figure out where we were. But even the wind and incoming snow blocked, puffs of fog appeared from our breathing. Unfortunately, it would take too much mana to keep the bed warm, continuously having to expend it. We all trembled in the cold together, squeezing closer to each other for more warmth.

"You weren't the only one uncomfortable on that bed. I was close to falling at the edge. Now we're here because of your complaints!" Charles blamed me.

"How is it my fault? Only one of us would have been sacrificed if we slept separately!" I argued.

"I'm out of here!" I could create my own barrier.

"Rika," Luke tightened his grasp on me.

"It's better than freezing out here with all of you," I grumbled.

"Why can't you let me go? We won't go anywhere if we continue to just stay here!" I began to kick the blankets again.

"I don't have your medicine with me. You're going to get another fever if you go outside on your own," Luke sighed.

"I won't!" I had a plan.

"Do you think we don't know how easily you get sick?" Alex added.

"You never let me do anything on my own!" I felt frustrated.

"Just leave her alone. Try to see how long she'll survive out there. She fainted within a few hours last time in the sixth district," Charles suggested.

"She wasn't this frail back then," Alex pointed out.

"Try a minute then. If she faints within a minute, at least she'll be quiet after we pick her up," Charles turned to them.

"Can't we all just listen to Charles?" I was glad he was finally becoming more useful.

"Three seconds," Luke determined.

I brightly smiled, able to prove that I could do something on my own. I knew the countdown would start as soon as Luke let me go. I scrambled out of the barrier when he opened his arms, chanting a big spell to melt everything around me. I raised my arms, trying to bring spring into the land, sprouts of plants growing underneath the snow. The clouds parted from the sky, the storm stopping where I stood.

I had two seconds left to run while carrying the spell with me, turning all the snow into a puddle of water with my every step. Although I could feel my mana levels drastically decreasing, I ignored it to continue searching for a better shelter. I sprinted towards a random direction, getting a sense of hope when I found a tiny shack. The shack was translucent, walls made of glass. It was a few miles away, sensing the heat coming from the temperature being nicely regulated.

"The three seconds are over," Luke pulled me into his arms again.

"No! Can't you see the shack over there? We need to go to the shack!" I tussled around to escape from him.

"There's actually a shack," Charles was stunned.

"It's inside a barrier and will take at least an hour to get there even with teleporting," Alex calculated.

"We should go back to the bed where we have some blankets to help us," Luke dragged me with him.

"I have enough mana left," I wanted to continue my spell.

"I can't believe she almost tried to kill herself by using such a large spell for as long as she could," Charles looked at me in a new light.

"That's why we can't leave her alone," Alex frowned at me.

"You're starting to burn up again," Luke took my temperature once we were on the bed again.

"I'm not! I can teleport this bed closer to that shack!" I raised my arm to chant.

I smiled the next time I blinked, able to spot the outline of the shack. Meaning we were much closer to it than before, finding my spell was able to travel across around half the distance. But strangely it was much colder here, the temperature dropping to the point that Alex had to use his mana to keep us from freezing to death. The storm was more intense, no signs of sunlight to be seen wherever you looked.

I was interrupted by Luke tightly squeezing my arms, his eyes burning with anger. I gulped from knowing he rarely got his mad, becoming merciless in the process. There was no one here to help me, Charles helping Alex in regulating the temperature inside the barrier. It was better to start off by trying to ask for his forgiveness.

"What did I tell you? I told you that I don't have your medicine with me. How could you try to expend all your mana? When we get back home, we're sealing more than half of your mana," Luke made the decision.

"You know I have the potential for unlimited amounts of mana. It'll recover soon anyways," I mumbled.

"We're sealing three quarters then," Luke decided.