Chapter Thirteen

‘Leave me alone!’ Ronnie shouted, her mind racing with the horrors of what he might do to her. She ducked under his arm and gave him the slip. Ahead she saw an open archway which led outside, and ran for it.

A strangled cry of dismay flew from her throat as she stopped dead in her tracks and surveyed the view outside with frightened eyes. Thick, crisp white snow covered the ground, trees and shrubs as far as the eye could see. To her consternation a howling wind rang in her ears, cold mist sprayed her face and barely had one foot stepped over the threshold when a sharp chill rendered her numb with cold. From behind a calloused hand grabbed her arm and held her back.

‘Ain’t no use running out there in these conditions,’ the man chuckled.

In the distance huge mountains loomed and encircled the land. She spotted a sparkling pillar of ice, once a cascading waterfall, now a curtain of dazzling blue-white where the water and icy cold had formed a coalition. It clung magnificently to a glacier-carved canyon wall; still and silent as though frozen in time. A gigantic dark bird, much bigger than any raven, flew across the white sky, swooped down as if showing off, and then soared out of sight. Close to the mountain border a whisper of smoke rose and disappeared into nothingness. A sign of civilisation? Even one tiny cottage in the middle of nowhere seemed hopeful. The whole breathtaking scene looked like a spectacular Christmas card, but in reality the terrain looked dangerous and inhospitable. Ronnie felt utterly trapped, bewildered and lost.

‘Without specialist equipment, food and protective clothing, chances of surviving in the subzero temperatures of Black Ice are slim,’ he said, reading her thoughts and confirming what she feared.

She stepped back inside, and although no door or glass window was evident, in an instant the frozen air vanished as if there were a barrier keeping the warmth in and the cold out, in some magical way.

‘But, that doesn’t look very black to me...’ she offered feebly.

‘Black Ice in its natural form looks like the rougher more unkempt rocky walls of this building. Outdoors, in its most magical form, it can give the illusion of a changing scenery. The icy weather and snow you see now may all be gone tomorrow. Some say the magical properties of Black Ice have a mind of their own, almost like someone is using them to suit their needs. Who that is and why they do it, we can only speculate.’

‘But where does the Black Ice come from?’

‘It erupts from the depths of the only remaining volcanic glacier in the area, and like a living entity it spreads and moulds itself to form everything from the mountains in the Wildlands at the borders, to the plants and trees in the Sterile Forest which surrounds this building.’

Transfixed, Ronnie tilted her head. ‘But what’s the point? What good does it do?’

‘What you see before you is an ancient magic, and even Destaurians cannot begin to understand all its workings. The mountains in the Wildlands protect us from unlawful visitors, as they are filled with wild creatures and the terrain is particularly precarious. We don’t know why, although most of the time the land appears to work with us. One thing we are certain of though, and eternally grateful for, is that the magical properties of Black Ice form a shield across the lands protecting us from the prying foresight of the Pandora witches. Without it we would have nowhere to keep you safe.’

‘He’s right, my dear, you do not want to go out there,’ a female assured her, but still mesmerised Ronnie didn’t fully acknowledge her presence. ‘If the weather doesn’t kill, the creatures in the Sterile Forest will. The winds from the North have blown down the Cahnnox fence, and believe me there’s nothing worse than being stomped on by a house-sized bewildered Cahnnox.’

‘But that’s impossible; nothing’s that big!’ Ronnie exclaimed, whirling around, expecting to see the female called Selene for the first time.

‘My dear, a Cahnnox can feed all of us here for a month, and we’re big eaters. Why do you think most of this building is underground?’ With a smile she wiped her floury hands on her apron before offering one to shake. ‘I’m Hestia, the cook around here.’

Speechless, Ronnie shook with her. Hestia sounded so much older than the small plump twenty-something girl she looked. Others gathered around, from somewhere, and sensing Ronnie’s unease Hestia quickly introduced them. The infamous Selene was the first to step forward, with a narrow-eyed look of suspicion that made Ronnie wonder if she knew she’d been listening a few minutes ago. What Selene lacked in manners she more than made up for in beauty, particularly her baby-blonde hair, which shone as though made from the moon itself; definitely not human. They shook hands lightly, without conviction, and Ronnie couldn’t help wonder how well Selene got on with Artemis, after overhearing how she spoke about her behind her back. One to keep an eye on, that was for sure.

Surprisingly, Selene’s equally pale twin sister Eos turned out to be identical in every way except for her shockingly red hair, parted in the centre, a splattering of freckles and a smile that suggested she was genuinely pleased to meet her, as was the third new face, a man dressed in a white coat with a stethoscope around his neck.

‘Doctor Eros, at your service, sweetheart,’ he said with an irresistible American drawl. Ronnie smiled; crowned with a lovely head of short blond curls he reminded her of a cupid, which was quite appropriate for someone named after the God of Love.

The twins wandered away and sat together, deep in conversation, already bored of the new arrival. Were they so used to having girls, complete strangers like her, just turn up? How many more like her had Theo kidnapped?

Doctor Eros lingered a little longer, explaining that he was the one to come to should she not feel well. As he spoke Ronnie noticed Selene looking decidedly put out over the length of time the doctor spent with her. With a harsh scowl she called him over. He bowed to Ronnie politely, and with a look of reluctance joined the two girls. How many men had Selene her hooks into? Which reminded her; the coloured man she’d encountered before wasn’t there any more.

‘Please may I introduce you to Samilious, our attaché and mechanicals expert,’ Hestia continued, and waved a hand to another tall, dark-haired man in a long fur-lined suede cloak with matching boots. With a boyish grin he took her hand and kissed it. ‘Oh, and what he doesn’t know about gadgets is not worth knowing, my dear.’

‘Gadgets?’

‘Bugging devices.’

‘And if you need to know anything about String Theory, Relativity Theory, Multi-Universe Theory or travel through space and time, I’m your man!’

Ronnie gawked. ‘Sorry, did you say time travel?’

‘Yeah, hopping around from planet to planet, backwards and forwards in time,’ Samilious confirmed with a wink.

Ronnie frowned. Was he being serious?

Then the coloured man appeared again, towering over her. Now he wore a tanned suede cape of his own, but looking at his bare legs poking out from underneath like large tree trunks, still not a lot else. No longer scared of him, Ronnie suppressed a giggle.

‘Yo, babe, allow me to officially introduce myself,’ he said, grabbing her hand in a vicelike grip and shaking it vigorously. ‘Ares. And I must apologise for scaring you earlier. I thought you were, well, what matters is that you’re here now. Safe and sound.’

‘I’m Ronnie.’

‘Oh, we all know who you are, my dear,’ Hestia said with a patient smile. ‘You have no idea how long we’ve been waiting for you to turn up here.’

‘You have? Well I’m sorry to be rude, but I just don’t get it. One minute I’m in a car crash, the next I wake up with such a bad head I’m hallucinating. Not to mention amnesia. Where the hell am I? Can’t someone just explain, please?’

Ares bowed and then backed away, leaving her alone with Hestia.

‘My dear, I do apologise. Hasn’t anyone filled you in? Please brace yourself for a shock. You are no longer in the Otherworld, the world you call Earth.’ Suddenly Ronnie came over all dizzy, her legs trembled and she felt sick. Hestia directed her to a stool and sat her down.

‘A different planet? But that’s absurd!’

‘Have you seen your Learned, Theo, in his true form, my dear?’

Ronnie nodded, close to tears. She blinked them away.

‘Then you will know that you are special enough to be brought here to start your training as Child of Destiny. It is your true calling, my dear - ’

‘I know all that!’ she snapped. ‘I’ve already told Theo I’m not Superwoman. Yet he insists I have this weird goddess addling my brain, which if you ask me is going to cause all sorts of hoodoo mojo in my head...’

A woman nearby laughed, and it wasn’t until Ronnie had said that out loud that she realised what she’d done whilst listening to the two guards fucking. Although she was aware of enjoying the experience at the time, it didn’t feel like she was in full control of her own body.

‘It’s true, and she will show herself to you soon and when she does, I can promise you, her guidance will improve your life here in Destauria. She’s a sorceress of Mindlust, and will lure you into a new dimension where submission to your Guardian will dominate your thoughts.’

So that was the Spirit of Hope!

‘You can’t fight it forever. Both you and Theo, your Destaurian Guard, are part of an Order originally dedicated to the protection of the Magic Box of Destiny, and there is nothing you or anyone else can do to take that fact away.’

‘Sorry; originally? What do you mean?’ Ronnie frowned nervously.

‘Although you can never stop searching for it, over time the box has become so well hidden that...’ she paused as if having trouble telling her, ‘and this is somewhat embarrassing for all involved, but... no one seems to know where it is any more,’ she said quickly, and almost inaudibly.

‘Oh, good,’ Ronnie laughed, raising her eyebrows and standing up. ‘So I won’t waste any more of your time. I’ll say goodbye and thanks for your kind hospitality and noodle off home then.’

‘Dear child,’ Hestia said with a sad shake of her head. She reached out and clasped Ronnie’s hands in hers and gave her a heartfelt squeeze. Ronnie sat back down. People only ever did that when they were about to break bad news. As if she hadn’t already had enough.

‘So what does this Order I’m supposed to belong to protect now?’ she asked, not really wanting to know the answer, yet needing to.

‘You cannot protect the box, but you can prevent it from falling into the wrong hands if it is ever discovered. And once unearthed we will know about it. Mark my words. You will, however, be able to protect the Otherworld from the dangers that already escaped from the box when it was first opened.’

‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, once owned by an ancient family of witches called the Pandoras - ’

‘Listen, Ronnie,’ Hestia said brusquely. ‘I don’t want to sound harsh, but for your safety and your sanity I need to get through to you once and for all. The quicker you do what’s expected of you and start serving your Learned as a true Child of Destiny should, which I repeat, is what you are, the easier your life will be, for without the blessing of your Learned,’ she paused, shaking her head, ‘you can never go back home.’