It was mid morning by the time Lisa closed the journal and slipped it back into her bearskin coat. 'Let's go,' she said.
Riser glanced up with a confused expression. 'Do you know where it is now?'
'I think so. Let's go.'
They gathered their things and Riser climbed back into his exoskeleton, powering it up until he stood upright, towering over her like a combat droid.
'We need to teleport again,' Lisa said, 'but only a short distance this time.'
'Okay.'
Reaching out, she waited for Riser to free one hand from his exoskeleton and place it in hers. He was faster this time, more in control of his exoskeleton after the modifications he had made at Los Verion. 'Ready?' she said.
When Riser nodded, she closed her eyes, teleporting them both away.
* * * * *
They appeared a moment later on hilly moorland, covered in waist-high ferns that were fighting each other for sunlight in a tangled green brawl of foliage. The ground rose up in front of them, too steep for most plants to hold onto, exposed rock revealing a narrow cave entrance that was easily taller than a dozen men. Thick layers of blue-white ice hung down from the opening, sparkling in the morning sunlight. The air felt suddenly cold.
'I thought you said we were only teleporting a short distance?' Riser said, adjusting his thick woollen coat. 'Why is it so bloody cold?'
'I don't know,' Lisa said. 'We haven't travelled far.' Her eyes opened wide when a bitter cold breeze swirled around her, sending shivers through her bones.
'Is that it?' Riser said, staring at the rocky hill in front of them with his mouth hanging open. 'It doesn't look much like a cathedral.'
Lisa nodded, 'It's right where my grandmother said it would be. She was trying to be cryptic to disguise its actual whereabouts. That's why it took me so long to work out what she was saying.'
'It's just a cave.'
'I don't know what it's meant to be. It's called a cathedral but maybe it's not meant to be taken quite so literally.'
'Do you really think Appelastus will still be here after all this time?'
'Why wouldn't he be? Lords live a long time, don't they?'
Riser scratched his thick beard, glancing from side to side. 'I thought they moved around a lot?'
'Sometimes.' Lisa said, nodding towards the cave entrance. 'Let's get inside before anyone else sees us.'
'Good idea.'
* * * * *
The wind died down as soon as they left the exposed moorland outside, its blustery noise replaced by a sudden silence that was almost overwhelming. Lisa became acutely aware of her own breathing and the sounds of her soft boots stepping on the rocks beneath her feet. Riser crunched alongside her in his heavy exoskeleton, glancing from side to side as he muttered obscenities under his breath.
The cave was much larger than she had expected, its ceiling extending way above their heads. The rock walls were covered in thick, white ice with a thousand tiny bubbles inside it. Grey streaks revealed the thinnest sections where the cave walls were visible behind it.
Lisa took a long deep breath as she took in the strange sights around her. Clusters of transparent icicles hung down from the ceiling far above their heads, like a transparent waterfall frozen in time. The ice was so beautiful, as smooth as if it had been polished. She could see why they called it the Ice Cathedral now. The icicles had been untouched by human hands, left to grow for thousands of years.
More ice structures stood at intervals across the cave floor, mirroring those above her head. But where the icicles above were graceful and slender, these were like thick fingers streaked with orange and grey lines as they sparkled in the light streaming through the cave entrance behind her.
'This is some place,' Riser said, taking in the sights around him.
Lisa nodded. It was an impressive cave, full of unexpected grandeur. It felt ancient, like a treasure lost in time. She could understand why Lord Appelastus would want to live in such a place, but it must have been so cold sleeping in a cave for all these years?
'Why is it so cold?' Riser said, shivering beside her.
'Shhh. He might hear us.'
'We came to talk to him, didn't we? What does it matter if he hears us now?'
Lisa shook her head, raising one finger to her lips. 'We don't know who we're dealing with yet. He might not even be friendly to our cause.'
'What is our cause again?'
'Shhh!'
A shadow moved behind a wall of ice in front of them. Lisa froze, gesturing for Riser to do the same. The shadow was distorted by the ice, making it difficult to see, but it had a familiar shape to it. Long white wings fluttered, disappearing behind the figure's back.
Lisa caught her breath, wondering whether she had seen her own reflection, but it couldn't have been. She was wearing a bearskin coat and she hadn't fluttered her wings for quite some time. Foolishly, she even checked by glancing back over her shoulder. Her wings were tucked together for warmth, hanging from the slits in her bearskin coat behind her.
If it wasn't her, then who was it? She didn't think Appelastus was a sky lord. She felt sure her grandmother would have mentioned it in her journal if that had been the case. Maybe several lords lived in the cave? Eleanor had helped many sky lords over the years. Could this be one of them?
Lisa froze, breathing quietly as the figure stood unmoving behind thick sheets of ice. Her thoughts raced in circles. When Riser started to open his mouth to ask another question she pointed at his lips and shook her head. He got the idea soon enough. Nodding slowly, his shoulders slumped.
Several minutes passed, neither of them daring to speak. When the figure stepped out from behind the thick wall of ice Lisa almost swallowed her tongue.
'Hello,' the woman said with the unmistakable outline of wings tucked behind her.
Lisa was lost for words. She had never dreamt of meeting another sky lord and yet here she was, staring at one in the flesh. Goosebumps rose on her arms, even beneath the warmth of her bearskin coat. It was like looking at herself in a mirror in many ways, but the stranger was more graceful with slender fingers and a sweet smile that sat well upon her youthful face. Her long, slim neck was partially obscured by curly tresses of copper-coloured hair.
'What the fuck?' Riser said.