Chapter 26

The horses rode aggressively through this unforgiving environment, digging and scraping their hooves through the icy surface. The treacherous conditions were starting to have an effect on the powerful and relentless animals, but they continued to press on.

After a little more than an hour into this oppressive world, Levi could feel Areion wavering as he started up yet another icy ledge. Without hesitation, his powerful steed ignored his own exhaustion and lunged aggressively up the narrow ledge. Levi looked back more than once to check on Reece’s condition. When they entered this world, he noticed a change in her demeanor. He desperately hoped Mordegrin was not correct about the possibility of her losing her abilities, because if there was ever a time when she would need them most, it was now.

When he first noticed her reaction to the weather conditions, he wanted to stop the horses to check on her; however, they had no option but to get as far away from the portal as possible after they made their entry. His fears subsided when he brought Areion alongside Arrow. Reece’s entire appearance had changed, and she appeared to be using her mental powers to overcome the icy cold temperatures. She smiled reassuringly at him, and he returned Areion to the lead.

Over the last hour, he noticed moments where she began to shiver, but as they climbed the mountain ridge they were currently ascending, she seemed fine. Strangely enough, Levi was starting to feel the agitation of being in this environment, making him question why his mental strength couldn’t overcome it. His usual confidence was beginning to be replaced with doubts about whether they would ever make it out of this harsh environment or not.

If there was a sun to be shown in the skies of this world, it was blocked out by the dark green clouds that blanketed the atmosphere all around them. Levi pondered how life could be sustained in such a place, and how they were able to take in oxygen here. Mountains and glaciers filled the entire area they were in, and the air was so extremely light that it was almost nonexistent. Breathing was no easy task, and he could tell that the horses were struggling with doing so also.

Once they crested the steep mountain, more snow and icy glaciers appeared before them, and they seemed to go on forever. Being in this land felt completely oppressive, and Levi felt his mood rapidly shift into extreme irritation. “Harrison!” he thought angrily.

“What, Levi?” Harrison answered him in the same mental tone of frustration.

“How much farther must we travel until we are out of this desolate, dreadful area? Areion is tiring, and Arrow appears to be as equally fatigued.”

“Just press on. You know very well we must travel at least another hour.”

Levi looked back at Reece to find that she was shivering again. This is ludicrous! Levi thought to himself. Why is she doing this now? His unreasonable anger began to consume his reason and logic. He shook his head violently, trying to remove his toxic mood. He gained some reprieve from the irrational mood swing and forced himself into his warrior mindset.

As the horses descended the face of another mountainside, he looked back to see Reece still brutally shivering. “Commander?” he mentally called out to Harrison in a calmer tone.

“Yes, Emperor?” Harrison answered telepathically in much the same mild-tempered manner as Levi.

It was relieving to know that Harrison was able to achieve his warrior mindset when Levi did. It meant the Guardian warriors had all done the same in order to protect themselves from the strange feeling that swiftly came upon them.

“Reece doesn’t possess the ability to shift into a warrior mindset; she appears to be in distress. Once we get off this ledge, you will need to take the lead for me, Harrison,” Levi said as he glanced back at Reece. “Reece is struggling to stay warm. I am going to bring her onto Areion with me. Have Garret take your place guarding the back of our line.”

Arrow whinnied loudly and uncontrollably, but there was nothing Levi could do at the moment. They were on a treacherous ledge, making their way down toward a flat surface. Once they reached level ground, Levi slowed Areion and paced him next to Arrow. He looked over to find that Reece’s lips were blue, and her face was deathly pale as she was slipping out of consciousness. “Harrison, move quickly! I need your help unfastening her restraints this instant!”

Harrison rushed Saracen along the other side of Arrow, and he reached over and unbuckled the straps that harnessed her to the horse. Once Reece was freed, Levi gripped her waist and brought her onto Areion with him.

Levi tightly held her close to his warm body. He pressed her icy cheek against his and drew her head into his neck and chest to warm her freezing face. He brought her hood over her head and his cloak around her to shield her further from the bitter cold. He felt her weak breath softly against his neck as he held her closer.

“How is she?” Harrison asked him telepathically.

“She is extremely weak, and she is suffering from hypothermia.”

“Why do you believe she is having this reaction? Surely with the stone’s powers, she would have excellent use of her mental powers.”

“Something must have happened to her while opening the portal. I will not know until we can finally stop these horses somewhere and check on her.”

“Finally!” Harrison said telepathically. “There are signs of vegetation off in the distance. We can make a shelter for her there.”

Levi scarcely opened the cloak that he used to surround Reece and trap the warmth from his body for her. Her eyes remained closed, but her lips were returning to a soft pink. She was still pale, but Levi noticed some color returning to her cheeks. He closed the cloak back over her and embraced her tighter.

Nearly forty minutes later, they had completely descended the punishing mountain terrain, and trees came into their view. They traveled through deep, powdery snow toward a dense forest. Tall mounds of snow surrounded them like boulders as Harrison guided them to an area where they could stop the horses and check on Reece.

Once halted, Harrison was off Saracen and walking quickly through the deep snow to Areion. He reached up and took Reece down into his arms.

“Oh, Reece,” Harrison said sorrowfully, “what did you do to yourself?”

He turned back to where Levi approached and handed Reece over to him. “She is still unconscious. We need to create a fire immediately to warm her,” Levi commanded Harrison.

After Harrison nodded and walked back to the Guardian warriors, Levi watched the interaction between Harrison and the men dismounting their horses as they looked to Levi with some confusion. From where he waited, he could hear every word exchanged.

“Commander,” Garrett questioned him, “is there a reason we are stopping?”

“Reece is suffering from hypothermia. We must warm her as quickly as possible,” Harrison said while walking past him. Then he stopped to face him. “Have five men retrieve wood from these trees. The rest of the men need to section off and protect the location we are currently resting in.”

“Yes, Commander.”

Levi held Reece close to him as he listened to Harrison give orders. “Harrison,” he called, forcing Harrison to turn back to him. “Send scouts to check on our men who came through the portal behind us. If we must stop, I would like to be sure everyone is through and that no one from this world saw us entering at that location.”

Harrison nodded and briskly strode out toward the rest of the warriors.

Not long after, a blazing fire was warming the area around them. Levi sat in quiet conversation with the five Guardians that remained with them and Harrison. Reece’s heart rate was beating at a steady rhythm again, and her color had returned. She was in and out of consciousness as the fire warmed her. When she woke, she was too weak to keep her eyes open. Levi injected a serum into her veins in order to help her recover quickly, and he was grateful that he brought it for fear of something like this happening.

“Harrison, in my saddle bag I have some bread and a container of water; will you retrieve it for me?” Levi asked him as he felt Reece begin to stir again.

He looked down, and she gazed into his eyes. Her eyes were no longer the emerald color they had turned while having the power of the stone within her, but they had returned to the color she had when her abilities were first starting to awaken.

“How are you feeling?” he softly asked.

She rubbed her forehead. “What happened to me?”

He kissed her cheek. “I believe that is a question we all have for you, Mrs. Oxley.”

Harrison approached and knelt down in front of where Levi sat cradling Reece protectively in his arms. “You look much better than you did before, Reece. Death is not a very becoming look on you,” he said with a laugh. He offered her a slice of bread as he held Levi’s water container.

Reece hastily took the bread and began eating it as if she hadn’t eaten for weeks. Harrison and Levi both looked at each other in concern.

“Slow down there, kid,” Harrison said humorously. “We do not need you choking and forcing us to save your life from that as well.” He handed her the water and stood. “I will go get some more bread for her.”

Levi watched her intently. Mordegrin was correct about her losing her power without the stone, but Levi was unsure why Reece didn’t think that would be an issue. Now she was more vulnerable than ever before, and in the most treacherous place, no less. He wanted to ask her so many questions, but he knew it was best to let her rest, hydrate, and nourish her body.

She took another sip of water and gazed up to Levi shyly. “Are you upset with me?” she asked with hesitation in her voice.

Levi’s brow furrowed in response. “Of course I am not. I am deeply concerned for your well-being.”

Harrison returned with more bread, and then walked over to where he previously sat in conversation with the other men, giving Reece and Levi some privacy.

Reece nibbled on the bread and looked out at the fire. “I had to do it that way, Levi.”

“Do what?”

She turned to face him and brought her hand to his cheek. “Please don’t be upset with me.” She sighed. “I knew from the moment I held the stone in my hand that if I didn’t use it to open the portal, I would most likely be drained of the power it gave me.”

“Reece,” he said firmly, “why did you not advise me of that?”

She looked at him pleadingly. “I couldn’t. I know you would have made me use the stone just to be safe.”

He nodded. “You are correct. But I would have listened to your reasoning if you would have discussed this with me.”

Her expression grew somber. “Mordegrin wants the stone,” she said gravely. “I would not risk bringing it with us. You have to know that if I was worried that opening the portal without the stone would kill me, then I would have used it. I knew that using the energy from the waterfall would serve to protect me without having the stone with me. The worst case scenario was that I would lose the ability to do all of the super-human stuff that I’d learned, and I felt that it was a small sacrifice in order to keep Mordegrin from having access to the stone.”

Levi sighed and brought his hand to her cheek. “So you sacrificed all of your newfound talents in order to keep the stone hidden on Earth?”

She took a bite of her bread and swallowed. “It was never a question in my mind.”

“I should be upset with you for not telling me this beforehand.” He grinned at her pitiful expression now. “The bread you are eating, I only packed because I considered that even if you had the ability to overcome hunger, something could change and you would require nourishment.”

She softly sighed. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, or prepare you, for this.”

“If you would have at least prepared me, you would have much finer foods to nourish your body with while we are here.”

Her lips twisted. “I’ll be fine.”

Levi looked over at Harrison. “Did any of you encounter any wildlife or things of that nature while you were out gathering wood for the fire? You said that the wildlife is safe to eat here, as it is on Earth.’’

Harrison looked directly at Reece. “Still hungry?”

Levi felt Reece chuckle. “I’m fine,” she said.

Harrison and the other men stood. “We shall see what we can find; hopefully, Reece won’t be too picky. Even though it is safe to consume, I am unsure about what the wildlife in this world will taste like.”

Levi nodded. “Thank you, gentlemen.”

When men disappeared into the forest, Levi pulled Reece closer to give her a kiss. With more energy, she turned to face him, and he gently pressed his lips against hers.

“Was it as difficult as you believed it would be when you opened the portal?” He watched a flash of pain cross her expression before she quickly recovered.

Reece softly sighed, and then brought her attention to the fire again. “The worst part was at the end.”

Levi gently took the tie out of her hair and slowly began unraveling her messy braid. “Would you tell me about it?”

As Reece spoke about the events that she had gone through while opening the portal, he wondered how she could survive such an ordeal. It was much worse than he imagined it would be for her.

“I can still use my abilities somewhat,” she said, looking back at him. “I just don’t have control over whether they stay or go.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, when I came through the portal, I felt everything at first. It was bitterly cold, and I started to ache. The icy cold winds burned in my lungs, making it painful to breathe.” She sat up and stared into the flames of their fire. “I thought I was in trouble then, but suddenly I had control over my mind again, so I acclimated my body to that atmosphere as quickly as I could.” She diverted her eyes. “It seemed like as soon as I regained mental control, it was stripped away again suddenly. The power to control my mind came and went like that the entire ride. I tried my best to get through it when I started freezing again. The last thing I remember was becoming so tired that I couldn’t fight the cold anymore.” She turned back to him and smiled. “The next thing I knew, I was waking up in your arms in front of this fire.”

Levi kissed her tenderly on her head. “We will do everything in our power to get you through this. For now, please relax. Hopefully, your abilities will start to come back to you again in a consistent manner.”

Levi needed time to think. They were stopped in broad daylight, waiting for Reece to recover. Would she be able to withstand the rest of this journey? With the proper amount of warmth, rest, and nutrition, he had to believe that she would be fine.

Harrison and the men had returned with a large fowl. To Levi’s surprise, Reece devoured the meat. Once she was completely satiated, she seemed to gain control over her mind again.

They returned to the horses, and Reece felt confident enough to ride Arrow alone. Levi and Harrison gave her their cloaks to stay warm in case she lost the ability to control her mind in the cold climate again. It was obvious that in order to maintain her abilities, Reece would need rest and nourishment, and that was how they planned the rest of their journey. They would stop for her in the evenings so that she could rest, and they would hunt the land in order to keep her properly nourished. Levi knew that traveling in such a way would set them back in their timing to retrieve his father, but there was no other option. His greatest fear with Reece not having full access to her mental powers was how they were to defeat Mordegrin and the Olteniaus females. Reece was in no condition to mentally battle anything, as she could hardly protect herself.

They would have to find another way to defeat their greatest threat, and being the fierce warriors they were, they would.