The Frozen Beginning (Elemental Diamond Book 1) (4 page)

Her tone is sour, her lips are chapped and her question is massively disrespectful, but Glacier doesn’t care. She is
angry
.

“If so, then you can go drown yourself in the lake, because there isn’t
any
chance I will be doing
you
any favours.”

The Chancellors’ ears blush a dark pink from anger at her remarks, but his features are controlled. He had expected this reaction from her. His impervious smirk morphs into a short laugh, before the smile is reclaimed.

“Miss Wardgrave, when I say
offer
, that is an exaggeration of the truth. To be honest, you actually have no choice in the matter.” His confidence irks her enormously, but Glacier refuses to let it show. Instead, she raises an eyebrow at his assured statement.

“You may be the Chancellor of Hydren, but you cannot force me into the tournament without my signature of acknowledgement.”

Glacier is well aware that she has to sign a waiver before the first battle of the tournament, stating that she is wilfully entering the tournament with full knowledge that she may obtain various injuries whilst competing. If Glacier doesn’t sign it, then she cannot be considered a participant of the tournament.

Staren’s smirk deepens, enhancing the wrinkles around his eyes as they narrow excitedly.

“I have methods, Miss Wardgrave. Don’t you worry about that.”

Her eyes narrow in return as she interprets his silent threat, interested in what ‘method’ he could possibly use that would persuade her decision.

“I don’t understand why you want me on the team anyway. You would only be embarrassing yourself if you select a
latent
as your sixth for the tournament.”

The same uncomfortable tickle she gets whenever she lies nags at her from inside, loudly throbbing with the truth.

Not latent. I’m not latent
…

The Chancellor’s eyes widen slightly at the word ‘latent’.

“
Latent
, you say?” He turns to this computer, typing quickly on his keyboard. His eyes barely focus on the screen.

She nods, “Yes, I was born latent. I have no elemental capability.”

Glacier is speaking through gritted teeth at this point. But the Chancellor seems to be more interested in what is happening on his computer screen instead of his conversation with her.

Suddenly his eyes alight with mischief as he glances back to her, “Yes… Very latent-like behaviour…”

He turns his computer screen towards her, where Glacier can see what seems to be a surveillance video. The image is crystal clear. Glacier watches herself on screen, along with Castor and Mr Michaels.

There was a surveillance camera there?

Glacier watches as she covers the little body in the snow, Michaels standing over her body, holding his stun-rod out in front of him. He suddenly forces it forward, stabbing the tip of the rod into her shoulder.

Her body shivers, remembering the horrid sensation of the electricity pounding through her bones, frying her to her core. The video is silent, but the screams echo in her head. Glacier watches as she glows a vague white, before her body jerks back against the rod. With her movement, largest of shards sprout from the snow and pierce Mr Michaels through the chest, propelling him off the ground.

A gasp passes her lips as Glacier watches him die a second time, before turning her head away from the offending screen.

“I don’t know how that happened! All I remember is waking up in my bed with stitches in my forehead, and a wonky nose.”

The Chancellor regards her with an amused grin as he nods sarcastically in her direction.

“Well, like I said, you will be the sixth for this year’s tournament. You, my dear will give us the competitive edge we need to win this competition.” Eyes’ twinkling with excitement, the Chancellor leans back in his seat, glancing back at his computer screen.

“The
supposed latent
of Hydren is actually an
ice elemental
! There has never been such a thing! The publicity will be phenomenal. We may actually win this year!” Staren’s animated voice makes her sick, as Glacier imagines the scandal that will surround her.

Ice elemental? There is no such thing…

But the more she ponders what happened, it is the only possible excuse she can think of.

“But I don’t know how to control it… I don’t know how to just,
use it
…”

The Chancellor waves his hand, “Don’t worry, my dear. We have arranged
everything
.”

Glacier doesn’t realize that Staren has risen from his chair until he is no longer in front of her. Glacier can’t see him, but she can hear the door open behind her, immediately followed by the sound of his voice.

“Kirra, would you please organize Miss Wardgrave’s travel itinerary to Alluvium. I want her separate from Hydra.”

Glacier hears a distant ‘Yes sir’, before the door clicks closed, footsteps approaching her like a skip. Staren passes her, but instead of returning to his seat, he sits on the edge of the seat she is in.

Glacier shakes her head at him in annoyance, “Just because I
may
be some sort of ice elemental doesn’t mean that I'm going to do what you want, Chancellor. You can’t force my hand. I won’t sign anything.” Her voice is strong, her will stronger. Glacier would not bend to this man, not after her father…

His lips purse at her rejection, “You’re absolutely right. I can’t force you to sign the wavers…but I have something that might persuade you to reconsider…”

He bends back over his desk and taps a few keys before leaning back to his sitting position, turning his computer screen to face her once more. Only this time, it is a different video. This one has a little red icon in the top right corner saying it is a live feed.

Glacier’s breath escapes her, as she finds herself gazing at Castor’s small face. He sits on a seat, snivelling in front of the camera.

He continuously wipes at his cheeks with his hands, and occasionally with his shoulder. His beautiful black hair is frazzled and tangled. His dirty clothes are rumpled more than usual. His legs hang over the edge of the seat, swinging softly as his body wracks with loud sobs.

What have they done to you, Castor? Where is Mill?

Glacier’s mind runs around wildly as she tries to understand where he is, and why they have the sweet little boy.

It isn’t until Glacier opens her mouth to speak and salty water invades past her lips, that she realizes she is also crying. “Why do you have him?” Her heart beats frantically, her voice breathless with distress.

He is just a little boy
…

“Castor Price is my form of persuasion, Miss Wardgrave.”

Her eyes shift from the computer screen to the Chancellor, confused by his response.

Persuasion?

“What do you mean he is your form of persuasion?”

“Your strange element will give our team a strategic advantage. With you, there is a high possibility of winning! So my
offer
is, after you help Hydra win the tournament—” he then hitches his head to the side, indicating to the computer screen “—Mr Price goes free.”

Glacier gapes blatantly at him, “You are bargaining the life of an eight-year-old boy for the sake of that damn tournament?” Glacier yells at him in outrage, “What in the world is wrong with you? Do you not understand that he is a person, a
little boy
, with fears and emotions just like you? You are a sick—”

With her insulting words, the Chancellor finally loses his cool.

His forefinger and thumb clasp Glacier’s chin tightly. He brings his face close to hers until their noses are a hair’s width away.

“This tournament is what my little girl has been training for her whole life, and now that she will be competing, I will do whatever it takes to ensure that she wins! So yes, I am bargaining this little boy’s life for the sake of winning, because my daughter means more than the life of that worthless critter!”

Her mind has no time to register what she did before Glacier feels the sound slap strike across her left cheek. Pain erupts over the side of her face and across her nose. Glacier feels the harsh tug on her stitches, the disturbing sensation not easily ignored as she leans back to her original sitting position. She sits back to watch the Chancellor wiping the remnants of her spit from his cheek with his handkerchief.

“You should find yourself
extremely
lucky you haven’t ended up in the same shoes as your father yet. I wouldn’t push me much farther, my dear…”

The Chancellor’s words are surprisingly calm, despite his violent outburst.

“
But
, if you're sure that you don’t want to be a part of Hydra…well, I’m not sure that you would like to know what will happen to little Castor Price. After all, he was caught stealing. That is still a punishable crime.”

Her eyes flood with tears, falling faster than a lightning strike. Glacier squeezes her eyes shut and lowers her head in submission.

I can’t let anything happen to him
.

Glacier’s head flicks up, her eyes narrowing untrustingly at Staren.

“I want your word,
in writing
that nothing will happen to him.”

A disturbing smile splits across the Chancellor’s face. His lips purse and his eyebrows knit together, as he nods his head in agreement.

Glacier quickly thinks of anything else important to her.

“And I want to take a personal belonging from my home with me.”

Staren sighs heavily at her second request, “Fine. But you are only permitted this because I pity you. It’s not every day that someone is unfortunate enough to lose everything.”

Glacier flinches at his brutal reminder. Fat tears gather at the rim of her eyes. His vicious voice indicates that his remark was intended to spite her. It is then that her father’s voice sounds in her head, telling her to be brave, to shield any weakness, like he always had in the past. Her tears dry and her shoulders square.

I didn’t lose everything. I lost nearly everything
.

~

Before Glacier opens the front door, she momentarily fears that her father’s body is still lying on the ground face down, where she had last seen him. Her hand freezes over the handle as that fear paralyses her from head to toe.

They wouldn’t leave his body there, would they? They couldn’t be that cruel…

Glacier takes a deep breath, gripping the brass handle and slowly creeping inside. It is dark outside, so the house is pitch black. Glacier doesn’t turn on the light, fearful there may be a body lying by the sofa. She walks straight to her room, in a hurry to leave.

Suddenly, light fills the room, banishing every shadow. Glacier spins around to the Chancellor’s guard who had been ordered to accompany her. Her eyes flicker to the hand he lowers from the light switch. He, however, ignores her stare and folds his hands in front of himself, gazing straight ahead.

With light now illuminating the living room, her eyes are magnetically drawn to the floor in front of the sofa.

There isn’t a body. Just a large, dried bloodstain.

A shiver courses across her flesh as Glacier remembers her fathers’ vacant eyes before he slumped forward, hitting the ground with a sickening thud. Glacier turns her head away, taking a deep, calming breath.

Just go to dad’s room and grab what you need
.

Glacier turns, walking swiftly towards her father’s room. The guard follows close behind, turning on every light in the house on his way.

“I just want to get something from my father’s room.”

Glacier walks into her father’s bedroom, surprised when the guard does not follow. She strides over to her father’s work desk, grabbing the small spray vile, an invention of her father’s. From the corner of her eye, she sees her father’s bed sheets rumpled, a few articles of clothing strewn across the floor.

“Am I supposed to pack clothing?” Glacier calls out to the guard that stands post at the door.

“No, you will be allocated clothes, courtesy of the Hydren High Chamber representatives. They will be delivered and unpacked at the hotel upon your arrival. You are not to bring anything other than the item you prescribed to the Chancellor.”

Remembering something else that she wants to take, Glacier lifts her jumper and hides the vile in the waistband of her jeans. The vile sits uncomfortably against her stomach as she pulls the sweater down to cover it, walking out of the room confidently.

“I couldn’t find it in my father’s room. I’ll quickly check in my room,” Glacier mutters as she strolls past the guard.

His palm reaches out to grab her forearm, pulling her back. He leans in for her other arm and raises her hands to his face, inspecting them.

He stares at her disbelievingly, “What’s in your pockets?”

Glacier act surprised at his question, “Nothing. I said that I may have left it in my room.” Her tone is unwavering as she speaks.

His eyes narrow down at her disbelievingly before he instructs her to turn out her pockets. Glacier stands a good head and a half below him, so she has to crane her neck back painfully to meet his stare.

She rolls her eyes at his forwardness, but does as he asks, knowing that he has nothing to find in her pockets. Once he is happy that Glacier hasn’t stashed anything in her pockets, he releases her and once again trails behind as she enters her room.

Not taking a second to look around her room one last time, Glacier heads straight for her bedside table. She searches around for a couple of seconds before finding what she is looking for.

She wraps her fingers around the small, aged stick. Completely translucent, it glows a bright blue when activated, with a large rolling ballpoint on one end. When Glacier walks out of the room, she holds up the timeworn stick, a Memory Wand, to the guard.

“Found it.” He nods his head before placing his hand on the small of her back, ushering her outside faster.

“Come along, Miss Wardgrave. Your ride is waiting.”

THREE

THE PERSIA HOTEL

The only way of travelling to Alluvium is by the
underground shuttle tram.